Home for the Holidays

Despite the holiday movies that chronicle in hilarious fashion the dysfunction of families; being home for the holidays is a longing that few of us lose. Do you remember the first time that you were unable to go home because you were in school, in the military, or had a job far from home and could not afford to make the trip? There is something special about the rituals and traditions, the food or the decorations, the gifts or the time spent with a distant family member that endear holidays to us.
I hope that all of the youth with whom you work are home for the holidays or certainly "home" with someone that cares about them as a unique individual. I hope their families are able to continue some of those rituals and traditions that are precious to them in these times of economic duress.
For all of you, that give so much and sacrifice time with your own families to insure that our youth are safe; I wish for you, time at home with your loved ones. For all of us, I hope that our economic travails are quickly at an end and that peace can prevail.
Warm wishes for a safe, loving, and happy holiday season to you and yours.

Building Successful Case Plans

Case plans often feel like yet "another piece of paperwork." However, they are the root of all that we do and all that others will do. Case plans:

• are an opportunity to engage the youth
• are an opportunity to engage parents, family, services providers, care providers, and others interested in the well-being of the youth
• clearly identify the goal of our invovlement, the behavioral growth needed to achieve that goal and the services/tasks of all members of the team
• build on identified strengths and competencies
• are the central focus of all subsequent contacts with the youth, family, care providers, and service providers
• provide the "point of departure" for reassessment and case plan updates

Our blogs over the next several weeks will focus on each component of case plans. Look for announcements of youtube presentations that you can use as reminders or mini trainings for new workers or refreshers!

There's Money!

County Fiscal Letter (CFL) 09/10-14 has just been released detailing the allocations for all probation departments (except IV-E waiver counties) for the Child Welfare Services Outcome IMprovement Project grants. A total of $1,203,000.00 is available upon approval of the FY 2009-10 Budget Act to assist in meeting federal oucome standards. Every county is guaranteed a minimum floor of $10,000.00 but you must adhere to federal TItle IV-E rules when claiming federally allowable activities AND you must ensure that your current Memoranda of Understanding with your county's Child Welfare Department supports these expenditures. Remember, these funds are intended to support your progress in meeting the program improvement plans that are contained within your System Improvement Plan. The funds must also be used within this fiscal year.

Examples of how probation departments have utilized this funding have included:

• provided funding for travel for family to visit youth placed out-of-county or out-of-state (see previous blog on family visitation to youth in placement)
• paid for services that enable youth to return home;
• paid for services that the family has needed in order to successfully participate in the case plan.

Your next steps?

• review your System Improvement Plan;
• check your Memoranda of Understanding with Child Welfare Department;
• amend your Memoranda of Understanding if necessary;
• create your plan;
• utilize this funding!

Don't let this opportunity slip by to support your youth and their families. Make a difference today.

Criminogenic Need and Family Engagement

One of the seven dynamic criminogenic needs is family. This is particularly true for juveniles who are dependent on family and to whom they most often return after placement in out-of-home care. Research on the efficacy of out-of-home care reveals that treatment gains will only be sustained after return home if the family is able to transfer the intervention to the home/community.

In order to accomplish this successfully, we need to engage and involve family. We are required by law, regulations, and practice obligations to involve family in case planning, concurrent planning, permanency and every facet of a youth's life. This is reinforced by the inclusion of "Child and Family Involvement in Case Planning" as an item in the federal Child and Family Services Review and in the Program Improvement Plan that California has established with the federal government. In addition, the California Department of Social Services has issued All County Information Notice No. I-67-09 regarding Family Engagement Efforts. Although much of this notice is devoted to informing child welfare services about how to document their family engagement efforts in the child welfare services/case management system; it does include definitions of family engagement efforts that you may find useful. You can find the ACIN on the CDSS website.

The Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice has always used family-centered practice as its approach to working with children, youth, and families. Several specific trainings designed for probation emphasize the critical nature of work with families including "Engaging Youth and Family in Case Planning" and "Family Engagement." Check your practice and the support of your agency:

• Agency makes it possible for officers to meet at places and times that are convenient for family members
• Providers expect family to be involved in youth's treatment and include them in planning, implementation, evaluation
• Case plans are not only signed by parents and youth but are developed with them
• Providers involve family during visits to the placement and strategies to use during home visits and when youth return home
• Build in time for building relationships with youth and family
• Expect that family has the best intentions and expectations for their youth
• Active listening is a component to every evidence based practice
• Positive reinforcement should be provided for every effort and success should be celebrated. Research demonstrates that we should provide four positive reinforcements for every negative reinforcement
• Providers maintain a connection to youth and families after the youth has returned home and act as an informal consultant

What approaches and strategies do you or your agency use to promote and support family engagement?

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.