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Reports, Research and Opportunities from Partners in Child Protection Reform |
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Reports, Research and Opportunities from Partners in Child Protection Reform - Thursday, June 21, 2012
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Partners in Child Protection Reform
REPORTS & RESOURCES DIGEST – September 2012
OPPORTUNITIES to ACT
Legislative
Board Hearings Set for State Agencies- The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) has scheduled
hearings on the Legislative Appropriations Requests (LAR) of several state
agencies. All the hearings below are
scheduled to take place in room 140 of the John H Reagan Building located at
105 W. 15th in Austin.
- Dept. of Family and Protective
Services –
Sept. 14, 2:00-5:00
- You can view the other posted LBB
budget hearing dates by clicking
here.
To learn more
about the budget process and ways to make your voice heard, please visit
Texans Care's webpage on the Texas
Legislative Process in our online Advocacy
Center.
The Council
on Children and Families
is holding a work session September 12th from 9:00-12:00 to develop its 2012
Legislative Report. The agenda does not include an opportunity for public
comment, but the meeting is open to the public. Brown-Heatly Building, Public
Hearing Room 1420, 4900 North Lamar Blvd. Click
here to view the agenda.
DFPS Council Meeting.**New Location**
Dallas, Texas The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Council
will hold a work session and council meeting on October 19th, 10:30-2pm
located at the Dallas City Council Chambers, 1500 Marilla; Dallas, TX. For more information, visit, http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/about/council/
REPORTS and
RESOURCES
Financial Needs of Instant Adults: What Banks and Credit
Unions Can Do to Help Youth to Transition Out of Foster- Published by the AEI Foster Care Working Group a group facilitated by One Voice
Texas, this guide provides financial institutions information on the needs of
youth in foster care and ways banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions
can better support the financial and banking needs of transition age youth.
Are Subsidized Guardianships Making a Positive Difference
for Kids? Recently released by the Center
for Public Policy Priorities, this paper highlights the
implementation of the Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) program that provides
financial assistance to relatives that take permanent custody of children. Early findings suggest that the PCA program
has increased overall permanency and relative guardianship for youth in foster
care, but has decreased relative adoptions.
Psychotropic Medication Guide for Youth- This youth-friendly guide provides youth in foster
care information on how to handle choices related to psychotropic medication
usage and tools for empowering youth to navigate challenging feelings,
behaviors, and decisions related to behavioral healthcare. The guide includes helpful information,
questions to ask, worksheets and other tips on how to make healthy decisions
and maintaining treatment after leaving foster care.
OPPORTUNITIES to LEARN
Webinar: Court –based child welfare
reforms- September 5, 2012, 3:00-4:00pm
EST. Following the release of the brief Court-Based Child Welfare Reforms: Improved
Child/Family Outcomes and Potential Cost Savings, this webinar will highlight ways that court-based child welfare reforms
can have an impact on child welfare outcomes and costs. To register, click here.
Texas
Foster Family Association Annual Training Conference -September
14-16, 2012, San Antonio, Texas. Registration
is still available—spaces are limited. There will be 20+ training hours and networking opportunities available
for foster parents, agency staff, and other individuals that provide foster
care services and support to children. For
more details, visit the TFFA
website.
Texas
CASA Conference 2012- October 25-27, Frisco Texas. This year’s conference, Improving
Outcomes for Children will provide CASA volunteers and other child welfare
professionals the opportunity to gain valuable expertise and information on
ways to better advocate for children and youth served in the foster care
system. Register here. For event details, please visit the conference website.
DSHS
Fall Grand Round Series to Begin
-The Fall 2012 semester of Grand
Rounds starts on September 19 and runs through November 7. All
presentations are on Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Central Time in
K-100 Lecture Hall at 1100 W. 49th Street in Austin or via webinar.
CEUs available. Upcoming presentations which may be of interest to mental
health stakeholders include:
To find out more information about
these presentations and other Ground Round scheduled presentations, click here. Previously shared Resources:
Texas Children in Long-Term Foster Care: Outcomes, Court Hearing Practices, and Court Costs. Recently published by Texas Appleseed, this report highlights best practices, outcomes and costs associated with Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) hearings. Of the courts studied, Travis County and the Child Protection Court of Texas were found to perform significantly better than the statewide average in getting children into permanent homes and reducing the total number of children in PMC in their jurisdiction. Promoting Social and Emotional Well-being. A memorandum recently released by the Administration on Children, Families and Youth acknowledges the agency's commitment to promoting the social and emotional well-being of children and youth who experience maltreatment and are involved in the child welfare system. For more information about these efforts at the federal level and a list of resources addressing ways to promote resiliency and well-being, click here. Family Assets Study. This groundbreaking national study introduces the Family Assets framework that acknowledges the relationship between individual and family factors and outcomes. Like that of developmental assets research for children and youth, the Family Assets framework is made up of relationships, interactions, opportunities, and values that supports a families ability to thrive. Promoting the Safety and Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth in Child Welfare Settings. Published by the Child Welfare League of America, these Recommended Practices provide child welfare agencies guidelines for providing services to LGBTQ youth and ensuring their safety and overall well-being. LGBTQ youth are over-represented, yet underserved in state child welfare systems and need to be provided supportive and safe settings that recognize their individual needs. The Texas BluePrint: Transforming Education Outcomes for Children & Youth in Foster Care. This report was recently released by the Texas Supreme Court Children’s Commission. As a final report by the Commission’s Education Committee, this report encourages more effective communication between systems and provides strategies to support the needs of youth and children experiencing foster care. Recommendations included in the report address changes in daily practices, modifications to education and child welfare policy, and statutory changes that can help secure positive educational outcomes and promote overall well-being for children and youth experiencing foster care. CASA: Youth Permanency Planning Toolkit-This toolkit providers information on the needs of older youth and encourages those working with older youth to commit to strategies that will promote their successful transition to adulthood. This resource can be used by diverse child welfare stakeholders and can better support the advocacy efforts of professionals, volunteers, and community members working with older youth in foster care. Check out the CASA: Youth Permanency Planning Toolkit. DFPS Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) Presentation: On April 17, 2012, the Department held a public hearing to receive input on 2013-2014 budget priorities that DFPS will be presenting to policymakers. A presentation outlining the areas that DFPS will be requesting additional funding for FY 13-14 was provided and can be viewed here. Addressing the Needs of Youth Involved In Both The Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems. This paper from Georgetown Public Policy Institute's Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps provides a framework for serving youth involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems and looks at preventing youth from crossing over between the systems and ensuring youth served by both systems are served effectively.
DFPS New Hire Assessment for CVS positions. This assessment was recently developed by DFPS and aims to provide those applying for conservatorship positions a better understanding of what the job entails prior to moving forward with hiring.
The Economic Burden of child maltreatment in the United States and implications for prevention. This article provides new estimates of the average lifetime costs per child maltreatment victim and aggregate lifetime costs for all new child maltreatment cases incurred in 2008 using an incidence-based approach. The research concludes that the total lifetime economic burden from new cases of fatal and nonfatal child maltreatment in the US is higher compared to other public health issues, indicating the impact and seriousness of child abuse/neglect and policy measures that promote child abuse prevention efforts.
Addressing the Needs of Youth Involved in both the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems. This paper from Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps provides a framework for serving youth involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems and looks at preventing youth from crossing over between the systems and ensuring youth served by both systems are served effectively.
DFPS New Hire Assessment for CVS positions. This assessment was recently developed by DFPS and aims to provide those applying for conservatorship positions a better understanding of what the job entails prior to moving forward with hiring.
Child Protective Services 2011 Legislative Session and Interim- Jane Burstain with the Center for Public Policy Priorities has produced a series of policy pages that highlight the 82nd legislative session and issues CPS will face during the interim.
Ensuring Appropriate Psychotropic Medication Usage for Children in Foster Care. In recent years, Texas has put a number of accountability measures in place to reduce the overprescription of serious drugs to kids in foster care. The new reports, however, indicate children need more protections put in place. Ensuring Appropriate Psychotropic Medication Usage for Children in Foster Care, a new brief by Texans Care's child welfare policy associate Ashley Harris, looks at what Texas can do to build on earlier efforts to limit foster children’s unnecessary exposure to mind-altering drugs.
Center for the Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparties (CEDD). The Center for the Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities has released a new website designed for internal and external stakeholders and members of the public. The CEDD website will provide visitors information on current health equity initiatives, work efforts using the Texas Model to eliminate disproportionality and disparities regionally and statewide, and information on technical assistance and support services.
GAO Report on Psychotropic Medication Usuage. A recent report by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that children in foster care in Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, and Texas were prescribed psychotropic medications 2.7 to 4.5 times higher than children who were not in foster care, with children in the Texas foster care system being the most likely to receive these types of medications compared to the other four states. Texas has made significant efforts to address the overutilization of psychotropic meds within foster care; however, these findings suggest Texas can do a better job of ensuring children and youth in foster care are being provided the care needed to improve their overall well-being and secure a path to permanency.
Disproportionality in Child Protective Services: Updated Results of Statewide Reform Efforts. This report assesses changes and efforts to address disproportionality since the initial publication of the March 2010 preliminary report. The updated report provides a brief overview of disporoportionality in Texas and provides analyses of the outcome of investigations and how other case and family factors influence these outcomes as it relates to disproportionality.
Portrait of Private Agencies in the Child Welfare System. This report highlights results from the National Survey of Private Child and Family Serving Agencies. The report provides detailed information on the characteristics and organizational structures of private agencies. Findings from this report acknowledge the essential role of the private sector within child welfare and the need for strong public/private partnerships.
Family Leadership and Perspectives.This webpage offers resources, examples of parent leader recognition events, State and local examples/resources, PowerPoint presentations, bibliographies, and links to other websites on the topic of meaningful family engagement. Meaningful family engagement is becoming an important part of case practice within child welfare agencies and is seen to improve outcomes for children and their families.
Voices of Experience: Improving Mental Health Supports for Homeless & Transitioning Youth This report highlights a project developed by the Texas Network of Youth Services that provided youth 18-24 an opportunity to interview their peers to better understand the struggles homeless and transitioning foster youth endure as they transition to adulthood and provides recommendations for addressing those challenges.
The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) recently published,The State of America's Children 2011. To view the full interactive report, visit here.
Foster Care: Fast Tracking Relatives Who Care for Kids.This report published by the Center for Public Policy Priorities creates a framework for evaluating the various standards for licensing to determine which ones should be waived under the federal Fostering Connections provision that allows states to waive "non-safety" standards for certain relative caregivers.
Licensing Relatives as Foster Parents.This short primer by Jane Burstain at the Center for Public Policy Priority describes the licensing process for relative caregivers and provides information on how legal parties and other advocates can assist relatives through the process.
Running Away from Foster Care: Youths' Knowledge and Access of Services. New research suggests that youth who have had multiple foster care placements are more likely to run away from their homes than youth who have only been placed once in a foster care setting.The report also highlights reasons why youth runaway from foster care, service barriers for runaway youth, and their knowledge of available services.
Regional Statistical Information About Children in DFPS Care. DFPS has posted the latest regional statistical information about children in DFPS care (May 2011). This information is updated quarterly. To view this information, visit this page.
Ensuring the Child Welfare System Works for All Texas Children. Recently released by Texans Care for Children, this policy paper examines how disproportionality impacts the children served by Child Protective Services. Additionally, the paper examines why children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds face differing outcomes within the child welfare system, what Texas has done to address disproportionality, and what Texans can continue to do to ensure all children receive appropriate care.
Addressing the Needs of Immigrant Children. The Spring 2011 issue of The Future of Children, a project of Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, is devoted to immigrant children--defined as children birth to age 17 who have at least one foreign-born parent. The volume's ten chapters address issues ranging from physical and psychological health, to living arrangements, educational outcomes, and acclamation to life in the US. The full volume and article summaries, is available at http://www.futureofchildren.org/
Foster Care Statistics 2009. The Federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) collects information on all children in foster care. This fact sheet provides the most recent national statistical estimates for children and youth in foster care from fiscal year (FY) 2009 and also provides earlier data from FY 2000.
Permanency Planning Today Winter Issue. The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC) recently released its Winter 2011 issue of Permanency Planning Today, a compilation of articles and resources related to meaningful family partnerships in the child welfare practice and initiatives related to creating beneficial living arrangements for children in the child welfare system.
Strengthening Representation of Parents in Child Welfare. The National Project to Improve Representation for Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System, a collaboration between the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Steering Committee, and Casey Family Programs, is an initiative that aims to strengthen the representation of parents involved in the child welfare system, and to give them a voice in the process. To learn more, visit the project's webpage here.
Impact of Changes to Foster Parent Reimbursement Rates. Published by the University of Minnesota's Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, this report details information on the foster parent reimbursement rates and how those rates affect the number and quality of foster homes.
Addressing Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare. This issue brief, released by the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, describes effort to address racial disproportionality in child welfare processes and practices. The efforts presented include policy proposals and practice suggestions supported by examples of current State and local initiatives.
How Out-of-School Time Program Quality is Related to Adolescent Outcomes. This research brief, produced by Child Trends, discusses positive outcomes in youth involved in high-quality out-of-school time commitments. The full report can be found here.
Former Foster Kids Struggle to Get Records. This article, published by the Texas Tribune, details the struggle that kids who have aged out of the foster care system face when attempting to retrieve their records. In the article describes a pattern of youth's requests being denied. The article also depicts the efforts that have been made by attorneys and others involved in the legal sphere to correct the struggle faced by those trying to receive copies of their records.
Permanency Planning and Family-Based Alternatives Report. In response to Senate Bill 368 of the 77th Legislature, the "Permanency Planning and Family-Based Alternatives Report" describes the efforts of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to monitor child development and ensure the placement and permanency plans of children with developmental disabilities.
The Nation's Children 2010. Published by the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), this report gives data and information on the well-being of children throughout the nation.
Number of Youth Aging out of Foster Care Continues to Rise. This article discusses the climbing rate of youth aging out of the foster care, a number that has grown 64% since 1999. The article offers a factsheet on specific data and discusses efforts that have been made to reduce the number of children who age out of the foster care system.
Undocumented and Abused: A Texas Case Study of Children in the Child Protective Services System was written by the Center for Public Policy Priorities' Jane Burstain and describes how public policy can support an effective child welfare response when an unauthorized immigrant child is also abused and in need of care. To read this policy paper and peruse other immigration-related and child-welfare resources from this Texans Care for Children and Partners in Child Protection Reform member, click here.
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