Recruitment and Retention of Placements

1. Recruitment and Retention of Placements June 26, 2002 The Child Policy Initiative Georgia State University

2. Framework for Preliminary Recommendations • Initial work group discussions regarding topic. • Review of research for development of paper. • Second work group discussion regarding initial resource staff developed recommendations.

3. Priorities that Work Group 2 Identified and Considered by Work Group 3 • Quality foster care, including family- and group-based care – 1,200 homes • Therapeutic placements, intermediate and intensive, including family, group and institutional settings – at least 1,250 • Transitional/independent living programs – at least 120 placements • Appropriate emergency placements, including family- and group-based care – at least 446 beds

4. Possible Recommendation 1a • PROVIDE DEDICATED FOSTER CARE RECRUITMENT AND SUPPORT POSITIONS. • Clarify the role of current state-funded positions at the state and regional/county level. • Review role of “resource development” staff in DFACS. Consideration should be given to providing positions whose sole responsibility is the recruitment and retention of foster families. • Distribution of the regional/county positions could be tied to population of children in state custody (e.g., county or community-level positions in the metro area(s); regional positions for rural areas) Requires: • √Funding • √Staffing

5. Possible Recommendation 1b • FURTHER PRIVATIZE FOSTER CARE RECRUITMENT Further privatize the recruitment and support of foster care homes by contracting with private child placing agencies to provide more of this service. Requires: • √Funding

6. Possible Recommendation 1c • STATEWIDE MARKETING CAMPAIGN • Fund a statewide marketing campaign to recruit new foster families. Use modern marketing techniques to identify and target both those who are most likely to respond (e.g., blue-collar churchgoers) and those demographic groups where more foster homes are needed (e.g., African-Americans). • Produce brochures, a website, and supportive materials to walk prospective foster parents through the application process that are part of the coordinated campaign. • Advertise a statewide toll-free number and provide a phone bank to assist potential foster parents. • Consider developing separate campaigns for adoptive parents and foster parents. Requires: √Funding

7. Possible Recommendation 1d • POSITIVE AGENCY RESPONSE • Ensure that prospective foster parents feel “welcome, respected, accepted, and needed” from their very first contact with the State. • Ensure that the toll-free foster care number is answered by trained, consumer-friendly staff including evening and weekend hours. (Could be outsourced during evenings and weekends.) • Provide training to county/regional foster care recruitment and retention staff in making prospective and existing foster parents feel valued. Requires: • √Funding (minimal) • √Staffing (minimal additional staffing)

8. Possible Recommendation 2a • RAISE RATES FOR BASIC FOSTER CARE Raise the state’s reimbursement rates to the foster families it recruits to reduce (eliminate?) the gap between the reimbursement rate and the USDA cost figures for raising a child. Requires: • √Funding Concern/Objection: Raising the per diem rate too high may encourage certain individuals to become foster parents for the wrong reasons. Potential solution: Higher rates should be accompanied by more intensive screening to screen out familieswho are entering the pool for the wrong reasons.

9. Possible Recommendation 2b • INCREASE PAYMENTS AND TIMELY REIMBURSEMENT FOR SUPPLEMENTAL EXPENSES • Increase state reimbursements for certain allowable “special” expenses such as school clothes. • Timeliness of reimbursements should be addressed. • Review policies regarding “allowable” expenses. Requires: • √Funding Concern/Objection: Seems administratively cumbersome for parents and counties to handle large numbers of supplemental reimbursement requests. Potential solution: Explore issuing capped credit/debit cards to foster parents. The card statement would provide an accurate accounting of funds spent. Requiring submission of receipts would provide accountability that only allowable items were purchased.

10. Possible Recommendation 2c • PROFESSIONALIZE FOSTER PARENTING Professionalize some or all foster parents by making them trained employees of a public or private child welfare agency who receive a salary and benefits in addition to the subsidy they already receive to cover the cost of the child’s care. Perhaps some higher level of foster care parents could be provided salary. Requires: • √Policy/administrative changes • √Funding Concern/Objection: “Paid parents” might be doing it as a job rather than as a calling of the heart. Professional foster parents may be less willing to adopt because it will result in the loss of their paid job, benefits, and professional status.

11. Possible Recommendation 2d • ENHANCE INCENTIVES FOR FOSTER PARENTS • Consider state tax credits for foster parents • Consider including foster parents to be eligible for participation in state health benefits plan. • Requires: • Funding • Legislation

12. Possible Recommendation 3a • DEDICATED FOSTER CARE SUPPORT POSITIONS Similar to Proposed Recommendation 1a. • Under this scenario these state positions would also be responsible for working with current foster families to troubleshoot, address their concerns, and generally increase/maintain their satisfaction with the system. • They would function as case managers/ombudsmen for the foster families, who, if the system is working right, should have a longer lasting relationship with the agency than the children do. • Review role of resource development staff in DFCS and how they could be deployed. Requires: • √Funding • √Staffing

13. Possible Recommendation 3b • MODIFY FOSTER PARENT TRAINING • Modify foster parent training to add more material in areas identified by foster parents for the DHHS review: 1) managing complex needs and difficult behavior, and 2) adolescent foster children. • Make training schedules more flexible and consumer-friendly. • Explore utilization of privatized training options. Requires: • √Policy/administrative changes ( change in scheduling) • √Funding (minor funding for development of new curriculum units)

14. Possible Recommendation 3c • PROVIDE INCREASED EMOTIONAL SUPPORT • Provide increased emotional support for foster parents by reinstituting something like FAST [Foster Allegation Support Team] or funding other models that exist for supporting foster families. • The program could be publicly administered or privately administered by an agency such as the Georgia Foster Parent Association under contract to the state. Requires: • √Funding • √Staffing (only if administered by the state)

15. Possible Recommendation 3d • INCREASE INVOLVEMENT OF FOSTER PARENTS IN CASE PLANNING, ETC. • Involve foster parents more fully as part of the child’s case management and planning team. Allow and encourage foster parents to testify at the child’s court hearing. • Provide adequate notification to foster parents of upcoming hearings. Requires: • √Policy/administrative changes

16. Possible Recommendation 3e • CREATE A FOSTER PARENT BILL OF RIGHTS Develop an agency policy that lists foster parents’ rights. Involve foster parents in developing the list. Requires: • √Policy/administrative changes (if an agency policy)

17. Possible Recommendation 4 • Monitor implementation of the Level of Care system to determine the adequacy of the rates • Monitor implementation of the Level of Care system to determine whether there are adequate placements for the numbers of children at various levels. • If the available number of placements is inadequate, determine the source of the barrier with specific attention to what funding level is adequate. Requires: • √Mechanism/plan for monitoring implementation that the State and providers both view as legitimate

18. Possible Recommendation 5 • Institute extra reimbursement premiums for hard-to-fill gaps in services • Institute extra reimbursement premiums for service needs that remain unmet. • These may be defined either functionally (e.g., secure placements for sex offenders) and/or geographically (e.g., group home in southeast Georgia) depending on where the unmet needs are. Requires: • √Policy/administrative changes • √Funding Concern/Objection: The State does not want to pay different rates for the “same service”.

19. Possible Recommendation 6 • Institute an assessment or evaluation to identify the necessary rate for hard-to-fill gaps in services Institute a review and identify a strategy to determine what the necessary “market clearing” rate is for placement gaps whether they be difficult placements or geographical based issues. Requires: • √Policy/administrative changes • √Funding

20. Possible Recommendation 7 • Provide start-up funding for new services Provide start-up funding for needed institutional/residential services, perhaps incorporated into contracts for service. Awards of such funding would be through an RFP and the contract process. Requires: • √Funding

21. Possible Recommendation 8 • Encourage provider input in contracting and licensing policies Provide structured opportunities for service providers to work with the State on resolving contracting and licensing issues. Requires: • √Continuation/expansion of policy/administrative changes already underway

22. Possible Recommendation 9 • Require the major state agencies (DFCS, DJJ, MHMRSA) to plan together for (changes in) service provision • Formalize a joint planning process among the three major State child-serving agencies for (changes in) service provision. • This could be achieved through quarterly (?) planning meetings for the relevant staff from the three agencies. Requires: • √Policy/administrative changes

23. Possible Recommendation 10 • Evaluate the effectiveness of any new state program/ initiative • Ideally such evaluations should • 1) include an outcome evaluation, • 2) be conducted by a qualified, independent evaluator, and • 3) be conducted before the program/initiative goes statewide. Requires: • √Funding