CHILD AND FAMILY VISITATION

1. CHILD AND FAMILY VISITATION

2. Competencies • SW110-01 Ability to complete visitation plans that underscore the importance of arranging and maintaining immediate, frequent, and meaningful parent-child visitation when out-of-home placements are deemed necessary • SW110-02 Ability to prepare parents for the agency’s expectations about a parent’s role and responsibilities during parent-child visitation • SW110-03 Understands the complex emotions experienced by children and parents prior to, during, and after parent-child visitation • SW109-04 Ability to help prepare parents and children for the unique challenges of family reunification in a manner that minimizes stress and provides maximum support

3. Learning Outcomes You will be able to: • Explain the importance and benefits of visitation • Describe how visitation improves Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being outcomes • State the elements of a quality visitation plan • Cite the RCW and Policy that dictates visitation • Define the three types of visitations • Complete specific tasks in each phase of the visitation process • Ensure successful visits between parents and their children

4. What is the Purpose of Visitation? • Observe the parent with the child? or • Maintain the child-parent attachment and relationship?

5. Guiding Principles Early, consistent, and frequent visitation is crucial for maintaining the parent-child relationship Visitation is necessary to develop appropriate connections between parents and children Purposeful visitation improves safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes

6. For the Child, Visitation is: • Essential for a child’s well-being • Fundamental to permanency • Vital to a child maintaining family relationships and cultural connections

7. Visitation is Essential for a Child’s Well-being A child needs to see and have regular contact with their parents, as the parent-child relationship is the foundation of child development

8. Visitation is Fundamental to Permanency • Necessary for lasting reunification • Promotes timely reunification • Helps in the decision-making process to establish alternative permanency plans

9. Visitation is Vital to Preserving Cultural Connections • Maintaining family ties has life-long significance for the child • A loss of family connection is a loss of family history and cultural information

10. Visitation is a Legal Right for Children and Parents Visitation and family contact should never be used as a reward or punishment, but should be considered a right of families and children

11. Benefits of Frequent Visitation • Exhibit fewer behavior problems • Have less anxiety and depression • Have higher well-being ratings • Improved rates of adjustment to placement • More likely discharged from placement • Experience shorter placements

12. Definitions of Visits • Supervised • Monitored • Unsupervised

13. Legal and Policy Requirements • http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=13.34.136 • Practice and Procedures Guide 4254

14. Three Phases of Visitation

15. INITIAL PHASE OF VISITATION

16. First Visit • Schedule as soon as possible • Research suggests within 48 hours of placement • Shelter care visitation standard

17. Contracted Visit Service Providers • Contracted visit service providers will: • Complete a Parent-Child Visit Assessment (2 hours) on all new referrals. • Provide the report to the CA worker within 5 calendar days from initial visit. • The report will include the visit schedule and any additional needs of the family not documented in the referral. • The assessment includes the first visit between the parent and child.

18. Engaging Fathers • Make efforts to immediately identify and • contact fathers • Contact fathers to discuss the visits • Keep fathers equally informed about the child’s appointments/activities • Ensure that foster parents know about father’s involvement

19. Frequency of Visitation • The primary purpose of visitation is to maintain the child’s attachment and relationship with their parents • Frequency of visitation is consistent with the child’s age and development

20. Frequency of Visitation • Very young children • School age children • Youth • Siblings

21. Supervised or Unsupervised Visits?

22. Supervised Visitation • The visitation plan includes a summary statement of the assessed safety reasons that a supervised visit is necessary. • The parents, child/youth and foster parent understand the reasons why the visit is supervised. • The plan describes the conditions and arrangements of the supervision.

23. Developing the Visitation Plan • Completed in FamLink • Prepared by the social worker in partnership with the parents within 3 days of placement • Involves parents, child/youth, and foster parents, best practice includes family support system • Includes visits with parents, siblings and the child’s other significant relationships

24. Continued: Developing the Visitation Plan • Ensure frequency and settings of face to face visits • Connects a child’s safety with supervision • Considers child’s and parents daily schedule • Respects and incorporates the family’s culture

25. Continued: Developing the Visitation Plan • Ensures parental involvement in decision-making associated with the child’s wellbeing and participation in child’s activities • Plans for transportation • Plan to manage likely problems • Identifies behaviors that are considered a safety factor which may end the visit • Provides a process/notice to cancel a visit • Plans for other forms of visitation/contact

26. Working Towards Successful Visits • Preparing the parents and children • Ensure the level of visitation is the child’s best interest • Placement decision supports frequent visits • Individualized visitation plans • Visits in the least-restrictive, safe location

27. Suggestions for Parents Do Don’t Discuss court orders, case plans, and other legal/case management issues Make promises that cannot be kept Whispering Drugs, profanity, and/or weapons • Age appropriate activities, food, etc. • Bring a book • Play a game • Talk about school • Bring a healthy snack • Provide comfort Handout: Positive Parenting Tips for Healthy Child Development

28. Location Options • CA office or private agency • Parent’s home • Relative home • Foster home • Park or public location

29. Middle Phase of Visitation

30. Assess the Visitation Plan • Visitation activities offer parents the chance to demonstrate new skills? • Does the plan address the challenges? • What are the reactions to visits? • Does the visitation plan support achieving the permanency goal ?

31. Promotion of Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being Outcomes Assess and consider how visitation is promoting these outcomes: • Are parents involved in making decisions about their child? • Is visitation enhancing the parents’ capacities? • Does the plan provide a shift of parental responsibilities?

32. Assessment of Visitations • Role of a visit supervisor • Documentation versus evaluation • Behavior specific versus judgmental • Social worker assess quality of visits

33. Third Phase of Visitation From Foster Care to Permanency

34. Transition Phase Visits are structured to: • Support stable reunification or transition to alternative permanency family • Ensure the child’s well-being needs are met • Support the child’s family, kinship, cultural and community connections

35. Things to Remember • Visitation is a child’s right, not a parent’s privilege • Visitation should never be used as a reward or punishment • Visitation should be planned and purposeful • Visitation activities should match the child’s developmental level • Visitation should occur in as natural a setting as possible