Creating Family Connections Pursuing Permanence

1
Creating Family ConnectionsPursuing Permanence

• Don Koenig, Family Preservation Director
• Vancouver, Clark County, WA
• Family Search and Engagement
• Training and Technical Assistance
• Catholic Community Services of
• Western Washington

2
There but for the grace of God
3
Valuing the Family
4
What is Family Search and Engagement?

• Finding family is tip of the iceberg.
• The art of creating life long connections
• Major shift from looking at family for placements
  to creating connections.
• Exploring multiple ways to engage relatives to
  increase safety, stability and improve permanency
  outcomes.
• Real Family Centered Practice.

5
CCSWW Who are we?

• Serves all Western WA counties NW Or
• Largest not-for-profit multi-service
  organization-WA
• COA accredited
• Licensed in Mental Health
• Licensed Child Placing Agency
• LTC, AHA, FP, FCs
• Annual budget, 85 M
• Number of employees, 3000

6
Family Preservation - HX

• 1974 Homebuilders CPS referrals, preventing FC
  placement by strengthening families
• 1978 expansion to Mental Health and DDD to
  prevent hospitalization and residential care
• 1989 Wraparound Implemented
• 2000 FAST and Crisis Stabilization Services
• 2003 Initial Training and Technical Assistance
• Ongoing provision of T/TA throughout the USA
• National Resource Center for Family Centered
  Practice and Permanency Planning, NY, NY

7
Important lessons learned

• Homebuildershome based services can strengthen
  families, reduce risks and increase safety
  through family connections (CPS)
• Wraparound-recognize family strengths, empower
  and partner with families in solution focused
  team based process (MH-multi-system)
• FAST Crisis Stabilization Services-treat
  psychiatric hospitalization like other medical
  hospitalization. Involve family in emergencies
• If FSE can work under extreme circumstances why
  not with youth in ordinary child welfare services?

8
FAST Results (7/06 6/07)

• 510 completed (90 day) services in the fiscal
  year
• 154 at imminent risk of hospitalization at
  referral
• 354 at high risk of placement disruption
• 6 had a brief hospitalization (of the 510)
• 8 ended services in detention or homeless (of the
  510)
• 26 of children were not enrolled in school at
  referral. At exit, 91 were enrolled in school.
• 84 were living with a parent or extended family
  member at close of 90-day FAST
• The Washington Institute for Mental Health
  Research Training (WIMHRT)

9
Why We Do ThisFamily Centered Practice

• Children need their families and families need
  their children.
• What would you want for your own child?

10
Why We Do This Cultural Relevance

• Family resources are
• the most culturally
• appropriate and
• available resources
• providing access to
• ethnic, racial and
• cultural traditions

11
Why We Do ThisEmotional Security

• Behavioral stabilization, a sense of identity and
  belonging

12
Why We Do This

• Global practices In times of crises and natural
  disasters family resources provide stabilization.
• International Red Crescent-Family Tracing

International Social ServiceUSA Branch, Inc.200
E. Lexington Street, 17Th Floor, Suite
1700,Baltimore, MD 21202 (443)
451-1200www.iss-usa.org
13
Aging Out of Foster Care

• Foster care is supposed to be a temporary haven
  for children living in unsafe conditions. But
  about one-quarter of the 500,000 children in
  foster care in the U.S. end up in the system
  until they become adults.
• Two-thirds are unable to function successfully
  on their own Mark Courtney, University of
  Chicago
• According to the Child Welfare League of
  America, 25 become homeless, 56 are
  unemployed, 27 of male children end up in jail.
  Less than 5 finish college.
• http//www.pbs.org/wnet/agingout/index-hi.html

14
http//kidsarewaiting.org/reports/files/AgingOut.p
df
15
Chapin Hall Placement Stability

• Evaluation of 201,573 children served from 1990
  to 2002 and web-survey of 1,191 DCFS and private
  agency case workers
• Majority of (76) of prior foster care placements
  ended because foster parents were unable or
  unwilling to continue fostering.
• Statistical analyses found that placement with
  relatives almost halved the likelihood that a
  child will experience a placement change.

16
Is Kinship Care Good for Kids?

• More than 2.5 million children are being raised
  by grandparents and other relatives because their
  parents are unablefor a variety of reasonsto
  care for them.
• children in foster care are more likely to live
  with their siblings if they are placed with kin
• Fewer children in kinship care report having
  changed schools than do children in non-relative
  foster care or those in group care

17
Is Kinship Care Good for Kids?

• Children who reunify with their birth parent(s)
  after kinship care are less likely to re-enter
  foster care than those who had been in
  non-relative foster placements or in group care
  facilities.
• Both teachers and caregivers tend to rate
  children in kinship care as having fewer
  behavioral problems than do their peers in other
  out-of-home placement settings.
• Children in kinship care Less likely to report
  having tried to leave or run away

18
Myths and Mindsets

• TX should be completed or the child should be
  stabilized before we search for or involve family
  in planning or visits

Some kids would NEVER see their family again if
we waited for emotional or behavioral challenges
to completely stabilize.
19
Myths and Mindsets

• If the current placement is working we should not
  disrupt it by involving family members.

20
Myths and Mindsets

• Placements are easier to access and are more
  stable than relatives

21
Myths and Mindsets

• Teenagers dont want or need family
• This child is not adoptable

22
Myths and Mindsets

• We tried this before and it didnt work.
• We already do this!

What did we learn from initial family
reunification attempts? How can we support the
relative better? How do we create rest and
relief, back-up and crisis plans to support the
youth and family?
23
Myths and Mindsets

• Belief that behavior is too challenging
• for a family

24
Myths and Mindsets

• Middle class bias
• Size of the family
• Appearance of the home
• Awareness and application of social graces

25
Myths and Mindsets

• This child has no family

Rule them IN before you rule them out. People
change, circumstances change and children grow
up. What was once a concern may not be one now.
26
If family is available, why have they not come
forward?

• Fear system involvement
• Feel powerless to advocate for their
  children.
• Just dont know their child is in need
• Believe they have been adopted.
• Afraid of damaging family relationships.
• Cannot find their lost children.

27
Published in 2003, Model Programs for Youth
Permanency. California Permanency for Youth
Project
CCS-EMQ Collaboration

• EMQ Children Family Services and Sacramento
  County Department of Health and Human Services.
• In a six month period, Jan to June 2003, thirty
  children moved out of high level group care to
  kinship and foster family situations.
• By June 30, 19 went home to parents or relatives,
  11 went to foster families that continued to
  support family search and engagement.

28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
Orange County Youth had average of .58 family
connections at Intake
31
In six months youth had an average of
6.8 established family connections
32
Orange County 3 Month Follow-up

• Of the youth for which connections were made
• of new family connections that have been
  sustained since the project ended 88
• of youth for which there is a positive
  difference in the youths functioning (as defined
  by the SSW) 63
• of youth that have transitioned (or are being
  considered for a transition) to a lower level of
  care or family resource as a result of the CFC
  project 63
• of social workers who participated in the CFC
  project that think it is valuable and should be
  continued 100

33
Safety, Stability and Connections

• Differences between working with younger and
  older children
• Considerations with children with serious
  MH/behavioral challenges
• Advantages of Cultural strengths and kinship
  resources

34

• Download free copy of Family Search and
  Engagement Guide
• www.ccsww.org/fse
• Also
• National Resource Center for Family Centered
  Practice and Permanency Planning

35
SETTING THE STAGE

• Gather professionals, supports. Orient Team
• Prepare youth for participation
• Identify youths need for family connections
  (include fictive kin)
• Negotiate Team mission desired outcomes
• Identify known family network (other siblings in
  care) Withhold judgment!
• Discuss permissions and safety considerations
• Discuss expectations. Responsibilities and time
  frames are agreed upon

36
DISCOVERY

• Due diligence, permissions and safety
• Consider ALL of the resources to find information
  about the family
• Explore of files and records (list ALL)
• Talk to the family that we already know
• Dont screen out possible sources of information
• Use all available search and discovery tools
• Documentation of contacts and quality of
  relationships

37
Internet Search Tools

• Free Search Sites
• Helpful Internet Search Hints
• Boolean Search Tips
• Obituaries Ancestry.com Familysearch.org
• Public Records Virtualgumshoe.com
• Other Helpful Search Sites and Resources
• Prisoner Locator Services
• International Search Sites

38
REVIEW OF DISCOVERED INFORMATION

• Review discovered information with the key
  players. Question/verify all historical info
• Discuss and approve newly found family
  (participation-visits)
• Discuss safety considerations and strategies
• Due diligence (court and other permissions, HIPPA
  compliance)
• Complete background checks (child welfare
  assistance)
• Identify invite and support newly found family
  members to participate

39
ENGAGEMENT CREATING CONNECTIONS

• Team plans the engagement of new family members
• Supports family connections, visits and
  activities (transportation, etc)
• Extends invitations based upon
• The youths strengths interests, talents,
  hobbies
• The youths needs education, employment,
  medical, emotional, spiritual and cultural
• The need for connectedness and belonging
• The youths need for a place to live and a future

40
CREATING FAMILY CONNECTIONS

• Permanency Pact www.fosterclub.org
• 45 ways to support a child in care
• Identify opportunities how relatives can
  contribute
• Team with families to create sustainable plans
• Uncles landscaping business to provide part time
  work
• Cousin to provide tutoring in Spanish class
• Grandma to teach piano lessons
• Grandpa to provide weekend respite
• Aunt to teach drivers education
• Cousins to take youth to church youth group

41
PREPARATION FOR SUCESSFUL VISITS MEETINGS

• Safety planning and structuring meetings
• Prepare professionals for meetings (contingency
  planning)
• Prepare foster parents or residential staff for
  normal reactive behavior pre and post visit.
• Prepare youth and family members regarding
  expectations (reality vs. fantasy)
• Initial visits..
• are brief, supported and occur in natural
  settings (pizza parlor, the park, try to have
  fun)
• are opportunities to create memories (bring a
  camera, share photo album, etc.)
• After visit discussion, planning, and debriefing.

42
INCREASING FAMILY VOICE AND DECISION MAKING

• Support and develop family connections
• Encourage greater family discussion of placement
  options and/or long term planning for youth
• Family helps develop multiple placement options
• recruits family resources to support each other
• develops circle of support (breaks and crisis
  respite, etc)
• is allowed time and opportunities to put plans
  into practice
• considers necessary professional and community
  resources

43
STAYING TOGETHER

• Legal status is explored including reunification,
  adoption, guardianship, kinship foster care
  possibilities
• Financial assistance and all available resources
  are utilized
• The family members and other resources are
  organized to support one another with contingency
  plans
• Formal resources are in place to support the
  youth and family
• Follow up with the family as needed

44
Cautions Lessons Learned

• Love is all you need (truth in lending)
• Ambivalence (assess address concerns)
• Honeymooners (anticipate practice)
• All eggs in one basket (plan A, B, C, D, etc)
• Incomplete planning (Wanna get away?)
• Insufficient support (professional services)
• Isolation (it takes a village)

45
One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to
anybody.

• Mother Teresa

46

• Contact Information
• Catholic Community Services
• of Western Washington
• www.ccsww.org/fse
• donk_at_ccsww.org
• 360-567-2211