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September 2003Vol. 4, No. 7Promoting Improved Permanency Outcomes for America's Children and Youth: National Resource Center f

In response to needs identified in the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), the National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning (NRCFCPP) offers States a number of resources to help improve outcomes for children and youth in the critical areas of permanency and well-being, as well as several of the CFSR systemic factors.

In February, the Center offered its first national Web-based broadcast on the topic of concurrent planning. The broadcast is now archived on the Center's website ( www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/index.html), and a second broadcast, focusing on the critical importance of worker-child/parent contact, is planned for this fall. A five-module curriculum on concurrent planning (in English or Spanish) also can be downloaded free from the site. In addition, the Center currently is conducting surveys to examine how States are meeting the challenges of placement stability; worker-child/family contact; child and family involvement in case planning and permanency goal setting; permanency for older adolescents; permanency issues in Tribes; and several other areas related to permanency and well-being, with the intention of sharing promising approaches with the field.

As a member of the Children's Bureau Technical Assistance Network, NRCFCPP works collaboratively with the other National Resource Centers to provide technical assistance to States, Tribes, and Territories. NRCFCPP is committed to increasing the capacity and resources of child welfare agencies to achieve permanency for youth and children in out-of-home care. To do this, the Center supports a mix of:

  • Family-centered and strengths/needs-based practice approaches
  • Community-based service delivery
  • Cultural competency and respect for all families
  • Open and inclusive practice
  • Non-adversarial approaches to problem-solving and decision-making
  • Concurrent rather than sequential consideration of all permanency options

With its array of training, technical assistance, and information dissemination, NRCFCPP helps States, Territories, and Tribes respond to policy and systemic changes in child welfare brought about by implementation of Federal legislation. These systemic changes encompass a variety of issues for children and youth in foster care, including concurrent permanency planning, recruitment and retention of resource families, post-permanency services, case planning assessments, placement stability, fatherhood initiatives, family group conferencing, kinship care, and health and mental health care for children and youth.

For more information, or a brochure outlining how NRCFCPP can help States achieve positive outcomes in response to their CFSR, contact:

National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning at the Hunter College School of Social Work
129 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10021
Phone: (212) 452-7053
Website: www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/index.html

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