May 2002Vol. 3, No. 4Print issueSpotlight on National Foster Care Month

A new report by the Center for Families, Children & the Courts in California examines how the training of caregivers within the child welfare system affects their participation in juvenile court hearings and outcomes for children in their care.

Published in January 2002, the 174-page report describes its main purpose as examining "how training in the dependency court process affects caregivers' knowledge and attitudes about participating in court hearings and the likelihood that they will participate." Moreover, the study looks at "what factors determine how information from caregivers is or could be used in decision making, and what effects might caregiver participation have on the well being of children in care."

The study involved 205 caregivers in California who participated voluntarily in training about the dependency court process and their rights and responsibilities within that process. It found very strong indications that caregivers want to receive such training and that such training can significantly assist them in participating effectively in court. In pre-tests, post-tests, and 6-month follow-up tests, participants were tested about their knowledge base of the court. They learned information quickly and easily—and retained that knowledge over time. In addition, the research team interviewed eight caregiver families and observed them in court over the course of a year. Detailed case histories for each family and court participation notes are included in the report.

Project Director Regina Deihl, J.D., and her colleagues also conducted several interviews with judicial officers, social workers, and attorneys to find out their perception of caregiver input for case planning and judicial decision making. The researchers found that information from caregivers was used and valued by system participants. She commented that the Judicial Council of California has produced a new two-page form (JV-290) for caregivers who prefer to submit information in writing to the court rather than answer questions in person. Information conveyed in advance of hearings and in writing from caregivers was preferred so other court participants would be better prepared. Deihl is in the process of training caregivers on using the form and getting it online.

The report includes specific conclusions and recommendations based on the research data. One overarching recommendation of the study is that a wide spectrum of people involved in the juvenile court process, including judicial officers, attorneys, social workers, caregivers, and researchers be convened to recommend next steps in implementing caregiver participation in court.

Since the Federal Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) requires that States provide foster parents and kinship caregivers timely notice and an opportunity to be heard in review and permanency hearings with respect to the child in their care, this report shows that this training prepares caregivers for court participation in a way that is useful and can contribute to positive outcomes for children in foster care.

Access a copy of Caregivers and the Courts: Improving Court Decisions Affecting Children in Foster Care online at: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/cfcc/ programs/description/caregivers.htm

Contact information:

Regina Deihl, J.D.
Juvenile Projects Attorney
Center for Families, Children & the Courts
Administrative Office of the Courts
455 Golden Gate Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 415-865-7739
Email: regina.deihl@jud.ca.gov

Related Items

See the following related articles in these past issues of the Children's Bureau Express:

• "Preparing Kids for Court" (September/October 2001)
• "Former Prosecutor Produces Educational Video for Child Witnesses" (September/October 2001)
• "Washington and Colorado Help Parents Navigate Courts" (July/August 2001)
• "California Guides Parents Through Dependency Courts" (July 2000)

The 1990 United Nations World Summit for Children set an agenda for countries to improve the lives of all children. Based on the most recent internationally comparable data available from UNICEF and other United Nations organizations, the KIDS COUNT International Data Sheet reports dramatic improvements and continuing disparities in selected measures of child and maternal health, access to education, and teen birth rates.

The Population Reference Bureau and Child Trends—in collaboration with UNICEF—produced a wallchart of the world's 100 most populous countries that lists their respective status of children on 10 key indicators including mortality rates, malnourishment, births with a skilled attendant at delivery, and the number of AIDS orphans.

Highlights of the results include the following:

• Between 1990 and 2000, the global mortality rate for children under age 5 dropped more than 10 percent
• Worldwide, polio cases dropped by 99 percent from 1988-2000
• From 1990-1999, immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) increased in former Central and Eastern Europe and USSR countries, Latin America, and the Caribbean but decreased in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
• Many nations improved access to sanitary waste disposal during the 1990s
• Teen smoking in developed countries was high: Data from 1997-1998 show that teens in Germany, Hungary, and France smoked more on a daily basis than teens in the United States
• During the 1990s, access to primary education ranged from 90 percent to 60 percent, and in some regions access was higher among boys.

The datasheet and summary can be found on the following websites:

• http://www.kidscount.org
• http://www.childtrends.org
• http://www.prb.org

Additional information on the data and sources can be obtained from:

Population Reference Bureau
1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 520
Washington, DC 20009-5728
Phone: 202-483-1100
Fax: 202-328-3937
Email: popref@prb.org

Child Trends
Jenice Robinson
Phone: 202-362-5580
Email: jrobinson@childtrends.org

As directed by the 2000 Washington State Legislature, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy has compiled existing research that identifies ways to improve the educational attainment of children in foster care. The report is intended for use by advocates of improvements to policies and programs.

The report found that, on average, foster youth scored 15 to 20 percentile points lower than non-foster youth in statewide achievement tests; only 59 percent of foster youth enrolled in 11th grade completed high school versus 86 percent for non-foster youth; and twice as many foster youth had repeated a grade, changed schools during the school year, or were enrolled in special education programs compared to non-foster youth.

One surprising result found that a youth's length of stay in foster care did not appear to be related to educational attainment. The research found that foster youth in short-term care have on average the same educational deficits as those in long-term care.

The study did not evaluate specific interventions or programs to assist foster youth with education issues, but it did quantify the gap between foster youth and other students in Washington State. The report draws attention to the important factors associated with academic achievement and suggests improvements in maintaining and updating records for youth in foster care.

The entire report can be viewed at: http://www.wa.gov/wsipp/childfamily/pdf/FCEDReport.pdf.

A new program launched in Jefferson County, Alabama, by a doctor named Alisa H. Hoffman, grew out of her frustrations in trying to provide quality health care to foster care children. Many of these children, due to having been moved from home to home, were brought to her medical office by people with little or no knowledge of the children's medical histories or special medical needs. Called Family Place Pediatric Practice, this program is designed to provide a permanent home for foster children's records and well as a familiar and comfortable location where foster children could go for medical care.

Learn more about the Dr. Hoffman's initiative to create a medical home for children in foster care by visiting the Benton Foundation's Connect for Kids website at: www.connectforkids.org/node/337

A Workshop on Fathers and the Role of Men in Children's Lives was presented at the recent 7th National Child Welfare conference sponsored by the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Randall Turner, Vice President of the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), highlighted the work of the NFI and its efforts to encourage responsible fatherhood on a national level. NFI's goal is to stimulate a broad-based movement to restore fatherhood as a national priority. NFI's activities focus on raising public awareness and promoting responsible fatherhood initiatives at the State and local levels.

In 1999, Joe Jones established the Center for Fathers, Families and Workforce Development (CFWD). He is the President/CEO of CFWD and a national leader in programming for men and fathers. CFWD programs and services include:

• Responsible Fatherhood: This program, which has served more than 450 men, includes a strong emphasis on case management, life skills development, and parenting education. The program seeks to involve the male counterparts of Healthy Start mothers in the delivery of pre- and postnatal health care services with the goal of reducing infant mortality.
• 50/50 Parenting: This program gives support to never-married parents, whether or not they are still a couple, in working together for the health and well-being of their children.
• Workforce Development: Based on a model developed by the East Harlem Employment Service STRIVE Baltimore is an intensive three-week job training and placement service. STRIVE blends self-examination, critical thinking, relationship building, affirmation, learning, and teaching with practical skill development and two-year post graduation monitoring. Since the program began, 75 percent of STRIVE Baltimore participants have graduated, and 79 percent have maintained employment. Through Strive Baltimore, more than 300 clients have found jobs with area companies.

One effort discussed at the workshop was the successful three-week job readiness program in Baltimore, Maryland, for fathers. Jones highlighted the program that focuses on enhancing job interviewing skills for fathers and provides assistance in finding employment. The workshop also included a recent graduate of the three-week program who discussed his direct experience with CFWD.

Recognizing that fathers play an important role in the lives of their children such as nurturer, mentor, disciplinarian, moral instructor, and skills coach, among other roles, President Bush in his 2003 budget has proposed $20 million to fund a new Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Marriages program. This program would award grants to faith-based and community organizations to help noncustodial fathers become and stay involved with their children.

Contact information:

Randall Turner
National Fatherhood Initiative
101 Lake Forest Blvd, Suite 360
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Phone: 301-948-0599
Fax: 301-948-4325
Email: info@fatherhood.org
Website: http://www.fatherhood.org

Joseph T. Jones
Center for Fathers, Families, and Workforce Development
3002 Druid Park Drive
Baltimore, MD 21215
Phone: 410-367-5691
Fax: 410-367-4246
Website: http://www.cfwd.org

Related Items

See these following related articles in these past issues of the Children's Bureau Express:

• "Dads Make a Difference" (July/August 2001)
• "Institute Focuses on Latino Fathers" (July 2000)

Two new guidebooks and a video serve as beacons in a parent's and grandparent's journey through the ups and downs of child rearing.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has published a book containing practical advice on parenting, based on decades of research as well as experiences of actual parents. Adventures in Parenting: How Responding, Preventing, Monitoring, Mentoring, and Modeling Can Help You Be a Successful Parent is designed as an aid to parents and grandparents of every background. The 63-page book gives practical advice and examples of real-life situations, organized by children's age ranges: under three; four to ten; eleven to fourteen. It also focuses on five aspects of successful parenting:

• Responding to the child in an appropriate manner
• Preventing risky behaviors
• Monitoring the child's contacts with the surrounding world
• Mentoring
• Modeling of parental behavior to present a positive example for the child.

Understanding Children, a joint publication by the non-profit communications group Civitas and the publishing company TOP conveys the latest research and advice on children 0 to 3 years in a guidebook format. Areas covered include developmental stages, prenatal care and childbirth, health and nutrition, brain development, childcare, sleep, play, behavior, financial and legal issues, fathers, and grandparents. In a section on adoption, the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, one of the sponsoring organizations of the Children's Bureau Express, serves as a source for much of the data. Each section is presented in picture dictionary style, with a detailed answer to a "big question" followed by action items for caregivers, including recommended websites and reading lists. Colorful charts, photographs, and diagrams illustrate the facts. It is available in stores nationwide.

Another new item by Civitas, a video entitled Grandparenting: Enriching Lives, An Essential Guide for Today's Grandparents, provides grandparents with information on child development and ideas for maintaining healthy relationships with their children and grandchildren. The video, hosted by Maya Angelou, profiles several families and how they handle issues such as cultural and religious diversity, divorce, and long distance. It shows one grandmother involved with caring for her divorced daughter's children daily, while two other sets of grandparents live far away but communicate regularly through email and phone calls. Other grandparents in the video teach their grandchildren about their family histories and cultures, such as reading aloud in Spanish and sharing Japanese-American customs. Grandparents also develop bonds with their grandchildren by playing with them and they remain close with their adult children by respecting their choices and parenting styles. A Spanish version of the video is available.

To order a free copy of the NICHD book, contact the NICHD Information Resource Center at 1-800-370-2943 or download it at: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/ publications/pubs/parenting/adv_in_parenting_final.pdf

For more information about the Understanding Children guidebook or the Grandparenting videos in English or Spanish, contact Civitas at 312-226-6700 or visit http://www.civitas.org

Related Items

See the following related articles in these past issues of the Children's Bureau Express:

• "Video Reaches Out to New Parents" (May/June 2001)
• "Survey Shows Parents Confused About Child Development" (January/February 2001)

Payne, Brian K.; Gainey, Randy R. Anderson Publishing Co., Cincinnati, OH. 2002. 367 pp. $39.95. Paperback.

Family violence has become an issue of widespread concern among social workers, psychologists, and other professionals as a major social problem. The authors examine family violence from a life-course perspective, covering child maltreatment, domestic violence, and elder abuse and neglect. They apply the definition of family violence established by the National Research Council, that "Family violence includes child and adult abuse that occurs between family members..." and consists of "acts that are physically or emotionally harmful...." The criminal justice system often cannot meet the needs of victims. Domestic violence cases are complex and the courts resolve them either informally or formally, focusing on punishing the perpetrators and treating the victims. Recommendations call for:

• A universal standard definition of family violence
• Increased cooperation among practitioners, and increased collaboration among disciplines
• More integrated research efforts and broader research aims
• Reconsideration of existing laws
• Increased training for criminal justice officials and police officers.

Academics and criminal justice officials need to gain a better understanding of the causes and consequences of domestic violence, and develop a clearly focused victim-centered response.

To purchase a copy, contact:

Anderson Publishing Co.
2035 Reading Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: 800-582-7295 or 513-421-4142
Fax: 513-562-8116
Email: mail@andersonpublishing.com
Website: http://www.andersonpublishing.com

The perspectives and experiences of teenagers living in foster care in New York City are captured in a recently published anthology. The Winners: 100 Prize-Winning Essays by Teens in Foster Care presents 20 essays and 80 excerpts from winners of the Child Welfare Fund Awards for Youth in Foster Care contest from 1999 to 2001.

The essays are organized into the following categories:

• What the public should know about young people in foster care
• Ideas for improving the system
• How we've helped others
• Advice I would have given myself
• You can overcome the madness.

Mario Drummonds, one of the judges, wrote the last chapter "You Can Overcome the Madness." Drummonds spent 17 years in foster care and encountered various obstacles in achieving his goals. He is now the executive director of an agency that provides health care for children and parents. His advice to youth in foster care is:

• Create a vision of yourself beyond your current circumstances
• Transcend fear
• Be willing to work harder than the average person
• Be willing to embrace change.

To order the publication, complete the form located on the Web at http://www.youthcomm.org/Publications/ CWF-TheWinners-OF.htm, or contact:

Youth Communication
224 W. 29th St.
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-279-0708
Website: http://www.youthcomm.org

Transracial adoption is one of the most contentious issues in adoption politics and in the politics of race today. Some who support transracial adoption believe that race should not be considered. Many who are opposed draw a causal connection between race and culture, and argue that black adoptive parents best serve black children's racial and cultural interests. Fogg-Davis argues in favor of nondiscrimination in the adoption process. She challenges the notion that children get their racial identity from their parents and argues that, through a process of racial navigation, children should cultivate their own self-identification in dialogue with others. A bibliography and a list of court cases are included.

To purchase a copy, contact:

Cornell University Press
Sage House
512 E. State St.
PO Box 250
Ithaca, NY 14851-0250
Phone: 607-277-2338 x251 or x254
Fax: 607-277-2397
Email: cupress-sales@cornell.edu
Website: http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu

Policy makers interested in crafting strategies designed to strengthen the institution of marriage will find suggestions in a new publication by Theodora Ooms of the Resource Center on Couples and Marriage Policy at the Center on Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

In "Strengthening Couples and Marriage in Low-Income Communities," Ooms addresses why it is important to focus on the state of marriage in low-income communities, what is known about the patterns of family formation and marriage among the poor and near-poor, and what kinds of strategies may help strengthen low-income couples' relationships and marriages.

Ooms suggests that any marriage-strengthening strategy to assist low-income populations be guided by the following principles:

• Single individuals or single parents should not be stigmatized
• Coercive and punitive policies should not be used to promote marriage
• Low-income couples should be invited to help design and shape community-level initiatives
• The focus of strategies should be on the quality of a marriage, not just preserving its stability
• High-risk couples should be targeted when they are most ready and willing to get help
• Parents, regardless of marital status, should have available information, education services and supports to strengthen their relationship
• Substantial monetary incentives should not be offered, as it may be seen as the sole or principal reason to marry.

Ooms's paper was first published as Chapter 7 in Revitalizing the Institution of Marriage for the Twenty-First Century: An Agenda For Strengthening Marriage, edited by Alan J. Hawkins, Lynn D. Wardle, and David Orgon Coolidge (Praeger, 2002).

"Strengthening Couples and Marriage in Low-Income Communities," is available in PDF format at http://www.clasp.org/publications/strengthening_marriage_in_low-income.pdf. Revitalizing the Institution of Marriage for the 21st Century can be found on the Greenwood Publishing Group's website (http://www.greenwood.com).

Research indicates that at least a quarter of professional social workers are likely to confront a violent situation on the job, and half of all human services professionals will experience client violence at some point during their careers. Weinger presents rational approaches for implementing safety guidelines in the social work environment, and provides easily applied methods and strategies for enhancing personal safety while maintaining the supportive, empathetic demeanor necessary for casework. She demonstrates how to recognize potential violence and how to apply prevention guidelines, specific personal and professional safeguards, and intervention strategies when violence occurs.

Special features of this guide:

• Consider why violence toward social workers is increasing
• Address the different types of violence, noting appropriate responses to each
• Identify risk factors and the degree of danger in different settings
• Discuss preventive techniques and strategies, including interview pointers
• Offer suggestions on managing the aftermath of a violent encounter
• Include section goals, activities, case studies, and points to remember.

To purchase a copy, contact:

NASW Press
PO Box 431
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701
Phone: 800-227-3590 or 301-317-8688
Fax: 301-206-7989
Email: press@naswdc.org
Website: http://www.naswpress.org

The growing use of assisted reproduction, including sperm donation, gamete donation, and surrogate motherhood, has raised a number of ethical issues in common with adoption. These issues include the parties' roles, such as which participant(s) are considered the legal parent(s) and anonymity and the balance between the right to privacy of donors, and the right of persons conceived by these methods to their medical, or other background information. Further, there are concerns related to the growing role of money and market forces in assisted reproduction and adoption. Freundlich reviews the available literature and the wide range of current case law and statutes to provide a tool for adoption professionals that should serve as a first step toward a full discussion of the unresolved issues that these professionals currently confront in both policy and practice.

To purchase a copy, contact:

CWLA c/o PMDS
PO Box 2019
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-2019
Phone: 800-407-6273
Fax: 301-206-9789
Email: cwla@pmds.com
Website: http://www.cwla.org

Just as immigration has made America a melting pot, transracial adoption has blended many American families together. A new video by Phil Bertelsen takes a closer look at how these families are faring from a personal point of view—his own adoption as a black child into a white family.

The one-hour film, which aired on public television stations nationwide in February 2002, is directed and narrated by Bertelsen. It tells the story of his adoption as a 4-year-old boy in the 1970s by a New Jersey couple who had already adopted children from other races and had biological children. A movement to end transracial adoption marked the period. In 1972, the National Association of Black Social Workers declared that placing a black child in a white home was "cultural genocide" and a "diabolical trick." In 1994, Congress passed the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA), which prohibits an agency that receives Federal assistance from delaying or denying the placement of a child on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of the adoptive or foster parent, or the child involved. Recent research suggests that transracial adoption is a viable means of providing stable homes for waiting children and is not detrimental for the adoptee.

Bertelsen's parents did not discuss racial differences with their children growing up, but they could not insulate them from the prejudices of the outside world. They relate one story of being refused entry into a private campground because of their "rainbow coalition of children." Bertelsen learned that race matters. In a parallel story, Bertelsen introduces his sister Aline's two transracially adopted sons and finds history repeating itself. They are growing up in a predominantly white, middle class community in Arizona. He takes his 11-year-old nephew on a trip to his home in Harlem, New York, to help him develop his African American identity but finds him disinterested. "There I was force feeding my nephew tidbits of what I've come to know black culture to be but, like him, I was outside looking in on what I considered to be my own culture and community," states Bertelsen.

The film also chronicles the adoption in 2001 of a two-month-old African American infant named David by a white Chicago-area couple. It takes the viewer through the open adoption process, including interviews with Margaret Fleming, the Executive Director of Adoption-Link, who facilitated the adoption. The majority of adoptions in her agency are by white parents in an area where black children available for adoption outnumber white children by 4 to 1. According to Fleming, in the "adoption hierarchy" or demand by adoptive parents, the blond, blue-eyed healthy baby girl is at the top and the black male is at the very bottom. She believes that parents adopting transracially should go into it with their eyes wide open, so she requires enrollment in formal training to work through the issues involved. "There is a beginning of the process, when they say to me, 'Color doesn't matter.'...but it should matter...It's got to matter so that you can do a good job of helping your child learn to feel good about himself or herself," says Fleming. The vignette concludes with an emotional exchange between the adoptive parents and biological mother at the point of legal surrender, a time Fleming describes as "very painful" and a "holy moment."

Bertelsen's reunion with his foster mother and brother is also featured. It brings back memories of his toddler years, which had been erased by his closed adoption. Bertelsen hopes that newly adopted children like baby David in the film can learn from experiences like his. While he is encouraged by the trend towards cultural awareness and open adoptions, he feels there is much farther to go in order to meet the needs of transracially adopted children.

To order a copy of the video, contact Big Mouth Productions at 646-230-6228 or visit: http://www.bigmouthproductions.com

Related Items

Read "Study Considers Role of Birth Culture in Adjustment of Transracial Adoptees" in the November/December 2001 issue of the Children's Bureau Express.

Visit the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse for the following related items (http://naic.acf.hhs.gov):

• Transracial and Transcultural Adoption factsheet
• Transracial Adoption Statistics (Note: this is no longer available)

Search the NAIC bibliographic database for other items related to transracial adoption (http://basis1.calib.com/BASIS/chdocs/docs/naicweb/SF).

Entry into foster care is often a difficult transition for children, particularly because they know very little about the system. To bridge this information gap, the Youth Involvement Initiative brought together youth currently or formerly in foster care to discuss the use and improvement of foster care handbooks. They reviewed a list of key questions and critical subject areas in order to craft a new handbook for use by agencies involved in foster care. Highlighting strengths and weaknesses, these foster children assessed existing State handbooks to determine how well each addressed the critical subject areas. They identified 30 subject areas for consideration, and developed 8 essential components for effective foster care handbooks.

To purchase a copy, contact:

CWLA c/o PMDS
PO Box 2019
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-2019
Phone: 800-407-6273
Fax: 301-206-9789
email Address: cwla@pmds.com
Distributor Website: http://www.cwla.org

This volume offers the reader an in-depth perspective of the various techniques used by mental health, human service, and criminal justice professionals who work with sex offenders. It is the first complete manual available on sex offenders for professionals who deal with this complicated population. Flora walks the reader through the criminal justice, human services, and mental health systems from start to finish, showing what happens to the offender from the point of arrest through prosecution, adjudication, and treatment. He emphasizes the etiology, intervention and treatment modalities of this population, and reviews various developmental factors, including biological, familial, environmental, and social influences, which can be instrumental in shaping their character. Approaches to treatment include individual, family, and group therapy, as well as pharmacology.

To purchase a copy, contact:

Haworth Press, Inc.
10 Alice St.
Binghamton, NY 13904-1580
Phone: 800-429-6784
Fax 800-895-0582
Email: getinfo@haworthpressinc.com
Website: http://www.haworthpressinc.com