A New Vision Of Permanency April 2006 Jeff Griffin Will Ortiz

Youth 11-years or Older in PP Service Component by Placement Facility Type as of Dec., 1, 2005 Where Are We Now? Agency-Wide: Group Home Foster Home Relative

Creating Family Connections (Continued) A new process of engagement was also taught regarding how to effectively approach family members to engage (or re-engage) into the youth’s life. The Creating Family Connections pilot project launched in December 2004 and ended in June The 6-month (with one more month of support by CCS) training project involved 27 youth from the Multi-treatment Transition Services (MTS) division. The project had tremendous success in locating and engaging family members for youth that were previously thought to have no family members available to them.

Outcomes For Creating Family Connections Pilot Project:  Percentage of youth for which possible family connections were identified during the CFC project: 92%  Percentage of youth for which new family connections were achieved during the CFC project: 70% Of youth for which connections were made:  Percentage of youth for which the new family connections that were achieved during the CFC project have remained since the project ended: 88%  Percentage of youth for which there is a positive difference in the youth’s functioning now that more family connections have been achieved: 63%  Percentage of youth that have transitioned (or are being considered for a transition) to a lower level of care or family as a result of the CFC project: 63%  Percentage of social workers who participated in the CFC project that think it is valuable and should be continued: 100%

Creating Family Connections: Totals As Of January 2006:

California Permanency for Youth Project Dedicated to assuring that no youth will leave the California child welfare system without a permanent lifelong connection to a caring adult The California Permanency for Youth Project (CPYP), a project of the Public Health Institute, started in January 2003 as a result of a five-year grant awarded by the Stuart Foundation. This grant has since been extended through Other funders include the Walter S. Johnson and Zellerback Family Foundations. Children eleven and older in the foster care system have a poor chance of finding a permanent family. When they do not find permanency before they leave the foster care system at age 18, research shows they often become homeless, unemployed, and disconnected. We believe it is the responsibility of the entire community to make sure that each youth who leaves the foster care system in California has a permanent lifelong connection with a caring adult. Pat Reynolds-Harris, MA, MSPH – Director of California Permanency for Youth Project. -Taken from the California Permanency For Youth Website:

California Permanency for Youth Project (CPYP) (continued)

Definition Permanency is both a process and a result that includes involvement of the youth as a participant or leader in finding a permanent connection with at least one committed adult who provides: A safe, stable and secure parenting relationship Love Unconditional commitment Lifelong support in the context of a legal arrangement when possible The opportunity to maintain family ties and emotional bonds with siblings and important persons who will sustain connections with their culture Simply stated: Permanency is when a child and an adult have a safe, stable, sustainable and committed relationship across time and circumstance.

Orange County CPYP Project CPYP Project Goals 1. Increase connections for youth 2. Increase the number and engagement of supportive family members to enhance service provision 3. Increase the ability of youth to successfully emancipate from dependency 4. Expand the success of family finding and engagement strategies into other areas of CFS and expand the agency’s definition of permanency. 5. Assess models of family finding and engagement to determine their usefulness in CFS.

Orange County CPYP Project What is our target group of youth?  A total of 45 youth will be involved in the County of Orange CPYP project: ♦ CFC will work with 25 youth in MTS, ICS I, ICS II ♦ ICS I Senior Social Worker Tawny Crane and Melanie McCallum will work with 20 selected cases in ICS I and implement family finding and engagement strategies for each case with support of the CPYP committee.

Orange County CPYP Project What is our target group of youth? (continued)

REFERENCES Lighting the Fire of Urgency: Families Lost and Found in America’s Child Welfare System. Kevin Campbell. Catholic Community Services of Western Washington Resource Documents, January The National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning at the Hunter College School of Social Work Who Am I? Why Family Really Matters. Barbara Boisvert, Gina Brimner, Kevin Campbell, Don Koenig, Mary Stone-Smith. Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. F.A.S.T. Family Assessment and Stabilization Team. Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. - California Permanency For Youth Project. Permanence for Young People: Framework. National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning at the Hunter College School of Social Work.