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Session Title: Describing Interventions and Measuring Permanency in National Child Welfare Demonstration Projects From Messy to 'Neat and Tidy' and back again
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Panel Session 267 to be held in Mineral Hall Section B on Thursday, Nov 6, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM
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Sponsored by the Human Services Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Michel Lahti,
University of Southern Maine,
mlahti@usm.maine.edu
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| Abstract:
According to year 2000 national child welfare statistics, 34% of youth who were 15 or older and had their parental rights terminated emancipated from care and by 2006 that percentage increased to 49% 'aging out of the system' with no legal, permanent connection. Finding permanent family arrangements for youth in foster care is a critical need and child welfare agencies have permanency measures that are primarily a dichotomous outcome of adoption/guardianship or not. However, these professionals know that often older youth leave foster care without a legal connection to family and form other types of permanent, life-long relationships that do not result in a legal change in status. This 90 minute session will explore how evaluators from four different states/regions have coped with the challenges of describing the unique interventions developed in these Demonstration Projects and the challenge of measuring permanency outcomes that are not always 'neat and tidy'.
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Destination Family (CA)
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| Michele McGibbon,
LPC Consulting Associates Inc,
michele@lpc-associates.com
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The goal of Destination Family, located in Sacramento, CA, from the onset was that by the time the project ended in 2008, 'no child from project counties ages-out of the foster care system without a permanent family connection.' However, as the project began, logistic challenges immediately emerged about how permanency could and would be defined by project partners. During the project's first two years, partner agencies continually faced difficulties reconciling the mandate from the Courts for official adoptions and guardianships and the project's definition of permanence includes a permanent family connection. Thus, County social workers would encounter attorneys and judges who might know about Destination Family, but would only accept either an adoptive or guardianship placement as a permanent outcome. The changing and sometimes ambiguous definitions of 'permanency' still provide ongoing measurement and other types of challenges in the fifth project year with different project partners answering to different authorities.
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Adoption Services Coalition (AR)
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| Christina Lynn,
Hornby Zeller Associates,
clynn@hornbyzeller.com
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The Arkansas Adoption Services Coalition aims to increase both the number of adoptions among children in foster care and the rate at which such adoptions occur. The state child welfare agency sought to achieve this goal through the establishment of a network of local adoption coalitions. A review of adoption outcomes from recent years suggests that the project has contributed positively to the goal of finding permanent homes for children in foster care. Membership surveys revealed that adoption coalitions initiated or participated in a multiple of events and activities. This presentation will focus on the evaluation procedures used to document coalition activity and how that activity is related to positive outcomes. Challenges in working with coalitions and managing an evaluation across different settings will also be discussed.
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Homecoming Project (MN)
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| Michelle Decker Gerrard,
Wilder Research Center,
mich@wilder.org
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The Adoption Opportunities grant project in Minnesota has a particular focus on older youth in care. In addition, the project uses an individualized services planning approach as the intervention, a team based approach, where the youth is suppose to be an integral part of the team and deeply involved in her/his own permanency planning. While tracking required outcomes of change in legal status, this project also is involved with the challenges of measuring permanency outcomes that are different than a change in legal status. Results include findings on the status of youth after positive 'permanency' outcomes that do not include adoption or guardianship; providing an opportunity to comment on the value of these less than legal change in status type measures. In addition, survey research methods were used to assess the beliefs and attitudes of child welfare professionals and other stakeholders concerning older youth in foster care.
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Adoptions Created Through Relationships (ME)
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| Michel Lahti,
University of Southern Maine,
mlahti@usm.maine.edu
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The Maine Adoptions Opportunities project, Adoptions Created Through Relationships, initially focused on older youth in care and then over time that age of enrollment focus shifted to younger youth. The two primary interventions are an Individualized Services Planning approach, Family Team Meetings, and clinical services for youth and or families. The primary outcome is a change in legal status to adoption or guardianship; and recently discussion to include re-unification with birth family as an expected outcome. In addition, the project considers other kinds of permanency outcomes such as connections with caring adults or life-long connections, and or other connections with those who can serve as a family member in support of a youth. Evaluation challenges include how to measure the Family Team Meeting intervention and how to define permanency in a way that includes relational as well as legal type outcomes.
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