Cook County Illinois Recruitment and Kin Connection Project.

GETTING CONNECTED. STAYING CONNECTED

GRANT: #90CO5013

Cook County IllinoisRecruitment and Kin Connection Project

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/index.htm

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

RKCP overview

Strategies for recruiting relatives and fictive kin

Concurrent Planning

RKCP Evaluation Overview

Recruitment And Kin Connection Project

We are an intensive family finding and engagement model for families with children ages 6 through 13 who are new to care:

Empowers birth parents at the time temporary custody is granted;

Locates a support network for each family consisting of relatives, fictive kin, and significant others with the help of the birth

parents;

Encourages permanency planning at case opening: and

Engages with the assigned Child Welfare Specialist to become part of the team that works diligently to increase placement

stability.

MAINTAIN FAMILY CONNECTIONS

The purpose of family finding is to build a

life-long supportive network for children and their families.

It is our belief that family finding can reduce the time children are in care when executed with passion

and a sense of urgency.

FROM THE HEART OF A CHILD

“SUPPORT IS GIVING STRENGTH TO ANOTHER” We interview birth families at the time temporary

custody has been granted and have them identify their current or potential supports

We gather information and conduct outreach visits the next day

We search for, assess, and engage identified birth family members, fictive kin, and significant others who can act as resources

We re-assess identified family members throughout the case to assist with service planning

We document all family finding efforts directly onto SACWIS and provide hard copies for court personnel and child welfare specialists

PARTNER WITH BIRTH PARENTS

Kin Connection Specialists:

Recognize that family involvement is powerful and effective.

Help families design change by identifying their own positive supports.

Find relatives and friends with the help of the birth parents who can be a positive support to the parents and to the children while they are in substitute care.

Respect and value the birth parent’s suggestions of relatives who can help.

Locate relatives who can help the birth parents with meeting the tasks of their service plan.

THE SEARCH FOR CURRENT AND POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS

The Kin Connection Specialist will:

Gather names, addresses, and phone numbers of family members identified by the birth family;

Reach out to the identified family members the day after temporary custody is granted;

Conduct file mining of the current information available on SACWIS that may lead to identifying more family members;

Schedule face-to-face meetings that will assess the current level of support for the family and create a plan that will assist with potential family support.

PRESERVE FAMILY HISTORY AND RELATIONSHIPS

We document a child’s history and relationships as soon as temporary custody is granted:

The birth parent’s account of supportive family members

A baseline and subsequent genogram

A child-centered eco-map

A Family Finding Information sheet complete with addresses and phone numbers of family members

A comprehensive Family Search and Engagement Summary Report

FAMILY FINDING INFORMATION PLACED IN SACWIS

The Kin Connection Specialist has been assigned a role on SACWIS and is able to document all family finding history in the family’s permanent SACWIS record under the Diligent Search section.

The Kin Connection Specialist has been assigned a specific role on the Diligent Search Service Center in order to complete diligent searches for family members

PARTNER WITH COURT PERSONNEL

Public Defender: Introduces KCS to family at TC hearing

and encourages the birth parents to take advantage of family finding services;

Receives a copy of the family finding information for future reference for their clients.

PARTNER WITH COURT PERSONNEL

Public Guardian:

Serves as a consultant for the KCS regarding the child’s needs;

Acts as a member of the child’s team regarding family finding efforts.

TRANSFER OF LEARNING MODEL

The Kin Connection Specialist teaches the family search and engagement model to the assigned Child Welfare Specialist by:

Helping families design change by identifying supports and use this information in service and concurrent planning;

Teaching the importance of preserving the family relationships;

Recognizing that when a family tells their story in their own words, it can lead to better searches, and better outcomes.

DISCOVERY IN FAMILY FINDING

File mining: SACWIS and paper files Birth parent interviews, mother and father Interviewing family members Interviewing the children Interviewing community members Internet and data system searches Identify challenges and barriers and

navigate around them

ENGAGEMENT IN FAMILY FINDING

Most crucial component in family finding

Demonstrate respect/empathy Develop an understanding of the

family’s past experience and current situation

Identify family strengths and needs together

Be consistent, reliable, and honest Allow family members to “vent,

validate, and venture”

FAMILY ENGAGMENT TIPS

Engage and empower both parents as much as possible – listen to and respect their story

Do not assume that the family member knows how important he/she is to the child – ENLIGHTEN THEM

Discuss the positive impact their continued involvement can have on the child’s well-being

Identify AT LEAST 4 key figures that are committed to maintaining family connections and assess past, current, and potential relationships with the family and children

ASSESS FOUR LEVELS OF SUPPORTThe Kin Connection Specialist will meet with identified family members and fictive kin and determine what level of support they can provide to the family and to the child(ren) in care.

Formal Supports – Level 4

Natural Supports – Level 3

Community Supports – Level 2

Informal Supports – Level 1

FORMAL SUPPORTS

Current placement

Potential future placement if needed

Extended respite care

NATURAL SUPPORTS

Planned short term respite care Emergency respite care Child mentor Parenting coach for birth parents Provide transportation to school, doctor,

therapist Provide transportation to community

activities Supervision of safety plan Child care

COMMUNITY SUPPORTS

Therapist Attorney School personnel Church members Youth groups Youth counselors Scout leaders, dance teachers, or

friends

INFORMAL SUPPORTS

The identified family member or fictive kin can:

Send cards, letters of support Be present at important events in a child’s

life Make phone calls Plan outings, movie nights, sporting events Provide family photographs Offer emotional support by staying

connected

LOCATE SUPPORTIVE KIN/FICTIVE KIN

Family Gem: Current or potential placement

Family Leader: The family looks to this person for support and guidance; has the ability to motivate others in the family to act; holds the “power” in the family

Family Informant: Shares structure of family dynamics and can identify the family’s strengths, needs, and current barriers

Key Player: Has the resources/skill sets to be an important figure in the child’s life in areas such as weekend visits, tutoring, mentoring, and outings.

CENTRAL FAMILY FIGURES

Family Gem

current placement

potential future placement (crucial)

short-term respite provider

long-term respite provider


Family Informant

Willing to talk to the KCS about family structure and dynamics

Identifies family members on maternal and paternal side

Willing to share contact information for additional family members


Family Leader

Family members look to this person for support and guidance

Holds “power” in the family

Has the strongest ability to motivate others in the family to stay involved


Key Player

Resources and skill sets to be an important figure in the child’s life

Not the current placement and may not serve that role in the future

Mentor, confidant, includes child in family activities

OUR FINDINGS BECOME PART OF THE FAMILY’S PERMANENT RECORD

Family Finding Information Sheet

SACWIS case note under Diligent Search Section

Baseline/Subsequent genograms

Child Centered Eco maps

Family Search and Engagement Summary Report

HOW TO DEVELOP A CONCURRENT PLAN Two fold process:

*build a life-long supportive network*develop an alternate plan if reunification

is not possible

Concurrent planning requires:*open, honest, complete communication

between the birth parents, foster parents, and case manager

*respectful use of disclosure

THE RKCP EVALUATION PROCESS

There are two primary data sources to the evaluation:

1. SACWIS File Reviews

Goal: To collect traditional child welfare outcome data.

2. Home Visits

Goal: To collect child well-being and psycho-social outcome data.

Measures:

Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Harter Self-Perception Scale (Self Esteem) Positive and Negative Emotions (PANAS) Optimism and Pessimism (Y-LOT) Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI)

KEY EVALUATION HYPOTHESES

Children in the intervention group will: Achieve permanency more quickly.

Return home or achieve kinship guardianship at higher rates.

Have fewer placement disruptions.

Have better psycho-social and well-being outcomes.

EVALUATION DESIGN

Children between the ages of 6 and 13 are served.

Cases are randomly assigned to courtrooms at Cook County Juvenile Court on Concourse and Ground Levels.

In Year 1 of implementation, the intervention group included all children on the Concourse Level and the Control Group included children on the Ground Level. The groups have switched floors in Year 2.

SCHEDULING HOME VISITS The home visit team contacts each child’s foster parent or

residential placement to attempt to schedule a home visit approximately six weeks after the temporary custody hearing. Up to seven calls are made over the course of three weeks.

Shelters are contacted to obtain permission for visits with children placed at these facilities.

Caseworkers are contacted to assist in scheduling visits with children in inpatient placements.

Each child’s caseworker is notified once a home visit has been scheduled.

Subsequent home visits are conducted at 6 and 12 months after temporary custody. Placement and caseworker contact information are updated as needed at these times.

SACWIS FILE REVIEW Four Phases:

Phase I

Using SACWIS File Review Document, RKCP evaluation team collects data from SACWIS involving demographics, basic case information and relative involvement.

Phase II

Evaluator emails Child Welfare Specialist or Kin Connection Specialist to set up a 20-30 minute phone call to discuss Phase I results.

Phase III

At six-eight months, Child Welfare Specialists are sent cases with lists of kin/fictive kin identified in Phase I.

Phase IV

Case closure. Evaluator completes section of file review pertaining to case disposition and all placements and placement dates while in care.

SACWIS FILE REVIEW: KIN/FICTIVE KIN IDENTIFICATION

First Kin/Fictive Kin Name:______________________ Age:_____ Relationship to youth: Maternal Aunt________________

□Respite

□Visitations □Home of Relative Foster Care Option

□Phone calls

□Tutoring/HW help

□Mentoring □Childcare □Transportation assistance

□Coaching □Birthday cards □Invitation to family or other events (e.g., picnics)

□Attendance at important events (e.g., sports)

□Biological parent support

□Foster parent support Positive attachment figure?

□Yes □No

□ No involvement □Other Involvement. List: □Barriers to involvement (e.g., substance use, perpetrator). List:

INTERVENTION VERSUS CONTROL GROUP:MEAN NUMBER OF RELATIVES IDENTIFIED

Intervention Control0

5

10

15

20

25

30

19.5

12.3

More Relatives Identified in the Intervention versus Control Group.

Mean# of

Relatives

INTERVENTION VERSUS CONTROL GROUP:MEAN NUMBER OF “ATTACHMENTS” IDENTIFIED


0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

2.1

0.09

More “Attached” Relatives Identified in the Intervention versus Control Group.

Mean# of

Relatives

PERMANENCY PLANNING

“Would you consider any of the kin or fictive kin we have discussed as alternative placements for the child if the current placement were not to work out for some reason?”

If yes, Name of person:_________________________

“Have you discussed this possibility with this person?” YES _____ NO _____

KIN CONNECTION SPECIALIST VERSUS CHILD WELFARE SPECIALIST CAPACITY TO IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENTS

Intervention Control0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

42%

12%

Kin Connection Specialists (Intervention) were able to identify alternative placements more often.

INTERVENTION VERSUS CONTROL GROUP:TIME 1 HARTER SELF-CONCEPT DIFFERENCES


55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

81.11

72.75

Intervention group had higher self-concept scores, controlling for demographic and intake differences.

INTERVENTION VERSUS CONTROL GROUP:TIME 1 NETWORK OF RELATIONSHIP INVENTORY DIFFERENCES (DISCLOSURE)


6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

10.43

8.49

Intervention group was more likely to disclose to relatives, controlling for demographic and intake differences.

PROPORTION OF RELATIVE TO TOTAL PLACEMENTS: INTERVENTION VERSUS CONTROL

1 Plac

emen

t

2 Plac

emen

ts

3 Plac

emen

ts

4 Plac

emen

ts

5 Plac

emen

ts0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

InterventionControl

As the number of placements children experience increases, the proportion of placements that are with relatives is stable for the intervention but decreases for the control group.

FAMILY FINDING IS NICE!

Navigate

Impact

Connect

Empower/Engage

CONTACT INFORMATION

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services

100 West Randolph, Suite 6-100

Meryl Paniak, MSW, JDIDCFS Project Administrator – Office of Legislative Affairs

312.814.2409 [email protected]

Mary Dreiser, MSWStatewide Federal Grants Manager


mailto:[email protected]


CONTACT INFORMATIONAdoptions Unlimited, Inc.

120 W. Madison, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60602Phone: 312.346.1516 Fax: 312.346.0004

Marilyn PanichiExecutive Director----- 312.462.7225 [email protected]

Deborah J. SaucedoRKCP Director – 773.682.1667

Cook County Juvenile Court – 8th Floor,2245 West Ogden Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612

[email protected] or [email protected]

Kristin MillerRKCP Associate Director – 773.682.2114

IDCFS Joliet Office – 1619 W. Jefferson Street, Joliet, IL, [email protected] or [email protected]

Dr. Scott Leon, PhD., Associate Professor, Loyola UniversityRKCP Evaluator









Cook County Illinois Recruitment and Kin Connection Project.

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