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Illinois Permanency Enhancement Field Office and

Community ForumsFall, 2010

“…for these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”

–James Baldwin

BEYOND OBSTACLESMobilizing Child Welfare Staff and

Stakeholders to Improve Permanency and Eliminate Disparities

in Child Welfare

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Forum Agenda• Panelist Introductions

• Permanency Enhancement Project (PEP): Background and History

• Permanency Enhancement Accomplishments and Work Yet to be Done

• Impact of Long Term Foster Care

• Disproportionality , Disparity, and Permanency in Child Welfare

• How is Our Community Doing? (local data)

• Developing a Local Action Plan to Improve Permanency in Our Community!

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Overview Of Illinois Permanency Enhancement

Initiatives

Illinois Permanency Enhancement

Strategy

Differential Response

Court Improvement Projects

Anti-Racism Transformation

Teams

Family Advocacy Centers

Father Involvement Projects

Trauma Informed practice

LOCALCOMMUNITY ACTION

TEAMS

Illin

ois

Perm

anen

cySt

rate

gy

Permanency Enhancement Project (PEP)

• Partnership between:– Community Stakeholders– IDCFS – IDCFS AA Advisory Council – Illinois AA Family Commission– State Universities

• Illinois State University (Lead University)• Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville• University of Illinois at Chicago• Northern Illinois University

Overall goals of PEP:• Improve permanency outcomes for all

children in foster care • Reduce disparities in the number of African

American children in foster care • Promote community based solutions to

improve permanency among DCFS involved youth

• Monitor child welfare and permanency outcomes for youth

What We’ve Accomplished So Far…

Court Partnerships

Community Partnerships

Parent Outreach

University Partnerships

-16 Local Action Teams have been established to address permanency in Central Illinois

-50+ Local Action Teams have been established throughout the State of Illinois

Court Partnership Projects

Bloomington

• COURT IMPROVEMENT GRANT: Hired 2 Birth Parent Mentors to work with court involved families

Galesburg

• TRAINED WORKERS on Courtroom protocol

Danville

• FAMILY TREATMENT COURT: intensive services for substance effected parents

Community Partnerships/Outreach

Decatur• Housing

Vouchers for children returning home

• Faith-Based Partnerships

Jacksonville

• Foster parent Recruitment Project

Champaign• Domestic Violence

Forums• Faith Based

Partnerships• Systems Of Care

SAMSAH Grant

Parenting Support/Outreach

Charleston• Parents

Empowering Parents Support group

Peoria

• “Partnering with Parents” Support Program (job search skills, parent support

Rock Island

• Latino Family Community Resource Assessment

• Foster Parent Recruitment

University Partnerships

Technical Assistance /Training/ Outcomes

• Workshops and Training (strategic planning, data driven decision making)

• Technology: Permanency Enhancement Web site • Permanency Data• Stakeholder Focus Groups (identifying barriers to

permanency)

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WE’RE ON THE RIGHT PATH, BUT… THERE’S A LOT MORE WORK AHEAD

Moving forward we need the FULL FORCE of our STAFF, COMMUNITY LEADERS, and local CITIZENS to bring about major systemic changes .

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Impact of Long Term Foster Care on our Children, Families,

Community

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- Low educational achievement- Unemployment and underemployment- Poverty- Legal involvement/ incarceration- Early parenthood- Homelessness- Victimization- Physical and Mental Health Challenges(Casey, 2005)

Long-Term Foster Care Impact

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Poor Employment Outcomes

• 48% currently employed (Courtney, Dworsky, Lee & Raap, 2009 )

• $9.45 average hourly wage compared to $12.00 for non-foster care peers (Courtney, Dworsky, Lee & Raap, 2009)

• Average income of less than $6,000 annually (Casey, 2005)

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Homelessness

• 46.6 experienced at least one episode of homelessness

• 20 experienced homelessness for more than 90 days

• (Source: Courtney et al., 2009)

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Early Parenthood• Foster care alumni at risk for young

parenthood, early pregnancy

– 60% of females had given birth, some multiple times

• 19% of females, 8% of males were parents 18 months after discharge

(Source: Pecora et. Al., 2003)

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Legal Involvement/ Incarceration

• 27% of males, 10% of females incarcerated at least once 12 – 18 months after discharge

• 35% had been arrested

(Source: Courtney, et al., 2001)

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Victimization

• Casey study (2005) found 25% of males and 15% of females reported “serious physical and/or sexual victimization)

• PTSD rates almost twice that of U.S. war veterans - 25% vs. 4% in general population and 14% among war vets

(Source: Casey, 2005)

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Mental Health Challenges

Foster Care Youth GeneralMajor depression 20% 10%Social phobia 17% 9%Panic disorder 15% 3%Drug dependence 8% 1%

(Source: Casey, 2005)

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RACE AND PERMANENCY: Having the Difficult Discussions:

DISPROPORTIONALITY: The percentage of children in a population

as compared to the percentage of children in the same group in the child welfare system.

Racial Disproportionality

DISPARITY: • Unequal treatment and/or outcomes when

comparing a African Americans to non-minority.

African American children are negatively affected by both.

Racial Disparities

Systemic Factors that impact Permanency for African

American Children

Disproportionality and Disparity

AGENCY RELATED FACTORS: -Lack of culturally responsive family engagement practices

-Lack of collaboration with courts -Lack of sufficient linkages to community based resources ‐(See: Houston, 2007: http://adoptionresearch.illinoisstate.edu/PEP/Reports/Index.shtml

COURT RELATED FACTORS: -Lack of judicial training on minimum parenting standards and risk

- Lack of awareness about emotional trauma caused by parent‐child separation

- Unrealistic “middle class expectations” for parents

- Lack of awareness about cultural differences among diverse family types

(See: Houston, 2007)

COMMUNITY FACTORS:

-Lack of culturally responsive service providers

-Lack of community ownership and investment in families

-Perception that DCFS can solve the problem

-Insufficient cross systems collaboration‐(See: Houston, 2007)

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Why Issues of Permanency and Overrepresentation Matter

Racial Disparity and Overrepresentation of African Americans in Child Welfare is a Current and Historical Reality:

– AA children comprise 31% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000)

– AA children comprise 50% of the foster care population (US ACYF, 2005).

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Why Issues of Race and Permanency Matter

–AA children are more likely to age out of foster care without reunification or other permanency options (Courtney and Wong, 1996; Wulczyn, 2004).

– Nationally, Caucasian children are 4 times more likely to be reunited with family (Hill, 2006)

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National Evidence of Racial Disparity and Disproportionality

• African American mothers more likely to be tested/reported for pre-natal drug exposure than Caucasian mothers (Chasnoff, 1990)

• Doctors more likely to diagnose “abuse” for low income families and “accident” for affluent families (Lane, Rubin, Monteith, & Christian, 2002).

• Low income African American families receiving public assistance are more likely to have allegations substantiated (Barth, 2005)

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National Evidence of Racial Disparity and Disproportionality

• Once a report is made…African American Families are more likely to be screened for an abuse/neglect investigation (Gryzlak, Wells, & Johnson, 2005)

• Investigations of African American families are more likely when reports come from social service providers. (Gryzlak, Wells, and Johnson (2005)

• A report is more likely to be indicated when initiated by a professional AND the family is African American (U.S. DHHS, 2005).

• AA youth 36 % more likely to be removed from the home following a substantiated report (U.S. DHHS, 2005).

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Once a Case is Substantiated for Abuse/Neglect…

• Black children(families) are less likely to receive in-home preservation services

• Less likely to receive mental health services• Less likely to be returned home• Remain in care longer before achieving

permanency through adoption/guardianship• More likely to age out of care without

permanency(Source: Hill, 2006).

Talking About PERMANENCY in Our

Community

What Does the DATA Tell Us?

*Review ISU county level permanency data

Moving Forward as Partners to Improve

Permanency

Steps to Developing a

Community Action Plan

Permanency Action Teams

• Step 1 Come together as local stakeholders, staff, ►decision makers, resource providers, DCFS involved families/youth

• Step 2 Review local permanency data to:►– Examine current foster care rates– Identify outcome disparities across groups– Identify positive and negative permanency trends

• Step 3 Discuss our ► local barriers to permanency

Permanency Action Teams

• Step 4 ► Develop a Plan of Action [See ACTION PLAN Worksheet]

• Step 5 ► Work the Plan!

• Step 6 ► Review data for progress

Let’s Get Started

► What Form of Permanency is Our Priority?

We ant to Change Policies and Practices to…

• Reduce Racial Disparities in Foster Care

• Keep Children at Home/ Preserve Struggling Families

• Return Children to their Families More Quickly

• Improve Adoption and Guardianship Resources

► What SYSTEM or GROUP do We Want to Impact First?

• Court• Agency• Law enforcement• Birth parent/child• Foster/adoptive parent• Service Provider• Community Stakeholder• Schools• Medical• Other (list)

► Within the selected system, what do we want to change?

WE WANT TO CHANGE OR IMPROVE first… • …Policy/Procedure• …Practice • …Communication • …Engagement• …Professional Knowledge• …Resources in our Community

► How can the following partners help us to bring about desired changes? (Brainstorm together)

• … Parents• … Practitioners/Caseworkers• … Court Personnel• … Law enforcement• … Business Leaders/Commerce community • … Foster /Adoptive Parents• … School staff• … Faith Leaders• … Law makers/legislators• … Local Media• … Medical providers• … Higher education• … Housing• … TANF workers• … Mental Health/Substance Abuse clinicians

► Planning Our Next Steps

Visit the Illinois Permanency Enhancement

Web site:

http://adoptionresearch.illinoisstate.edu/PEP/Index.shtml

References:Barth, R. (2005). Child welfare and race: Models of disproportionality. In D. Derezotes et al. (Eds.), Race matters in child

welfare: The overrepresentation of African American children in the system (pp. 25-46). Washington, DC: CWLA Press.

Barth, R. P. (1990). On their own: The experience of youth after foster care. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 7(5), 419-446. Casey Family Services. (2005). The Casey Young Adult Survey: Findings over Three Years Seattle, WA: Casey Family Services. Chasnoff, I.J., Landress, H.J., & Barrett, M.E. (1990). The prevalence of illicit drug and alcohol use during pregnancy and

discrepancies in mandatory reporting in Pine County, Florida. New England Journal of Medicine, 322, 1202-1206. Courtney, M., Dworsky, A., Lee, J., & Raap, M. (2009). Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster

youth: Outcomes at age 23 and 24. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

Courtney, M., Piliavin, I., Grogan-Kaylor, A., & Nesmith, A. (2001). Foster care transitions to adulthood: A longitudinal view of youth leaving care. Child Welfare, 80, 685-717.

Courtney, M. & Wong, Y. (1996). Comparing the timing of exits from substitute care. Children and Youth Services Review, 18(4/5): 307-334.

Fluke, J., Yuan, Y., Hedderson, J., & Curtis, P. (2003). Disproportionate representation of race and ethnicity in child maltreatment: Investigation and victimization. Children and Youth Services Review, 25(5/6): 359-373.

References:Gryzlak, B., Wells, S., & Johnson, M. (2005). The role of race in child protective services screening decisions. In D. Derezotes et

al. (Eds.) Race matters in child welfare: The overrepresentation of African American children in the system (pp. 63-96). Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.

Harris & Hackett (2007). Decision points in child welfare: An action research model to address disproportionalty. Children and

Youth Services Review, 30 (2008) 199–215.

Hill, R.B. (2006). Synthesis of research on disproportionality in child welfare: An update. Casey/CSSP Alliance for Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System.

Houston, D. (2007). Removing Barriers to Permanency. Springfield, IL: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. June, 2007.

Lane, W., Rubin, D., Monteith, R., & Christian, C. (2002). Racial differences in the evaluation of pediatric fractures for physical abuse. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(13): 1603-1609.

Pecora, P., Williams, J., Kessler, R., Downs, C., O’Brien, K., Hiripi, E., & Morello, S. ,( 2003). Assessing the effects of foster care: Early results from the Casey National Alumni Study. Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs.

Rolock, N. (2008). Disproportionality in Child Welfare. Urbana, Illinois: Children and Family Research Center. Sedlak, A., & Schultz, D. (2005). Racial differences in child protective services investigation of abused and neglected children. In

D. Derezotes et al. (Eds.), Race matters in child welfare: The overrepresentation of African American children in the system (pp. 97-118). Washington, DC: CWLA Press.

U.S. Administration for Children and Families. (2003). Children of color in the child welfare system: Perspectives from the child

welfare community. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

References: United States General Accounting Office (2008). African American Children in Foster Care . HHS and Congressional

Actions Could Help Reduce Proportion in Care. Washington, DC:U.S. Government Printing Office Westat, 1991. A National Evaluation of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent Living Programs for Youth: Phase 2 Final

Report, Volume 2. Rockville, MD: Westat. Wulczyn, F. & Lery, B. (2007). Racial Disparity in Foster Care Admissions. Chapin Hall Center for Children.

Wulczyn, F. (2004). Family Reunification. The Future of Children: Children, Families and Foster Care, 14(1), 95-113.

Prepared by:

Illinois State University

School of Social Work and

Center for Adoption Studies

http://adoptionresearch.illinoisstate.edu/PEP/MeetTheStaffISU.shtml