Week 3 SeminarHN 430 Advocacy for Families and Youth

Announcements/Reminders• Project for Unit 2 was due Tuesday at

midnight• I will be working on grading the

projects over the next couple days• Read the comments I provide with your

grade to help you learn and grow•Next project is due in Unit 4 – take a

look and start thinking about it

A virtual field trip…• The mission of the Texas Department of Family

and Protective Services (DFPS) is to protect the unprotected — children, elderly, and people with disabilities — from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. • DFPS has four main programs • Child Protective Services • Adult Protective Services • Child Care Licensing • Prevention and Early Intervention

• http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/ComeWorkForUs/aboutus.asp

Providing advocacy in the Foster Care system

Overview and Purpose of Family Services Agencies• Child abuse investigations• Child abuse assessments• Case management for children and families

in foster families• Case management for families in crisis• Case management and counseling for

potential adoptive parents, adult adoptees and birth parents

The History of Foster Care in the United States• The US Orphan Problem• Attitudes toward children in the 1700

and 1800’s• If families were unable to care for

children, they could…• Give them to relatives• Apprenticeships or indentured

servitude• They would live on the streets

Foster Care: The Orphan Trains• A program first developed to provide

children with in-home care rather than institutionalized care.• Rev. Charles Loring Brace believed that

children would be better off in clean open spaces, not the streets of a major city in search of work. • The Orphan Train program is considered the

start of the foster care system that we know today. (Watch video – click link below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWTTcNBfaRw&feature=related

The Current US Child Welfare System•By 1980, there were no children left

in institutionalized care• Today, the majority of children are in

foster care because of serious maltreatment•Almost ½ want to return to their

biological homes

Working with Children in Placement • Permanency Plans• Reunification with the biological parents• Living with relatives• Guardianship with close friends• Short-term or long term foster care• Emancipation (with older children)• Adoption with termination of parental

rights

Working with Biological Families• Interventions & Goals• Counseling• Parenting classes• Treatment for substance abuse• Anger management• Securing employment• Securing housing•Maintaining regular contact with children

Working with Foster Children

• Separation• Loss, Grief, and Mourning• Identity Issues•Continuity and Family Ties•Crisis

Working with Foster Parents•Developmental needs of at-risk

children•Appropriate discipline for at-risk

children• Supporting foster children and their

biological families•Managing stress and working with a

changing family

Reunification

•Preparing for transition•Giving children a voice•Monitoring in-home services•Communication

Family Preservation

Early intervention and prevention is key• Teaching important parenting skills• Family counseling• Assistance with household budgeting• Stress management• Child development• Cash assistance

Minority Populations and Multicultural Considerations

• Children of color comprise almost 60% of the foster care system. • Placing children of color in Caucasian

homes• Placing children in “non-traditional” family

environments (same sex parents, single parents, etc.)• How important is culture in placement?

Discussion….Watch the following video:

Foster Care and Adoptive Parentshttp://www.youtube.com/user/adoptuskids#p/u/29/z4QMdOMLaHI

•What were some of the “roadblocks” to participating in Foster Care or Adoption that the were mentioned? •How “real” do you think these concerns are?•What can advocates or human services professionals do to help people overcome these roadblocks?