July/August 2010Vol. 11, No. 6Print issueSpotlight on the Fostering Connections Act

Over the past decade, immigration patterns have contributed significantly to the changing demographic profile of the child welfare system, such that 9.6 percent of children reported to child welfare agencies are living with a foreign-born parent or caregiver. These children may be at risk of maltreatment due to the stresses involved with immigration, acculturation, and differences in parenting and discipline styles.

In an effort to identify some of the characteristics of this group, American Humane and partners recently published two new research briefs based on data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). The NSCAW was conducted with a nationally representative sample of children who were subjects of child protective services (CPS) reports in 1999 and 2000, including 3,336 children with native parents and 351 children with immigrant parents.

Children of Immigrants in the Child Welfare System: Findings From the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, by Alan Dettlaff and Ilze Earner, notes a number of similarities and differences between children in the child welfare system who have native parents and those of immigrant parents. For instance, children of immigrant parents were significantly more likely to:

• Be female
• Have a biological father in the home
• Experience emotional abuse

Children of native parents were significantly more likely to:

• Experience physical neglect
• Have parents who abuse alcohol or drugs
• Have parents with intellectual, cognitive, or physical impairments

In many ways, the two populations were similar, including their income levels and neighborhood and community factors.

The authors suggest that child welfare professionals need to assess the strengths as well as the risk factors of immigrant families reported to CPS.

The article can be viewed on the American Humane website:

http://www.americanhumane.org/assets/pdfs/children/pc-childofimmigrantpdf.pdf (436 KB)

Latino Children of Immigrants in the Child Welfare System: Findings From the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, by Alan Dettlaff and Ilze Earner, looks specifically at the characteristics of Latino families that come to the attention of the child welfare system, comparing families with at least one immigrant parent with families with native parents. For instance, compared to children of native-born Latino parents involved with child welfare, children of immigrant Latino parents were more likely to:

• Be older and have older parents
• Be poorer
• Have a biological father in the home
• Experience sexual abuse

Children of native Latino parents were significantly more likely to:

• Experience physical neglect
• Have parents who abuse drugs
• Have high family stress

The authors discuss the results in terms of protective factors that may be present in immigrant families and the implications for child welfare agencies that work with these populations.

The article can be found on the American Humane website:

www.americanhumane.org/assets/docs/protecting-children/PC-LatinoChildreofImmigrant.pdf (432 KB)

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The Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services (BRYCS) website provides information and resources on immigrant and refugee children, including those involved with child welfare:

www.brycs.org

Research has shown that agencies can benefit from citizen participation in child welfare. A national study published in Children and Youth Services Review examines citizen review panels (CRPs) in particular, exploring the relationships between characteristics of CRPs—information flow between CRPs and States, group cohesion, and self-governance—and perceived effectiveness of CRPs. The study presents findings from online surveys completed by 426 CRP members and 42 CRP coordinators across the United States and from data analyses that identify and explain relationships among variables.

Findings from the study include:

• Group cohesion predicted the level of perceived self-governance effectiveness, which, in turn, predicted whether or not members believed their work had a positive impact upon child welfare.
• Information flow affected the perception of self-governance effectiveness and positive impact.
• Perceived information flow between CRPs and States, group cohesion, and self-governance explained 53 percent of the variance in CRP members' perceptions of effectiveness.

The authors also offer recommendations for improving CRP effectiveness, including the need for panel autonomy, consistency in sharing information with panels, and intentional relationship building between panel members and State agencies.

"Key Features of Effective Citizen-State Child Welfare Partnerships Effective: Findings From a National Study of Citizen Review Panels," Children and Youth Services Review, 32(4), by Valerie Bryan, Blake Jones, and Emily Lawson, is available for purchase online:

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.12.006

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Visit the National Citizens Review Panels virtual community for information about CRPs:

www.uky.edu/SocialWork/crp

A new factsheet from Child Trends, What Works for Older Youth During Their Transition to Adulthood: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions, synthesizes results from experimental evaluations of 31 programs geared towards positively influencing older youth (ages 18 to 25). Researchers examined the effects of programs such as Job Corps, Upward Bound, New Chance, and others to identify strategies that worked across outcomes, as well as promising findings for education, career, reproductive health, and substance use outcomes. The factsheet highlights the following pertinent findings:

• Education and career programs can be effective, especially for low-income youth and for youth targeted early in their transition to adulthood.
• Specific intervention strategies, such as mentoring, case management, and providing child care for young parents, are associated with program success across outcomes.
• Findings have been inconsistent regarding the effectiveness of substance use and reproductive health programs across outcomes for this age group.

The report also contains a chart that provides detailed information on individual program success across the outcome categories. The authors also offer suggestions for further research, noting that this particular age group is often overlooked because of assumptions that this population is already benefiting from general services available for adults.

The factsheet, by Alena M. Hadley, Kassim Mbwana, and Elizabeth C. Hair, is available on the Child Trends website:

http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2010_03_09_FS_WWOlderYouth.pdf (282 KB)

A new study from the Urban Institute uses new methodology to yield estimates of the number of youth who run away from home, the number of times they run away, and their age when they first run away. In On the Prevalence of Running Away From Home, author Michael R. Pergamit draws on the data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort (NLSY97), to develop measures not generally found in the literature. The data follow a cohort of youths from age 12 to age 18. The measures combine to provide an estimate of the lifetime prevalence of runaway behavior.

Results indicate that nearly one in five U.S. youths will run away from home before age 18, and almost 30 percent will do so three or more times, greatly heightening their risk of violence and many other dangers. Females and Black youth run away the most often, although findings show a heterogeneous population in terms of their runaway histories. The author also points out that most runaway and homeless youth have histories of runaway (and throwaway) episodes.

The publication is available on the Urban Institute website:

www.urban.org/publications/412087.html

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The National Runaway Switchboard provides an array of services to help keep runaway and at-risk youth safe and off the streets. Foremost among its services is a 24-hour crisis line staffed by counselors who provide free, anonymous, and confidential assistance to a teenager who is thinking of running away from home, has a friend who has run away and is looking for help, or is a runaway ready to go home. They also can provide advice to teachers looking for information to pass along to students about alternatives to running away from home.

The National Runaway Switchboard services are provided in part through funding from the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The FYSB website provides resources for parents and the media, a runaway prevention curriculum, and materials for Runaway Prevention Month held each November.

www.nrscrisisline.org

A new issue brief created by ChildFocus and the North American Council on Adoptable Children, Kinship Adoption: Meeting the Unique Needs of a Growing Population, was developed to draw attention to and explore the needs of children adopted by their relatives. The issue brief points out that the number of children in foster care finding permanent homes with relatives is steadily growing—up from 21 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2008. The authors look at why this trend persists and how agencies can promote and support kinship adoption.

Why is kinship adoption on the rise? The authors point to:

• Increased recognition of the benefits of kinship care for children
• State and Federal preferences for kinship care
• Placement with relatives in order to keep children out of foster care
• Recognition that relatives will adopt if it is in the best interests of the children

According to the brief, some of the benefits of kinship adoption include kinship caregivers' unique knowledge about the child and the family dynamics and the greater likelihood of children maintaining some kind of connection with their birth parents, if desired.

How can agencies best support kinship adoption? The authors point to the need to:

• Fully prepare kinship families for the adoption
• Approach the assessment and training differently with kin than with unrelated prospective families
• Ensure postpermanency services are open to kinship families
• Develop kinship competence in staff to overcome general assumptions
• Educate families on flexible kinship licensing policies

The full issue brief is available on the ChildFocus website:

www.childfocuspartners.com/pdfs/CF_Kinship_Adoption_Report_v5.pdf (523 KB)

InsureKidsNow.gov, a website that offers State-specific information on health insurance coverage for children through Medicaid and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), now offers an online toolkit for professionals. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services designed the toolkit to help organizations raise public awareness and understanding of children's health insurance programs, thereby encouraging eligible parents and guardians to apply for coverage on behalf of their uninsured children. A variety of information, materials, tools, and tactics are provided to assist in education and outreach efforts and are organized into the following toolkit sections:

• Developing an Approach and Setting Goals
• Material Development and Dissemination
• Partner Engagement and Activation
• Working With Media and Integrating Social Media
• Retaining Participation in Children's Health Insurance Programs
• Tracking and Evaluating Your Efforts

Organizations also may add their logos and local contact and State-specific information to the toolkit's customizable materials. This toolkit will be updated as new successful strategies and practices emerge. Currently, parts of the toolkit are in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

For more information, visit:

www.insurekidsnow.gov/professionals/toolkit/toolkit.html

Barriers related to geography, time, and transportation can make it difficult, and sometimes impossible, for IDEA Part C early intervention programs serving remote rural areas to provide the required home visits. These federally funded programs are obligated to serve all eligible infants and toddlers in their area, regardless of difficulty.

Efforts to overcome these barriers in rural Utah where harsh winters pose a particular challenge is discussed in a recent article in Family Center on Technology and Disability News & Notes. The article, "A New Approach to Early Intervention: Virtual Home Visits," describes efforts by workers at the Early Intervention Research Institute, Center for Persons with Disabilities, at Utah State University to utilize technology-based virtual home visits to overcome those barriers in a way consistent with the current digital culture. Although nontraditional, the new approach meets the criteria for service provision and has enabled IDEA Part C providers to maintain a consistent schedule of home visits for families who may live as far as 125 miles away from the provider's home base.

Using grant money to help families acquire computers and other equipment, service providers were able to set up video conferencing with families. The center also developed some online tutorials to take parents through the steps of installing their cameras and microphones and downloading the desktop software. Through these video conferences, providers can observe parent and child interactions and provide instruction to the families.

Families generally have been receptive to the visits, although early intervention staff prefer direct contact with children and families, so virtual visits are regarded as supplemental and not as a replacement for home visits.

News & Notes is available on the Family Center on Technology and Disability website:

www.fctd.info/assets/newsletters/pdfs/275/FCTD-News-Feb2010.pdf (1.80 MB)
 

Children in foster care often have complex needs that require the support of multiple State or local agencies. If providers are empowered to share key information across systems more quickly and efficiently, children will benefit.

A recent analysis by The Children's Partnership (TCP) presents a guide for States and jurisdictions interested in improving their information systems and policies to support the electronic exchange of information on children in foster care. The report highlights some of the benefits of using electronic information exchange:

• Improved ability to provide an array of coordinated and individualized services
• Increased receipt of preventive care
• Decreased use of emergency services and psychiatric care
• Substantial cost savings

Recent Federal legislation requires States to examine their ability to exchange information on the health-care needs of children in foster care. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 mandates that the State or Tribal agency responsible for foster care services work with the State Medicaid agency to develop a plan for ongoing oversight and coordination of health care services for children in foster care, including how medical information for those children will be updated and shared.

Considering the benefits of electronic information exchange and both Federal and State initiatives that address such exchanges, the report analyzes the potential for California to develop and implement a shared electronic data system for health and child welfare agencies. The report includes two models, with differences in how the agencies could develop privacy restrictions for data storage and access. The report also outlines several issues for the State to consider as it creates a strategic plan to fund and design the new system. Some of the recommendations include:

• Leverage existing State and local electronic systems
• Create policies and technical standards for information technology
• Clarify privacy laws related to data-sharing for children in foster care
• Establish a system of governance
• Promote leadership at the highest levels of State government
• Use local pilot efforts to test the system before statewide implementation

The report, Electronic Information Exchange for Children in Foster Care: A Roadmap to Improved Outcomes, was written by Stefanie Gluckman with Ashley Phelps. Visit the TCP website to download the full report or an executive summary:

www.childrenspartnership.org/report/roadmap

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The Federal Government's National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) is designed to enable information sharing. Read about NIEM's applicability for youth and family services on the NIEM website:

www.niem.gov/Domains_YouthAndFamilyServices.php

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago have launched the Doris Duke Fellowship for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. The fellowship program contributes to knowledge development in the field of abuse and neglect and the creation of effective strategies for preventing child maltreatment.

The program is open to doctoral students at U.S. academic institutions who are interested in a career in child abuse and neglect prevention. With the guidance of expert mentors and an annual stipend of $25,000 for up to 2 years, fellows will tackle important issues in the field, as well as participate in professional development opportunities. The multidisciplinary program reflects the various fields that work to prevent child maltreatment, including social work, public health, medicine, public policy, education, and economics.

Students can apply to the first of two 15-fellow cohorts beginning August 15, 2010. Applications are due December 15, 2010.

For more information on the Doris Duke Fellowship, visit:

http://chapinhall.org/assets/video/introduction-doris-duke-fellowships-prevention-child-abuse-and-neglect

Information on the status of State legislation on topics related to youth, including juvenile justice, financial literacy, substance abuse and prevention, youth in transition, and youth violence, is available in a searchable database from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

NCSL works in cooperation with StateNet to provide up-to-date information about youth legislation for all 50 States and the District of Columbia. The database tracks related youth legislation from the 2009 and 2010 session and can be searched by State, topic, keyword, year, status, or primary sponsor.

The NCSL Youth Legislation Database is available on the NCSL website:

www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=17570

The National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA) has published an issue brief, Addressing the Health Care Needs of Transitioning Youth, that describes how some States are working to provide health care to youth who are transitioning out of foster care and into independence.

Children in foster care are more likely to experience acute and chronic health conditions. While they are entitled to health-care benefits through Medicaid, a lack of Medicaid providers reduces their chances of consistent and timely care—and those benefits end when they leave the foster care system.

The Fostering Connections Act of 2008 requires States to create and maintain a health oversight and coordination plan for each young person in foster care. The objective of these plans is for health-care providers to ensure that each child receives regular and comprehensive care, access to services beyond his or her 18th birthday, and a medical passport—an electronic, portable record of the child’s medical and family health histories.

Thirty-two States extend Medicaid coverage to youth beyond age 18. The paper gives examples of how some States coordinate and monitor health-care provision for youth in, and out of, foster care:

• California, Colorado, and Maine have Medicaid passport programs; South Carolina is developing one. 
• Alaska has programs that keep children in foster care with the same doctor throughout the life of the child's case.
• Arizona, Delaware, and Minnesota teach life skills including understanding medical needs, the dangers of high-risk behaviors, and family planning.
• Nebraska provides detailed medical records, including immunization and medical histories, to youth as they leave the system.
• New York operates comprehensive health-care coordination—including evaluations, referrals, treatment plans, and education—for each child in foster care.

To read the issue brief, go to:
www.napcwa.org/Youth/docs/HealthCareBrief2010.pdf (47 KB)

A new data book gives an overview of current national and State-level trends for Latino minors relative to non-Hispanic White and Black children. America’s Future: Latino Child Well-Being in Numbers and Trends provides State-specific data for Hispanic children between the years 2000 and 2008 for 25 indicators in the following data book sections:

• Population Trends and Geographic Location
• Nativity Status and Citizenship
• Family Structure and Income
• Education and Language
• Health
• Juvenile Justice

The book was produced by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the Population Reference Bureau and is now available on the NCLR website:

http://www.nclr.org/index.php/publications/americas_future_latino_child_well-being_in_numbers_and_trends/

The National Children's Advocacy Center (NCAC) provides training, prevention, intervention, and treatment services to fight child abuse and neglect. The trainings are offered online, on the NCAC campus in Huntsville, AL, and at trainee locations through customized arrangements.

As part of its training series, online presentations on a variety of child maltreatment and investigation topics are offered at no charge. The trainings are developed by experts in the field and are designed to be viewed by individuals or groups of child abuse or related professionals. Access the 23 online trainings on the NCAC website.

Trainings on the NCAC campus include forensic interviewing and evaluation, as well as family and victim advocacy. Customized trainings are available through special arrangements and can include a variety of topics centering on forensic interviewing.

Visit the NCAC website for more information:

www.nationalcac.org/professionals/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Upcoming national conferences on child welfare and adoption through November 2010 include:

August 2010

• FFTA 24th Annual Conference on Treatment Foster Care
  Being the Light at the End of the Tunnel
  Foster Family-Based Treatment Association
  August 1–4, National Harbor, MD
• Pathways to Adulthood 2010
  National Independent Living/Transitional Living Conference
  The National Resource Center for Youth Services
  August 24–26, Chicago, IL
  http://www.nrcys.ou.edu/conferences.shtml
• 11th National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention
  Imagine . . . A Safer World for Children
  The National Children's Advocacy Center
  August 24–26, New Orleans, LA
  http://www.nationalcac.org/professionals/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=129

September 2010

• 23rd Annual National Independent Living Conference
  Growing Pains 2010
  Daniel Memorial Institute
  September 7–10, National Harbor, MD
  
• 15th Annual Conference on Violence, Abuse & Trauma
  Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma
  September 11–12, San Diego, CA
  http://www.ivatcenters.org/International2010.html
• Eleventh International Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma
  National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome
  September 12–14, Atlanta, GA
• XVIII ISPCAN International Congress
  One World, One Family, Many Cultures
  International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
  September 26–29, Honolulu, HI
  

October 2010

• CSWE 56th Annual Program Meeting
  Promoting Sustainability in Social Work
  Council on Social Work Education
  October 14–17, Portland, OR
  http://www.cswe.org/Meetings/24470.aspx
• 2010 Alliance National Conference
  Alliance for Children and Families
  October 20–22, Milwaukee, WI
  http://nc10.allianceinfo.org
• 33rd National Juvenile and Family Law Conference
  National Association of Counsel for Children
  October 20–23, Austin, TX
  http://www.naccchildlaw.org/resource/resmgr/2010_conference/2010_save_the_date_-_email.pdf (1,116 KB)
• National Lifespan Respite Conference
  Maryland Respite Care Coalition and ARCH National Respite Network and the National Respite Coalition
  October 24–27, Baltimore, MD
  http://www.respitecoalition.org/Default.aspx?pageId=411600

November 2010

• 5th Annual Conference on Differential Response in Child Welfare
  The Child Welfare Response Continuum
  American Humane
  November 8–10, Anaheim, CA
  

Further details about national and regional child welfare and adoption conferences can be found through the Conference Calendar Search feature on Child Welfare Information Gateway:

http://www.childwelfare.gov/calendar/index.cfm