Family Connections

Family Connections Strengthening our case planning to help keep families connected. © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 1

© Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 2

The Invisible Suitcase © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 3

Goals & Objectives • Enhance familial connections. • Acknowledge the impact of trauma, loss, anger, confusion, and distrust on the child, parent, and child welfare professional in relation to every interaction and event. • Identify the skills necessary to attend to the anger, trauma, loss, confusion, distrust so we can plan, convene, and follow-up with individuals appropriately. • Facilitate/support continued parental participation in the child’s life through shared parenting. • Recognize the urgency and importance of preserving the child/youth’s primary connections through various methods including FTS visitation practices. © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 5

Goals & Objectives Enhancing family connections through child and family team meetings. Enhance participants tool box of facilitation skills necessary to preserve and build family connections. Enhance Child Welfare professional’s understanding of the importance of the CFTM as a central organizing process instead of an event. Articulate the clear intentional purposes of visits, CFTM, and the purpose of these events for older adolescents. © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 6

Parent Statement #1 “&#@* you! I didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t tell me how to treat my babies. You only want them because that’s how you make money. The more kids you take, the more money you make.” © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 7

Responding to Parent Statements (Cont’d) • Supervisors –How can you reinforce this critical and anticipatory thinking throughout a case? • Therapists – How do you anticipate and prepare to address these statements? • IA and CAYIT Staff – What are you reporting and recommending to identify future engagement hurdles that may arise stemming from your interview process? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 8

Parent Statement #2 “My own shame, guilt, and hesitation is a big barrier – I wasn’t there for my kids, I am responsible for them being in the system. I don't know what to do. I feel guilty for not having been there for my kids in the way I should have been.” © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 9

Parent Statement #3 “I don’t know why you are involved with me and my kids. I had a fight with my neighbor last week and I think she just called you to get even. My landlord doesn’t repair anything and the condition of my apartment is not my fault. I would have bought some food but my boyfriend just stole my check. I raise my kids the right way – the way my parent’s raised me. I only want the best for my kids.” © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 10

Parent Statement #4 “Trying to manage your own situation and your kids' feelings and situation at the same time when you don't have coping, stress management skills, not knowing how to take care of yourself or get enough support for yourself. If you don't have these things, connecting with your kids could be an overwhelming thing.” © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 11

Parent Statement #5 “You put my kid up for adoption and now you want to talk to me about reconnecting? I don’t know about this. I’m just too stressed to do this. I have high blood pressure and trouble with my water. Did you know that they put chemicals in the water that cause cancer? They do. It’s very hard to find water that doesn’t have poison in it.” © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development

Parent Statement #6 “Feeling intimidated and inadequate and a failure in comparison to the foster parent -- someone else is doing what you are supposed to be doing with your kids. Feeling helpless. My child doesn't need me because I can't do what she needs. She (the foster parent) is so good with her and she loves her and she doesn't need me.” © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 13

Dyad Activity Identify ways you currently build and maintain connections with your own family? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 14

How are Learning Collaboratives different from Trainings? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 15

Phase V: Fatherhood Engagement Barriers and Challenges © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 16

Barriers: Cook Region © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development

Barriers: Northern Region © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development

Barriers: Central Region © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development

Barriers: Southern Region © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development

Phase VII: Family-centered Practice Small Tests of Change © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 21

Why are we talking about Family Connectedness? CFSR Findings Permanency Outcome #2: We are tasked to make sure that the continuity of family relationships and connections is preserved for children. Visiting with Child and Parent in Foster Care Family Connections Relationship of Child in Care with Parents © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 22

How do we balance policy and procedure with best practice standards? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 23

What are some ways you connect with your children when you are away from them? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 24

How do you in your role build and enhance family connections through visitation or other interactions? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 25 25

What do trauma-informed visits look like? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 26 26

Small test of change: What can you do to enhance visits? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 27 27

Bernie Mac Video Clip © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 28

Video Debriefing • What should we have done to help Bernie prepare the children for the visit? • What should we have done to help Bernie prepare mom for the visit? • How should we have processed the visit with the children, Bernie, and mom following what occurred? • How would you have liked Bernie to respond during the phone call? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 29

Video Debriefing (Cont’d) © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 30

Supervising or observing family interactions can lead us to case closure. What do you need to see happen during family interactions to achieve case closure? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 31

What can you do to help a parent stay in the parenting role from case opening to case closure? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 32

What does shared parenting mean to everyone involved? …the parent? …the child? …the child welfare professional? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 33

What financial supports are available to foster parents willing to participate in shared parenting activities? …such as “Normative Activities,” those activities which will assist progress toward reunification and maintaining family connections © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 34

Permanency Triad Permanency Hearings Administrative Case Reviews Child & Family Team Meetings © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 35

Child and Family Team Meetings: Affinity Group Activity Who in your group has participated in CFTMs on a regular basis? How have you made that happen? 39 © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development

Confronting ourselves and our commitment to older adolescents Do the older adolescents get less of our attention? Should they? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 40

Confronting ourselves and our commitment to older adolescents (cont’d) © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 41

What happens to the youth who ages out with no family connections? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 42

Emerging Adulthood Interdependence Permanency Social Capital Youth Guided Care © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 43 43

Emerging Adulthood (Cont’d) Interdependence Permanency Social Capital Youth Guided Care © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 44 44

Older Adolescents What are some simple – not horribly time consuming tasks – that could help us work on family connections for our older adolescents? © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 45

…when they age out of our system? …even after they’ve been legally adopted? …regardless of the risks and recommendations of professionals? Why do older adolescents run or often go back home… © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 46

Visitation plans for older adolescents Different plans based on the age and developmental abilities of a child/youth © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 47

Mixed Role Activity Older adolescent girl age 15 has a goal of Independence and a boyfriend who is 17 years old. She is currently living in a group home and the case worker is making a monthly visit. The case worker has asked the therapist to meet as well to help prepare for a future child and family team meeting. Both the caseworker and the therapist would like to strengthen the girl’s support system in advance of her aging out. The youth has gone on record saying, “I just want all of you out of my life. You’ve screwed me up more than my parent’s did, all they did was beat me.” © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 48

Mixed Role Group Tasks: • Identify how you think this young woman is feeling what anger, loss, confusion, and/or trauma may be present? • Given what you know about how she is feeling, what facilitation skills do you plan to use during this meeting? (Direct participants to Handout #1.) • Identify in your LC materials or ones you use in your current practice what resources you would want to bring with you to this staffing or review prior to the staffing. © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 49

Fish Bowl • One facilitator is role-playing the therapist. • One facilitator is role-playing the youth. • Participants will volunteer to play the role of the worker and tag each other when a new volunteer wants to come forward. © Division of Support Services, Office of Training and Professional Development 50

Family Connections