September 2000Vol. 1, No. 6Three Monographs Issued by National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning
As part of its mission to support child welfare agencies in providing high-quality foster care services and helping children achieve permanency, the National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning (NRCFCPP) has published three new monographs.
Bridging the Gap: Permanency Planning With Drug Affected Families
Prepared by Judy Blunt. 2000. 52 pages.
Drug use and abuse present a major barrier to timely decisions about permanence for children. With a grant from the Hite Foundation in 1999, NRCFCPP began a project to address the implications of new timeframes for planning and decision-making mandated by the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) on working with drug-affected families.
This report presents the recommendations from a November 1999 workshop. More than 70 people, including parents, substance abuse treatment practitioners, child welfare workers, policy makers, and legal professionals came together to discuss ways to improve collaboration between child welfare and substance abuse treatment systems.
The report also highlights current research about the relationship between child welfare concerns and substance abuse in families. Selected model programs and family rehabilitation programs are profiled. The report concludes with personal testimonies by parents who struggled to overcome addiction and raise safe, healthy children.
Contact information for conference organizers, presenters, and participants is included.
Concurrent Planning: Tool for Permanency--Survey of Selected Sites
Prepared by Lorrie L. Lutz. 2000. 30 pages.
Concurrent planning emphasizes working toward family reunification while at the same time establishing a "back-up" permanency plan if that goal is not possible. With provisions in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) for encouraging concurrent planning, interest in training has grown nationwide.
To respond to this need, NRCFCPP in 1998 surveyed concurrent planning activities at 12 sites around the country. The results are published in this document. Survey participants provided insights into successful implementation of concurrent planning. Intensive casework and structural changes, such as caseload reduction and frequent case reviews, were suggested. The survey also highlighted a need for joint training of key staff and stakeholders. Few formal evaluations of concurrent planning activities have taken place, but some preliminary data is presented.
A list of site contacts and a bibliography are included.
The Implementation of Managed Care in Child Welfare: The Legal Perspective
Prepared by Denise Winterberger McHugh. 2000. 32 pages.
A new report by NRCFCPP examines the implications of Federal laws for implementation of managed care, both in child welfare systems and in Medicaid mental health services. Issues examined in the report include:
- Permanency planning and safety
- The role of the judiciary
- Privatization of the child welfare case management function
- Categorical funding and allowable costs
- Fair competition.
Besides providing legal background on each of these issues, the author cites examples of how different public agencies have approached them. She cautions agencies to carefully consider legal ramifications in designing a managed care system. The report concludes with a note that the implementation of managed care in child welfare is an "evolutionary process" and that much remains to be learned.
To obtain a copy of any of these monographs or for technical assistance related to foster care and permanency planning, contact:
National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning
Hunter College School of Social Work
129 East 79th St.
New York, NY 10021
Phone: 212-452-7053
Fax: 212-452-7051
Website: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp
