The foundation of the work between the case-worker and the family rests on engagementwith the family in the development of the caseplan. A well thought-out case plan is essentialto achieving timely permanency. All too oftenhowever, initial assessments, whether they arestructured assessments or the more traditionalbiopsychosocial assessments, seldom movebeyond the beginning stages of case planning.

In a very real sense, the case plan is a roadmap for the shared work of the caseworkerand the family - it asks: ÒWhere are we goingand how will we get there?Ó Resulting from theinitial assessment analysis, the case plan(also called the service plan in some states)provides the direction and boundaries of theinvolvement between the family, the case-worker, and the array of collateral systems.After reaching mutual understanding Ð if notagreement - about the strengths, behaviors,needs, underlying conditions, and contributingfactors producing the child welfare concerns,the caseworker and the family must nowresolve how to mobilize their strengths andresources to address these concerns in a waythat ensures safety, reduces risk, and sup-ports permanency for children and youth.

Weaving an analysis from the informationamassed in the initial assessment process,the caseworker now constructs with the fami-ly and other collaborators - a case plan. Theproblem statements concretized in the initialassessment and analysis now leads the work-er toward the development of outcomes andactivities that will move the family in the direc-tion of permanency. The message in this partof the process is that while the service planmay require amendment, an initial assess-ment must precede planning.

In assessing the problem, the social worker mustcast his or her net widely - thus pulling in a rangeof variables to develop the appropriate case plan.Good case plans that promote timely permanen-cy, flow from thorough initial assessments.

The major function of ongoing case assess-ment is to understand the client systemÕsproblems and to systematically review andrevise that understanding when necessary.Working toward this understanding meansdiscerning how and why changes in the clientsystemÕs problem are manifested. Assessingthe progress toward permanency and ulti-mately to learn about which permanency out-comes, are most useful when coupled with anunderstanding about how the progress a fam-ily toward the outcomes, are overlapping andinterdependent endeavors.

Using the actual data derived from the FinalReports of State Child and Family ServicesReviews in several states, without using iden-tifying information about those states, this arti-cle focuses on the core elements which mustbe included in developing competent caseplanning to facilitate permanency for childrenand youth in out-of-home care.

Achieving Permanencyfor Children & YouthThrough Skillful Case Planning:Some Lessons Learned from Child &Family Services Review Final Reportsby Jerry BuieDepartment of Social Services, Salt Lake City, UTand Gerald P. MallonExecutive Director, NRCFCPP

2

How can I gatherthis information ina feasible way?Semi-annual case planning conferencesideally bring together all involved partiesin the case plan including the child, if theyare age appropriate, the youth in care,their family, the case worker, foster par-ents, law guardians, educationalproviders, and all other relevant collateralcontacts in the case. Culled from theFinal Reports from CFSR in severalstates, listed below are many of the coreelements, which should be considered fordeveloping on-going assessments forchildren and youth via the case planningprocess:

4Effective case plans identify thestrengths and needs of children oryouth in out-of-home care4The plan is a written document

which includes all of the required ele-ments: a description of the child oryouthÕs placement; appropriateness ofthe placement; a plan for ensuring thatthe child/teen and family receive servic-es designed to facilitate the return of thechild/teen to a safe home or to anotherpermanent placement; the health andeducational status of the child/teen;and, when appropriate, a description ofthe programs and services which willfacilitate the youthÕs transition from fos-ter care to independent living4Effective case plans provide both a

direction and a reference point ofaccountability in achieving safety, well-being, and permanency outcomes forthe family, and allows for monitoring ofcaseworker, supervisor, and serviceproviders4The case plan should be clearly

linked to the initial assessment conduct-ed with the child or youth when they firstentered placement4Case plans should address the

immediate issue that led to a child'sremoval from the home 4The case plan should be completed

for every child or youth that remains inplacement five days or longer4Youth, parents, foster parents, law

guardians and other significant personsshould be invited in writing to participatein the case planning process4All case review participants should

always receive adequate notice of theresreviews

4Youth, parents, foster parents, lawguardians and other significant personsmust be actively engaged in the caseplanning process4The responsibility for scheduling

and tracking case plans and reviewsrests with the county or the state andshould be clearly defined4Transportation to the meetings

should be a consideration for youth andparents. Late notices to youth and par-ents limit their capacity to make trans-portation arrangements4Birth parents must be involved in

the case plan development, giving spe-cial attention to contacting birth fathersand other paternal resources4 Youth and parents should sign

their completed case plan after theyhave been actively engaged in partici-pating in the planning process4 Case planning meetings should be

held at times that are convenient for theparents and youth; i.e., after school, onevenings, during the weekends4 Case planning meetings should

be rescheduled if the parents or youthcannot attend4 Staff, youth, and parents who can-

not attend the case planning sessionshould at a minimum receive copies of thecase-planning documentation4 Parents, foster parents, and youth

should be made to feel that their input isutilized in determining needs and services

4 Case planning participants shouldultimately view case reviews as positivein moving children and youth towardpermanency4 The case plan utilized should fol-

low an agreed upon standardized for-mat which is reviewed with the youthand his or her family and monitored bythe Quality Assurance staff semi-annu-ally as a regular continuous qualityimprovement measure4 Case plan forms should be

designed with an emphasis and focuson parental strengths, and should havespace for parents and/or youth to writetheir comments4 Case plans should be negotiated

with the youth and family wheneverpossible and should be written in a lan-guage that the family can understand.The plan should also include writteninformation describing the client's rightto appeal and the right to a fair hearing4 A handbook to assist parents

when their children or adolescents areseparated from them and informs themabout what they can expect from thecasework staff with whom they work is agood practice, which many states haveincorporated4 Although the Federal requirement

for a case review is every six months,some States have a requirement forreviews every 90 days, in order to eval-uate the progress4 In some states, judges have come

to expect the social workers will includea copy of the case plan with their courtpresentation report, and, in manyinstances, the case plan becomesincorporated as part of the court ordercase plan document and a need forconsistent supervisory review of thewritten case plan is essential

4 Training and support to enhancerecording of essential information in the 4 Written plans should be meaning-

ful, individualized and complete4 Particular emphasis should be

given to health and education informa-tion when updating the case plan4 Family Decision Meetings (FDMs)

have been identified by many states asa hallmark of state case planning prac-tice. The use of FDMs for many casesresults in the development of caseplans, which identify individual needsand specialized services. Strengths-based planning is also a mechanism forsuccessfully engaging many families inthe case planning process

4 Efforts to hold FDM Early SafetyMeetings early in the case in order to focuson early engagement of the family pro-vides better initial placements for children4 Cases involving Native children

and youth must ensure that otherrequirements such as those required byICWA and ASFA are in place and see toit that there is involvement from tribalmembers in the case planning process4 Case plans must be updated at a

minimum of every six months, prefer-ably utilizing an interdisciplinary teamapproach to planning4 The quality of the case plans is as

important as the timeliness of the caseplan4 Broad boilerplate language in the

case plan should be avoided4 Case plans need to be focused with

measurable objectives, which offer speci-ficity and individualization for services4 Case plans should contain out-

come-oriented goals, not just listed serv-ices provided to the child and family4 Case plans should also indicate

the progress made toward goals in thecase plans

4 Since many items are contained inthe case plans, it should be clear toeveryone involved what tasks are of thehighest priority to accomplish beforereunification could take place4 The linkage of families to collater-

al resources in the community must beclearly described and documented inthe case plan4 The case plans, which are long

and cumbersome, reduce the effective-ness of the planning process - keepthem clear and succinct4 The quality of periodic reviews

has been known to improve case plan-ning outcomes due to smaller case-loads and lower staff turnover rates.Casework practices have also beenknown to improve because of in-serviceand new worker training, and moreeffective supervision4 Services to be provided to foster

families should be included in the writ-ten case plan 4 When there are multiple reviews,

i.e., child and family specific reviewsthere needs to be greater coordinationbetween the different review processesto reduce duplication

How will othersinvolved in the caseutilize this information?

Full disclosure, a core concept of con-current permanency planning requiresthat families need to know that all infor-mation will be utilized in moving theirchild or teen toward permanency.Case Reviews are important barome-ters in evaluating the permanency planfor children and youth in out of homecare. The written case plan, in the bestpossible situation, should be developedby an interdisciplinary team, with exten-sive youth and family involvement is anintegral part of the child or teenÕs caserecord.Continuously monitoring the quality ofthese case plans, every six months, atleast, insures that those charged withthe task of moving a youth or childtoward permanency does so in a timelyfashion. The case record thereforebecomes a valuable resource to tell thestory of how a youth or child is movedtoward permanency and what effortshave been successful in avoiding thedrift and impermanence of foster care.

What do I need to monitorover the course of thework toward promotingpermanency?

Social workers working to move chil-dren and youth toward permanencyknow that they need to track manyaspects of their work with the childÕsfamily. ASFA clearly outlines timeframes attached to efforts toward mov-ing children and youth toward perma-nency. The primary means of monitor-ing progress in the on-going assess-ment process is the use of caseprogress notes and service planreviews. There is a great deal of diver-sity around the nation about what case-workers monitor but the following is alist of the essential elements which arerequired:4 Timeliness in moving toward per-

manency; in 15 of the past 22 months4 Caseworker and child contact4 Caseworker and family contact4 Family, youth, and child involve-

ment in the service plan review process

In the months to come, as more statesmove through the process of the Childand Family Services Reviews, col-leagues will have many opportunities toenhance the quality of the work that wedo with children, youth, and families.The lessons learned from Child andFamily Services Review Final Reportswill prove useful in assisting States inmoving toward achieving permanencyfor all children and youth through skillfulcase planning.

3

One StateÕs ApproachState of AlabamaDepartment of Human ResourcesPrepared By: Mike Norton, May 1994Adapted From & Revised June, 1999

INDIVIDUALIZED SERVICEPLANNING PROCESS (Abbreviated Version)

Information Gathering¥ organize and review case record¥ review available assessments (e.g., psy-

chological, educational, social summaries,court report)

¥ make a plan to obtain other neededassessments

¥ list critical questions left unanswered aftercompleting the case review or any ques-tions raised by conflicting information

¥ list strengths and needs based on infor-mation reviewed

Actively Involving Family &ISP Team Members in the Initial& Ongoing Assessment Process¥ engage family members around issues

which are most important to them; causingthem the most pain; and most important tothe childrenÕs safety

¥ identify strengths¥ identify risks¥ identify and prioritize needs and underly-

ing conditions¥ establish the desired case outcome or

permanency goal

Preparing the Family & ISP TeamMembers for the ISP Meeting¥ explain the meetingÕs purpose is to devel-

op steps/services to meet previously iden-tified needs

¥ encourage family participation througharticulation of strengths/risk/needs, askingquestions, and contributing ideas to thedesign of services

¥ determine best date, time, location for themeeting and supports the family needs toattend

¥ determine who will be invited as teammembers

¥ discuss team membersÕ roles and respon-sibilities

¥ discuss confidentiality issues and obtainany needed releases

The ISP Meeting(Child & Family Planning Team Meeting)

A. Make Introductions & Explain Purpose¥ invite everyone to introduce themselves¥ explain purpose of confidentiality state-

ment and obtain signatures¥ explain purpose of meeting is to develop a

plan based on strengths/needs

¥ direct group to focus on keeping the meet-ing to no more than one (1) hour

B. Summarize Case¥ present a concise verbal summary of the

case and current status with emphasis onstrengths

¥ distribute appropriate documents (e.g.,assessments, social summaries) whenprior family permission has been given

C. Discuss Strengths/Needs¥ identify strengths/needs may be listed on

a flip chart¥ explain that some strengths/needs were

previously identified with the family¥ keep discussion away from services¥ discuss applicable policies (e.g., tele-

phone/mail, visiting, behavior manage-ment) as needed

¥ address childÕs needs for family contactand maintaining attachments when childis in care

¥ prioritize and select needs

D. Develop Goals¥ identify at least one goal for each priori-

tized risk/need¥ determine if goals need to be long-term or

short-term¥ word the goal so that it describes the

desired change in the underlying condition¥ discuss when goals may change (e.g.,

when they are achieved, if a more appro-priate match of need/service is necessary,if a more effective method of service deliv-ery is needed)

E. Brainstorm Strategies For Meeting Goals¥ create an extensive list of possibilities

which are not limited by existing services¥ remember Ònatural helpersÓ (informal sup-

ports)¥ be visionary and inventive

F. Select Steps/Services¥ make steps small, measurable, time-limit-

ed, built on strengths, and matched toneeds

¥ make some steps accomplishable within7-10 days so family can experience suc-cess quickly

¥ identify who will accomplish what withinspecified time frames

¥ include method, frequency and who isresponsible for monitoring implementation

¥ review steps to clarify team membersÕexpectations and understanding ofresponsibilities

¥ develop crisis plan as needed

G. Conclude Meeting¥ thank team members for efforts, contribu-

tions, and cooperation in developing the plan¥ inform team members that the plan will be

revised as needed and at least every 6months

¥ set approximate or definite date for nextreview

¥ inform team members they can requestthe plan be reviewed

¥ explain the written plan will be completedbased on decisions made during the meet-ing, and that a copy will be distributed toeach team member within 10 working days

Follow-up Activities¥ complete the written ISP¥ distribute the completed ISP to team

members¥ resolve any discrepancies and/or contro-

versial issued noted by team members

Monitoring & Evaluation¥ make sure steps/services have been initi-

ated as outlined in the ISP¥ regularly assess the ISP with family and

team to determine if it is promoting change¥ develop and implement a plan for supervi-

sor to monitor oversight of ISP¥ reconvene team if steps/services are not

effectively meeting needs or are not beingcompleted within specified time frames

¥ include everyone affected by a proposedchange in meetings where the change isdiscussed

¥ notify team members ASAP when they areunable to attend meeting and are affectedby changes

4

5

The Iowa Foster andAdoptive Parents Associa-tion's (IFAPA) vision is toprovide leadership in Iowato insure that every childhas a secure, loving andstable family. To this end, inconjunction with other pub-lic and private organiza-tions, the Association pro-vides statewide support,

training, advocacy and public awareness to recruitand retain quality foster and adoptive families.

The problem in maintaining sufficient foster homesfor children in need is principally one of retention.Finding adequate support from their social workersin short supply, numerous foster parents leave thesystem before their first year of caring for a child isover. According to the National Foster ParentAssociation, as many as 60% of foster parents quitin the first twelve months when the hard realities ofbeing a foster parent set in.

As foster parents quit, foster children are subject torepeated placements, increasing the likelihood thatthey will suffer the trauma that often accompaniesplacement instability. Multiple placements candelay the prospect of reuniting children and youthwith their families. The circle of placing a child inone home, then another is a story that makes thegoal of "first placement is the last placement", seemalmost unattainable.

This vicious circle can be broken with better recruit-ment, more adequate foster parent preparation,and higher quality provision of support for fosterfamilies. If the role of their foster parent is clarified,and the necessary training and support to bolsterthat role is provided, finding and keeping qualifiedfoster families can become more of a reality for chil-dren and youth in need. From a macro perspective,it is far more cost-effective for a state to retain expe-rienced foster families than to recruit and train newfamilies continuously.

Strong support programs & staff provide foster fami-lies with 7 essential core elements of retention:

Appreciation ¥ Respect Caregiving Assistance ¥ Crisis Services

Professional DevelopmentEmotional Support ¥ Personal Involvement

Iowa's Foster and Adoptive Parents Associationprovides support that helps meet these needsthrough the following programs:

Support for New and SeasonedFoster & Adoptive Parents

¥ Free membership to all Iowa'sfoster and adoptive parents

¥ Welcome Pac containing contactinformation and News and Viewsof Iowa, our bi- monthly newsletter

¥ Publications -written by our pro-fessional staff for foster andadoptive parents including mate-rial on child abuse assessment,confidentiality, the impact ofadoption on children, and bi-weekly legislative bulletins

Client Based Surveys IFAPA conducts numerous client surveys to assistus in identifying ways that we can better serve ourconstituents. Listed below are some of the thingsthat our foster and adoptive parents asked us toaddress.

Program ServicesFoster & Adoptive Parent Liaisons

Each liaison or liaison couple provide support to thefoster and adoptive parents in their assigned coun-ties. They each have a local telephone number andan 800 # to receive calls from foster or adoptiveparents who have needs. The Liaison also assistsin establishing and providing support, referrals,training ideas, and even facilitation of the supportgroups in their assigned counties. We have a liai-son in every county.

Affiliated Support Groups for Foster,Foster/Adopt & Adoption

Each year IFAPA offers a Support Group Retreat,allowing each support group to send two members tothe two-day retreat at no expense. The focus of theretreat is to assist members in organizing, facilitatingand arranging training to support their members.

Supporting & Retaining Foster& Adoptive Parents

by Lynhon StoutExecutive Director of Iowa Foster & Adoptive Parents Association (IFAPA)

Foster Care Respite ProgramThe IFAPA Respite Program's aim is toease some of the stresses associatedwith foster parenting by locating tempo-rary care for foster children so parentsmay enjoy a planned vacation, or toprovide them with a guilt-free break.

Foster Allegation InformationResource (FAIR)

The FAIR Program provides an unbiasedresource to foster parents who areinvolved in a child abuse assessment.

TrainingIFAPA has excelled in the development of numerous trainingopportunities for foster and adoptive parents. We cover areassuch as Understanding Attachment Disorder,Developing Anger Management Techniques,Dealing with Acting Out Behavior, and under-standing Attention Deficit Disorder.

IFAPA Annual State ConferenceThis yearly event is a training opportunity pro-viding 12 hours of in-service training for fosterand adoptive parents. Training topics arebased upon requests from foster and adoptiveparents throughout the state.

Preventative Practices:Strategies for Minimizing the Risk of Child

Abuse Allegations in Foster HomesThis service was developed to provide foster par-ents with the education and resources necessaryto recognize possible risks in their homes and tokeep their family and foster children safe.

Transracial Parenting &Cultural Awareness Training

This training is based upon curriculum provid-ed by the North American Council onAdoptable Children (NACAC). The purpose isto educate parents on what it means to parenta child who is from another race or culture.The goal of the training is to help parents makebetter decisions about their ability (both pres-ent and potential) to raise a child of anotherrace, culture or ethnic background.

Respite TrainingIFAPA developed a 2-hour training on a variety of foster carerespite practice issues. This training educates foster par-ents and social workers on basic respite information, as wellas communication and confidentiality in respite situations.

Adoption TrainingBringing nationally recognized experts to all areas of Iowa,IFAPA provides numerous trainings for adoptive parents..

Recommendations Based on information gathered from our many years of pro-viding support services for foster and adoptive families weoffer the following suggestions to State foster care programmanagers, local public and private foster care agencies, andfoster care associations to augment the support and servicesaveavailable to foster families.

¥ Develop a state-wide "Foster Parent Tool Kit" to provide fosterparents with information about what they can expect from fos-ter care agencies, their role, rights, and protections as fosterparents, and procedures for voicing their concerns regardingthe children in their care

¥ Promote the designation of foster parent advocates to work direct-ly with foster parents and the agency to represent the concerns offoster families and give them a "voice" in determining both theirbest interests and the interests of the children in their care

¥ Encourage networking and information sharing among fosterparents through local and national foster parent associations,support groups, foster parent community newsletters, andagency alerts regarding policy changes

¥ Establish "clothes closets" to disseminate clothing and providehousehold necessities to foster parents in an effort to reduce

their out-of-pocket expenses and designate fundsto cover one-time expenses (e.g., sports equip-ment)

¥ Provide opportunities to develop consistent rap-port between foster parents and caseworkers

¥ Promote collaborative efforts by ACF, Stateagencies, and national organizations to makechild-care and respite care services more acces-sible to foster parents

¥ Establish local networks of licensed child andrespite care providers

¥ Provide foster parents with information (e.g., fos-ter parent handbooks, manuals) to assist them innavigating the foster care system and accessingdental, medical, and any other needed services

¥ Provide information to foster parents on how tocope emotionally and financially with investiga-tions of abuse. This can by accomplished byincluding the information in existing training cur-riculum, and developing training specificallyfocused on investigation survival

¥ Development of outcome-based retention strate-gies to determine why families choose not tocontinue fostering

¥ Development of data tracking tools to collect reten-tion information

¥ Establishment of benchmarks and performance indicators

¥ Collection of retention data, and analysis of data

For more informa-tion about IAFPA,or to obtain any ofour numerous pub-lications, you canvisit our website atwww.iafpa.org orcall 800-277- 8145.

6

For a variety of reasons, some familiesare unable to provide safe environmentsfor Children and youth. To protect thesechildren, State child welfare agenciesare tasked with the responsibility forseparating children considered to be at-risk of abuse or neglect from their fami-lies and placing them in foster care.Foster care placements provide childrenwith temporary living arrangements,physical care, emotional support, andother services intended to protect andpromote their growth and development untilthey can be reunited with their familiesor receive an alternative permanent placement(i.e., adoption or guardianship).

The ideal foster care system would have a sufficient num-ber of foster care families with the skills to meet the needsof the children and youth separated from their families.However, States are experiencing a shortage of familieswilling and able to provide foster care and a shortage of fos-ter care families willing or able to meet the specific needs ofthe children in care (e.g., children with disabilities, adoles-cents, and other special needs children and youth).

This article focuses on the State of New Jersey's efforts torecruit foster care families. A separate article in this issuefocuses on the unique aspects of retention of foster carefamilies.

Children need families to love and care for them. When achild or adolescent can no longer live safely with their ownfamily, they need another family to care for them. The Officeof Permanency Support for the State of New Jersey devel-oped a recruitment program to help communities find fosterand adoptive families to care for children and youth.

The goals of our recruitmentprogram are to:

➡ Find foster and adoptive homes for chil-dren and youth in need of care

➡ Involve foster and adoptive families in therecruitment of other foster and adoptivefamilies

➡ Keep siblings together in foster and adop-tive placements

➡ Keep children and youth in their homecommunities

➡ Reduce other changes in children's livesas they are separated from their families

➡ Promote permanency for children and youth

The activities of the Office of PermanencySupport for the State of New JerseyRecruitment Program represent a multi-faceted approach to foster parentrecruitment including:

¥ General recruitment activities¥ Recruitment activities specifically

targeted to meet the needs of thepopulation of children in foster care

¥ Recruitment targeted to specificareas or communities

A brief discussion of each follows:

General RecruitmentThe recruitment activities carried out by the New Jersey

Statewide Recruitment Coordinator are key components ofthe general recruitment effort. During 2001, the StatewideRecruitment Coordinator, with the assistance of regionalrecruitment staff, attended several statewide conferencesand conventions. From April to December 2001, staff pre-sented display tables, literature and made personal contactat several venues where large groups of professionals gath-ered. We focused our general recruitment efforts at majorconferences such as: the New Jersey Nurses Convention;the National Social Workers Conference; the School SocialWorkers Conference; the Gospel Jamboree; the annualconference of the New Jersey Education AssociationConvention and the Child Welfare League of America's Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference. Our staff gave away thou-sands of posters, brochures, magnets, and an assortment ofother recruitment materials.

In addition to participating in conference and participation atconventions of statewide scope, the Statewide Recruitment

Coordinator, provided displays, literatureand made personal contact at local eventsincluding neighborhood Church events; athealth fairs in sponsored by Sororities likethe Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; at localDay Care Conferences, and at theChildren's Health Fair held annually inMonmouth County, New Jersey.

The Statewide Recruitment Coordinatortook advantage of opportunities to utilizemedia resources as well. During the year,staff from the New Jersey Foster andAdoptive Family Recruitment office partici-pated in the taping of several television pro-grams in an effort to reach a wider audi-ence of potential families.

Recruitmentfor FosterFamilies inNew Jersey

by Vinette TateNew Jersey Foster Care

Manager

7

¥ General recruitment activities¥ Recruitment activities specifically

targeted to meet the needs of thepopulation of children in foster care

¥ Recruitment targeted to specificareas or communities

The Coordinator and two foster parents (who are in manycases, our best recruiters) took part in taping a segment of"Images/Imagenes"; a public television program focused onissues of particular interest to the Latino population in NewJersey. Foster parents and professional staff also participatedin a taping of a local News segment entitled "Defying Age."The segment features individuals over the age of 40 whoembark on new ventures; in this case, thetopic was encouraging those over age 40 toconsider becoming foster or adoptive par-ents for a child or youth in need of a family.

Print, television, transit, billboard, and sportsevent advertising are a centerpiece of gener-al recruitment efforts. Recruitment adsappeared in 32 New Jersey newspapers and1 magazine. New Jersey Network TV ranover 156 television ads that aired statewide.Foster parent recruitment ads - several arereproduced here in this article - utilizing realchildren, not models, appeared on 1,000public bus exteriors and 175 interiors. OurFoster Family recruitment message was alsodisplayed on 35 billboards located through-out the state. Recruitment ads alsoappeared in programs distributed at gamesplayed by two New Jersey based minorleague baseball teams, the Newark Bearsand Trenton Thunder - both venues drawhuge audiences and therefore huge num-bers of potential foster and adoptive families.

All of the activities are planned, discussed andcoordinated at Statewide Recruitment Meeting, heldquarterly throughout the year and attended by NewJersey Department of Youth and Family Servicesrecruitment staff and supervisors..

A new addition to our New Jersey recruit-ment strategy was developed in 2001, afoster care mascot "Buddy the FosterCare Bear." Buddy attends all majorrecruitment and retention eventsand has become quite popular and is instrumental in attract-ing event participants of all ages to the recruitment tables.Because Buddy is so large and cuddly, he attracts a greatdeal of attention at events. In many cases he is the "hook"that draws people to talk with our staff about the possibilityof becoming foster or adoptive parents..

The general recruitment campaign in 2001 concluded with adsfor recruiting foster parents for boarder babies appearing innewspapers covering the Metropolitan area of the state.

Recruitment Targeted to SpecificPopulation of Children in Foster Care

During 2000, a campaign was launched to specially recruitfoster parents interested in caring for "boarder babies" asEssex county had the largest number of boarder babies inthe Newark area. The project began with the selection of a

campaign theme. Foster parents and chil-dren of staff were assembled to pose for thenew ad and the photography shoot wasscheduled for May. The campaign waskicked off in October at a luncheon held atUniversity Hospital in Newark. During theluncheon, the new recruitment campaignimages were unveiled to invited guessincluding local clergy, community members,and the media. The kick-off event launchedan intensive campaign that included distri-bution of posters, brochures, and churchfans. The new campaign image was alsodisplayed on bus shelters, billboards, andShopping MaIl displays throughout theNewark area. Our print ads appeared in

newspapers throughout the area.

Recruitment Targeted toSpecifics Communities/Areas

In 2000, regional recruitment staff desig-nated specific communities or areas forwhich targeted recruitment campaign

would be planned.

A targeted recruitment campaign was executed forCape May County (our most southern region) that

included the purchase of 90 ads aired on cable televisionstations, 6 ads in regional newspaper and 90 radio

spots. Cape May was considered untilled groundbecause very few foster parents came from this

area. Targeted campaigns were also launchedin Passaic and Bergen Counties (countries

where large numbers of Latino familiesreside and a large number of children were

entering foster care) that included thepurchase of 232 ads on 3 cable sta-tions and a total of 16 ads appearing

in 4 local newspapers. Recruitment ads in these communitiesappeared in 2 Spanish language newspapers, 24 times onlocal cable stations, and 21 times on 2 radio stations.

A third targeted campaign was aimed at Perth Amboy, earlyin the summer, as this is a vacation spot for many families.Similarly, the fourth campaign was launched, at the requestof a judge, in Ocean County and Hamilton Township in Julyand August to maximize our draw on families vacationing forthe summer at the beach. Our recruitment ads displayed fora total of 24 weeks in movie theaters in those two areaswere very successful.

8

Other Opportunities

Staff utilized any event possible to convey ourFoster/Adoptive Family Recruitment Message. We havebeen successful in utilizing some public/private partnershipsventures in recruitment. The New Jersey Division for Youth

and Families partneredwith the PrudentialInsurance Company ofAmerica in an event tokick-off the "BackpackChallenge". Individualsliving and working in theCity of Trenton and sur-rounding areas wereencouraged to con-tribute backpacks filledwith personal and giftitems for children enter-ing foster care. The

kick-off event was held on the steps of Trenton City Hall pro-vided staff with the opportunity to attract positive media cov-erage about Foster Care in New Jersey and encouragedcommunity interest by setting up a recruitment table. Wealso make sure at outdoor events to have our RecruitmentWinnebago parked at a highly visible location to draw poten-tial families.

Recruitment staff also attended the follow-up event later in theyear when the backpacks were actually collected from a loca-tion on the pedestrian mall in the state Capitol. Once againstaff took the opportunity to host a recruitment table and madesure to have the Recruitment Winnebago at that site.

Results

Inquiries to the toll-free number jumped to 6,353 in 2000,from 4,202 in 1999. After the initial impact of the targetedcampaigns the inquiries fell to 4,884 in 2001. Inquiries tothe website shot to 746 in 2001 from 69 in 1999. Figures todate for 2002 are 509.

Some Tips for Colleagues RecruitingFoster & Adoptive Families

All children and youth have one thingin common, they want to be part of apermanent family. Colleagues whoare charged with moving childrenand youth toward permanency havea challenging job in finding commit-ted and loving families for children inneed. State and local agenciesreviewing their current recruitmentefforts may want to consider some ofthe following suggestions:

➡ Target recruitmentefforts on parents forchildren who areover-represented bythe population of chil-dren in foster care bytailoring recruitmentcampaigns to accom-modate different eth-nicities

➡ Be relentless in your quest to find committed homes forchildren and youth

➡ Use every opportunity which presents itself to "talk up"the need for homes

➡ Be wide in your search, do not rule out possible familieswhich may be seen as "non-traditional"

➡ Consider offering stipends to foster parents for success-fully recruiting other foster families

➡ Use foster parents as facilitators during pre-service fos-ter parent training classes

➡ Work collaboratively among foster care agencies todevelop innovative recruitment methods

➡ Develop partnerships with faith-based organizations toheighten community awareness of foster care needs andfoster parenting opportunities

➡ Determine future foster care trends and needs

➡ Determine recruitment goals necessary to meet the cur-rent and future needs of children in foster care (e.g., ado-lescents and physically or mentally disabled)

➡ Develop methods to assess the success and effective-ness of recruitment efforts (e.g., survey foster parentsand establish benchmarks and tracking data);

➡ Strive to sustain recruitment campaign efforts throughoutthe year

➡ Allow foster care agencies to recruit outside of their com-munities to maintain a steady influx of new prospectivefoster families.

For more information on New Jersey's Recruitment Efforts,visit our website at www.njfostercare.org or call Vinette Tateat 1-877-NJ-Foster.

9

Inter-State Placement:Impact on Time to Permanency

for Children in thePublic Foster Care System

by Penelope L. Maza, Ph.D.Senior Policy Research Analyst, ChildrenÕs Bureau

With the current emphasis on out-comes in child welfare, particularlypermanency and the time it takes toachieve it, increased attention needsto be paid to children in the public fos-ter care system who are placedacross state lines. Data from theAdoption and Foster Care Analysisand Reporting System (AFCARS)provide a first look at permanencyissues for children in these circum-stances compared to children placedin-state. The analyses which followutilize data from 45 states from the FY2000 annual AFCARS foster caredatabase. On September 30, 2000, inthese 45 states there were: 524,000children in foster care of which 22,000were in out-of-state placements. Ofthe 258,000 children who exited careduring FY 2000 in those states,12,000 exited from out-of-state place-ments. Based on analyses of thesedata, it is estimated that on any day,approximately 5% of the children infoster care are in out-of-state place-ments.

Children in out-of-state placementshave different demographic character-istics from children in in-state place-ments. They are more likely than chil-dren in in-state placements to beAfrican American (49% vs. 39%) andless likely to be White (37% vs. 41%)or Hispanic (10% vs. 16%). They arealso over a median year older thanchildren in in-state placements (11.9years vs. 10.4 years). Children exitingfrom out-of-state placements were amedian of three years younger thanchildren exiting care from in-stateplacements when they were removed

from home (5.1 years vs. 8.2 years),but were only a median of oneyounger when they exited care (9.2years vs. 10.2 years).

In the area of permanency, children inout-of-state placements are similar tochildren in in-state placements in thatapproximately three-fourths are inplacement settings that are likely toresult in permanency (pre-adoptivehome, or foster family care with orwithout a relative). However, childrenin out-of-state placements are morelikely than children in in-state place-ments to be in relative foster homes(42% vs. 25%) or pre-adoptivehomes.(11% vs. 4%).

Although both groups are in place-ment settings likely to result in per-manency, their permanency goals dif-fer. Children in out-of state place-ments are less likely than children inin-state placements to have a goal ofreunification (27% vs. 42%) and morelikely to have a goal of living with rel-atives (9% vs. 5%), adoption (23%vs. 18%) or emancipation (15% vs.5%). And finally, children in out-of-state placements are three and a halftimes more likely to be discharged toadoption (51% vs. 14%), and one-third as likely to be discharged toreunification (22% vs. 60%) as chil-dren in in-state placements.

Although many children in out-of-state placements achieve permanen-cy, it takes longer for children in out-of-state placements to achieve it thanfor children in in-state placements.

Children exiting care whose lastplacement had been out-of-statespent over a median of three timeslonger in care than children in in-stateplacements (36 months vs. 11months); over five times longer fromremoval to the beginning of their lastplacement setting, which for out-ofstate placements is assumed to thepoint at which they went out-of-state(31 months vs. 6 months); and threeand a half times shorter from thebeginning of their last placement set-ting to exit (8 months vs. 29 months).Finally, children exiting care whoselast placement had been out-of-statehad overall longer median lengths ofstay to exit than children in in-stateplacements for the five most frequentdischarge reasons:

REUNIFICATION(13 months vs. 5 months)

LIVE WITH RELATIVES(15 months vs. 8 months)

ADOPTION(48 months vs. 36 months)

EMANCIPATION(56 months vs. 40 months)

GUARDIANSHIP(35 months vs. 27 months)

In response to the discussion of thesedata at conferences, the audienceshave proposed a number of factorswhich may be influencing theselonger lengths of stay for childrenplaced across state lines. The factorsidentified so far fall into four generalcategories:

10

¥ Administrative burden, e.g. real orperceived cumbersome provisions ofthe Inter-State Compact on thePlacement of Children (ICPC) whichleads to workers avoiding it at all costs¥ Beliefs about what constitutes "goodpractice", i.e. interpretation of the "closeproximity" provision in federal law¥ Financing, i.e. which state pays for whatfor children placed across state lines¥ Miscommunication across states,e.g. lack of clarity about which types ofhomestudies are needed.

The length of time associated withplacements across state lines servesas a testament to the complexity of theprocess and also the careful way inwhich it is implemented. However, thisgreater length of time to permanencyalso can have negative consequencesfor children. Therefore, the currentemphasis on decreasing the length oftime to permanency needs to beweighed against the administrative andother issues which, in fact, lengthenstays for children placed across statelines. All of the factors that influencethe extended lengths of stay for chil-dren placed across state lines need tobe explored to determine which, if any,could be addressed to shorten thelength of stay to exit for these children.

The interpretations, recommendationsand conclusions in this article are thoseof the author and do not necessarilyreflect or represent the view of theChildren's Bureau, Administration onChildren, Youth and Families, or theDepartment of Health and HumanServices

The NRCFCPP is focusedon assisting States in response tothe Child and Family ServicesReview process by providing techni-cal assistance, training, and infor-mation services in the broad areasof permanency and systemic fac-tors in the following areas:

➡ Concurrent Permanency Planning➡ Recruitment & Retention of Re-

source Families: Respite Care,Dual Licensure Issues, Post-Per-manency Services

➡ Child/Family Visiting & Family Dev-elopment

➡ Maintaining Connections: SiblingIssues

➡ Working with Birth Families toPromote Reunification

➡ Working to Connect Birth & FosterParents

➡ Relative Care as a PermanencyOption

➡ Engaging Fathers: DiligentSearch with Paternal Resources

➡ Disproportionality of Children &Youth of Color in Foster Care

➡ Overuse of Long Term Foster Care:Path-ways to Permanency for OlderAdolescents

➡ Promoting Competent Practice inCase Planning & Implementation

➡ Placement Stability➡ Health & Mental Health Care

Issues for Children and Youth inFoster Care

The NRCFCPP helpsStates, Territories & Tribes respondto policy and systemic changes inchild welfare brought about byimplementation of federal legisla-tion, including:

➡ Adoption & Safe Families Act (ASFA)➡ John H. Chafee Foster Care

Independence Act (Chafee Act)

➡ Safe & Stable Families Act (SSFA)➡ Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA)➡ Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)➡ Inter-Ethnic Placement Act (IEPA)

These systemic changes encom-pass a variety of issues for childrenand youth in foster care.

The NRCFCPP is committedto increasing the capacity andresources of State, Tribal, and otherpublicly supported child welfareagencies to achieve permanencyfor youth and children in out-of-home care. To do this, we advocatefor a mix ofÉ

➡ family-centered & strengths/needs-based practice approaches

➡ community-based service delivery➡ cultural competency & respect for

all families➡ open & inclusive practice➡ non-adversarial approaches to

problem-solving & decision-making➡ concurrent rather than sequential

consideration of all permanencyoptions

For more info, call 212/452-7053 or ...

Gerald P. Mallon, DSWAssociate Professor & Executive Director212/452-7043mrengmal@aol.com

Stephanie Boyd Serafin, ACSWAssociate DirectorTraining & Technical Assistance Coordinator212/452-7049stephanie.serafin@hunter.cuny.edu

Judy Blunt, MSW, JDAssistant Director212/452-7436jblunt@hunter.cuny.edu

Karyn LeeInformation Services Program Coordinator

212/452-7433karyn.lee@hunter.cuny.edu

The NRCFCPPis a training, technical assistance,

and information services organizationdedicated to increasing the capacityof child welfare agencies to provide

children and youth with safe,permanent families in supportive

communities.

11

Developing Structured Decision MakingProcedures for Foster Care

In an effort to provide more effective services to families withchildren placed in foster care, Michigan's FamilyIndependence Agency (FIA) worked with the NationalCouncil on Crime and Delinquency to design and implementstructured decision making (SDM) procedures for fostercare. The Foster Care SDM case management system waspiloted in several sites in December of 1997. This project fol-lowed a successful previous effort to develop and imple-ment SDM case management procedures for FIA in-homechild protective service (CPS) operations. A comprehensiveevaluation of the Child Protective Services SDM was com-pleted in 1995 and indicated that SDM assessment andcase management procedures had improved case openingdecisions and encouraged more effective service delivery tohigh risk families. As a result, pilot counties that employedit had significantly reduced subsequent maltreatmentreports and substantiations among the families they served.Given these positive findings, FIA proceeded to develop andimplement similar procedures for out of home placementcases.

Overview of Structured Decision Making (SDM)Case Management

The model is designed to improve the effectiveness of childprotective service and foster care service delivery systems.The objective is to reduce abuse and neglect, expedite per-manency for children in placement and promote the positivedevelopment of children. In order to achieve these objectives,SDM seeks to improve case assessment and decision mak-ing in the field. It is comprehensive case management systemwhich is used at each major decision point in a child welfarecase. The SDM assessments completed by workers in thefield are linked directly to service planning, workload stan-dards and agency planning and budgeting. The system pro-vides guidance to workers for case decision making and data

to managers for agency planning and program evaluation.

The following SDM assessments are employed inboth CPS and FC to ensure that every worker

addresses specific issues in every case:

➡ Priority response assessment to determine which refer-rals to investigate and how quickly the agency respondsto abuse and neglect complaints

➡ Safety assessment to determine the threat of immediateharm in a CPS investigation

➡ A research-based risk assessment completed at theclose of an investigation to estimate the likelihood offuture abuse and/or neglect and guide the decision toopen a case for protective service intervention and toestablish the number of contacts a worker must make, ata minimum, in a case

➡ Standardized assessments of strengths and needs forfamilies and children that evaluate twenty-four life domainareas and guide case planning and service plan monitoring

➡ Periodic reassessments of child/ family safety, risk, andneeds

➡ Reunification assessment that guides the decision toreunify a child with his or her family or to change the per-manency planning goal

Michigan Foster Care SDM

Michigan's foster care services are provided by 82 countysocial service agencies which may serve cases directly withtheir own child welfare staff or enter into Purchase ofService (POS) agreements with private agencies. Manycounties use a combination of direct service and POS toprovide foster care services. The agency's 650 foster careworkers, and at least an equal number of private agencyworkers, make the difficult decisions that begin with theassignment of a new placement case and end at case clo-sure. It is critical that agency staff conduct assessmentsand make decisions in a consistent and equitable mannerthat helps them deliver appropriate services to protect chil-dren from further harm

Structuring Designsin Foster Care:

MichiganÕs FamilyReunificationAssessmentby Douglas E. Howard

& Ron Caskey

12

The FIA's objectives for the SDM foster carepilot initiative were:

1) to develop case management procedures which expediteagency efforts to achieve permanency for children enteringfoster care placement;2) to provide a prototype design for a new foster care casemanagement information system; and 3) to help FIA complywith the expectations of the 1997 federal Adoption and SafeFamilies Act (ASFA).

The SDM foster care pilot included Wayne County (Detroitmetropolitan area) , which serves nearly 50% of the childrenin foster care, and nine additional counties. In addition, thepilot included four private agencies providing foster careunder POS contracts, two operate in Wayne County and twoin other outstate counties . The pilot design made it possi-ble to evaluate the case management procedures in bothPOS and direct service delivery settings. County and POSagency staff in the SDM pilot were trained in late Fall 1997and began using SDM procedures to assess cases byDecember 1997.

Public and private agency foster care workers devel-op an initial service plan (ISP) for achieving per-manency within 30 days of a child's entry intoout of home placement. Regular progressreviews are conducted and an updatedservice plan (USP) is completed every90 days while the child is in place-ment.

The major features offoster care SDM include:

1. Structured assessments fordeveloping the Initial Service Plan(ISP). Within 30 days of a child's entryinto foster care, workers use a struc-tured assessment to systematically evalu-ate the strengths and treatment needs offamily caregivers and each child. These assess-ments were designed to identify the barriers to reunifi-cation of the child with the family, identify critical serviceneeds of the child and to guide workers in developing aneffective and focused initial service plan to address the bar-riers and child needs.

2. Reunification Assessment for developing the UpdatedService Plan (USP) and assessing parenting time and thereduction of risk to the children. After completion of theInitial Service Plan and treatment goals and objectives, areunification assessment is conducted at 90-day intervals toevaluate progress towards the case plan goals. At eachUSP review, workers systematically evaluate familyprogress in addressing the identified barriers to reunifica-tion, and also assess parenting time (visitation). This infor-mation is used to amend the service plan and expedite casemanagement decisions to achieve reunification, adoption,or another viable permanency planning goals for the child.

The reunification assessment includesthese components:

✜ An evaluation of the family's progress in reducing thebarriers to reunification identified in the service plan(i.e., substance abuse, parental skill deficits, etc.)

✜ An objective assessment of the parenting time(parental visitation) that includes frequency and qual-ity of interaction in the preceding 90-day period

✜ When progress in reducing barriers to reunificationand parenting time warrants consideration of reunifi-cation, a family safety assessment is completed tohelp workers evaluate the danger of harm prior to anyreturn of the child and to plan the supportive serviceinterventions necessary to protect the child and sup-port the family after reunification

✜ Clear policies for using the reunification assessmentfindings to expedite permanency within the guidelinesrecommended by the ASFA. For example, if a familyhas made poor progress in reducing barriers (risk)and/or parenting time is poor for two assessment peri-ods, the policy guideline requires a change of the per-

manency planning goal from return home.

To evaluate the impact of SDM on fostercare cases in Michigan, each pilot coun-

ty was matched to a comparison coun-ty using a variety of social, economic,and child welfare practice indices.Large cohorts of children enteringfoster care in both the pilot andcomparison counties were thenidentified and each case wastracked over a 15-month follow-up

period. Since both groups were sub-ject to the same changes in law or pol-

icy which occurred during the follow-upperiod, differences in outcomes between

the groups could be attributed to SDM. Asynopsis of study findings is presented below.

Evaluation Findings

As an initial evaluation step, children entering foster careduring a pre-SDM implementation operating period wereobserved in both pilot and comparison counties. During thistime frame, comparison counties had a slightly better recordof moving children to permanency than the counties select-ed to pilot SDM. Fifteen months after the case openingdate, comparison counties had achieved permanency for4% more of the children entering care than the pilot coun-ties. Since this difference was not statistically significant,comparison and pilot counties appear to have been achiev-ing permanency for children entering foster care at approxi-mately the same rate before SDM was implemented.

13

After SDM was implemented, permanency outcomes wereobserved for a new cohort of children entering care. Duringthe post-implementation period, pilot counties moved a signif-icantly higher proportion of children to permanency than thecomparison counties (see Figure 1). Figure 2 shows the typesof permanency observed.

In the SDM pilot counties:¥ A higher proportion of children returned home¥ A higher proportion of children had parental rights terminated¥ A higher proportion of children were placed with perma-

nent legal guardians¥ The study also found that permanency rates attained for

African American children in Michigan matched thoseattained for Whites

As a result of the pilot and outcome evaluation, SDM hasbeen implemented statewide in foster care and CPS.Michigan is proceeding to improve its utility to both workersand supervisors by incorporating SDM into the StateAutomated Child Welfare Information System.

It is noteworthy that Michigan's non-SDM counties also pro-duced high rates of permanency for children placed in fos-ter care. In effect, SDM, in conjunction with the strong foun-dation already in place in Michigan improved the effective-ness of a service delivery system that was already function-ing very well.

Contact person for the article is:James Beougher, DirectorChild & Family Services AdministrationMichigan Family IndependenceBeougherJ@Michighan.gov(517) 335-6158

New PublicationsThe National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning at the HunterCollege School of Social Work has as part of its mission to disseminate information inthe form of print publications (books, magazines, journals, special reports), videos,PowerPoint presentations, and other resources to increase the capacity of child welfareagencies to provide children with safe, permanent families in supportive communities.

Our Center staff receives numerous publications every week from all over the countryand we thought it might be interesting for our readers to know what new publicationshave recently come out. Please contact us with any information needs atkaryn.lee@hunter.cuny.edu or call 212/452-7433.

What Works in Child Welfareedited by Miriam P. Kluger, GinaAlexander, and Patrick Curtis, Child Welfare League of America(www.cwla.org/pubs)Presenting a body of research address-ing what works in child welfare, the bookis divided in to six main sections familypreservation and support services, childprotective services, out-of-home care,adoption, childcare, and services for ado-lescents. Each section contains informa-tion on what works, conflicting evidence,cost effectiveness, and a summary table.

Shattered Bonds:The Color of Child Welfareby Dorothy RobertsBasic Books (www.basicbooks.com)

In a new book, Dorothy Roberts suggeststhat the disproportionate representationof Black children in the child welfare sys-tem a social crisis. She believes thatblack children are too quickly removedfrom their homes, placed into the fostercare system, and then freed for adoption.In a strong approach, she compares thiskind of racially motivated action, by well-meaning people on both sides of thepolitical fence, to slavery, whichwrenched children away from their par-ents and destroyed black families.

Adoption Nationby Adam PertmanBasic Books (www.basicbooks.com)This book explores the pros and consinvolved in adoption. Pertman, an adop-tive father provides suggestions to make

the adoption process less perilous andremove policy obstacles, which keep chil-dren from entering permanent homes assoon as possible.

Child Welfare, Journal ofPolicy Program and Practiceedited by Gerald P. Mallon& Bogart LeashoreSpecial Issue, Contemporary Issuesin Permanency Planning, ChildWelfare League of America(www.cwla.org/pubs)This special issue is a comprehensiveexamination and investigation of perma-nency planning experiences of for chil-dren and youth in out-of-home care.Filled with multiple perspectives thisissue provides grist for further discussionby practitioners and policymakers.

BOOKS

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VIDEOSOutside Looking In:Transracial Adoption in AmericaPhil Bertelsen (1hr)To order a copy of the video, contact Big Mouth Productions 646-230-6228 or(www.bigmouthproductions.com)This video takes a closer look at howthese families are faring from a personalpoint of view-his adoption as a black childinto a white family. It covers his adoptionas a 4-year-old boy in the 1970s by a NewJersey couple who had already adoptedchildren from other races and had biolog-ical children. The film also chronicles theadoption in 2001 of a two-month-oldAfrican American infant named David bya white Chicago-area couple.

Why Can't We Be a Family Again?(20 mins) Roger Weisberg & Murray Nossel Public Policy Productions, Inc.P.O. Box 650, Palisades, NY 10964(845) 398-2119

An emotional 20-minute video following amother struggling with treatment foraddiction and the impact it has on her twoyoung sons Danny and Raymond, andtheir grandmother who has custody ofthe children.

A Brooklyn Tale (1hr 20 mins)Public Policy Productions, Inc.P.O. Box 650, Palisades, NY 10964(845) 398-2119Based on the work done by the Centerfor Family Life, in Sunset Park, Brooklynwith the Santiago family for over 20 yearsthis video revisits and chronicles theimpact of a legacy of poverty on a secondgeneration. The film provides excellentexamples of family preservation and sup-port services in action.

Concurrent Planning Video SeriesLutheran Social Services ofWashington & Idaho (www.lssnw.org)These series of videos-Child Behaviors,Foster Parents Speak, Open Adoption,Visits, Working with Birth Parents- weredeveloped to train child welfare profes-sionals, foster parents and relatives car-ing for children in the child welfare sys-tem. They are an excellent resource forthose interested in training on the topic.

Finding Forever Families: Makingthe Case for Child SpecificRecruitment (35 mins) 1-800-askdtfaDave Thomas Foundation for Adoption(davethomasfoundationforadoption.com)Adopted children, administrators, work-ers and advocates from across the coun-try discuss the importance of adoption foradolescents and young adults and sharesuccessful strategies for finding homesand matching children with families.

REPORTSFamily Preservation: A Case Studyof Indian Tribal PracticeJohn Horse, Cecilia Martinez, Priscilla DayNational Indian Child Welfare AssociationCasey Family Programs (www.casey.org)This case study of the Arika, Hidatsa, andMandan Tribes in North Dakota examinesthe landscape of family preservation outsidePublic Law 83-280 state and the integrity ofthe model where multiple systems comple-ment each other.

A Framework for QualityAssurance in Child WelfareMary O'Brien, Peter WatsonNational Child Welfare Resource Centerfor Organizational Improvement1-800-Help Kid (www.muskie.usm.maine.edu/research/natlchildwel)This publication contains all the main ele-ments for child welfare agencies that areconsidering creating or energizing existingquality assurance systems. The frameworkpresented was developed based on exam-ples from present quality assurance effortsin state child welfare agencies. It containsimplementation steps and examples forapplication within an agency.

Expediting Permanency forAbandoned Infants: Guidelinesfor State Policies & ProceduresNational Abandoned Infants ResourceCenter (www.socrates.berkeley.edu/-aiarc)(510) 643-8390This monograph examines the issue ofinfants and young children abandoned or atrisk of abandonment by parents in the U.S.It (1) reviews state policies and practice (2)makes recommendations about definitions

of permanency, time frames and proceduresfor terminating parental rights, and (3) iden-tifies promising practices to expedite perma-nency for infants and young children whoare abandoned or at risk of abandonment.

Adoption and Adolescents:A Handbook for PreparingAdolescents for AdoptionVirginia Sturgeon(www.sturgeon@infi.net) (859) 299-2749This handbook is designed to assist practi-tioners working with adolescents freed foradoption. It outlines the steps needed toplan for the future and to help them achievetheir highest potential.

Employment Outcomes for YouthAging Out of Foster CareU.S. Department of Health & HumanServices, Office of the Assistant Secretaryfor Planning & Evaluation, University ofChicago, Chapin Hall Center for Children(www.chapin.uchicago.edu)This report provides information on theemployment outcomes of children exitingfoster care in California, Illinois and SouthCarolina during the mid 1990's. The reportaddresses three primary areas; patterns ofemployment and the amount of earnings,comparison with youth of similar ages in low-income families, sociodemographic charac-teristics and foster care service experiencesrelated to the patterns of employment.

Health Care for Teens in CareKaren Aileen Howze, Esq. (202) 662-1720Published by American Bar Association onChildren and the Law, this is a new excellentresource written for judges. The section on

Understanding Adolescent development isparticularly informative. This is a must, notjust for judges for whom it was written, butfor all child welfare professionals interestedin the health care of youth in foster care.

Improving Educational Outcomesfor Youth in Foster Care:Perspectives from Judges &Program SpecialistsMelissa Litchfield, Sophia Gatowski& Maureen McKissickPublished by The National Council ofJuvenile and Family Court Judges(775) 327-5300 or e-mail ppp@pppncjfcj.orgDescribing the results of an extensive sur-vey, this very fine report seeks to increasethe capacity of judges, child welfare workersand educators to better assist youth in fostercare in meeting educational goals.

Improving the Oddsfor the Healthy Developmentof Young Children in Foster CareSheryl Dicker, Eltsa Gordon & Jan Knitzer Building Systems to Support theHealthy Emotional Development ofYoung ChildrenJan Knitzer(212) 304-7100 or e-mail www.nccp.orgThese two reports are part of a series pub-lished by The National Center for Children inPoverty at the Mailman School of PublicHealth at Columbia University. Both areexcellent resources for those professionalsinterested in focusing on the well-being ochildren and families. Both are jam packedwith wonderful recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners.

15

Hunter CollegeSchool of Social WorkChild Welfare Lecture SeriesOn April 29th Professor Ruth G. McRoy, Associate Dean for Research& Director of the Center for Social Work Research and the Ruby LeePiester Centennial Professor in Services to Children & Families at theSchool of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin delivered theHunter School of Social Work Child Welfare Lecture. Professor McRoya recognized expert in the area of the over-representation of children ofcolor in the child welfare system, focused her lecture on this area.

In an effort to provide current information to our constituents, TheNRCFCPP has copies of Professor McRoy's presentation in bothprinted transcript and Power Point formats. If you would like copiesof these, they can be downloaded from our web site atwww.hunter.cuny.edu\socwork\nrcfcpp or you can obtain printcopies of them by e-mailing Karyn.Lee@hunter.cuny.edu or calling(212) 452-7433.

On September 26th Dr. James Garbarino will be our featuredspeaker at the next Hunter School of Social Work Child WelfareLecture. Dr. Garbarino is Co-Director, Family Life DevelopmentCenter and Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professor of HumanDevelopment at Cornell University. Dr. Garbarino is recognizednationally for his significant contributions to the protection of chil-dren. Books he has authored or edited include: And Words CanHurt Forever: Protecting Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment,

and Emotional Violenceat School (in press for2002); Parents UnderSiege: Why You Are theSolution, Not theProblem, in Your ChildÕsLife (2001); Lost Boys:Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them (1999).

Dr. Garbarino has served as consultant or advisor to a wide rangeof organizations, including the National Committee to Prevent ChildAbuse, the American Medical Association, the National Black ChildDevelopment Institute, the National Resource Center for Children inPoverty, Childwatch International Research Network , and the FBI.In 1991 he undertook missions for UNICEF to assess the impact ofthe Gulf War upon children in Kuwait and Iraq, and has served asa consultant for programs serving Vietnamese, Bosnian andCroatian children.

His presentation will focus on issues of violence in the lives of chil-dren and youth.

For information on this event, contact Karyn Lee via e-mail atKaryn.Lee@hunter.cuny.edu or by phoning her at (212) 452-7433.