1 Illinois Permanency Enhancement Field Office and Community Forums Fall, 2010 BEYOND OBSTACLES Mobilizing Child Welfare Staff and Stakeholders to Improve Permanency and Eliminate Disparities in Child Welfare

2 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!

3 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 LOCAL COMMUNITY ACTION TEAMS Illinois Permanency Strategy Illinois Permanency Strategy

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 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

Court Partnerships Community Partnerships Parent Outreach University Partnerships

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 Jacksonvill e 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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14 -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

15 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) 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)

16 Homelessness 46.6 experienced at least one episode of homelessness 20 experienced homelessness for more than 90 days (Source: Courtney et al., 2009)

17 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)

18 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)

19 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)

20 Mental Health Challenges Foster Care Youth General Major depression 20%10% Social phobia 17% 9% Panic disorder 15% 3% Drug dependence 8% 1% (Source: Casey, 2005)

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Racial Disproportionality

Racial Disparities

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:

COURT RELATED FACTORS: 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: 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)

28 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).

29 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)

30 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)

31 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).

32 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).

What Does the DATA Tell Us? *Review ISU county level permanency data What Does the DATA Tell Us? *Review ISU county level permanency data

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

► 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