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Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success And Increasing Adoptions Act

Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success And Increasing Adoptions Act. Maximizing the Positive Impact of the Older Youth Provisions. Fostering Connections: Major Goals. Ensuring and supporting permanent placements with relatives Increasing adoptive families for children

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Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success And Increasing Adoptions Act

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  1. Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success And Increasing Adoptions Act Maximizing the Positive Impact of the Older Youth Provisions

  2. Fostering Connections: Major Goals • Ensuring and supporting permanent placements with relatives • Increasing adoptive families for children • Maintaining sibling ties and other family connections • Improving the quality of staff working with children in the child welfare system • Addressing children’s health and education needs • Enhancing funding and training opportunities for tribal child welfare systems • Improving outcomes for older youth in care

  3. Fostering Connections: Older Youth Provisions • Allow states to continue support for youth in foster care through age 21 • Allow states to extend adoption and/or guardianship subsidies through age 21 for youth who were adopted or entered a guardianship arrangement at age 16+ • Require states to help youth develop a personal transition plan 90 days prior to discharge

  4. Option to Extend Care up To Age 19, 20, or 21 • To be eligible, young people must be: • Completing secondary education or in a program leading to an equivalent credential • Enrolled in an institution that provides post-secondary or vocational education • Participating in a program or activity designed to promote, or remove barriers, to employment • Employed for at least 80 hours per month, or • Have a medical condition that renders youth incapable of engaging in any of these activities

  5. Option to Extend Care Past Age 18 • Requires states to expand definition of child for foster care, adoption subsidy, and guardianship subsidy • Encourages states to expand their definition of child to age 21(rather than just 19 or 20) • If less than 21, requires states to provide a “programmatic or practice rationale” to the Regional Office • Allows states to extend assistance to one or more of the employment/education conditions • Allows states to establish criteria for meeting conditions and obtaining assurances from youth • Encourages states to extend eligibility broadly

  6. Option to Extend Care Past Age 18: Implementation Time Line • States can exercise option on or after Oct 1, 2010. • States can • claim IV-E reimbursement for allowable costs as early as the first day of the quarter when the state submits its amended IV-E Plan, and • include youth who are currently in foster care, guardianship, or adoption and meet the required criteria

  7. Application of Title IV-E Eligibility Requirements to Youth 18+ Current IV-E Eligibility Requirements for Youth under Age 18: • Removal From Home Criteria • Contrary to the welfare finding • Reasonable efforts finding • Placement and Care Responsibility • AFDC Program Criteria

  8. Removal from Home Criteria for 18+ Requirement can be satisfied by: • Court ordered removal prior to 18, • Voluntary placement agreement prior to 18, • Court ordered removal after attaining age 18, • Voluntary placement agreement after attaining age 18, or • Trial independence

  9. Removal from Home Criteria: Court Ordered Removal After Age 18 • If permissible under state law, youth can be adjudicated at 18+. • Contrary to welfare and reasonable efforts finding can reflect the unique situation of an 18 year old: • Contrary to welfare=finding that it would be in the youth’s best interest to be in foster care • Reasonable efforts to prevent removal=finding that reasonable efforts were made to meet youth’s needs without a foster placement

  10. Reasonable Efforts to Finalize the Permanency Plan • Continued requirement of a yearly judicial finding that reasonable efforts are being made to finalize the permanency plan • HHS’s Program Instruction (PI) makes clear that • states should continue to provide permanency services for youth 18+ who remain in care, BUT • allows states to make judicial findings of reasonable efforts to finalize that permanency plan that focus on efforts to prepare the youth for independence

  11. Removal from Home Criteria: VPA with Youth after age 18 • Can enter into a VPA with the youth if state law permits • As w/court ordered removal, required findings can be unique to the situation of 18+

  12. Removal from Home Requirement: Trial Independence • No new finding (or IV-E re-determination) needed if the “trial independence” is consistent with “trial home visit” regulation--45 C.F.R. § 1356.21: • Trial home visits/trial independence would: • Not exceed six months in duration, OR • Would extend a length of time described by order of the court

  13. Placement and Care Responsibility Requirement can be met by: • Written authorization of youth • Voluntary placement agreement after age 18 • Court order after age 18

  14. AFDC Program Criteria • For youth entering care at 18+ or reentering care after 18, AFDC eligibility is based on the youth’s income w/out regard to parents’ income. • Eliminates AFDC re-determination for youth in care and extending past age 18

  15. Title IV-E Eligible Placement Settings for Youth 18+ • Licensed foster family home • Child-care institution • “Supervised setting in which the individual is living independently” (SSIL)

  16. Supervised Setting in Which the Individual is Living Independently • In its PI, HHS states that states have the discretion to determine what settings will qualify as SSILs and the approval/licensure and safety protocols • States will need HHS to approve their description of and approval process for SSILs • HHS provides the following examples as potential SSILs: • Host homes, college dorms, shared housing, semi-supervised apartments, etc. • Foster care maintenance payment may be paid directly to youth

  17. Case Management Requirements Post Age 18 • Monthly face-to-face visits required • Caseworker visit data required

  18. Court Oversight: Permanency Review Hearings • Annual permanency hearing required for “contrary to the welfare” judicial determination • Must occur in a family or juvenile court or another court (including a tribal court) of competent jurisdiction, or by an administrative body appointed or approved by the court • Annual permanency hearing not required for voluntary placement agreement • Allows judicial determinations for reasonable efforts to prepare the child for independence • Any authorized member of the judiciary may make determinations and may do so outside of a court hearing

  19. Court Oversight: 6 Month Reviews • Completed by either a court or by administrative review • “Administrative review" is • a review open to the participation of the parents of the child, conducted by a panel of appropriate persons at least one of whom is not responsible for the case management of, or the delivery of services to, either the child or the parents who are the subject of the review. 42 U.S.C.A. § 675 (6)

  20. Areas of Concern for Court Oversight for Youth 18+ If states use VPAs as the primary mechanism to continue youth in care: • involvement/oversight of the court may weaken • right to representation and involvement of the child’s attorney may be impacted

  21. Implementation Concerns/Variables for States • Cost • Lack of capacity to provide services to youth 18+ (especially in the area of placements) • Lack of expertise in serving young adults

  22. State Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Full Implementation • Perform an accurate cost analysis of implementation of older youth provisions • Move forward w/low/no cost provisions • Mobilize youth • Educate legislators and community • Impact practice through alternative means such as court rules and admin. directives • Court advocacy

  23. Importance of Accurate Cost Analysis • Need accurate data to move forward w/legislation and advocacy • Analysis is not always simple and straightforward • New costs & new reimbursement opportunities • Costs may be offset by savings found by implementation of other FC provisions (KG)

  24. The Finance Project’s Cost Analysis Work • Working w/states to develop cost of implementation of various FC provisions • Includes convening a stakeholder group of advocates, cys professionals, state leaders, legislators, youth • helps build consensus and support for implementation • insures most accurate analysis and data • For more info on cost analyses in the states see http://www.fosteringconnections.org/resources/topic_tar?id=0005&type=tool

  25. Low Cost Provisions that May Help Build Demand for Full Implementation Transition Plan Requirement • Should be low/no cost as discharge and permanency planning has always been required • Statutes can provide more concrete guidance of expectations to make the requirement more meaningful and insure court review • Closer scrutiny of transition plans may help build demand and support for extension of care if plans are demonstrating that youth are not prepared for independence at 18 • States that have enacted Transition Plan Legislation include: • Arkansas • Iowa • New Mexico • Minnesota

  26. Implementation Through Court Rules Court rules may be most appropriate for: • Detailing Transition Plan Requirements • Detailing Procedures for Education Stability Provisions • Examples: • W. VA. Juvenile Court Rules http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/rules/Juvenile_Procedure_Rules.pdf, ) • Proposed PA Juvenile Court Rules

  27. Implementation Through Court Advocacy Even w/out State Law Change, FC Supports • Court review/oversight of transition plan requirement • Youth involvement and consultation by the court • Requiring that a finding of reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan includes addressing adequate preparation for independence

  28. Mobilization and Education of Youth • Advocacy is much more effective when done by current and former foster youth. • Education of youth about the rights and the opportunities of FC complements youth advocacy/mobilization. • Several states have “Know Youth Rights” Manuals and Curriculums that can be easily replicated.

  29. Helpful Resources • Guidance on Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, ACYF-CB-PI-10-11 (July 9, 2010), located at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/policy/pi/2010/pi1011.htm • Fostering Connections Resource Center: http://www.fosteringconnections.org • Includes Older Youth Section • Tracks State Implementation • Provides TA and Webinars • Barbara Langford et al, Designing Foster Care to 21: A Discussion Guide for State Leaders (May 2010), located at http://www.fosteringconnections.org/resources/topic_tar?id=0005&type=tool • Sample State Legislation to Extend Foster Care, Adoption and Guardianship Protections, Services and Payments to Young Adults Age 18 and Older (May 2010), located at http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/FINAL-Sample-State-Leg-to-Extend-Foster-Care-Adoption-and-Guardianship.pdf • Know Youth Rights: A Guide for Youth in Substitute in Pennsylvania (2nd Ed. 2010), located at http://www.jlc.org/publications/know_your_rights/

  30. Contact Information • Jenny Pokempner Juvenile Law Center jpokempner@jlc.org www.jlc.org • Jennifer Staley KidsVoice jstaley@kidsvoice.org www.kidsvoice.org

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