Develop and Support Families Fostering Children and Youth

INTERNATIONAL FOSTER CARE ALLIANCE MARCH 2015

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER: GIA J. MCKINZIE, MSW

Why do people want be foster parents?Factors influencing the decision to foster include: To save children from harm and to take in children who need

loving parents Moral/religious duty Friends’ experience and family and community encouragement Contact with foster parents or children Interest in adopting Personal resources (e.g., adequate housing and time) Employment in a helping profession (e.g., teaching and social

work)

Fostering Together—Washington State

Fostering Together is dedicated to finding and supporting foster families in Washington. Developed in partnership between the state of Washington and Olive Crest – a national

leader in transforming the lives of at-risk children since 1973 – the program aims to ensure safe, loving foster families are available to meet the diverse needs of abused and neglected youth.

At Fostering Together, they strive to increase the number of foster families across the state, help families with the licensing process, and provide ongoing support to ensure their success.

Fostering Together has provided support services to families throughout King, Snohomish, Island, Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan Counties. On October 1, 2012, the Fostering Together services were expanded to include all of Washington State.

The services are free. No matter where foster parents are in the process or what agency they are working with, Fostering Together is available. In Washington, foster parents are encouraged to call 1-866-958-KIDS or visit www.fosteringtogether.org for more information.

Child Welfare League of AmericaFoster Parent Retention and Recruitment: The State of the Art in Practice and Policy is a helpful guidebook with history, case examples, and recommendations for retention, support and recruitment of licensed caregivers:

Practical ways to support foster parents: Recognizing their contributions Enhancing their skills and competencies Providing child care and respite care Matching the placement needs of children with the capacities of

the foster parents and Joining with and relating to foster parents as members of a

professional team.

Who are the Foster Children In Washington State?

Children who need foster or relative care through DSHS are temporarily separated from their families due to abuse or neglect. The children: Range in age from 0-18. May be part of a sibling group (2 or more). Come from diverse ethnic and cultural populations. May have medical, mental and/or physical health issues. May have developmental delays. May have been exposed to drug and alcohol use/abuse. All foster children are affected by the separation from their family. Sometimes

this stress and worry shows up in their behavior. Some children have not experienced the usual routines of family life and need extra understanding and patience.

Training Prior to and After Licensing:

24 Hours of Basic Foster Parent Training prior to licensing. Special Training: Medically Fragile, Sexually Aggressive Youth and

Physically Aggressive Youth. Post Licensing Special Topics: Children with Mental Health and Behavior

Issues, De-escalation Techniques for Children, Trauma Focused Therapy, Attachment Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Syndrom

Special Homes for Special Needs

Homes for (PAY) Physically Assaultive and (SAY) Sexually Aggressive Youth PAY & SAY youth cannot be placed in homes with younger children and often

need their own room. These kids have usually been victims themselves and need experienced care and understanding.

Homes for Children with Developmental Disabilities Provide care for children with mental and/or physical delays such as Down

Syndrome, Autism, etc. Homes for Medically Challenged Youth Provide care for children with medical needs including drug affected babies

and children with such conditions as diabetes, feeding tubes, severe asthma.

Foster Parents Provide A Home For:

Sibling Groups Keeping siblings together is an important way to minimize the trauma experienced by children when removed from their homes. While some sibling groups are comprised of 2 children in close ages, other sibling groups can consist of 3 or more children ranging in ages from infants to teens.

Children 0-5 years olds. The youngest and most vulnerable children. Childcare and therapeutic daycare is available for working foster parents.

Other types of homes needed:

To Provide care for elementary school aged children who need someone who can advocate for their educational needs.

Homes for Children 12 – 18 years old. Older youth also need a trusted adult who can mentor and coach

them to develop skills to transition to independent living. Investment in the lives of these children will make an invaluable difference.

Foster-Adopt/Adoptive Homes There are hundreds of children in Washington State waiting for a pre-

adoptive home or are legally free and waiting to be adopted. In the majority of cases the state

A new approach (CWLA):

A pool of well-prepared and supported families makes it possible for the child welfare system to provide permanency and stability.

Families need on-going development so they can feel competent in caring for children and youth, accessing appropriate and high quality services.

Development begins at first contact. When a child is placed with the family, continue to provide help them develop their skills and capacity to meet that child’s specific needs.

Prospective families want to feel confident that they will be helped and prepared to meet the needs of children and youth in foster care.

Strategies to consider (CWLA):

Connect prospective families with experienced foster families. It helps to encourage them and builds positive feelings of inclusion.

Actively partner with prospective foster parents to assess their strengths and areas for improvement. Then connect the parents with training and other learning opportunities specifically related to the improvement of the areas they identify.

Offer support groups and focus groups. It is important to provide support in a group format to allow for learning and sharing. Focus groups can help with problem solving and to get information from the experienced foster parents to add in to system activities.

Post placement requires that the support to foster parents continue. They still need to be actively developed and supported. By building the capacity of parents both before and after children are placed allows for building and sustaining a pool of parents who can provide stability and permanency for children and youth in care.

Talk with foster parents about how to prepare for and respond to each child’s behaviors. Initiate discussions and actively seek ideas from prospective and current parents about ways to help them build their skills for addressing behaviors of children and youth they are parenting or may parent in the future.

Family Development and Support as Active, Integrated Processes

Many child welfare systems think of “family support” as a set of post-placement services, but truly effective support is integrated into a child welfare system’s efforts to develop families.

Support for families can and should take many forms. The most effective method is to integrate support for foster families from the first contact with the agency. This will help to develop a positive relationship with the foster family and build their skills and confidence,

Foster parents feel supported and this helps the social welfare agency to ensure that there is a pool of families that can meet the diverse and specific needs of the children and youth in care.

April 2011:Seattle, King County ApproachDivision of Licensed Resources working with the Native American CommunityExample of Supporting The Development of Foster Parents To Enhance and Engage with Foster Children/Youth

A group of Native American foster parents was invited to meet with the state licensing staff and social workers, with the objective of learning more of what these foster parents felt was missing when it came to State institutions placing Native American children in out-of-home care. Creating events, for foster children to learn about their culture, rose to the top of the list. Planning for the first culture day began.

One of the challenges of instilling cultural knowledge in urban Native American foster children is the fact that more than 300 different nations are represented in the greater Seattle area. This raised the question of how cultural differences should be approached while respecting the unique variations among children of different tribes.

It was decided by the group of foster parents and social workers that the first culture day would be for teaching the children how to make drums – an item with critical significance throughout the American Indian tribes. The second culture day would be for painting them.

Volunteers of foster parents, community members and social workers worked for days in advance, accumulating the raw materials and soaking deer hides to make the drums. In addition to engaging members of the urban Indian community for volunteers, several local tribes including Tulalip, S’Klallam, Snoqualmie and STOWW (Small Tribes of Western Washington) sponsored children to ensure their participation, and food was provided by the Casey Family Program.

Seattle, King County Foster Parentjoined with Native American Community Then during the month of April 2011, Native foster children and their foster parents gathered at

the Daybreak Star Cultural center to make drums. The event included traditional storytelling, singing and drumming. Explanations were given to

the children, illustrating the significance of each step in the process, as well as the overall importance of the drum as the heartbeat of a people.

Following the event, responses from children and their caretakers began flooding in. The children were already excited in anticipation of the next culture day for painting their drums. Parents told of children sleeping with their drums beside them, and urging their foster parents to drum while they sang.

Children begin talking about what images they planned to paint on their drums at the next culture day, such as a “bear claw” and a “pink shark.” One child expressed that “the drum had not told him yet.” The second culture day was as successful as the first, with an even larger showing. As participation grows, so will the depth of knowledge shared at our events, ensuring that children of all tribal backgrounds see themselves reflected in the songs, stories and activities.

Culture is an important part of children’s lives…..

Enriching the educational and spiritual experiences for these young people will truly reinforce the notion of family and belonging, within children facing the daunting challenge of nurturing a sense of self. These “culture days” have become an important intervention related to mental health and social development.

The Native American adults that came from the Chief Seattle Club that felt that their participation as volunteers to help the children and youth gave back even more to them. It turns out that all four Native American adult volunteers had either been in foster care or adopted. The intervention has also taken on an important quality of healing.

Happy Foster Parents Mean Happy Children!