Pennsylvania Permanency Barriers Project

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Pennsylvania Permanency Barriers Project
Anne Marie Lancour Heidi Redlich Epstein Mimi
Laver Kathleen McNaught Elizabeth
Thornton Cristina Cooper Jeffrey Adolph Margaret
Burt Honorable Stephen Rideout (ret.) Scott
Trowbridge
American Bar Association Center on Children and
the Law
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History of the Project

• 1989 Termination Barriers Project began with
  funding from the New York State Department of
  Social Services and the U.S. Department of Health
  and Human Services.
• 1991 NYS Office of Children and Family Services
  continued to fund the Termination Barriers
  Project for the next 13 years.
• 2004 The project was successfully completed in
  20 small, medium, and large counties throughout
  NYS. 
• 2004 Pennsylvania contracts with ABA for
  largest Permanency Barriers Project to date.
• 2004 KY and WY contract with the ABA for the
  Permanency Barriers Project
• 2005 ABA wins Adoption Excellence Award for
  work on the NY Permanency Barriers Project

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Goal Reduce childrens stay in foster care

• Approach
• Locally developed action plans
• Small steps that add up
• Permanency planning focus
• Key Components
• Permanency Planning Specialist
• Advisory Board
• ABA Project Director

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Project Tasks

• The project undertakes five major tasks
• Identifying and analyzing delays
• Interactively developing recommendations and
  implementing reforms
• Establishing written protocols, procedures, and
  providing multidisciplinary training
• Monitoring reforms and changes and
• Sharing project results throughout the state.

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Reform Efforts

• Early identification of childrens needs
• Refining court procedures in permanency planning
  areas
• Legal analysis and technical assistance
• Training the child welfare agency and legal staff
• Sharing information with other counties and states

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Problems Causing Delays

• Missing or unidentified parents
• Relatives entering case late
• Increase in adolescent population
• Lack of training on permanency planning issues
• Lack of written procedures
• Late starts in offering services
• Inadequate concurrent planning
• Difficulty in obtaining evaluations and/or expert
  testimony
• Delays in court procedures

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Current PA Project Counties

• Beaver
• Butler
• Clearfield
• Lehigh

• Montgomery
• Washington
• Westmoreland

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Past PA Project Counties

• Armstrong
• Berks
• Blair
• Centre
• Cumberland
• Huntingdon
• Lancaster
• Lackawanna
• Luzerne

• Lycoming
• McKean
• Mifflin
• Northampton
• Northumberland
• Philadelphia
• Venango
• Warren
• York

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New York Results
New York Results Average Time Saved in 20
Counties 15 months Total Money Saved 15,272,000
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Pennsylvania Results
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Project AchievementsBlair County

• The Barriers to Permanency Project has permitted
  Blair County to develop a Family Treatment Drug
  Court.
• The Project Director in Blair County has
  facilitated the countys participation in the
  upcoming National Drug Court Institute Training
  to develop a family treatment court model.
• A family treatment drug court will provide
  coordinate services, track progress, and
  encourage accountability for substance abusing
  families.

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Project AchievementsNorthampton County

• Northampton County successfully utilized the
  Barriers to Permanency Project to improve
  collaboration and communication between the
  Agency and the Court.
• The Agency and the Juvenile Court developed an
  Interim Court Directive/Permanency Plan which is
  prepared at the conclusion of every permanency
  hearing and distributed to families before they
  leave court.
• The Interim Directive outlines expectations of
  both the family and the agency and eliminates
  delays in service referrals.

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Project AchievementsLackawanna County

• Lackawanna County successfully utilized the
  Project to introduce a new court procedure to
  increase accountability and expedite permanency.
• The Agency and the Juvenile Court created an
  informal Dependency Compliance Conference which
  documents and tracks compliance by both the
  agency and family.
• DCC hearings track both success and failure and
  permits an immediate response when a family
  starts to struggle.
• More frequent and meaningful reviews of family
  progress promotes concurrent planning.

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Project AchievementsWestmoreland County

• Westmoreland County has used the Project to
  initiate a 90-day multidisciplinary case
  conference process.
• The 90-day case conference seeks to promote
  permanency, engage families, frontload services,
  and encourage cross-system collaboration.
• The case conference is used in every new case 90
  days after removal from the home to evaluate
  progress, review service referrals, and prepare
  for the first permanency hearing.

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Questions/Contact Information

• Anne Marie Lancour
• ABA Center on Children and the Law
• 740 15th Street, NW
• Washington, DC 20005
• [phone] (phone)
• [phone] (fax)
• AnneMarie.Lancour_at_americanbar.org
• www.abanet.org/child