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Principles of Permanency

WORLD CAFÉ

What assumptions do we need to test or

challenge in thinking about working with

children, youth and families involved in the

children welfare system?

OR

What do you think would make the most

difference for children, youth and families in

the child welfare system?

WORLD CAFÉ

What did you notice during the

conversations?

What gave sense and meaning to you?

Did you notice any patterns emerging during

the conversations?

Were there any stories shared that had

meaning for you?

Review Pre- Training

Reading

Pair Activity

Question:

What does the word

family mean to you?

Information on Permanency

The concept of permanency is based on

certain values, including the primacy of

family, significance of biological families and

the importance of parent-child attachment.

Research has shown us that children grow up

best in nurturing, stable families.

Information on Permanency

These families:

Offer commitment and continuity – they

survive life’s challenges intact.

Have legal status – parents have the legal

right and responsibility to protect their

children’s interests and welfare.

Have members that share a common future –

their fates are intertwined.

Information on Permanency

However, permanency is not guaranteed – in

biological families or otherwise. Permanency

conveys an intent, and families that express

their intent to remain together, legally and in

other ways, are crucial to children’s well-

being and their ability to grow up healthy and

happy.

Information on Permanency

Federal Laws:

Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (PL 96-272)

Family Preservation and Support Act 1993 (PL 103-66)

Safe and Stable Family Program of 1997 (funded through ASFA)

Children Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) that

was reauthorized as part of Keeping Children and Families Safe

Act in 2003, as well as Promoting Safe and Stable Families

Amendments (PSSF) 2001.

Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions

Act of 2008 (PL 110-351)

Family-Centered Practice

Strengthen, enable, and empower families to protect and nurture their children;

Safely preserve family relationship and connections when appropriate;

Recognize the strong influence that social systems have on individual behavior;

Enhance family autonomy;

Respect the rights, values, and cultures of families;

Focus on an entire family rather and than select individuals within a family.

Permanency Planning recognizes

that children and young people

need a sense of identity and

belonging, stability, continuity of

relationships and emotional

attachment for the development of

positive self esteem and well

being.

Common Parameters of

Permanency Planning

Intent

Commitment and Continuity

Legal Status

Social Status

“Permanency planning is the systematic

process of carrying out, within a brief time-

limited period, a set of goal-directed activities

designed to help children live in families that

offer continuity of relationships within

nurturing parents or care givers and the

opportunity to establish lifetime relationships.”

Maluccio (1984)

Permanence should be achieved

through a continuum of methods

or programs

Family Preservation

Relative/Kinship Care

Planned Foster Care

Reunification

Guardianship

Adoption

Three Child Welfare Themes in the

21st Century

Safety means that:

Children are, first and foremost, protected

from abuse and neglect.

Children are safely maintained in their own

homes whenever possible and appropriate.

Three Child Welfare Themes in

the 21st Century

Permanency means that:

Children have permanency and stability in

their living arrangements.

The continuity of family relationships and

connections is preserved for children

Three Child Welfare Themes in

the 21st Century

Well-Being means that:

Families have enhanced capacity to provide for their

children’s needs.

Children receive appropriate services to meet their

educational needs.

Children receive adequate services to meet their

physical and mental health needs.

Children, youth and families are empowered as

agents of change in their lives and in their

community.

Resilience: three fundamental

building blocks

1. A secure base, whereby the child feels a

sense of belonging and security.

2. Good self esteem, that is, an internal sense

of worth and competence.

3. A sense of self-efficacy, that is, “a sense of

mastery and control, along with an accurate

understanding of personal strengths and

limitations.” (Daniel, B. and Wassell, S. 2002)

Healthy Development

Group Discussion Question:

What do children and young people

need for their healthy development?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Attachment Theory

John Bowlby describes attachment:

“lasting psychological connectedness

between human beings”.

Attachment Theory

Attachment develops when the child’s needs

are met. This starts at birth when the child’s

experiences hunger and is then fed. The

meeting of needs over time provides

consistency and predictability, and leads to

trust.

Arousal-Relaxation Cycle

Child feels

discomfort –

physical or

psychological need

(e.g. hunger)

Child expresses

discomfort – state

of high arousal

(baby cries)

Parent comforts child –

satisfaction of need

(parent or significant

caregiver feeds baby)

Child feels

comfortable –

relaxation of

tension (baby

relaxes)

Secure Attachment Leads To:

High Self Esteem

A Personal Sense of Security

The Capacity to Trust Others

The Development of Positive

Behaviors

Three Conditions for Optimal

Parent-Child Attachment

Continuity involves the caregiver’s constancy and repetition of the parent-child interactions.

Stability requires a safe environment where the parent and child can engage in the bonding process.

Mutuality refers to the interactions between the parent and child that reinforce their importance to each other.

Peg Hess, 1982

Small Group Activity

Jennifer’ Case Study

Understanding Separation

Guided Group Imagery Exercise

Key Factors that contribute to the

degree of trauma associated with

separation

The degree of significance of the person lost.

Whether the separation is permanent or

temporary.

Who is thought to be the cause of the

separation?

The availability of other meaningful

attachment to provide support.

Strategies for dealing with

Separation

Help the child or young person acknowledge

the pain and allow for the grieving process.

Encourage the child or young person to

express their feelings without condemning

the parents.

As a worker tell the truth to the child or young

person about the reasons for the separation

in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Strategies for dealing with

Separation

Encourage the child or young person to ask

questions.

Spend time with the child or young person in

order to develop a relationship. Any child who

has experienced separation feels rejection

and guilt. This can interfere with their sense

of trust in others.

Share information with the child or young

person about their past.

Strategies for dealing with

Separation

Understand your own feelings. It is important

to deal with your own feelings as not to

jeopardize your relationship with the child or

young person.

Reactions of Loss: The

Grieving Process

Five Stages of Grief:

1. Shock/Denial

2. Anger

3. Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Resolution