Path to Permanency

An OverviewAn Overview

March 3, 2012

Erica Hansen

Adoption Operations

Why Care about Permanency?

• Outcomes for children and youth in foster care

Research shows that children who “age-out”

lack the necessary life skills nor the network of support needed to succeed as young adults

• Requirement of federal (ASFA) and state lawShortens timeframes for achieving permanency

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Shortens timeframes for achieving permanencyRequires permanency hearingsEstablishes permanency goalsProvides for expedited permanency process when

aggravated circumstances exist

• Other reasons?

DCF Mission

The mission of DCF is to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families.

• Adoption & permanency practice has come a

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• Adoption & permanency practice has come a

long way since the reform began

• Backlog of waiting children has diminished

• Focus is shifting from the amount of adoptions to

looking at best practice

Number of Legally Free (State Comparison)Annie E. Casey Foundation

Kids Count Census Data

February 2011

4000

5000

6000

7000

NJ

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0

1000

2000

3000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

NJ

CT

IA

IL

GA

NJ Department of Children and Families

Number of Legally Free for AdoptionSafe Measures, December 2011

1000

1200

1400

1600

5

13521291

1512

12231314

0

200

400

600

800

February 2009 January 2010 June 2010 December 2010 June 2011

NJ Department of Children and Families

Children in Out of Home Placement

(by Type of Placement)

NJ Safe Measures

Independent Living

160, 2%

Group/Residential

714, 10%

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Resource Family

3903 55%Kinship

2358 33%

Defining Permanency

• Goal is to reduce the length of time to achieve permanent living arrangements while ensuring that children receive consistent, stable care

• When children must be removed, permanency

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• When children must be removed, permanency efforts focus on returning children home as soon as possible and placing them with another permanent family (Concurrent Planning)

Concurrent Planning

Working towards Reunification while at the same time implementing a back-up permanency plan

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Concurrent rather than sequential efforts to move more quickly

Permanency Stages

• Detailed process that can be lengthy and cumbersome

Key stages are

Removal

5th Month review

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5th Month review

10th Month Review/Permanency Hearing

TPR/GSP

Appeal

Consent/Finalization

Permanency Timeline

REMOVAL

• Permanency Planning begins at time of removal

• Initiate Court Involvement

• Family Team Meeting/Family

• Least restrictive

• Search for relatives/parents

• Develop visitation plan

• Assess child’s needs

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Meeting/Family Engagement

• Identify Services for reunification & children

• Work with parent strengths

• Medical Assessments

• School Arrangements

• Lifebook Work should begin

• Begin assessing caretaker’s ability to meet needs of child/ren

Permanency timeline5th MONTH REVIEW

Formal Review

Assessing progress of parents towards reunification

Are there available relatives?

Continuing to evaluate placement – is it meeting the child’s

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Continuing to evaluate placement – is it meeting the child’s

needs –both short term and long term?

Commitment of placement to

Ensuring our records are complete – medical/SS/Education

Home licensed?

Expand Lifebook work

Reinforce importance of permanency

Permanency Timeline

10th Month/Permanency Hearing

• Both are Formal reviews – Critical Time

• Family engagement to discuss parental progress or lack of progress towards reunification

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reunification

• Are parent’s ready to resume child’s care?

• Extension –limited situations

• If adoption, case transfers to Adoption Unit

Permanency Timeline

TPR/GSP

• Once it is determined that TPR will be pursued, Division will file a complaint with the court

• If contested, trial will be scheduled, timing

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• If contested, trial will be scheduled, timing is based on court calendar

• Following trial, Judge will make decision

• This stage can last 6 -12 months

Grounds for TPR

• Parent convicted of abuse, neglect,

abandonment, or cruelty

• Parental failure to remedy conditions which led

to child placement

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to child placement

• Abandonment for 6 or more months if DYFS has

exhausted all reasonable efforts to locate parent

• Best Interests for the child

Permanency Timeline

APPEALS• After TPR there is an Appeal period

• When Guardianship is granted, parents have 45

calendar days to appeal. Many jurisdictions allow

parents to appeal even if after the 45 day period

• Appeals can take one year to be held

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• Appeals can take one year to be held

• After appellate level, parent can petition to have appeal

heard by NJ Supreme Court (they have 20 day period to

file)

• Appeal is based on what went on during the trial – not

what the parents may have done good or bad.

Permanency Timeline

Consent/Finalization

• Consent work should be ongoing once assigned to Adoption Unit

• Consent can be submitted to Manager once appeal period is exhausted

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once appeal period is exhausted

• Once Consent to Adopt is signed sent to lawyer to finalize

• Finalization date established by the Court

Some Challenges that Delay

Permanency

• Adoptive homes are available but are unwilling or unable to adopt our waiting children.

• Parents begin compliance late in the

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• Parents begin compliance late in the process

• Court process is lengthy and cumbersome

including appeals process

• Failure to document efforts

• Not following Concurrent Plan model

Adoption Subsidy

The adoption subsidy is designed to cover only a portion of the cost of raising a child and should be viewed by as partial assistance.

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assistance.

Doesn’t cover Summer Camp, braces, car insurance, college costs, etc.

What next?

• Adoption is a lifelong journey

• Once finalization occurs, work continues

• Core Issues in Adoption:

Trauma

Attachment

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Attachment

Loss

Rejection

Guilt/Shame

Identity

Intimacy

Control

Adoption Support

• Adoption effects entire family

• Life transitions may be even more challenging

for adopted children

• Helps family renegotiate nature of relationship

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• Helps family renegotiate nature of relationship

• Helps family with issues of attachment,

troublesome behavior

• Helps families build bridges of community

support

• There is Support and Help out there!

Post Adoption Counseling

Services

What is it?

Statewide network of nine private agencies throughout the state

Who do they serve?

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Who do they serve?

Available to children and families who have finalized or are in the process of adopting

Post Adoption Counseling Services

• Counseling to strengthen and promote family stability

• Services focus on attachment, loss and separation, adoption preparation, skill

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separation, adoption preparation, skill building, and parenting plans

• Services are open to both the families and the children

Post Adoption Counseling Services

• Goal is to reduce number of adoption disruptions and dissolutions

• Services are available free of charge

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Access to these services is obtained on a county level and NJ ARCH has information on their website for each county.

http://njarch.org/

Children’s Behavioral Health (DCBHS)

• Serves children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral health care challenges and their families.

• Single point of access for behavioral

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• Single point of access for behavioral health care services

• Call center operates 24/7

877-652-7624

http://www.nj.gov/dcf/behavioral/

Prevention (DPCP)

• Provides voluntary preventive, strength-based, and family-centered services to New Jersey families.

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� Family Success Centers

�Differential Response programs

�Kinship Navigator Program