CHILDREN SAFE AND THRIVING WITH FOREVER FAMILIES, SOONER

1. CHILDREN SAFE AND THRIVING WITH FOREVER FAMILIES, SOONER DIVISION OF FAMILY & CHILDREN SERVICES Isabel Blanco, Deputy Director of Field Operations September 25th, 2009

2. ADOPTION & SAFE FAMILIES ACT (ASFA) OF 1997 National legislation which has been embedded in Georgia state statutes. Two Overarching Goals: • Change the experience of children who are entering the child welfare system. • Move children to permanency.

3. ASFA PHILSOPHIES • The safety of children is the paramount concern that must guide all child welfare services. • Foster care is a temporary setting and not a place for children to grow up. • Permanency planning efforts should begin as soon as a child enters the child welfare system. • The child welfare system must focus on results and accountability. • Innovative approaches are needed to achieve the goals of safety, permanency and well-being.

4. Introduced Shorter Time Limits For Making Decisions About Permanent Placements • Permanency hearings to be held no later than 12 months after entering foster care. • States must initiate termination of parental rights proceedings after the child has been in foster care 15 of the previous 22 months, except if not in the best interest of the child, or if the child is in the care of a relative.

5. Forever Families Sooner • Required States to initiate court proceedings to free a child for adoption once that child had been waiting in foster care for at least 15 of the most recent 22 months, unless there is an exception. • Allowed children to be freed for adoption more quickly in extreme cases.

6. Health and Safety • Ensured health and safety concerns are addressed when a State determines placement for abused and neglected children. • Required HHS to report on the scope of substance abuse in the child welfare population, and the outcomes of services provided to that population.

7. Increased accountability • Required States to increase documentation of child-specific efforts to move children into permanency. • Required HHS to establish new outcome measures to monitor and improve State performance

8. ASFA LEADS TO CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW: RESULTS-ORIENTED APPROACH On January 25, 2000, the Federal Department of Health and Human Services issued regulations for ASFA establishing the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR). The review covers child welfare services funded under Titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act including: • Child Protective Services, • Foster Care, • Adoption, and • Family Preservation and Support Services. Georgia received $9.4 million in IV-B and $79.4 million in IV-E in SFY 2007.

9. In this review process, Georgia is: Assessed for "substantial conformity" (95%) on a wide range of outcomes and administrative systems. Required to develop Program Improvement Plans (PIP) in response to identified areas in which "substantial conformity" is not achieved. Subject to significant penalties if improvements are not made.

10. PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES • SAFETY • Protection from abuse and neglect • Safely remain in own home whenever possible and appropriate • PERMANENCY • Permanent and stable living arrangements • Continuous family relationships and connections • WELL-BEING • Enhanced capacity of the family to provide for child’s needs • Child’s educational needs are met • Child’s physical and mental health needs are met

11. OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES Outcomes are measured using two methods: • Onsite review of selected cases (65 cases statewide in last review and stakeholder interviews). • Statewide performance measures computed with data submitted from Georgia's information systems.

13. GEORGIA’S 2007 CFSR PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT PLAN (PIP)

14. Proposed PIP Structure Approach • Crosscutting Strategies • Utilize crosscutting strategies to effectively improve multiple outcomes • Build upon existing initiatives • Family Resource Connections (Joint use of OFI/Social Services resources as a Diversion Resource) • Family Team Meetings • LOC Unbundling • Initiative for Support and Retention for Foster Families (EMBRACE) • Outstanding Paternal Involvement (The early identification and engagement of fathers and paternal families within the services case)

15. Program Improvement Plan • Four Crosscutting Strategies • 111 Action Steps • Incremental Improvements set for 9 outcome measure/items Items 1, 3, 4, 7, 10. 17, 18, 19, 20

17. Agency must also demonstrate incremental improvements in 2 of the National Standards as determined by NCANDS and AFCARS data

18. Georgia Data Program Improvement Scores and Composite Scores PEAS data as of 08/31/09 Composite Data received from ACF on April 01, 2008 through March 31, 2009

19. Safety 2

20. PermanencyComposite2

32. CHILD WELFARE TRENDS2007 - 2008

33. RECURRENCE OF MALTREATMENTJanuary 2008 – January 2009 National Standard= 5.4%

34. FOSTER CARE ENTRIES2007-2008 The number of children entering foster care was significantly higher from January through June 2007 than in same period in 2008. However, sine July, that gap has been closing. More children entered care in October 2008 than in October 2007.

35. FOSTER CARE EXITS2007-2008

36. FOSTER CARE RE-ENTRYJanuary 2007 – December 2008 National standard: less than or equal to 8.60% Definition: Of all the children who entered, the percentage that were discharged from a previous placement within 12 months of the current placement..

37. NUMBER OF FINALIZED ADOPTIONSSFY 2008, SFY 2009 EXPECTED & SFY 2009 ACTUAL Note: Expected based on finalizing at least half of total adoptions done in SFY 2008.

38. ADOPTION INFORMATION BY NUMBER OF MONTHSSFY 2007, SFY 2008 & SFY 2009 Note: Data for SFY 2009, as of December 31, 2008.

39. AVERAGE NUMBER OF MONTHS FROM ENTRY TO FIRST TPR SFY 2007 – SFY 2009

40. AVERAGE NUMBER OF MONTHS FROM ENTRY TO ADOPTION SFY 2007 – SFY 2009