207: family finding overview. the pennsylvania child welfare resource center competency 207-4: the...

207: Family Finding Overview

207: Family Finding OverviewThe Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center

Competency

• 207-4: The child welfare professional can use assessment data to collaboratively develop an appropriate, culturally competent case plan with the family, and can develop and link supportive family and community resources.

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Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:•Explain how the Family Finding model supports casework best practice and child welfare legislation and guidance.•Describe the main goals of the six steps of Kevin Campbell’s Family Finding model.

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Core Beliefs

• Every child has a family• Loneliness can be devastating• Meaningful connections help develop a sense of

belonging• Most identified factor contributing to positive

outcomes involves meaningful connections and lifelong relationships with family

Source: Seneca Center, (August 5, 2009).

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Name Tent Instructions

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County/Agency

Name

Unit/Department

Length of time in current position

How Family Finding is implemented within county


History – National Level

• Hague Relations– International Committee for the Red Cross

(ICRC) entering prisoner of war camps

• Geneva Convention– Recovery from familial separation

• Meeting the basic human needs is not enough• Family needs family and/or closure

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History – National Level (cont’d)

• Restoration of Dignity– Right to know the truth

• Efforts to find individuals– Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – Internet-based search providers

• Expanded efforts– Times of trouble (e.g., Hurricane Katrina)– Child welfare

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History – Pennsylvania

• Recognition that the Family Finding and Family Group Decision Making models aligned

• 2005 – Mr. Campbell brought the model to Pennsylvania

• 2007 – Permanency Practice Initiative• 2013 – Act 55

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Family Finding in Pennsylvania• The First of Kevin Campbell’s six-day sessions

occurred in October 2008. The sessions started with Phase 1 Permanency Practice Initiative counties, including:– Allegheny, Blair, Butler, Carbon, Chester, Dauphin,

Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Snyder, Venango, Washington, and York

• In the combined situations, there were 40 cases involving:– 43 children/youth– 26 Males and 17 Females

• The average age was 13.68-years-old

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Family Finding in Pennsylvania (cont’d)

• Parental involvement took the form of:– Mothers – 31 (out of 40 cases)– Fathers – 27 (out of 40 cases)– Neither Parent – 6 (out of 40 cases)

• At the beginning of the Family Finding process, there were:– 241 known connections

• At the end of the process, there were:– 1767 connections known, with 250 new lasting

resources in place

Source: Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, (March 2009).

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Federal Legislation/Guidance

• The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272)

• The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193)

• The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) (P.L. 105-89)

• The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008

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State Legislation/Guidance

• 62 P.S., Chapter 5. Institution Districts, § 2305 (relating to powers and duties of local authorities as to children)

• 42 Pa. C.S., Chapter 63, The Juvenile Act• 55 Pa. Code: includes but is not necessarily

limited to 3130 (relating to administration of county children and youth social service programs); 3350 (relating to adoption services); and, 3490 (relating to child protective services – child abuse); and, 3700 (relating to foster family care agency)

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State Legislation/Guidance (cont’d)

• Act 55 of 2013 (Family Finding and Kinship Care Act)

• Bulletin: 00-03-03 Kinship Care Policy• Special Transmittal: The Fostering Connections

to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008

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Confidentiality

• Best practice is to engage the parents to obtain parental consent.

• Fostering Connections allows a search for family without parental consent.

• It will be necessary to speak with a supervisor regarding confidentiality as it relates to Act 55 of 2013.

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Elements of Connectedness

• Heart Connectedness – Who do you love? Who loves you? Who do you want to love you? Who do you want to be loved by?

• Mind Connectedness – Who do you teach? Who do you learn from? What are you learning? What do you think about?

• Body Connectedness – Who shares your blood? Does anybody share your body? Who provides you with food and shelter?

• Soul Connectedness – What are your passions? Who shares those with you? Who has similar values as yours?

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Elements of Connectedness, cont’d

• Red is for the heart that loves• Green is for the fertile and creative mind• Blue is for the blood that runs in the veins

(body)• Yellow is for the light of the soul• Dotted Lines – Represent relationships known

but refer to individuals with whom the child/youth feels no connection.

Source: Campbell, Kevin, Connectedness Mapping Training.

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Rationales for Connectedness

• By understanding a person’s past and present relationships, a sense of their strengths and needs emerge.

• From a focus on connectedness, a shared vision of future possibilities can evolve.

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Rationales for Connectedness (cont’d)

• A person’s relationship network provides a good starting place for understanding that individual.

• Connectedness implies a caring relationship with a person.

• Children in out-of-home placement have many losses.

Source: Campbell, Kevin. Connectedness Mapping Training.

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Private Arrangements vs. Foster Care

Private Arrangements•The agency is not involved– family identified concerns on their own and developed a plan internally to address those concerns.•Nationally, private (non-agency-involved) arrangements consist of 76% of familial care arrangements. (Urban Institute, (October 09, 2003)) •This means that 76% of the time, families successfully resolve situations on their own.

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Private Arrangements vs. Foster Care (cont’d)NationallyAs of September 30, 2012, AFCARS data reports an estimated 397,122 children in foster care. Of those:

– 28% (108,841) were in relative foster family homes

– 47% (251,463) were in care with non-relatives and non-kin.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau. (2013).

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Private Arrangements vs. Foster Care (cont’d)In Pennsylvania, in 2011, there were 14,175 children in foster care. Of those:• 23.1% (3,276) were in relative foster family homes (Child Welfare League of America, 2013)• 76.9% (10,899) were in care with non-relatives and non-kin.

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Private Arrangements vs. Foster Care (cont’d)• It is important to note that the majority of

families successfully deal privately with issues.• Once child welfare becomes involved, success

rates for family arrangements reverse– In private arrangements, families resolve their own

situation 76% of the time – young people are placed with family

– When agencies becomes involved, plans tend to be agency-led, as seen in young people being placed with non-relatives and non-kin 77% of the time.

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The Myths

• “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”• “It’s their moral responsibility.”• “There aren’t that many family members to

locate anyway.”• “Kin caregivers only do it for the money.”• “Kin care is not as stable as adoption.”• “Kin placements are not as safe.”• “Termination of Parental Rights occurred; so, it’s

not worth locating family.”

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Greater Odds

The more family members who participate in the plan and in the life of the child, the more likely the family is to •support each other•be willing and able to provide respite and/or an alternate permanent placement

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Previously Harmed

Should we connect or re-connect a child or young person to a relative who has harmed children or adults in the past or might pose an imminent risk to a child or young person?

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Legal Red Tape

How do we work around legal red tape regarding reconnecting a child to natural family (i.e. a no contact order with a family member who would like to make contact or a parent whose parental rights have been terminated)?

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Liability

What is our liability if we connect a child with someone who is abusive or who has done negative things in the past?

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Kalani’s Story

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Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:•Explain how the Family Finding model supports casework best practice and child welfare legislation and guidance.•Describe the main goals of the six steps of Kevin Campbell’s Family Finding model.

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207: family finding overview. the pennsylvania child welfare resource center competency 207-4: the...

Documents

family finding overview

family finding process

family source

family loneliness

child welfare legislation

child welfare professional

link supportive family

county slide