Transcript AN EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT GROUP PROGRAM FOR FOSTER PARENTS DESIGNED TO PREVENT PLACEMENT DISRUPTION: A GRANT PROPOSAL Miriam Vitela California State University, Long Beach May, 2013

AN EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT GROUP PROGRAM FOR
FOSTER PARENTS DESIGNED TO PREVENT
PLACEMENT DISRUPTION:
A GRANT PROPOSAL
Miriam Vitela
California State University, Long Beach
May, 2013
INTRODUCTION
 In 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (USDHHS; 2011) reported that there were 400,540
children in protective custody.
 Currently, nearly 45% of foster children in California
have been in care for more than 2 years
 Given the prevalent number of children requiring out-ofhome care, there is an increased reliance on foster
parents to provide care for these children
 Children who grow up in foster care are less likely to
attain permanency as they become older.
 Every year, 24,000 foster youth emancipate from
foster care, and 50% (12,000) of that number
become homeless within the first year (Fowler, Toro,
& Miles, 2009)
 The lack of both peer and agency support is a recurrent
theme among foster parents when dealing with foster
children who have been exposed to neglect and abuse
(Hudson & Levasseur, 2002; Whiting & Huber, 2007).
SOCIAL WORK RELEVANCE
 Social workers are able to facilitate such
support groups by providing education,
guidance and support for healthy and stable
fostering outcomes.
 Social workers can educate foster parents by
identifying and recognizing various stressors
and symptoms prevalent in foster children, and
provide foster parents safe and healthy
strategies to cope with pertinent behaviors.
 Social workers must endorse certain core
values such as the importance of human
relationships (National Association of Social
Workers [NASW], 2008).
CROSS-CULTURAL
RELEVANCE
 In 2010, 47.7% of the children in California who were in
foster care identified of Hispanic origin, this figure was
23.3% for Black children and 4.7% who identified as two or
more races (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2010).
 It is essential for social workers to maintain cultural
sensitivity, and understand the language and culture of
ethnic families to increase recruitment and sustainability,
and help support the growing number of minority children
in care (Capello, 2006).
 At the national level, children of color are significantly
overrepresented within the child welfare system
 It is important for social workers to educate foster
parents about the specific needs of these children to
ensure their safety, over all well-being, reduce
multiple placements in foster care and promote
early permanency
METHODS
Target Population

Foster parents who currently provide foster care services to children from the child
welfare system and receive services from a certified non-profit foster family
agency

Members any ethnic background, consisting of male or females 18 years and
older who are married, single or same sex couples.
Strategies used to Identify a Funding Source

In depth and thorough assessment of the potential funding source was made
based on the compatibility of the proposed program, duration of funding
available, target population and geographic service area.
Selected Funding Source

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, established in 1948
 aims to promote a better quality of life for disadvantaged children and their
families, and works toward the development of grants that aim to improve
the lives of children in care in the United States
METHODS cont.
Sources used for the Needs Assessment

In the United States, 408,425 children entered the foster care system in 2010, and
74% of that number were placed in the care of non-relatives (USDHHS, 2011).

Foster parents have become an essential resource to the child welfare system
due to an overwhelming number of children in care.

Children in care deal with painful experiences associated with trauma, numerous
losses, the painful experience associated with grief: loss of their birth families, their
natural environment and the traumatic experience of being placed in a foster
home (Landsverk, Burns, Stambaugh & Ruetz, 2009).
Projected Budget Range

The total amount requested from the Annie E. Casey Foundation to carry out this
endeavor is totaled at $202,100. The host agency will contribute in-kind donations
in the amount of $12,000, for a total program budget of $214,100.
Project Categories
 The educational support group program will be offered once a week, during
a 10-week time
GRANT PROPOSAL
 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
 The educational support group program is designed to service foster
parents who provide care for children in the child welfare system
 In each series there will be a total of 10 English and 10 Spanish sessions;
each group series will consist of five families.
 There will be a total of four series per year; thus, a total of 40 families will be
served per year.
 POPULATION SERVED
 Foster parents between the ages of 18 years and older.
 Foster parents who provide care for children in the child welfare system
 Foster children within the child welfare system
 SUSTAINABILITY
 Pre-tests, pos-tests and participant evaluations will help to
provide a projected need for the proposed program when
applying for future funding.
GRANT PROPOSAL
 Objective I: Foster parents will experience reduced placement disruption within 6
months after completing the program.
 Objective II: Foster parents will have increased their knowledge of allocating and
obtaining community-based resources as measured by a pre-and post-test.
 Objective III: Foster parents will have formed support networks with other participants
in the support group.
 Objective IV: Foster parents would have attained the necessary tools to form healthy
attachments, increased their knowledge about the issues related to separation, loss
and transition, and the factors that affect the experience of loss among foster children
and how to access necessary services
Program Evaluation
 The educational support group will be evaluated by the administration of a
Likert- Scale format pre and post-test with open-ended questions
LESSONS LEARNED
 The grant writer found it very beneficial
and essential to utilize time management
skills and set specific blocks of time to work
on the proposed program
 The grant writer found it helpful to consult
with the host agency staff when
developing a budget for personnel costs
and in-kind donations
 The grant writer gained a great wealth of
knowledge for future reference on the
various processes that are involved in
writing a grant, from the amount of work
that it takes to propose a program to
getting it funded
REFERENCES
Capello, D.C., (2006). Recruiting Hispanic foster parents: Issues of culture, language, and social policy. Families in
Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services. 87(4), 529-535.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2010). Statistics and research. Retrieved from
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/statistics/
Fowler, P. J., Toro, P. A., & Miles, B. W. (2009). Pathways to and from homelessness and associated psychosocial
outcomes among adolescents leaving the foster care system. American Journal of Public Health, 99(8), 14531458.
Hudson, P., & Levasseur, K. (2002). Supporting foster parents: Caring voices. Child Welfare, 81(6), 853-877.
Landsverk, J.A., Burns, B. J., Stambaugh, L. F., & Ruetz, J. A. (2009). Psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents in
foster care: Review of research literature. Child Welfare, 88, 49-69.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). NASW code of ethics. Washington, DC: Author.
United States Department of Health & Human Services. (2011). Adoption and foster care statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_ research/ index.htm#afcars
Whiting, J. B., & Huber, P. T. (2007). Significant stress and real rewards: The ecological and ambiguous experiences
of foster parents. Relational Child & Youth Care Practice, 20(2), 9-20.