A new report prepared by the Urban Institute and funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) explores States’ use of Chafee Foster Care Independence Program funds for housing for transitioning youth. Chafee provides $140 million annually for Independent Living services for youth exiting foster care. States are permitted to use up to 30 percent of their respective Chafee allocations to meet the housing needs of youth after they leave care. The report examines how States use these funds, in addition to other State and Federal funding sources, to provide housing to this population. Link to pdf Report
Tag Archives: Foster Care
Supporting Sibling Relationships [Presentation Slides]
Slides provide detailed reasons for and benefits of placing siblings together in foster care. Includes both national and state legal requirements as well as other benefits.
Provides a Sibling Toolkit
● Component #1. Identification of All Siblings
● Component #2. Assessment of Sibling Groups
● Component #3. Decision Making Regarding Sibling Placement Together
● Component #4. Youth Voice in Sibling Placement Decision Making
● Component #5. Reasonable and Ongoing Efforts to Place Siblings Together
● Component #6. Siblings Visits and Contacts
● Component #7. Documentation
● Component #8. Sibling Placement Resources
● Component #9. The Courts
● Component #10. Training on the Importance of Preserving Sibling Connections
Link to Slides
A Building Bridges Initiative Tip Sheet: Evaluating and Improving Outcomes for Youth who have Received Residential Services
This tip sheet focuses on long term, post-program youth and family functional outcome measures. A key question is whether residential services achieve long-lasting success. While there are many anecdotes about the profound changes that occur for youth served in residential programs, these personal stories are not sufficient to demonstrate the programmatic or systemic effectiveness of service efforts. Outcome measurement is essential to document how a program is achieving long term results. Link to Tip Sheet
Icebreaker Meetings: Building Relationships Between Birth and Foster Parents
Annie E. Casey Foundation: Building working relationships between birth parents, foster parents, and caseworkers can be extremely important for foster children, and using Icebreaker meetings can be an effective mechanism for doing that. However, to be successful, an agency seeking to introduce Icebreakers must understand how the practice works. This publication is designed to:
- Give agencies an overview of Icebreaker meetings;
- Describe a work group process for planning and implementing Icebreaker meetings;
- Identify common barriers and roadblocks to successful implementation of Icebreaker meetings;
- Identify implementation steps that are often overlooked or missed;
- Share successes and examples of agencies using Icebreaker meetings;
- Share samples of Icebreaker documents and materials developed by agencies from across the country; and
- Provide a self-assessment tool to guide your planning and implementation.
Building Successful Resource Families: A Guide for Public Agencies
Annie E. Casey Foundation: The Foundation recognizes the critical role played by resource families who often function as a bridge to reunification, kinship care or adoption. In many instances, resource families have not received the institutional support needed to ensure that a pool of appropriate families is available to serve children in need in a given community. We have worked with jurisdictions in which 25 percent of resource families discontinue providing foster care each year, and estimates indicate that 40 percent of the families who leave foster parenting do so primarily because of inadequate agency support. We have partnered with national experts in designing systems to recruit, develop and support resource families. The goal of this guide is to leverage our experience with different jurisdictions by sharing information and encouraging the use of best practices in working with resource families. Link to pdf Guide; Link to AECF Web Page Guide
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s 2012 Foster Youth Internship Report
CCAI’s Foster Youth Internship (FYI) Program is a Congressional Internship for young adults who spent time in the United State’s foster care system. The FYI program began in 2003 as an effort to raise awareness to federal policymakers about the needs and unique perspectives of those who spent time in foster care. As part of the program, CCAI organizes retreats, advocacy trainings and various networking opportunities with experts in the child welfare field. Throughout the summer, the FYI interns spend time researching about policy issues affecting foster children across the country. These experiences allow them to create a policy report that is presented at a Congressional briefing and released to child welfare advocates across the country. Link to Report