Parent Visitation to Youth in Placement

Research has established that one of the most critical factors in successful reunification of youth with their families from group home placement is visitation with their family. Another factor is transporting effective interventions from the group home when the youth returns to their homes and communicities. Both can be achieved when the parent visits the youth at his/her placement. While some providers may still be instituting a no home visit policy in the early stages of placement; they are generally open to having family visit at the placement. Probation may support placement some distance from home and restricted home visits in an effort to break association with anti-social peers or to break down gang affiliation.

While providers are becoming ever more open to family visitation and probation strongly encourages visitation; parents are sometimes challenged to bear the cost of the travel that is required. Cash strapped probation departments have rarely had funding available to support visitation. Some departments have used system improvement funding from the California Department of Social Services or other funding to support visitation. Current exconomic pressures are impacting families and probation departments.

A recent decision in the First Appellate Court in California, in re: L.M., affirms the responsibility of probation to financially support travel in conjunction with court ordered visitation as a part of the case plan. Visits between the youth in care and the family must be addressed as an element of the case plan. Although the Court did not order the probation department in this case fo pay for travel because the parent had not asserted financial need; the underlying responsibility is clear.

This decision makes clear that it is not enough for departments to make visits a part of the case plan. When parents assert financial need, the department bears the responsbility to support family visitation. Some steps to consider might include:

• Geo mapping placements with family of origin home. Do you have clusters of youth/families in placement and from the same area that you could find efficiency in transportation?
• Developing resources to support travel such as setting aside system improvement funds, relationships with local organizations or Wraparound reinvestment.
• Relocating youth to more accessible placements by developiong and supporting local placements utilizing outcome based contracting.
• Bringing youth home sooner and utilizing Wraparound, residentially based services if available, or developing local resources to support the youth and family.

We would be interested in how you are responding to this need and enourage you to post a brief response or send a description to me at dlowery@ucde.ucdavis.edu to share through our website.