In most child welfare systems, there is a small percentage of families who require a disproportionate amount of caseworker time and agency resources. These "frequently encountered" (FE) families were the subject of a research study aimed at identifying characteristics of these families, as well as ways to strengthen the families and lessen their involvement with the child welfare system.

The study drew on data from two samples of families who were the subject of accepted reports by child welfare agencies. In a Minnesota sample of 797 reported families, 19 percent were FE (three or more reports in 27 months). Among 33,395 reported Missouri families, 21 percent were considered FE families (five or more reports in 5 years). Expenditures for these FE families were disproportionate. In Missouri, even though the FE families constituted only one-fifth of the reported families, half of the total CPS expenditures—more than $91 million—was spent on them over 5 years.

In evaluating the FE families in these two samples, three overriding characteristics were identified:

• Extremely low income
• Emotional fragility
• Lack of social support

Additional characteristics often found in these families included domestic violence, mental illness or disabilities in a parent or child, and untreated substance abuse. In tracking these families over time, the author found that reports of physical abuse tended to decrease, while reports of neglect tended to increase. Specifically, neglect related to unmet basic needs (e.g., lack of food, unsanitary living conditions) and medical neglect (e.g., untreated diseases or injury, medications not administered) tended to increase over time for these families.

The complexity of the problems of FE families sometimes makes it difficult to identify and provide appropriate and sufficient services. In addition, changes in family structure or income over time may help or hinder the family's ability to cope. These situations demand that child welfare agencies identify these families early and provide preventive services. Specific recommendations include:

• Target families early.
• Shift agency focus to prevention.
• Use child maltreatment reports to offer assistance rather than adversarial investigation.
• Engage families to participate voluntarily.
• Focus on root causes.
• Become more available to FE families to break the cycle.
• Involve the community.

The full report, Families Frequently Encountered by Child Protection Services: A Report on Chronic Child Abuse and Neglect, by L. A. Loman, was produced by the Institute of Applied Research and is available on its website:

www.iarstl.org/papers/FEfamiliesChronicCAN.pdf (PDF - 404 KB)

While the social benefits of adoption over long-term foster care for children are widely recognized, a new study shows that adoption also means significant cost savings for governments. The study found that adoption, including the cost of adoption assistance, provides substantial savings in government funding when compared to the cost of maintaining children in long-term foster care.

In "A Comparison of the Governmental Costs of Long-Term Foster Care and Adoption," the authors compared the costs of similarly situated North Carolina children in long-term foster care (n=691) and adoption (n=1,902). Costs included those covered by Federal, State, and local contributions for adoption subsidies, foster care placements, group home placements, emergency care, home studies, administrative costs, and other child welfare and court costs. The discrepancy was significant:

• Over 7.7 years, the cost for foster care averaged $86,100 per child, compared to $65,100 per adopted child.
• Applying that figure to the approximately 50,000 children adopted from foster care in the United States each year results in $1 billion in government savings.
• Projecting these savings through age 18 for these children shows that approximately $65,422 to $126,825 is saved for every child who is adopted rather than placed in long-term foster care.

In providing these figures, the authors point out that adoption expenditures tend to be higher toward the beginning of an adoption case and then decrease, whereas the costs of long-term foster care increase as the child gets older. They also cite studies showing that cuts in adoption assistance result in decreases in adoptions.

The results suggest a number of implications for funding adoption assistance. While some jurisdictions are considering cutting subsidies due to tight budgets, an increase in adoption assistance amounts actually might generate greater savings over the long run, as more children may move from long-term foster care to adoption. Funding activities such as recruitment of adoptive families and bonuses for families who adopt older children may also increase adoptions.

"A Comparison of the Governmental Costs of Long-Term Foster Care and Adoption," by R. P. Barth, C. K. Lee, J. Wildfire, and S. Guo, appeared in the March 2006 issue of the Social Service Review. It is available through the journal website:

www.journals.uchicago.edu/SSR/

Related Item

Children's Bureau Express examines the related topic of subsidized guardianship in another article in this issue, "Providing Permanency With Subsidized Guardianship."

Finding and engaging nonresident fathers carries the potential for significant benefits for children in the child welfare system. When fathers are identified and involved in decisions about their children, there is the possibility for a strengthened father-child relationship, increased permanency, and access to more family information and resources.

A recent study, What About the Dads? Child Welfare Agencies' Efforts to Identify, Locate and Involve Nonresident Fathers, explored the ways that child welfare agencies in four States find and engage nonresident fathers. Findings from interviews with 1,222 caseworkers showed that:

• More than two-thirds of nonresident fathers were identified at the time their child's case was opened.
• Family and friends of the child were often unwilling or unable to provide information about unidentified nonresident fathers.
• Circumstances that made it difficult to locate nonresident fathers included incarceration, homelessness, and being out of the country.
• Half of the nonresident fathers who were contacted expressed interest in having their children live with them. Issues that sometimes prevented placement included substance abuse, involvement with the criminal justice system, and noncompliance with services.
• More than half of contacted fathers had visited their children in foster care.
• Caseworkers who received training on father involvement were more likely to locate fathers, use a variety of methods to find fathers, and make use of more father engagement activities than workers who had not received specialized training.

This exploratory study of nonresident fathers also examined practices and initiatives that may increase father involvement. Recommendations include:

• Search for fathers early in the case.
• Provide caseworker training on finding and engaging fathers.
• Offer services designed to engage fathers.
• Address domestic violence concerns and worker safety issues.
• Use child support data, including data from State or Federal parent locator services.
• Develop models for involving fathers constructively.

What About the Dads? by K. Malm, J. Murray, and R. Geen, was prepared by the Urban Institute and released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), with funding from the Children's Bureau. It is available on the ASPE website:

http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/06/CW-involve-dads/report.pdf (PDF - 820 KB)

Related Items

Children's Bureau Express (http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov) has explored the topic of father involvement in a number of articles, including the following:

• "Debut of Fatherhood User Manual" (this issue)
• "Project Fatherhood" (April 2004)
• "Positive Father-Child Involvement Found Among Early Head Start Families" (December 2003/January 2004)
• "Literature Review Explores Non-Custodial Fathers' Involvement in Child Welfare" (April 2003)
• "LONGSCAN Examines Fatherhood" (April 2002)

While a number of studies have documented the overrepresentation of minority children in the child welfare system, effective strategies to address this problem have been scant. A recent survey of State child welfare directors asked them to rate 42 promising practices for reducing overrepresentation based on how widespread each practice was in their State and how supported each practice was by staffing and funding.

Thirty-one State child welfare directors responded to the survey. In addition, disproportionality for each minority group in each State's child welfare system was determined. Comparing disproportionality in a State with the promising practices being implemented in that State led to the following conclusions:

• States with the highest levels of overrepresentation for Black children tended to have the highest number of promising practices in place, including subsidized guardianship.
• States with the highest levels of overrepresentation of Black and Hispanic children were more likely to have satellite offices or community immersion programs for child welfare.
• States with the lowest levels of overrepresentation tended to have less widespread but more targeted, local programs for reducing overrepresentation.
• States with the lowest rates of overrepresentation of Black and Hispanic children were most likely to have dependency drug courts and cultural competence training.
• The majority of States used targeted community partnerships, communitywide parenting programs, culturally diverse foster care recruitment, and substance abuse facilities for parents and children, but the scope and level of implementation varied.

The complete study, Disproportionate Representation in the Child Welfare System: Emerging Promising Practices Survey, was written by K. F. Vandergrift for the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, an affiliate of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). It is available on the APHSA website:

www.aphsa.org/NAPCWA/docs/Disproportionate-Representation.pdf (PDF - 297 KB)

Related Items

The topic of minority overrepresentation in child welfare was explored in Children's Bureau Express in the following articles:

• "Two Studies of Racial Disproportionality" (December 2005/January 2006)
• "Overrepresentation of Minority Children: How the Child Welfare System Is Responding" (July/August 2004)
• "Addressing Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare" (November 2003)
• "Seeking Causes: Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare" (August 2003)

A significant proportion of children in long-term foster care live with relatives—at least 25 percent—but many are unable to achieve permanency because their kinship caregivers cannot afford to lose the payments that foster care provides. For some of these families, adoption is not an acceptable option because it would alter the family structure by terminating the parents' rights and assigning these rights to a grandparent or other relative. Without an affordable alternative, many of these children remain in long-term foster care.

A recent report from Generations United describes subsidized guardianship, an alternative currently offered by 35 States. Under subsidized guardianship programs, parental rights are not terminated, but permanent legal custody is assigned to a relative. The advantages of guardianship over long-term foster care are significant:

• Children have a permanent home and are no longer subject to removal by the State.
• The caregiver no longer has to get permission from the child welfare agency for the child to spend the night with a friend, receive medical treatment, or go on a school field trip; the caregiver is the legal decision maker.
• The child welfare agency's involvement with the family is generally limited to one annual visit, which reduces administrative costs for the agency.
• Children grow up knowing their siblings, cousins, and other relatives. Often, they are living in the same neighborhood and attending the same schools.

As noted in the Generations United report, the drawback of subsidized guardianship involves funding. Federal title IV-E funding can be used for foster care payments or adoption assistance, but not for subsidized guardianship.

Eleven States have received time-limited waivers allowing them to use the Federal funds for subsidized guardianship. In these States, and in the States that have been able to find local and State funds to pay for a subsidized guardianship program, the program's success has been significant. For instance, California and Illinois have been able to reduce the number of children in long-term foster care with relatives by subsidizing guardianship. The disadvantage of State financing is that it leaves programs vulnerable to cuts in times of budget shortfalls.

The full report from Generations United, All Children Deserve a Permanent Home: Subsidized Guardianships as a Common Sense Solution for Children in Long-Term Relative Foster Care, was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. It is available on the Generations United website:

http://ipath.gu.org/documents/A0/All_Children_Deserve_A_Permanent_Home.pdf (PDF - 1060 KB)

Related Item

Children's Bureau Express reported on kinship care in a previous article:

"Children Find Permanence in Subsidized Guardianship" (December 2004/January 2005)

The rise in the number of children and youth in need of behavioral health (mental health or substance abuse) services requires greater coordination among behavioral health systems and the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. A series of summits by the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examined how a systems of care approach could improve the quality of care for these vulnerable children and their families. Two hundred policymakers, government officials, agency personnel, researchers, and consumers attended the summits to exchange ideas about the potential of systems of care. Two resulting monographs outline the problems faced by the behavioral health, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems and the ways that collaboration and integration among the systems can improve outcomes for children and families.

• The first monograph, Improving Quality of Care for the Most Vulnerable Children, Youth, and Families: Finding Consensus, looks at the barriers facing these systems, specifically examining the intersection of the child welfare and substance abuse systems and the unmet needs of mentally ill youth in the juvenile justice system.
  www.cwla.org/programs/bhd/qualityofcare.htm
• 
  
  
• The second monograph, Integrating Systems of Care: Improving Quality of Care for the Most Vulnerable Children and Families, outlines a plan for systems-culture change across the different systems and identifies the steps needed to implement this approach at the national, State, and local levels. Throughout this monograph, examples illustrate the benefits of collaboration among systems. Additional information is found in the appendixes, which cover such topics as mobilizing communities, evidence-based practice, and social marketing.
  www.cwla.org/programs/bhd/mhpubintegrating.htm

The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC) recently launched their website of evidence-based child welfare programs and practices. Child welfare professionals and others can use the site to identify evidence-based practices that have received empirical support or are of considerable interest in California. While the website has a California focus, the program information has value for a national audience.

Staff at CEBC use a standardized process to identify and review child welfare programs and practices for inclusion in the CEBC database. Programs receive a rating based on supporting evidence, child welfare outcomes, and relevance to child welfare populations. Users can search the database by topical area, maltreatment type, scientific rating, or goals and outcomes. For each program included in the database, users will find ratings, a summary, other websites that highlight the program, contact information, and a link to a detailed report.

The CEBC is run by the Chadwick Center for Children and Families, in cooperation with the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center.

www.cachildwelfareclearinghouse.org

The Winter 2006 issue of the Juvenile and Family Court Journal is a special issue devoted to the long-term effects of trauma and abuse on children. The articles focus on information to help courts and judges deal effectively with these difficult cases. Articles include:

• "The Impact of Trauma on Child Development" by F. W. Putnam
• "Pathways from Traumatic Child Victimization to Delinquency: Implications for Juvenile and Permanency Court Proceedings and Decisions" by J. D. Ford, J. Chapman, M. Mack, and G. Pearson
• "The State of the Debate about Children's Disclosure Patterns in Child Sexual Abuse Cases" by E. Olafson and C. S. Lederman
• "Medical Evidence and Expert Testimony in Child Sexual Abuse" by L. D. Frasier and K. L. Makoroff
• "Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Making Trauma Informed Custody and Visitation Decisions" by P. Van Horn and B. M. Groves
• "Protecting and Supporting Children in the Child Welfare System and the Juvenile Court" by B. Ryan, C. Bashant, and D. Brooks
• "Trauma Interventions and Systems Change in Rural Areas: The Role of the Juvenile Court Judge in Collaboration with Mental Health Professionals" by T. Kliebert et al.

The journal is published by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. A sample article, abstracts, and ordering information are available online:

www.ncjfcj.org/content/blogcategory/138/180/

My Voice, My Life, My Future is a booklet of art, essays, and poetry by youth living in foster care. The collection was assembled by Home At Last, with the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles, in conjunction with the May 2006 Foster Care Awareness Campaign. The booklet provides an opportunity for foster youth to express their feelings about the foster care experience, being separated from family, wanting a voice in decisions that affect their lives, and dreaming of better futures.

Home At Last is a national, nonpartisan education and outreach project, supported through a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts to Occidental College. The booklet is available online:

http://fostercarehomeatlast.org/reports/MyVoice.pdf (PDF - 1820 KB)

The Denver-based Janus Foundation offers cash grants to qualified nonprofit organizations across the country in the following specific areas:

• Programs that support at-risk youth through education, by offering a combination of academic, leadership, and life skills that provide youth with the tools to become self-sustaining members of their communities
• Programs that support community service and volunteerism

The foundation reviews applications monthly, so there is no application deadline. Complete details and an application packet are available online:

[Editor's note: this link no longer exists.] 

The impact of foster care placement on the emotional health and school performance of youth was the focus of the April 5, 2006, web conference presented by Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. The conference focused on three areas:

• Improving access to and quality of mental health assessments
• Establishing accountability for meeting the special education needs of children in the child welfare system
• Increasing school stability for children with special education needs

An audiovisual recording of the conference, Charting a Course: Meeting the Special Education Needs of Foster Children, is available on the Chapin Hall website, along with a PowerPoint presentation, a written log of questions and answers, and the report “Behavior Problems and Education Disruptions Among Children in Out-of-Home Care in Chicago.”

[Editor's note: This link no longer exists.]

The Children's Bureau has funded a 5-year study to examine the efforts by State courts to improve their oversight of foster care and adoption cases and analyze the outcomes achieved. These efforts are now being featured on a new website.

The National Evaluation of the Court Improvement Program (CIP) has three interrelated components:

• Reviewing and synthesizing State and local court reform activities
• Reviewing and synthesizing existing court reform evaluations
• Conducting in-depth studies of reform models in three States: Connecticut, Delaware, and Texas

Findings from the three study components will capture the ongoing nationwide process of court reform supported by the CIP. The study is being conducted by Planning and Learning Technologies (Pal-Tech, Inc.), the Urban Institute, and the Center for Policy Research.

www.pal-tech.com/cip/index.cfm

Children who are recovering from the trauma of sexual abuse require special understanding and support. The May 2006 issue of Fostering Perspectives features several articles that provide information and resources for foster parents who care for sexually abused children. Specific topics include understanding the child's emotions, dealing with the child's birth parents, and addressing difficult behaviors. Statistics and links to additional resources are also provided.

Fostering Perspectives is published by the North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Family and Children's Resource Program. This issue is available online:

www.fosteringperspectives.org/fp_v10n2/v10n2.htm

There are several resources that provide news clippings or abstracts of news stories focusing on child welfare issues. Subscribing to these services allows child welfare professionals to stay current with relevant news stories from around the country.

• The Best Interests website provides links to online news articles of special interest to children's advocates, with a focus on legal and legislative issues. A topical index and email newsletter are also available. For a current list of articles and subscriber information, visit the website:
  www.childadvocacy.com
• 
  
  
• The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement provides a weekly email of recent news articles on child abuse and neglect and child welfare. Archives and subscriber information are available on the website:
  [Editor's note: this link no longer exists]
• 
  
  
• The National Center for Adoption Law & Policy offers a weekly news summary of relevant stories in the areas of adoption and child welfare. The summary requires free registration, and subscription information is available on the website:
  www.law.capital.edu/adoption/newssumindex.htm

The National Family Preservation Network (NFPN), in collaboration with other organizations, has formed the Working with Fathers Institute to provide comprehensive resources and onsite training to practitioners in the areas of father involvement, support groups for fathers, marriage and parenting, and safely working with fathers involved in domestic violence.

The Working with Fathers Institute will prepare a customized onsite training proposal for any interested agency. African-American and Hispanic associate trainers are also available through the Institute. Additional information is available on the NFPN website:

www.nfpn.org/component/content/article/32-news-for-2006/76-working-with-fathers-institute-provides-training-and-resources.html

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) sponsors a series of training sessions on managing juvenile services and other related subjects, including child fatality investigations, protecting children online, and responding to missing and abducted children. Many of the sessions are intended for law enforcement personnel only, while others require participation by interdisciplinary teams.

The classes are conducted in locations around the country by Fox Valley Technical College. A listing of classes scheduled for 2006, course descriptions, and registration information can be found online:

http://dept.fvtc.edu/ojjdp/index.htm

Call for Abstracts

The Children's Bureau has announced a Call for Abstracts for its 16th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, Protecting Children, Promoting Healthy Families, and Preserving Communities. The conference will be held in Portland, OR, April 16–21, 2007. Abstracts must be submitted electronically, no later than July 31, 2006, to the following site:

www.pal-tech.com/web/callforpapers

Upcoming national conferences on adoption and child welfare through November 2006 include:

August

• COA's 2006 National Conference
  Achieving Excellence Through Accreditation
  Council on Accreditation
  August 6–8, New York City
• 18th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference
  Dallas Children's Advocacy Center
  August 21–24, Dallas, TX

September

• 16th ISPCAN International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect
  Children in a Changing World: Getting It Right
  International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
  September 3–6, York, U.K.
   
• The 19th Annual National Independent Living Conference
  Growing Pains 2006
  Daniel Memorial Institute
  September 13–16, St. Louis, MO
   
• Sixth North American Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome
  National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome
  September 13–16, Park City, UT

October

• The 29th National Children's Law Conference
  The Specialized Practice of Juvenile Law: Model Practice in Model Offices
  National Association of Counsel for Children
  October 12–15, Louisville, KY
• Alliance for Children & Families 2006 National Conference
  Building Community Voices: Creating a Healthy Society and Strong Communities for All Children and Families
  October 18–20, St. Louis, MO

November

• 2006 Conference on Differential Response in Child Welfare
  The American Humane Association
  November 13–14, San Diego, CA

Further details about national and regional adoption and child welfare conferences can be found through the "Conference Calendar Search" feature on the Child Welfare Information Gateway (www.childwelfare.gov/calendar/index.cfm) website.