African American Family Support

Conference

Voices That Count:

Improving Communication Between

the Child Welfare System, Parents and Youth

Legislative Support of Change

79th Legislative Session

80th Legislative Session

81st Legislative Session

For more information on the legislative session:

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us

For more information on CPS:

http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Protection/About_Child_Protective_Services/

Family Focus Purpose

Family Focus Program

To enhance safety, permanency and well being for children and youth through the provision of direct and

support services to their caretakers, whether biological or through affinity

Family Focus Goals

To increase parent participation

To increase youth involvement

To increase extended family

involvement

To keep families together, safe and

healthy

Core Values and Beliefs

Respect

Ownership

Collaboration and Teamwork

Empowerment

Strength-based

Core Values and Beliefs

Flexibility

Support

Cultural Competence

Uniqueness

Family Focus Division

Key Factors to Sustaining Goals of this Work

•Continue to provide forums/opportunities to families and obtain youth input

•Infusion of family and youth voice in our practice and policy

•Continuation of cultural shift within CPS

•Continue to build community involvement

Family Focus Program Areas

Family Group Decision Making (FGDM)

Kinship

Parent Involvement

Fatherhood

Family Based Safety Services (FBSS)

Family Group Decision Making

Drives agency philosophical shift

Began as a pilot in 2003 in 5 areas across the state

Offered statewide at 4 primary points of CPS involvement

Supported & funded by Texas Legislature

Family Group Decision Making

FGDM Models

Family Team Meetings•Offered to families prior to removal when immediate safety concerns have been identified.•Also used to address placement concerns after home removal.

Family Group Conferences•Offered to families upon removal and increasingly during Family Based Safety Services (in-home) cases.

Circles of Support•Youth-focused and driven meetings•Used to develop transition plans for older youth moving from foster care to adulthood

Kinship Program

Expand Kinship Program

Financial Support

Daycare

Kinship Caregiver Manual

Kinship Development Worker

Fostering Connections

Caregiver Resources Form

Permanency Care Assistance

Parent Involvement

Hired Parent Specialist

Parent Voice

Policy Review

Parent Collaboration Group (PCG)

Regional PSGs

Fatherhood

• The Importance and Value of Fathers

• Children tend to perform better at all levels

• Children are able to deal with trauma

• Children are less likely to live in poverty

• Fathers have the ability to influence the trajectory of his children’s world

• (Four State Grant) Seventy-three percent of homes with children removed = NO FATHER

• System Biases of Fathers

Family Based Safety Services

Family driven process

Preventing removals

Decrease time in care

Maintain child safety

Relieve family stress

Enhance family strengths and functioning

Principles of Partnership

Recognize that everyone desires respect

Everyone needs to be heard

Families have many strengths

Judgments can wait

Embrace the idea that partners share power

Creating partnerships with clients is a process

Engagement

Engagement of Family Members

√ Listening√ Supporting√ Sensitivity/Empathy√ Seeking to Understand√ Sharing Information√ Empowering √ Respect and Genuineness √ Self reflection and self-

correction

Disproportionality in Child Welfare

Texas: FY 2010 Comparison of Stages

0.0%5.0%

10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%45.0%50.0%

Population AllegedVictims

ConfirmedVictims

ChildrenRemoved

ChildrenAwaiting

Adoption atthe End ofthe Year

African American

Anglo

Hispanic

Other

Native American

John Fluke and Barbara Jones Harden, 2011

Explanatory Framework

John Fluke and Barbara Jones Harden, 2011

Explanatory Framework – Racism Impacts All

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a

big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can

make which, over time, add up to big differences that we

often cannot foresee.

~ Marian Wright Edelman ~

Founder of the Children’s Defense Fund

Family Focus Staff

DeShaun EalomsParent Program Specialist

Kenneth ThompsonFatherhood Specialist

Lori Lewis-ConerlyFamily Based Safety Services Program

Specialist

Ellen LettsFamily Group Decision Making Program

Specialist

Tanya RollinsDisproportionality Manager