Kinship Initiatives - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Kinship Initiatives

Brenda McLaren

February2015

1Slide2

2

PrinciplesSlide3

3

Outcomes

for Children and Youth

Supporting

vulnerable children to live successfully in the Community

Children in temporary care will be reunited quickly with their family

Children in permanent care will be placed in permanent homes as quickly as possible

Youth will be transitioned to adulthood successfully

Aboriginal children will live in culturally appropriate placementsSlide4

4

Practice Strategies

Aboriginal

collaboration and

connection

Multi-cultural

services and supports

Collaborative decision making

Kinship engagement and supports

Family and relative search

Signs of Safety Approach

Outcome

Based Service

Delivery

FASD assessment and service supportsSlide5

What is Kinship?

Differences

between kinship and foster care: Kinship provides care for a specific child(ren) only

Kinship caregivers typically have an existing relationship with the birth parents, which can change family dynamics Kinship care is not licensed and caregivers are not required to meet the training expectations of the 31 core courses that foster families are required to complete

5Slide6

Continuum of Placements

Agreed upon family arrangement

Parent allows alternate person to come into their home to support their parentingParent allows child to be cared for by an alternate caregiver in that persons home

Emergency Caregiver DelegationCYFEA Sec7 (1)(2)(3)(4)

Child comes into care

CAwG

Apprehension

Look for kinship first

When a child comes into care, kinship

placement

must be pursued as the first

placement

6Slide7

What is Kinship? continued

Kinship caregivers are compensated differently than foster parents: basic maintenance (no skill fee or special rates)

Motivation for Kinship care is different: there is vested interest in the specific child(ren); they are stepping up in a difficult circumstance, and children can be placed on an immediate basis Existing

relationships in the family will change in kinship care Community relationships can also change with kinship care

7Slide8

Why Kinship?

Research and Data tells us that children do better when placed with family.Children are more likely to reach their outcomes when placed with Kin.

8Slide9

Research Outcomes

There are a number of positive outcomes for children

who have been placed into kinship care homes: Children had more frequent

and natural contact with their parentsExperienced fewer placement disruptionsExperienced fewer placement moves

Experienced less trauma

Maintained connections to family values, culture and traditions

Children developed positive self image and sense of belonging

9Slide10

Outcomes for Kinship

Meeting Outcomes

Children who come into care and experience only one placement, if that placement is kinship, have much higher rates of meeting the identified 5 outcomes:

Supporting vulnerable children to live successfully in the CommunityChildren

in temporary care will be reunited quickly with their family

Children

in permanent care will be placed in permanent homes as

quickly

as possible

Youth will be transitioned to adulthood successfully

Aboriginal children will live in culturally appropriate

placements

For Aboriginal children there is a significant increase in reaching outcomes when placed with kinship over foster care.

10Slide11

Outcomes for

Kinship

Placement Stability A number of quantitative studies using high-level analysis determined that placement stability is much higher

Kin placements more likely to “persist, but also more likely to end in successful discharge to the birthparents” (Perry et al) Fewer

subsequent placements

11Slide12

Outcomes for Kinship

Permanency Outcomes

Permanency looks different (less likely to be adopted) Reunification

with birth parents more likely Stigma Experience less trauma at apprehension

Often

have lived sporadically with caregiver

Less

stigma living with family than in a formal placement

12Slide13

Outcomes for

KinshipMore

closely connected to family and community Positively impacts identity formation

Have more contact with birth parents “If I would have gone into foster care, I would have never seen my cousins or nobody”

13Slide14

Kinship Home Assessment

If Children have better outcomes in kinship placements, and we are required to look first to kinship, it is important that we have good processes in place to ensure that:

Children are safeAll their needs are metCaregivers have appropriate support

14Slide15

Immediate vs Planned Placements

Kinship

care providers enter the system in one of two ways:Immediate

placement This is a situation where a child is taken into care and a kinship provider is identified by the family or the child very quickly. The child can be placed with the kinship family as long as Intervention Record Checks are completed and a statement of Criminal Record Checks is signed. This provides opportunity for the child to live with a familiar person immediately.

15Slide16

Requirements for Immediate Kinship Placement

Immediate

Placement Checklist Upon Placement Intervention Record Check

Kinship Care Applicant Declaration (regarding Criminal Records) Environmental Safety Assessment for Caregivers

Kinship

Guide

Within 72 Hours

Application

for Criminal Record Checks

Application

to become a Kinship Care Provider

Kinship

Care Agreement

16Slide17

Requirements for Immediate Kinship Placement continued

Within

60 Working Days Medical Reference

Kinship Orientation & Guide / Kinship Handbook Follow-up with references Home

study report

All of

these requirements

apply to all residents of the home age 18 and

older

17Slide18

Immediate vs Planned Placements

Planned placement This situation is where a kinship provider is identified after a child has been placed in a foster care/group care or other placement resource. This provides the opportunity for all requirements to be completed prior to the child being placed.

18Slide19

Requirements for Planned

Kinship Placement Kinship

Orientation Training / Kinship Guide Intervention Record Check Environmental

Safety Check Application to become a Kinship Care Provider Home Study Report Three

references (two relatives, one non-relative)

Medical

Reference

Kinship

Care Agreement

All of

these requirements

apply to all residents of the home age 18 and older.

19Slide20

Support and Monitoring

All kinship homes are supported and monitored by a Kinship Care Caseworker

This Caseworker regularly visits the home and meets with the caregiversAll care concerns are assessed using the same formal process used for foster homes

20Slide21

Services and Supports for Kinship Providers

A Kinship Support Plan is required.

Even if the family doesn’t want anything at the time,

the plan should be on the family’s file stating that fact and the rationale as to why. While a kinship home doesn’t need to be licensed, they do need to pass an Environmental Safety Assessment. -

i.e. Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors

,

baby

gates, etc.

21Slide22

Services and Supports for Kinship Providers continued

A

Kinship Support Plan can be used to purchase items needed to complete the Environmental Safety checklist.

The Kinship Support Plan can also be used to cover things like daycare, after-school care, tutors or any other assistance the family may need to care for the child (after negotiating with the caseworker).

22Slide23

Services and Supports for Kinship Providers

continued

Kinship care providers receive both the vacation and recreation allowance at the same rate as foster parents.

23Slide24

Services and Supports for Kinship Providers continued

Kinship

Orientation Training (KOT) is requiredThis training is available in a variety of formats across the province.

The preferred method is the classroom method. If this is not possible, it may done by completing the

Kinship Care Guide (Guide)

with the Kinship Care Worker.

A

copy of the Guide must be given to all kinship care providers at all immediate placements.

24Slide25

Services and Supports for Kinship Providers continued

All

the training that is available to foster care parents is also available to kinship care providers. Kinship care providers are encouraged

to take any training that would help make their experience easier. Kinship care providers are also welcome to attend the annual AFPA conference, as well as any other conferences or seminars available to foster parents.

25Slide26

Services and Supports for Kinship Providers continued

Kinship

Information Number (KIN) KIN Line Established

August 2014 Available to provide basic information on kinship Redirect calls from kinship families requiring support

Available

during normal business hours

26Slide27

How Community Partners can support Kinship

Kinship Providers may require additional support in the form of teaching, mentoring etc to provide care for high-needs children

Kinship Providers may need assistance to work through grief and loss and renegotiate other relationships within their extended family. Kinship Providers may need support to understand and work with systems

Helpers may need to separate their concerns and attitudes about the biological family from kinship caregivers

27Slide28

Questions?

28Slide29

Fasd Caring For Our ChildrenWe are in this together

Darci KotkasSlide30

DEFINITION

Debolt

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is a term used to support individuals who have been diagnosed with a “spectrum” of effects related to prenatal alcohol exposure. It includes (but is not limited to) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Alcohol Related Neurobehavioral Disorder, Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Static Encephalopathy.Slide31

KEY POINTS TO BE MADE:Children, adolescents and adults with FASD have complex medical, psychological and social needs.

They are difficult to provide stability for and existing resources are not often user friendly for these families.

DeboltSlide32

Intention…..

The critical message emerging from this work is the need to establish sound FASD Informed Practice to support the often complex needs of children and families. FASD Informed Practice implies that casework is carried out in a way that appreciates the specific challenges associated with FASD as a disabling condition and recognizes the need for adjustments and accommodations in the child welfare response.

 A key element of the success of the Community of Practice initiative was the recognition that child welfare practice in response to FASD requires a specialized approach and leadership on practice needs to originate and develop within the workforce.Slide33

WHY US?

Child Protective Services identify more high-risk children than any other public system. The challenge is to recognize the need to do more than protect. Protecting without educating, healing and enriching children is an opportunity lost. The cost in human and

financial resources is overwhelming. Children born with FASD are among the fastest growing group of children entering the child welfare system…..Slide34

Prevalence in Child Protection

What we KnowFASD is often overrepresented in children, adolescents and adults requiring services from child protection agencies – 50% of caseloadsThe Enhancement Act’s philosophy of “least intrusive and time limited” is not congruent with what we know helps with these children and families.

Many contracted agencies that serve individual Child and Family Service Authorities are often unprepared to serve this high needs group. Children and families experiencing the complexities of this poorly understood disability are often at the center of highly public child protection failures. Slide35

Why do we do this? It is important to understand that

early diagnosis and intervention are positively correlated with better long term outcomes for the children and their families.  Appropriate diagnosis results in the children receiving relevant and targeted interventions, significantly improves their functioning, adaptability, self-awareness and self-esteem not to mention significantly improves parent-child interactions (

Streissguth et al 2004).Slide36

80% of individuals with FASD are raised by other people:

Biological families are unaware of what has happened developmentally for their childRearing families are unaware of the etiology of the problems

Multiple placements distort the information and the functioning

DeboltSlide37

TRIFECTA – FASD and……

School FailureMental Health Disorders

Addictions Streissgueth’s Secondary Disability Study90% had mental health problems

30% had drug and alcohol use/misuse Slide38

Understanding the Presence of FASD in our “Systems of Support”

If we get it:We will have effective and cost efficient interventions

We will have enhanced collaborationWe will have improved developmental outcomesWe will reduce the intergenerational effects of FASD

If we don’t:We will have ineffective and costly interventionsThere will be systemic frustration and blameThere will be multiple diagnosis (and explanations) over time.There will be an escalation of symptoms despite “huge” effort.Slide39

Intervention is….

Identification of high risk individuals is intervention.Gathering relevant information to support a diagnosis of FASD is intervention.

Referring for formal diagnosis/assessment is intervention.Diagnosis is intervention.Diagnosis kick starts a multi-system organization of care. That is intervention.

DeboltSlide40

#1 Value: Placement Stability

Training, training, & more trainingCoaching and supportRespite and Relief CareGrief and Loss support – The ability to give up what we wish this was to take on what it isSlide41

Recognition of intergenerational FASD.There is a significant gap in our system of service for persons with disabilities.

(Support for people with disabilities to be parents).Many of these circumstances then lead to child protection involvementRecognition of Non-compliance as non-competence shifts the traditional approaches and expectations of the child welfare system.Slide42
Slide43

Development of Child Welfare Practice Standards

Creating improved outcomes for children with FASDEarly identificationAppropriate service planning

Specialized training to agency staff, families and caregiversIncreased placement stabilityReduction in incidence an severity of secondary disabilitiesEffective transition to adult services

DeboltSlide44

FASD:Community of practice

Training for staffSupport application and integration into case practice.Ensuring disability first lensAssist workers in being strong advocates in leading collaborative partnerships to serve clients and families with this disability effectively.Slide45

Training opportunity in medicine hat

FASDtraining.comMay 1, 2015