Making CWLA Work for You

Presentation to CWLA Southern Region and Georgia Association of Homes and

Services for Children Membership

October 5, 2006

Atlanta, GA

Talking Points

• Federal policy related to foster care-ASFA• Latest Trends• CFSR • AFCAR• CWLA Advocacy• Resources

Federal Policy Impacting Foster Care

• ASFA• Changes in foster care resulting from ASFA• Relation to CFSR• Increased accountability

ASFA-Adoption & Safe Family Act

• Federal law history• Shorten LOS in foster care• Reduce the number of children waiting for

adoption• Foster care-temporary alternative

Changes in Foster Care Resulting From ASFA

• Expedited timelines• Safety• Reasonable efforts• Elimination of long term foster care• Kinship care• Increased accountability

Accountability-CFSR

• ASFA-CFSR• Review of all states’ child welfare system• Assess states’ outcomes and states’ conformity• Foster care outcomes

Global Perspective-Trends in Foster Care

• Placement is concurrent• Prepare families to be the permanent family• Shift in placements• Training for foster family

Trends in Residential Services-A Global Perspective

• Shorter more focused stays• Different residential program for girls• Provide 3 different programs within a residential

setting with different goals

Trends in Child and Family Service• Funding • Workforce• Move from generic institutional care for children • Increased organizational/ Board accountability • Increased program performance proof • Performance based contracting and shared financial

risk • Changing to evidenced-based practice: to child-

focused and family-centered

What Does It All Mean?

• Understanding of latest trends

• Wider range of service delivery

• Services for families

Child and Family Service Reviews• Important tool for the Federal Government

• Help determine what is actually happening to children and families as they are engaged in child welfare services

• Ensure states’ conformity with Federal child welfare requirements

• Assist States to enhance their capacity to help children and families achieve positive outcomes

• Improve child welfare services

• Push to permanency-quicker ( in 12 months), and shorter length of stay in care

Change in CFSR Federal Standards• The first round of CFSRs included six national standards,

in addition to systemic measures

• For the second round of CFSRs states will be assessed on standards set for two safety measures and four permanency composite measures (each composed of multiple measures).

• The federal government announced new outcome measures, composites and standards to be used for the second round of the Child and Family Services Reviews in the Federal Register on June 7, 2006

Program Improvement Plans-How to build on them?

• GAO report• Need for more training

CFSR-What Did it Tell Us?• First round• States were slightly stronger in safety outcomes

vs. permanency and well-being outcomes• States were weakest in helping children achieve

their permanency goals in a timely manner• States are encouraged to compare itself over time

vs. comparing themselves to other states

AFCAR

Purpose of AFCAR AFCAR information Information from AFCAR helps provide a

national picture of child maltreatment States are required to submit AFCARS data

semi-annually to ACF

• Congressional requests • Responding to questions and requests from other

Federal departments and agencies, short and long-term budget projections;

• Trend analyses and short and long-term planning; • Technical Assistance• Determining and assessing outcomes for children

and families.

How The Federal Government Uses AFCARS Data

CWLA Advocacy• Need for an effective federal oversight mechanism

• The results cannot simply be viewed as pass or fail

• Reexamining measures

• States now will be evaluated in their ability to implement changes in their PIP

• National Working Group to Improve Child Welfare Data

• Definitional standards

• Call for Comprehensive Child Welfare Reform

• CWLA Government Affairs

Resources for providers• AFCARS web page:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm#afcars• National Resource Center for Information Technology in Child

Welfare: http://www.nrccwdt.org• National Working Group- http://ndas.cwla.org/• Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 7, 2006 /

Notices• Child Welfare League of America-Membership & Program Services

– Adrianne Lewis, Southern Regional Director, (704)-392-8041– Lloyd Bullard, Director of Residential Services, (202)-942-0280– Millicent Williams, Foster Care Program Director (202)-942-

0253– Jeff Boremaster, CWLA Consultant, Jboremaster@aol.com

Questions & Answers