Download - Kaleidoscope Overview
WELCOME!
Tom FinneganExecutive Director,
Kaleidoscope
~35,000
~6,000
~3,000“Specialized”
Department of Children & F amily S ervices
individualized
family-centered
community-focused
Olivia DelGiudice, LCSWAssociate Director,
Kaleidoscope
Therapeutic Family Foster
Care
What is a foster home?
Did you know?
Types of foster care:
1. Home-of-relative
2. Traditional
3. Specialized
Kaleidoscope Foster Care
1. Individual Treatment Program
2. Adolescent Parent Program
3. Medically Complex Program
How’s Kaleidoscope different?
• Unconditional care• inclusive admission policy• no punitive discharge policy
• Strengths-based
• Team approach
• Professional foster parent model
Whom doesKaleidoscope serve?
Some common characteristics:• multiple placements/moves• history of abuse (physical and/or sexual)• mental health diagnoses• aggressive behaviors• delinquent behaviors• drug and/or alcohol use• runaways• chronic medical conditions
How does someone become a foster parent?
• orientation & face-to-face meeting
• application
• interview
• study of the home and family members
• criminal background checks
• health and driving record reviewed
• trainings
What can a foster parent expect?
• On-going monthly trainings
• Weekly home visits by staff (announced and unannounced)
• Twenty-four hour emergency support
• Financial support
• Annual evaluation
Intake & Matching1.DCFS referral
2.Team matches youth with foster home
3.Foster parent reads files on youth
4.Foster parent meets with youth and youth’s worker
5.Transition plan and date of placement is established
Assessment & Planning
• Risk assessment • Integrated assessment• Treatment/service plan
Completed within 30 days of admission and is a computerized system with a strengths-based focus
What we doStaff build relationships and the following services to the youth, their foster and biological families
• Case management (plans and arranges services)
• Therapy• Educational monitoring/tutoring• Basic life skills building• Employment- and housing-seeking assistance• Parenting training/coaching• Recreational activities• Medication monitoring and nursing services
Goals• A safe home
(safety)
• To remain in that home (stability)
• An on-going connection(permanency)
• Quality of life(well-being)
Cassandra Rogers-LampkinDirector of Community Services, Kaleidoscope
Systems of Care(SOC)
Overview• Stabilize children whose placements
are at risk• 27 SOC agencies across Illinois; SOC
providers each cover a specific geographic area in the state.
• Kaleidoscope covers 4½ areas in over 25 neighborhoods
• SOC providers deliver and coordinate services
Eligibility• A child living in a foster home with a relative
• A child who is or has experienced significant traumatic events in life
• A child who has behavior or emotional problems and the child is displaying risk behaviors
• The foster parent is struggling to meet the needs of the child
• There is a risk of having the child removed from the home
Referral Process• Caseworker makes the referral• SOC and caseworker discuss the
presenting issues to determine eligibility
• If eligible, SOC admits child and schedules an initial home visit within 5 days
• SOC meets with child, foster parent and caseworker in the home to begin assessment and provide services
• The team works with the whole family and other professional involved with the child
• Foster parents usually know the child the best
• The caseworker provides valuable information to SOC – helps understand the child’s trauma history, risk behaviors and emotional issues and behaviors
Important Timelines• Initial home visit within 5 working days
of admission
• Child and family team meeting occurs and strengths-based treatment plan is developed within 30 days
• SOC meets with child and foster parent at least twice per month in the home
Strengths-based Assessment• SOC uses the “Child & Adolescent
Needs and Strengths” (CANS) assessment tool, which is used statewide
• Identifies existing and potential strengths of the child and placement
• Identifies existing needs of the child and placement
Identifying Strengths• Does the child have any hobbies or
participate in activities?
• Does the child have natural talents (e.g., musical, artistic or athletic)?
• Where does the child find a sense of importance or belonging?
• What skills does the child have (e.g., work, study, sports or cooking)?
• How well does the child get along with other children? With adults?
Child & Family Team• The foster parent, child, caseworker and
provider• May also include other providers, concerned family
members or concerned persons from the community (e.g., juvenile justice or education)
• Work together to develop a treatment plan for the child
• Team members:• Help identify important issues of concern
in the child’s life• Help the SOC provider understand what
supports are wanted and needed right now
Individual Plan of Care• Identifies child and foster parent strengths
and needs• Focuses on describing how child strengths will
be used to address the needs• Establishes who is responsible for providing
services and how the services will be paid for • Team Members:• Actively participate in developing the plan• Take the lead in one or more areas
(i.e., school, recreational, etc.) of the plan
Scope of Services• SOC does not replace the caseworker;
the goal is to bring everyone in the child’s life together to develop a plan
• SOC services focus on stabilizing the placement
• SOC can provide services directly, identify a community resource or pay for specialized services when necessary
Discharge Process• SOC services vary in length - 1 month
up to 12 months
• SOC will work with the caseworker, child and foster family to identify ongoing community supports
• Child and family team meets at time of discharge to review SOC services and agree on discharge plan
Renee Lehocky, LCSWDirector of Transitional
Services, Kaleidoscope
Transitional Living Services
(Youth 18-21)
The benefits of extending care beyond age 18
• Compelling evidence that foster children who stay in care beyond the age of 18 fare better than those leaving care at age 18
• They fare better in education, employment, they avoid the criminal system and are less likely to become homeless
• Approximately 55% of young men and 46% of young women between the ages 18 and 24 were living at home with one or both parents in 2003 (Fields, 2003)
Important milestones ofIllinois youth
Age 18• State’s legal age of majority• Youth provides own consent for medical care• DCFS placements and services may continue
Age 19• Court must find that continued care is in youth's best
interest in order for jurisdiction to continue
Age 21• End of juvenile court jurisdiction
Age 23• End of any residual educational assistance through
Department of Children and Family Services
Independent Living Program
Purpose of an Independent Living Program is to offer youth the opportunity to live in an apartment with a “safety net” of supports while they progress towards independence.
To be eligible, youth must:
be 19 years old have graduated from high school/have a GED have demonstrated capacity to live independently have history/desire to be gainfully employed be employed/enrolled in higher education
program
Independent Living Program
• Assessment of youth’s strengths and needs to determine treatment planning
• Tailored services to meet individual needs
• Youth is key in development of treatment plan
• Child and family team meetings to review goals
• Focus on discharge planning to reach goals
Youth Development Program
• Educational programming
• Employment services
• Financial assistance/counseling
• Housekeeping skills
• Obtain a driver’s license
• Food assistance
• Therapy
• Financial bonus for employment and education
Outcomes measured
• Education• Employment• Financial self-sufficiency • Placement stability• Engagement in healthy
living practices/behaviors
Transition to Adult Services Program (TAS)
• TAS transitions Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) wards with developmental disabilities from the DCFS system to the adult Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities (DHS DDD) System.
• TAS provides consultation/training to caseworkers, residential staff, foster parents, wards and anyone else involved in Department of Children and Family Services cases regarding the Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities process.
• TAS is currently working with about 250 wards.
Abbie SeeDevelopment Associate,
Kaleidoscope
Find Your Future(College Youth 18-
21)
Participating Employers
History
• Partnership between Kaleidoscope and DCFS
• Began in 2005
• Giving opportunities to past & current DCFS Youth
Eligibility
• Involvement with DCFS
• Full-time college students
• Minimum 2.5 GPA
• Application, resume, letter of recommendation, transcripts
Interns & EmployersInterns• Colleges• Freshmen-Seniors• Areas of studyEmployers• Past employers & prospects• Who are they?• Commitment
• Orientation
• Etiquette training
• Cultural experience
• Volunteer experience
• Resume workshop
• Closing Luncheon
Networking/Learning Opportunities
Thank you!