Transcript Quality Parenting Initiative - Florida Philanthropic Network

Quality Parenting Initiative
A Cross Sector Partnership
Presenters
• Jane Soltis-Eckerd Family Foundation
• Carole Shauffer-Youth Law Center
• Alan Abramowitz- Fl. Dept of Children and
Families
• Glen Casel-CBC of Seminole
• Donna Krauser-Hillsborough Kids
• Kimberly Hernandez- Hillsborough Kids
• Aundre West-Hillsborough Kids
What We Know
•
•
•
•
Too many children in out of home care
Too few foster homes
Effects of group and shift care
Florida’s IVE Waiver and efforts of family
preservation and reunification
Underlying Principles of the Initiative
• Parents and Parenting
• The Foster Parent “Brand” is seriously damaged
• We can’t create a new brand without reassessing
the role of foster families
• A new brand is useless without changes in
practice
• A quality foster parent brand is core to the
success or failure of the child welfare system
Our Approach and Process
• Through a collaborative process we are rebranding
foster parenting by articulating expectations
▫ Working with biological families
▫ Acquiring additional training
▫ Working in partnership with agencies
Our approach relies on
▫ Team planning to model mutual respect
▫ Use of branding principles to articulate expectations
▫ Use of HR principles to implement the brand
▫ Use of data to measure progress
Phase One
• Three Community Based Care Agencies selected
Community Based Care of Seminole
Hillsborough Kids
Big Bend Community Care
The Consensus Brand
• A foster parent is a full partner in a team
supporting the healthy development and
achieving permanency for children who cannot
live with their parents. The specific job of the
foster parent is to provide high quality
parenting, consistent with the needs of the child,
when appropriate to mentor the bioparent , and
to maintain a lifelong commitment to the child
wherever he or she lives.
Results From the First Sites
• Hillsborough Kids, Inc.
Improvement in keeping sibling groups together in foster care (31% in May
2008 compared to 56% in October 2009)
Decline in the number of children under age 12 in group care (100 children in
May 2007 compared to 36 children in Oct 2009)
Improvement in the number of children experiencing placement moves (54%
had 2 or less placements in May 2008 compared to 92% in Nov 2009
Per Foster Parent Survey in Nov 2009
▫ More families willing to foster teens up form 16 to 23%
▫ More families willing to foster siblings up form 50 to 90%
▫ More families willing to work with bio pareants-63 say they do and 86% say
they are willing to do
▫ 86% of families reports their case manager return calls promptly
▫ 89% of families report their family development specialists return calls
promptly
▫ 98% of families report that they understand normalcy
CBC of Seminole
Major Practice changes
• Brought foster family licensing within the lead
agency rather than subcontracting
• Established a fulltime position and hired foster
parent to lead classes for new families
• Foster parent serves as mentor consultant to
new families before and after licensing
Phase Two
•
•
•
•
•
Four Additional Sites Selected
Eckerd Community Alternatives-Pinellas /Pasco
Heartland for Children-Polk/Hardee/Highlands
Family Services of Metro Orlando
Child and Family Connections-Palm Beach
Phase Three
•
•
•
•
•
Gold Seal/Diamond/Platinum Families
Redesigned Training
Piloting in seven CBC’s
Bringing the initiative statewide
Changing the foster parent name
Funding
•
•
•
•
•
Funding mix of :
Eckerd Family Foundation
Department of Children and Families
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Community Based Care Resources
Lessons Learned
•
•
•
•
•
DCF Perspective
CBC Perspective
Foster Parent Perspective
Implementer Perspective
Foundation Perspective
The Challenge
• Funders can make big changes through public
policy grant making.