U.S. Foster Family System of Support Services.

1. U.S. Foster Family System of Support Services. Viviane Ngwa Licensed Clinical Social Worker Academy of Certified Social Worker

2. Historical Perspective • The role of Charitable organizations, church groups, Catholic Charities, Children Home and Aid Society in the care of abandoned children. • 1850s to early 1930s: About 200,000 orphans abandoned in the Eastern cities (NY) were transported by train “orphan trains” to live and work with families in other parts of the U.S. • 1889: Jane Addams Hull House: Settlement house that provided neighborhood social services to families. • 1899: Illinois Assembly; Establishment of the first Juvenile court. • 1903: The Idea of a Federal Child Bureau is conceived. • 1904: The plight of working children: National Child Labor Committee was organized. • 1909: The 1St of a series of conference s on children and youth.

3. Interface of advocacy and governmental processes • 1910 census report: 29 million children under the age of 14. (32% of the population). • 1912: Children’s Bureau was founded charged with looking at issues of infant mortality, orphanages, dangerous occupations, diseases etc. • 1913: The Bureau administers the 1st child labor laws. • 1918: Children’s Year began • 1919: White House Conference on Child Welfare Standards – minimum standards for the health, education and work of children.

4. Historical Perspective • 1921: The maternity and Infancy Act: Provides States with the 1St Federal grants for human Services. • 1926: The Children’s Bureau publishes “public aid to mothers with dependent children”. • 1927: 1St standardize juvenile statistics are collected; Lack of consistency across court systems. • 1929-1941: The Great Depression: The Bureau’s role in designing relief to families. • 1935: Social Security Act is signed; 3 key components –Maternal and child health services, medical care for crippled children, and child welfare services.

5. Historical timeline • 1938: Passage of the Fair Labor Act; Federal regulation of child labor. • 1941-1945: WWII: Large-scale entry of women into the workforce, relaxation of child labor standards, increase juvenile delinquency. • 1941: Standard of care for refugee children published. • 1950: 5th White House Conference on Children focuses on the emotional well-being of children. • 1952: Funding supports professional development of child welfare workers.

6. Historical Perspective • 1954: Senate Hearings on Adoption practices. • 1963: Maternal and Child Health & Mental Retardation Planning Amendments. • 1965: War on Poverty: Medicaid , Medicare and Head Start are created. • 1967: From 1961-1967 50% increase in the number of children receiving child welfare services. • 1972: President Nixon proclaims the 1St National Action for Foster Children Week. • 1974: National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.

7. Recent Development • 1978: Concern about increase number of children in foster care; from 177000 in 1961 to 503000 in 1978. • 1979: National Child Welfare Training Center established. • 1980: Adoption Assistance Act: focus on Permanence for children in care. • 1986: Creation of independent living programs. • 1988: 1st National Foster Care month proclamation. • 1919: Addressing “Boarder Babies” issues.

8. More Recent Development • 1993: Family Preservation and Support Services Program Act. • 1994: Child Welfare Waivers (Title IV E) • 1994: Multi-ethnic Placement Act. • 1995: 1St National Adoption Month • 1997: Adoption and Safe Families Act; safety, well-being, permanency. • 2000: Publication of Child Welfare Outcomes: 1St of a series of annual reports to Congress. • 2001: CFSR: 1St Child and Family Services Review of States. Evidence-based knowledge development and practice. • 2009: Child Welfare Evaluation Summit. • 2012: Launch of Child Welfare Information Gateway.

9. De-Institutionalization of Care. • The move from congregate care to community based service delivery systems. • Since the 14th century, religious orders and municipalities established care for abandoned children. • Late 1800s – Orphanages, about 100,000 children in U.S lived in orphanages. • 1900s – Residential Treatment Centers (ex Boys Town) Facilities where treatment is the focus. • 1909 – 1St White House conference focused on the care of dependent children, establishment of foster care program. • 20th Century version: cottage model: small number of children stay in each cottage staffed with house parents.

10. Rationale for Community-based Care • Accordingly to UNICEF, there are 163 million orphans in the world today. • 8 million live in institutional care – orphanages, group homes, children’s homes. • Rationale behind de-institutionalization: - keeping siblings together - consistent caring adult - emotional bond/attachment development - development of a sense of belonging /community - replicating natural family setting in substitute care - cost management

11. Community placements • Models of Care; Variance within States • Classification of children based on level of needs • Linkage with the community – foster parent recruitment /marketing • Premise of keeping children in their community of origin. • Foster Care as a temporal / transitional intervention – goal identification: Reunification, adoption, emancipation/independent living: educational outcomes. • Working with families of origin. • Federal benchmarks: Safety, Well-being, permanency. • Funding structures: Room and Board, clinical services. • Social Workers as Mandated Reporters.

12. Foster Care/ Resource Family • Recruitment for resource families / foster parents – Campaigns. • Who becomes a foster parent? • The need to help /give back • The empty nester • Religious reasons • Revenue/reimbursement • Fertility difficulties • Others: professionals

13. Process of Becoming a Foster Parent. • Recruitment • Application process • Background check • Check of the physical space of the home • Home-study process: A psycho-social assessment. • Mandated pre-service training 30-40 hours of training (PRIDE and other models) • Focus areas of training: child development, disciplinary protocols, First Aid and more) • Recommendation for certification/licensure • Maintenance of licensure expectations; on-going training • Training around the child’s special needs.

14. The Matching Process:Matching the child with the foster family. • The best interest of the child • Considering the special needs of the child • Inter-Ethnic placement Act /Multi-ethnic Placement Act • The foster parent’s competencies. • Pre-placement visitation protocol • The placement decision.

15. The Role of the Social Worker • Specialty positions (recruiter, case managers, licensing representatives, clinicians, adoption workers/permanency specialists, education advocates). • Functions: • Completing home-study assessments. • Home visits (weekly) • visitation supervision • Data collection and client file management • Electronic documentation /case notes. Assessments.

16. Services to Biological Families • Services to address the specific condition that lead to the removal of the child. • Parental rights – residual rights. • The right to visitation/contacts with the child • Referral services to other community resources to help address other related issues. • Reunification process • Strengthening family services.

17. The Role of Juvenile Courts • Making a Legal determination of the fitness of the parents to fulfill their as parents of the child. • Granting custody of the child to the state. • Periodic monitoring of the parents compliance with services offered . • Diligent search expectations of the worker. • The process of termination of parental rights. • Functioning as the primary decision making entity in the process.

18. Support Services to Foster Parents • Home Visits • Foster parent support groups • Mentoring by experienced foster parents • Respite services • Transportation services for the child. • foster parent meetings; monthly, quarterly • May is Foster Parent Appreciation month. • Foster Parent of the month • Monthly Stipend • Referral to other community support systems • Foster parents as recruiters. • Advocacy • NFPA: National Foster Parent Association.

19. Outcome measures • Performance-based contracting: Contract based on the agency’s proven abilities. • Service goals: • Return to biological families: providing services to the biological family to correct the situation that brought the child into care. • Guardianship: Working with relatives to take guardianship of the child. With Kinship guardianship the rights of the biological parents may not have been terminated. • Adoption: Foster care conversation adoption. Foster parent commitment to adopt. • Independence: Preparing the youth to be able to live independently in the community.

20. Outcome Measures • Cost saving measures and incentives to providers. • Reduction in the length of stay (LOS). • Federal benchmarks • Safety: ensuring the safety of the child while the child is in foster care. • Wellbeing: ensuring that the medical, physical, emotional needs of the child is meet. Making sure that the educational needs of the child is effectively responded to. • Permanency: Finding a permanent solution for the child (guardianship or adoption). • Placement stability: Reduction in the number of placement per child in foster care.

21. Strength Based Models of Care • Stronger prevention and family reunification services: Strengthening family services. • Cultural awareness in service delivery: Cultivating a sense of belonging in the child. • Strengthening partnerships between child welfare agencies and community-based organizations. • Empowering families to self-advocate. • Risk Factor identification • Wrap-around Services and strategic planning methods. (Child and Family Teams) • Customization of care to fit the needs of the specific family. • Funding flexibility. • Diversity management issues.

22. Public – Private Partnership • Federal/State Government • Defines the framework • Defines the legal structure the governs care. • Passes laws and Acts • Funding appropriation • Defines funding guidelines • Defines provider qualifications • Defines broad standards of practice. • Defines performance standards and benchmarks • Accreditation expectations. • NGO – Private Agencies • Represents the community’s need. • Interprets the laws in response to the needs of the community. • Advocates for specific segments of the population. • Develop programs in response to community needs. • Implements the tenets of the Rule. • Service provision to the community.

23. Public – Private Partnership • Funding structure and challenges • Impact of cut backs on the provider community and continuity of services. • Fund-raising as a funding gap-filler process. • Engagement of the business community – what is in it for them? • Demonstrable outcomes.

24. NGOs that influence the system • Religious groups • The Role of Catholic Charities • Jewish Children Bureau • Children Home and Aids Society • Boys Town: the Model • Non-profit v. For-profit Providers • State Child Care Associations • Professional Associations (NASW –National Association of Social Workers) • Provider Associations (FFTA - Foster Family Based Treatment Association) • (NFPA : National Foster Parent Association). • Multi-State agencies. • University-based research institutions (Chapin Hall Institute - Chicago, IL) • Single issue focused Advocacy Groups • Accrediting Bodies (COA – Council on Accreditation)

25. Financial viability: Aspects of Fundraising • Supplementing funding from the government and municipality. • Fund-raising is a MUST for NGOs – private agencies • The role of the Board of Directors and Exec Director in fundraising • Goal-setting and identification of targeted givers. • Types of fund raising – the use of products • Engaging the community in the process. • The role of the agency’s mission. • In-kind versus financial donations. • The Ask: Single donors v. grassroots. • Business budgeting and financial management. • Closing the loop: using outcomes in the cultivation of volunteers and donors.

26. Next Steps • Advocacy as a crucial role for NGOs. • Using business management principles to engage the business community in understanding the role of NGOs. • Strategic planning (short and long term) as an essential management tool – delivering measurable outcomes. • NGO Networking and collaboration in meeting the needs of clients and communities.

27. Q & A • Questions & Answers THANK YOU Viviane Ngwa