HELPING FOSTER YOUTH TRANSITION TO AND FROM HOME VISITATIONS

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HELPING FOSTER YOUTH TRANSITION TO AND FROM HOME
VISITATIONS

• By Charley Joyce, LICSW
• 
  Power point design by Gayle Grenz

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The Current Status of Youth in Foster Care

• Number of confirmed cases of child abuse/neglect
• Child deaths
• Number of youth in foster care
• Average age and gender
• Average amount of time the youth is in care
• Approximately 2/3 of youth in care return home
• The impact of chemical abuse/dependency

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GROUP THINK

• From your perspective as a Foster Parent
• 1. Why are foster youth involved in visits
  with their own families?
• 2. What are some of the frustrations you
  experience in the visitation process?
• It is important to recognize that reasons for
  having visits, and frustrations that arise as a
  part of the visitation process, are two separate,
  but related issues.

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DO VISITS WORK IN THE PROCESS OF REUNIFICATION?

• In a study published in the April 2004 issue of
  Family Relations, 123 Foster children, ages 6
  and younger, were studied. All of the children
  had reunification as the primary case goal.
  Children were MORE LIKELY TO HAVE stronger
  levels of parent-child attachment if they
• Had more completed supervised visits with their
  biological parents
• Had more consistent supervised visits with their
  biological parents
• Had been in foster care for a shorter period of
  time
• Findings also indicated that children with higher
  levels of attachment
• Were less likely to be classified as
  developmentally delayed
• Were less likely to take medication for
  behavioral issues
• Had fewer behavioral problems

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BENEFITS OF VISITATION (Wright 2001)

• Provide an opportunity for parental change
• Reassure the child of the parents well being
• Ease the pain of separation for all
• Provide a setting for agency assessment
• Assist with transition to reunification
• Reduce time in care (Hess 1999)
• Enhance parental motivation to change through
  reassurance and hope
• Maintain and strengthen family relationships
• Enable the parent(s) to stay current with the
  childs development and activities
• Help participants deal with reality
• Increase the likelihood of reunification (Hess
  1999)
• If reunification is not the plan, help
  participants cope, grieve and work out future
  relationships.

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VISITATION IS AN IMPORTANT, YET DIFFICULT,
CONFUSING AND EM0TIONAL EVENT FOR ALL INVOLVED
PARTIES.

• Often participants enter the visitation process
  with a different perspective and investment
  resulting in confusion and defensiveness.
• A. Foster parents perspective
• B. Birth parents perspective
• C. The foster childs perspective

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WHAT CAN FOSTER PARENTS DO TO SUPPORT THE
VISITATION PROCESS?

• CHECK your own feelings regarding how you feel
  about the visitation process.
• CLARIFY your role in the visitation process.
• IDENTIFY who you can communicate your concerns to
  (safety, sight of visits, content).
• LOOK for ways to positively reinforce progress
  displayed in visitation.
• IDENTIFY ways to help the foster youth transition
  to and from the visit.
• WORK to understand that your values and the
  values of the foster youths family, often will
  differ.
• REMEMBER that blood is thick.
• TRY to form a positive relationship with the
  childs parent.

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HELPING THE FOSTER YOUTH TRANSITION TO AND FROM
VISITS

• Remember that foster youth generally react to
  disorganization and changes when they are
  anxious, scared and confused!
• Try to ensure that the visits take place as
  planned and when planned (Generally the role of
  the custodian).
• Consider developmental factors in visits.
• Determine if the child does better with short or
  long-term notification and plan accordingly.
• If the child is well connected with a therapist,
  ask the therapist to assist with pre and post
  visitation support.
• Utilize a variety of techniques to assist with
  preparation.
• 
  
• 
  (Continued on next slide)

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EXAMPLES COULD INCLUDE(Continued from previous
slide)

• Role Play - Ask the case worker
• Allow the child to take transition objects to the
  visit
• Position people who represent safety during the
  visit
• Try to incorporate the childs ideas into the
  visit on what is helpful
• Assure the child that coming back to the foster
  home does not equal loyalty.
• Expect behavioral/emotional regression
• Plan ways to assist with the regression

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CASE HISTORY EXAMPLES

• POST VISITATION REGRESSION
• PRE VISITATION PLANNING