Fostering Connections: Effective and Innovative Strategies to Enhance the Well-Being of Youth In and Transitioning Out

1. Fostering Connections: Effective and Innovative Strategies to Enhance the Well-Being of Youth In and Transitioning Out of the Child Welfare System Presenter: Kyle Berry, Roxanne Cade, Felicia Tuggle and Carmen Callaway Presentation to: National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Date: November 3rd, 2013 Georgia Department of Human Services

2. Vision, Mission, and Core Values Vision Stronger Families for a Stronger Georgia. Mission Strengthen Georgia by providing Individuals and Families access to services that promote self-sufficiency, independence, and protect Georgia's vulnerable children and adults. Core Values • Provide access to resources that offer support and empower Georgians and their families. • Deliver services professionally and treat all clients with dignity and respect. • Manage business operations effectively and efficiently by aligning resources across the agency. • Promote accountability, transparency and quality in all services we deliver and programs we administer. • Develop our employees at all levels of the agency. 2

3. Educational Programming, Assessment and Consultation EPAC

4. The Need for Education Services IEP or 504 Retained Over 8,000 In Care Suspended or Expelled Multiple School Transfers Failing Standardized Tests 5,013 School-Aged Foster Youth (K-12) Reading below Grade Level Trauma/Neglect At the end of Federal Fiscal Year 2013, 87% (4,362) of GA foster youth had been referred to and served by EPAC.

5. Educational Programming, Assessment, and Consultation Overview The EPAC Unit provides comprehensive academic support services focusing on improving educational outcomes and the academic achievement of children and youth, ages 5 to 17 in the custody of Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. EPAC services are supported through TANF funding and are initiated through case manager or CPS referrals. Upon initial placement into foster care, children and youth are referred to EPAC for a comprehensive diagnostic educational assessment and subsequently, are monitored for ensuring adequate academic progress.

6. Educational Programming, Assessment, and Consultation Overview (continued) EPAC currently has 15 Education Support Monitors (ESMs) who manage educational services for all school aged youth in care. ESMs are assigned regionally to provide individualized case consultation and to assist case managers in linking children and youth to local education support services, while adhering to local school district policies and procedures. Additionally, EPAC is responsible for procuring educational services from either within the community, local education agencies or EPAC program assigned. During this current fiscal year, EPAC has contracted with over 230 certified Georgia Teachers who provide specific, one-on-one academic support.

7. Educational Programming, Assessment, and Consultation Services Continuum

8. Core EPAC Services

9. 3 Tier Service Model

10. Educational Stability DHS policy # 10.13

11. Educational Programming, Assessment, and Consultation DHS Policy 10.13 – Education Stability • This policy was disseminated to the field on August 1, 2013 • It provides practice guidance to direct service workers and all other field staff about Education Stability for children and youth in foster care • This policy specifically covers how EPAC, through its Education Support Monitors, engage case managers and provide educational consultation in the following areas: • Collaborations with Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) • Determination of Appropriateness of Educational Settings • DFCS contact for District Level Homeless Liaisons • Assist in development of RTI, IEP, and/or 504 Plans • Homeless and Unaccompanied Youth Referrals • Educational Stability Transportation Funding Request Protocol

12. Educational Stability Educational Stability is essential to a child’s well-being. It is imperative that DFCS Case Managers and other direct service staff responsible for case planning, engage in the necessary steps to make best interest determinations regarding the stability of educational settings for children and youth as they enter and remain in care.

13. McKinney-Vento vs. Fostering Connections

14. Homeless and Unaccompanied Youth When a child has been identified as a Homeless and/or Unaccompanied Youth, the following procedure will be followed by the Division of Family and Children Services In-take Officer(s). • When an identified homeless or unaccompanied youth has been identified to CPS/In-Take, a referral form (176) will be completed and submitted to Educational Programming, Assessment and Consultation Unit (EPAC). • Referral form will be processed by EPAC (Operations Analyst) who will record the provided information in the Homeless & Unaccompanied Youth (HUY) Data System. • Based upon the Local Educational Agency identified on the referral, EPAC will contact the appropriate Homeless Liaison who should then direct services for the youth under the guidelines of McKinney-Vento. • EPAC/DFCS will periodically check-in with the Homeless Liaison to ensure services were provided to youth.

15. Steps to Ensure Educational Stability

16. Transportation Protocol to Support Educational Stability Educational Stability transportation funds should be used to support the practice of ensuring foster children and youth remain in their home school/school of origin as part of Educational Stability

17. Transportation Considerations Transportation Options Determining Factors Age of child/youth Location of placement and distance from school of origin Child/youth’s physical and cognitive abilities Child/youth’s developmental abilities • Foster Parent • Public transportation/Mass Transit • Van pools • Taxis • Private transportation services

18. Reasonable Distance Determination The following considerations should be made when determining if the school of origin is an unreasonable distance from the child/youth’s placement: • Does the commute exceed one hour (one-way) or 60 miles in distance (one-way)? REMINDER: Foster parents/caregivers can provide transportation to ensure educational stability for distances of 25 miles or less. • Will the cost of the services exceed $2,000.00 per month?

19. Internal and External Stakeholders EPAC Partners

21. For more information, please you may reach me (Kyle D. Berry) at: 404-657-5122 or by email at kyberry@dhr.state.ga.us.

22. Overview of the Georgia ILP

23. Independent Living Program Overview The State of Georgia recognized that without appropriate services, planning and support, our youth would not have a successful transition foster care. Our youth showed higher rates of homelessness, unemployment, poverty, delinquent or criminal behaviors and dependence on various types of public assistance. In response, the State of Georgia implemented the standards and support of the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) which provided states with greater funding to prepare foster youth for the transition to adulthood.

24. ILP Mission Is to provide eligible youth with opportunities to successfully prepare for adulthood, by providing appropriate resources and connections with community partners.

25. ILP Outcome Measures Our program comprise of six outcome measures targeting: • education attainment; • financial self-sufficiency; • avoidance of homelessness; • positive connections with adults; • avoidance of high-risk behaviors; and • accessing health insurance. These outcomes assess our performance in the delivery of services and support to ensure successful transitions.

26. Services and Programs • To achieve successful outcomes, we provide an assortment of services such as educational workshops/conferences, independent living skills needs assessment, post secondary supports, academic supports, financial assistance, employment programs/training, Individual Development Accounts Matching Program and monitoring of the Written Transition Living Plan.

28. Eligible Youth for SFY13 A total of 2588 youth were eligible to receive ILP services. Out of the 2588, 2385 youth or young adults in and out of foster care received ILP services/support.

29. ILP Funded Supports/ Services Some ways youth can be supported using ILP funds. This is not an extensive list. Specific monetary limits are based upon availability of funds and the specific needs of the youth.

30. High School Youth

31. Education and Enrichment Expenses

32. Education and Enrichment Expenses

33. Education and Enrichment Expenses

34. Post Secondary Youth

35. Post Secondary Education Support

36. Post Secondary Education Support

37. Post Secondary Education Support

38. Education Status Support This past school year, the GA Division of Family and Children Services had 34 college youth graduate as well as 264 General Education Development (GED) and high school youth.

39. Helping Homeless Youth In Your State

41. TPP & Education, What’s the Connection? • Data show negative associations between sexual risk behaviors and academic achievement • Students with high grades are significantly less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as: - Having sex before age 13 - Having sex with 4+ people - Drinking alcohol or using drugs before sex - Not using a condom during sexual intercourse Source, CDC Sexual Risk Behaviors and Academic Achievement Fact Sheet, 2011

42. Science Says…Homeless Youth are: • More likely to drop out of school • Suffer from chronic health disorders • Engage in survival sex • Are at greater risk of contracting AIDS, HIV-related illnesses, and other STDs • Are more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide • Are at increased risk of being physically and sexually abused • More likely to use and abuse drugs • More likely to be involved with the juvenile justice system • Lack many skills that are crucial to life in the adult world

43. What is PREP? Personal Responsibility Education Program • Federally funded program to educate youth on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS - and 3 of 6 legislatively mandated adulthood preparation subjects

44. States Receiving Funding by Year of Receipt

45. Georgia’s PREP Initiative • Mission • To provide evidence-based programming to high priority youth ages 10-19 in an effort to educate and promote personal responsibility • Vision • Through a unified state initiative, provide high risk youth in 10 Georgia counties with free access to evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs and supplemental adult preparation subjects • Goals • Educate youth to make healthy and responsible decisions • To reduce the risk of pregnancy, HIV and STI’s among high priority youth ages 10-19 (up to 21 if pregnant and/or parenting)

46. Overview of GA-PREP 1 5 1 1 1 1 =10 PREP Implementation Counties FFY’13 GA-PREP Provided Funding to 20 Sub-Awardees = 57 unique implementation sites

47. PREP Implementation Settings

48. What have learned from youth? At Entry: • 47% of surveyed PREP participants report having had sexual intercourse • 44% of surveyed PREP participants report intention to have sexual intercourse in the next year • During the 6 months prior to participating in PREP • 48% had not received information on birth control • 47% had not received pregnancy testing • 48% had not received STD testing or treatment Vulnerable Youth + Risky Behaviors = Negative Outcomes

49. Celebrating Success At Exit: • 40% of participants were more likely to abstain from sexual intercourse in the next year • 68% of participants were more likely to use or ask a partner to use a condom • 62% of participants were more likely to use or ask a partner to some method of birth control

50. At exit, surveyed PREP participants reported they were more likely to: • Care about doing well in school (63%) • Continue education (64%) • Set personal goals (61%) • Form healthy positive relationships (60%) • Positively manage conflict in relationships (50%) • Say no/resist peer pressure (52%) • Manage money carefully (55%)