20 INNOVATIVE IDEAS

BEST PRACTICES, INITIATIVES, AND MODEL COURTS

Ideas 1 - 4 MODEL COURTS

“a court that deals with cases involving parental rights…which come before the court through either the criminal or civil process, which arise out of the substance abuse of a parent.”

- Juvenile and Family Drug Courts: An Overview (Drug Court Clearinghouse and Technical Assistance

Project at the American University, 1998)

FAMILY DEPENDENCY TREATMENT COURTS

San Diego, CAAccess to Treatment

Participants of FDTC get priority slots with a network of drug and alcohol treatment providers

County contracts with third party providers for priority placements

FAMILY DEPENDENCY TREATMENT COURTS

Family drug treatment court that focuses on families with children age three and younger

Treatment program completed in phasesCompletion of phases coincides with increased visitation

Parents prove sobriety through frequent testing Leads to more frequent visits / unsupervised visits

Parenting skills assessed by judge at each hearing Specific questions about the parent-child

relationship

OMAHA, NEBRASKA ZERO TO THREE DRUG TREATMENT

COURT

Based out of Miami-Dade County Juvenile Court

2nd and 3rd generation families involved in child protection

Partnered with Dr. & Prof. of Pediatrics and Psychiatry Focus on healing parent and child relationships

COURT TEAMS FOR MALTREATED INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Phase 1: Develop partnership between the judge and a local community coordinator to establish a court-community teamBuild awareness of needs of children under 3 in foster care

Complete a community needs assessment that identifies available services and gaps in services

COURT TEAMS, CONT’D

Phase 2: Provide additional services for infants and toddlers Court ordered:

Referrals for health and dental care Quality child care Behavioral & development assessments Frequent visits with parents Evidence based services

Review hearings every 30 days

Utilizes visitation to promote permanent placement with parents

COURT TEAMS, CONT’D

H.O.P.E. = Helping Organize Parents Effectively

Families with multiple cases before the court

Cases grouped together and heard together

Create a whole family plan

Whole team discusses modifications to the family plan

At each hearing assess where the family is at in all areas

BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIAH.O.P.E COURTS

Ideas 5 - 9

SUPPORTING THE CASE PLAN

Oregon: Fostering Hope Initiative

The issue: A family in stress is a family more likely to end up in child welfare

The initiative:1) Build up the internal resources of the parents; and

2) Reinforce the external resources in the community to support families in need.

PLACE BASED FAMILY STRENGTHENING

Weekly community dinners at neighborhood churches & community centersClassesSocialization Supporting connections between neighbors

In-home servicesMentoringParenting skillsHealth & wellness

PLACE BASED FAMILY STRENGTHENING

Therapeutic supervised visitation program

Operates out of 3 converted housesFull apartments

visiting roomskitchens

Program phases for increased visitation

Overnight visits in the final phase

NEW JERSEYFAMILY REUNITY HOUSES

Pair parent with a seasoned foster care provider

Program is voluntary – not part of mandatory case plan

Mentor parents in parenting skills but also in building a healthy support network

Outcomes: Families more frequently reunify Children’s length of stay in foster care is reduced Fewer children return to care after reunification

WASHINGTON STATEPARENT TO PARENT MENTORING

Participants matched with a parent mentor with previous child welfare involvement

Added a class component called “Here’s the Deal”

Goals: Parents become more informed consumers of the child

welfare system and the services available; Parents move more quickly through their anger; Develop a good working relationship with their social

worker; More quickly engage in services.

WASHINGTON STATEPARENT PARTNERS PROGRAM

Collaboration between the Police Department and the Yale Child Study Center

Minimize the trauma to children at the time of the arrest of a parent: Trains police in child development Provides clinicians to work with children at the

scene of an arrest Provides treatment and follow up counseling for

children Provides ongoing consultation for police and child

welfare staff

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUTCHILD DEVELOPMENT-COMMUNITY

POLICING

Ideas 10 - 12

SUPPORTING FOSTER PARENTS AND

RESOURCE FAMILIES

“a supported, happy foster parent is a walking billboard for other potential foster parents”

Support groups

Training opportunities

Monthly newsletter

Including foster parents input in legislative efforts and policy efforts

WASHINGTON STATE’SCHILDREN’S ADMINISTRATION FOSTER

PARENT SUPPORT & RECRUITMENT

Customer Service Training for Child Welfare Staff

Data Driven RecruitmentRetentionQuarterly reportsData on children in care vs. resource families

Rapid Improvement EventsMarketing– Communications– PSAs– Support Center

Online Training CurriculumTribal Recruitment Subcommittee

OKLAHOMABRIDGE TO THE FUTURE PROJECT

Meeting between birth parents and foster parents within 2 days of an out-of-home placement

Discussions are child-focusedOpportunity to share informationEstablish relationship of mutual respect

Similar program in Virginia – meeting within 7 days of an out-of-home placement

NEW MEXICOICEBREAKER MEETINGS

Idea 13POST PERMANENCY

Idea: Coordinate a large team of professionals and volunteers in a highly effective way

Prior to Extreme Recruitment: Social workers checked in once a month Other stakeholders were rarely in the same room

Under Extreme Recruitment:Stakeholders are in constant contactWeekly 30 minute meetings per child/caseChecklists and action items

SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURIEXTREME RECRUITMENT

Agency hired full time private investigators Sole job is to track down members of child’s biological family

Goal for each child is to identify 40-60 family members

Find two key individuals in every family:The informantThe family gem

EXTREME RECRUITMENT

Ideas 14 & 15CROSSOVER YOUTH

“Youth who have experienced maltreatment and engaged in delinquency”

- Center for Juveni le Just ice Reform, - Crossover Youth Pract ice Model

CROSSOVER YOUTH

More likely to exit care from a group home rather than with relatives or a foster family

More than twice as likely to be heavy users of public systems

Three times as likely to experience a jail stay

50 percent less likely to be consistently employed

Will earn less than half in first four years after exit

The average per-person cost of crossover youth who access public services was more than double

D . C u l h a n e , Yo u n g A d u l t O u t c o m e s o f Yo u t h

E x i t i n g D e p e n d e n t o r D e l i n q u e n t C a r e i n L A C o u n t y ( L A , C A : U n i v. o f PA , 2 0 11 )

CROSSOVER YOUTH – AS COMPARED TO YOUTH IN ONLY

DELINQUENCY OR CP

School based intervention program:

school districts ↔ child welfare ↔ probation

Determine gaps in services

Support timely transfers of records when placements and/or schools change

Provide direct service and referrals

Advocacy and collaboration

CALIFORNIAFOSTER YOUTH SERVICES

Overall objectives and outcomes:Improved academic achievement Reduced truancyReduced expulsion rates

CALIFORNIA FOSTER CARE YOUTH SERVICES

Collaboration project between child dependency and delinquency courts

Cross-over training between child welfare & probation staff

Whole family assessments – regardless of which avenue the family enters into court

One judge one family

Hold review hearings for delinquency and child welfare matters at the same time

Engage in joint case planning across cases

PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

Ideas 16 & 17

ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING KIDS IN

FOSTER CARE

Youth ages 15-19 did a year long study of NYC’s permanency planning process

Goals: Youth to have a sense of responsibility and influence

in their own case More youth attend their hearings The best decisions made for youth and their family Turn going to court into a positive experience for

youth Improve chances of success for youth who age out of

foster care

NEW YORK CITYYOUTH JUSTICE BOARD

Created a report with 14 recommendations to improve court experiences and outcomes for kids in foster care in 3 major areas:To prepare youth to take a more active role in their cases

To create stronger partnerships between, guardians, case workers, and youth

To create a court environment that facilitates meaningful youth involvement

YOUTH JUSTICE BOARD

Quarterly print and online publication

Contributors all current or former foster care youth

Editors on staff who work one-on-one with youth in care

NEW YORKREPRESENT

REPRESENT

RISE

Ideas 18 - 20

COURTHOUSE ENVIRONMENT

Provides a space for children to be engaged in activities

Court hearings/meetings with social workers or attorneys may be more efficient without kids

Utilize staff and/or volunteers to supervise the room

CHILDREN’S WAITING ROOMS

Free Arts for Abused ChildrenPartnered to operate at 2 sites in LA County

Courthouse provides spaceFree Arts provides volunteers and art supplies during blocked dependency calendar time

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA

King County, Washington: Ellie, assigned to the Special Assault Unit in 2005

Nation’s first service dog matched full time with a county attorney’s office

Can be utilized at the interview and investigation stage of child abuse cases

Can be used to reduce stress during for children while waiting for a court hearing or while testifying

COURTHOUSE DOGS

THANKS!

WEBSITES AND RESOURCES:

Oklahoma Bridge to the Future

http://www.okbridgefamilies.com/

Courthouse Dogs

www.courthousedogs.org

Place-Based Family Strengthening

www.ctfalliance.org

Washington Parent Partners/Mentoring Program

http://pocweb.cac.washington.edu/publications/parent-engagementmentoring-models-washington-state

Fostering Hope Initiative

http://fosteringhopeinitiative.org/

Extreme Recruitment

www.adoptuskids.org

Represent

www.representmag.org

Youth Justice Board – New York 2007 Report

http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/YJBreport%20final_2007.pdf

Free Arts for Abused Children

www.freearts.org

Zero to Three Initiatives

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Crossover Youth

https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/youth/collaboration/dualsystem.cfm

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

http://www.ncjfcj.org/

Reunity Houses – New Jersey

http://familyconnectionsnj.org/reunity.html

Rise

http://www.risemagazine.org/