SD14 - Training, Supportive Services and Recruitment for Foster Families: A Feasibility Study
Executive Summary: "Foster parents of Virginia's children need to be well-prepared to meet the multiple needs of the children entering the foster care system." This was the conclusion of state lawmakers after a comprehensive study of the status of the foster care system in the Commonwealth. As a result, the 1991 General Assembly requested, through House Joint Resolution 259, that the Department of Social Services study the feasibility of mandating foster parent training in the Commonwealth; developing a statewide policy regarding supportive services such as respite care, day care and the availability of caseworkers for foster parents; and developing a statewide model for foster parent recruiting. In response to the charge, the department established and led a study committee. The committee reviewed foster care materials and reports prepared by and made available to the department and surveyed local social service agencies, department central and regional staff, several private child placing agencies, foster parent organizations and child welfare staff from neighboring states. The study focused on three components of the foster care system: training, supportive services, and recruitment of foster parents providing foster family care. Issues and recommendations focused on the direction the department should take regarding each component. In addition, the report includes an analysis of the feasibility of options for each of the system's components. Foster care is substitute care on a 24-hour basis for children whose families are in crises. Care is provided for children in family homes, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, treatment centers, correctional facilities, and other types of living arrangements. It is intended to be a temporary response to family problems rather than a long term solution. When a child enters foster care, efforts are made to place the child in the least restrictive placement: the most family-like setting available. This is usually a foster family home. Foster parents are crucial to the success of the foster care system as most of the children in care reside in foster homes. Based on department statistics, 6,304 children were in foster care in Virginia on June 30, 1991, with 4,572 (73%) residing in foster family homes within their own communities. While the average age of a child in foster care is 10.5 years, almost half (41 %) are between the ages of 13 and 21. The average time a foster child has been in care is 3.1 years. The needs of children in foster care have become more complex and challenging. Youngsters have been traumatized by poverty and homelessness, emotional maltreatment, physical and sexual abuse, alcohol and other drug exposure, and HIV (AIDS) infection. Foster children and birth families now require more specialized and intensive services than children in foster care ten years ago. The department's data base lists 4,100 families approved by local social service agencies to provide foster family care. While the number of approved homes is considerable, foster care supervisors throughout the state consistently cite a lack of foster homes. The department's 1989 study, Strategies for Recruitment and Retention of Foster Care Families in Virginia, explains the need for more homes: • Many families have not been trained or prepared to handle the complex needs of the children coming into or already in care; • Some available homes do not match the needs of children in care; • Some approved homes have only a limited capacity to care for a narrow range of children; • Some approved foster families have overestimated their capacity to care for a larger number of children; and • Some families need a rest from the difficulties of foster parenting. In the department's Foster Care Study, conducted in 1985, the number one reason given by foster parents for leaving the system was that the needs of the foster child were greater than expected. Many had not been trained to meet the needs children presented. A lack of adequately trained foster parents and a shortage of homes are causing more restrictive placements. Consequently, children may be placed in costly residential facilities or other arrangements instead of foster homes. To help foster families fulfill their roles and to increase the number of family homes, the department and local agencies must: • Train foster families to respond to the multiple and complex needs of children in care; • Support foster families with services which enable them to continue foster parenting; and • Recruit sufficient numbers of foster families. This represents a challenge to the current foster care system. Currently, training, provision of supportive services, and recruitment vary from agency to agency, and differ in availability, quality, and delivery methods. Each of the components with appropriate recommendations is highlighted below, beginning with training, followed by supportive services and then recruitment. This order reflects the department's priority for implementation of the recommendations, considering need and the revenue shortage currently faced by the state. The report discusses the bases for the recommendations and strategies for implementation. TRAINING Foster parent training includes the education and skill development necessary to ensure foster parents have knowledge, skills and abilities required to complete the tasks of family foster care. At this time, the choice of requiring training for foster parents is a decision of local agencies. Foster parent training is generally divided into two types: pre-service and in-service. Pre-service occurs before the placement of a child in the foster family home, while in-service training occurs after the placement of a child. A great number of foster parents with little or no training are providing services for children with complex needs. Of the 124 local social service agencies, 72 agencies representing 3,205 (78%) of approved foster homes, now provide varying levels of pre-service training, although foster parents approved before 1990, generally, have not received training. Some in-service training is currently provided by 55 local agencies. Both pre-service and in-service training are provided by 42 agencies. Foster parents repeatedly express the need for training to enable them to deal with the problems of children in their homes. In making provisions for removal of children from families, the state has a responsibility to guarantee that the welfare and interests of all children are equitably supported. With mandated foster parent pre-service and in-service training, all foster parents would receive consistent information and skill development. The needs of foster children would be better met. RECOMMENDATION 1: Local social service agencies should be mandated to assure the provision of foster parent training, based on the potential foster parent's training needs, and foster parents should be mandated to attend. Upon full implementation of the proposed foster parent training program, Section 63.1-56 of the Code of Virginia should be amended to require that: all foster parents demonstrate specific competencies; local social service agencies assess the foster parents' skills and competencies; and local social service agencies provide for skills and policy training, as needed, prior to placement of a child in the home, and prescribed in-service training as a condition of re-approval as a foster home. RECOMMENDATION 2: The department should secure funds to provide reimbursement to foster parents for costs of attending mandated pre-service and in-service training, to include ancillary costs such as mileage and day care expenses. RECOMMENDATION 3: To ensure that foster families have needed competencies, the department should develop, in collaboration with local agencies, a standardized assessment process and instrument. The local agency should use the assessment instrument to determine the foster parent's level of competency in specific categories, and to identify areas for further skill development necessary to meet the needs of children placed in the home. RECOMMENDATION 4: The department should implement a statewide program of policy and competency-based skills training for foster parents, including centralized development functions and decentralized delivery. RECOMMENDATION 5: The department should expand its current training structure with Virginia Institute of Social Service Training Activities (VISSTA) to include foster parent training. SUPPORTIVE SERVICES Supportive services enable foster parents to meet the needs of foster children in family-based care. The department and local agencies currently provide many supportive services to foster families. The study focused on policy, as well as respite care, day care, caseworker availability and support to foster children and parents as the limited time frame for the study did not permit examination of other services. Policy: State policy and federal regulations lack specificity in regard to supportive services such as respite and day care for foster families or foster children. The lack of clear, directive policy and insufficient funding for supportive services are barriers to consistent, statewide availability of supportive services. Respite Care: Foster parents often need respite care to continue foster parenting. Respite care provides a temporary break in the care of children who are very demanding. The normal resources families use to take breaks in the care of children, such as family, neighbors, or friends, are often unwilling or ill-equipped to provide temporary care for foster children. Respite care is currently being piloted in Virginia. Many localities are identifying respite care as a necessary service for children in therapeutic foster care to relieve foster parents of the heavy demands of these children. Day Care: The increasing need for day care is due to more parents working outside of the home. In the past, many local social service agencies did not pay for day care; therefore, agencies have recruited foster parents who did not need day care. Agencies lose current and potential foster parents when they do not pay for day care for foster children in situations where foster parents need to work. Caseworker Availability: Lack of availability means that caseworkers are unable to respond in a timely manner when foster parents or children need their assistance. Agencies report that work required in a foster care caseload is much more involved, time consuming, and subject to documentation requirements than in other service areas. They also report that time spent on extensive documentation detracts from direct contact with foster parents, foster children and biological family members. RECOMMENDATION 6: The department should develop policy regarding supportive services for foster families and children. This policy must preserve families and promote statewide consistency of services for foster children. It must offer flexibility to local agencies and communities for the use of the most appropriate resources available. These services should be provided to support family-based placements and prevent more restrictive out-of-home placements. RECOMMENDATION 7: The department should expand respite care services statewide, initially targeting localities with high foster care caseloads, a lack of community support for foster parents, a significant incidence of children with special needs, or an inadequate number of foster homes. RECOMMENDATION 8: The department should explore alternative sources of funding day care services for foster children and seek funding from the General Assembly to pilot the provision of day care. RECOMMENDATION 9: The department should work toward decreasing the workloads of caseworkers by automating foster care records to reduce time required for paperwork. RECOMMENDATION 10: The department should continue to monitor local caseloads through caseload standards and random moment sampling, and establish goals for foster care caseloads which consider all work needed with foster parent coordination. RECOMMENDATION 11: The department should continue supporting training activities for caseworkers and supervisors to ensure that they have the basic skills to perform their job duties. RECOMMENDATION 12: The department should facilitate the development of a foster parent consultation function at the local level. RECRUITMENT Local social service agencies handle their own foster parent recruitment. However, staff face a difficult task identifying adults who are interested and qualified to be foster parents. With more single parent households, more women working outside the home, and higher costs of raising a child, fewer families are able to volunteer as a foster family home. In addition, local agencies also have less time for recruitment because of greater caseload responsibilities and demands. In the 1985 Foster Care Study, 91% of the local agencies surveyed said they would like the state to take an active role in recruitment. In a June 1991 telephone survey of local agencies, 119 agencies (96%) indicated a continued desire for the state to take a leadership and collaborative role in foster parent recruitment. RECOMMENDATION 13: For an initial foster parent recruitment program, the department should establish a system that provides for centralized administrative support from the department, and decentralized provision of services from local social service agencies. RECOMMENDATION 14: To ensure an effective recruitment program in the state, the department should assume a leadership role in assisting local agencies recruit for foster parents. RECOMMENDATION 15: The department should assure development of high quality brochures, flyers, posters, handbooks, and other prepared materials and disseminate them to local social service agencies. RECOMMENDATION 16: The department should analyze current utilization of approved foster family homes, review the parent assessment and approval process, and assess the foster families' role with the agencies and relationship to caseworkers with respect to the provision of foster care. RECOMMENDATION 17: The department should hire one full time, permanent staff person to provide overall direction for foster care recruitment and implement the recruitment strategies. FEASIBILITY OPTIONS A comprehensive program including pre-service and in-service training, a full range of supportive services, and recruitment would strengthen the foster care program and care provided through foster homes. Because the department anticipates limited funding and has concerns about effectively initiating all of the recommendations of this report immediately, a phased-in program is proposed. A phased-in program would build a comprehensive program over three biennia. Phase 1 would cover FY 93 and FY 94, and include: Training • Assessment of training needs of foster parents; • Development and testing of curricula for pre-service and in-service training; • Certification of trainers; • Delivery of basic pre-service training to all new foster parents and other identified foster parents; and • Development, testing and implementation of an automated system to track and monitor foster parent training. • Cost in general funds would be $488,374 per year. Supportive Services • Expanded piloting of respite care through either use of pooled funds or selected localities, with continuation of $180,200 general funds and an additional $99,800 in new general funds; • Investigating federal funds for day care during FY 93 and piloting day care beginning in FY 94, using general funds ($234,000) for 100 children if no federal funds are available; and • Further development and testing of an automated personal computer package for local foster care workers, using 50% of the funds of an approved federal grant ($50,000 FY 93 and $12,500 FY 94). Recruitment • No funding The department would need to design an evaluation to determine impacts of initiatives in training and supportive services on the foster care program. Phase 2, covering a span of two years, FY 95 and 96, would build on phase 1 and add: • Delivery of in-service training to foster parents assessed as needing training; • Expanded piloting of respite care and child day care services to additional localities and children; • Training for workers statewide to use the automated package, including costs for trainer, travel, and materials; and • Increased availability of caseworkers for foster parent consultation. Phase 3, covering two years, FY 97 and FY 98, would allow further implementation of the comprehensive program, with the inclusion of: • Modifications, if appropriate, to training curricula, delivery, and tracking; • Implementation of the recruitment model; and • Further expansion of supportive services based on the assessment of the impacts of expanded training and supportive services on the foster care system. RECOMMENDATION 18: The department should use the phased-in approach as presented in Option 2 of the report, as it permits funding needs to be spread over a period of time, allows for evaluation of progress along the way, and addresses the needs identified to strengthen the foster care program. |
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