The Value of PermanencyWho Wouldn’t Want A Family?

FL Dependency Summit September 7th, 2016

Matt Bachman, Esq.Guardian ad Litem Program Jennifer Behnam, MSWKelsey Burnette, Esq.Children’s Legal Services Department of Children and Families

Hearing Youth Voices

Shane's Story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76LqMnBZV-0

“Stories of Aging Out” Video Courtesy of Adopt US Kids

2

We Are Abandoning Children In Foster Care

Source: jimcaseyyouth.org/about/aging-out

We Are Abandoning Children in Foster Care

“I was on my own at 18, without any support system. It is

really difficult. It’s not so much the financial issues as much

as having an emotional support system. Imagine being 18

and no one cares if you are living or dead. If you are

passing in school, no one to share your fears, successes,

failures, always 100% by yourself without a family”

CNN, We are abandoning children in foster care, April 17, 2014-Comment

Foster Care Facts • Fewer than 2% will earn a college degree by age 25

– (compared to 28% of all 25 year olds)

• One in four will be involved in the justice system within two years of leaving the foster care system

(Of 26,000 youth that age out annually, that’s 6,500)

• “Each cohort of young people leaving foster care costs society an additional $8 billion in welfare, Medicaid, lost wages and incarceration costs compared to people of the same age who were not in foster care” (Jim Casey Initiative)

Source: Jim Casey Youth Opportunities 2014 The Pew Charitable Trusts

Current Florida Data • Current number of children with goal of APPLA

– 379• Number of children with goal of adoption that have been

in care over 3 years– 1,058

• Number of children that have been in care over 5 years– 385

• Number of Dually Involved Youth (Total Arrest for FY 2014-2015 in Florida) – 1,428

1) Only looking at primary goal of APPLA (2) 1,058-this is only looking at primary goal of adoption and the removal date was before 8/29/13 (3) Dually Involved defined as: Youth arrested during a DCF “out of home” placement

Supportive Families Reduce Recidivism• “Only 50% of ‘no contact’ inmates completed their first year on parole without

being arrested, while 70% of those with three visitors were ‘arrest-free’ during this period.” In addition, the ‘loners’ were six times more likely to wind up back in prison during the first year.” (5)

• “Studies have consistently found that prisoners who maintain close contact with their family members while incarcerated have better post-release outcomes and lower recidivism rates.” (4)

• “Any visit reduced the risk of recidivism by 13 percent.” (14)

Source: Friedmann, A. (2014) “Lowering Recidivism Through Family Communication”. Prison Legal News. April 2014. Retrieved from https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2014/apr/15/lowering-recidivism-through-family-communication/

Supportive Families Reduce Recidivism

• “In an article published in August 2012 Issue of Corrections Today stated that ‘those without positive supportive relationships are more likely to engage in criminal behavior.” (6)

• Two separate Vera Institute reports have stated that “Incarcerated men and women who make contact with supportive family members are more likely to succeed after their release” (7) and “incarcerated people who maintain supportive relationships with family members have better outcomes—such as stable housing and employment—when they return to the community.” (8)

Source: Friedmann, A. (2014) “Lowering Recidivism Through Family Communication”. Prison Legal News. April 2014. Retrieved from https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2014/apr/15/lowering-recidivism-through-family-communication/

More Reasons Why Permanency Is So Important….

"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and

uncared for is the greatest poverty."-Mother Teresa

Moving to the Next Level

Trauma “The most traumatic aspects of all disasters

involve the shattering of human connections. And this is especially true for children. Being harmed by the

people who are supposed to love you, being abandoned by them, being robbed of the one-on-one

relationships that allow you to feel safe and valued and to become humane-they are profoundly destructive experiences. Because humans are inescapably social beings, the worst catastrophes that can

befall us inevitably involve relational loss.”

(Page 230) Dr. Bruce Perry, The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog

Disaster

What the Experts Tell Us:

“The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be able to recover from

trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful

therapy is human love.”

(Page 230) Dr. Bruce Perry, The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog

What the Experts Tell Us:

“But while emerging therapeutic models like the neurosequential approach hold great promise, my experience as well as the research suggests that the most important healing experiences in the lives of traumatized children do not occur in therapy itself”(Page 231)

What the Experts Tell Us:

“Recovery from trauma and neglect is also all about relationships-rebuilding trust, regaining confidence, returning to a sense of security and reconnecting to love. But healing and recovery are impossible-even with the best medications and therapy in the world-without lasting, caring connections to others.”(Page 231-232)

What the Experts Tell Us:

“What maltreated and traumatized children most need is a healthy community to buffer the pain, distress, and loss caused by their earlier trauma. What works to heal them is anything that increases the number and quality of a child’s relationship. What helps is consistent, patient, repetitive loving care.” (Page 232)

Independent Living Skills in

Relation to Permanency and

Family

What would you want?

“How is it that they can take you away from your family,

cut off your right to see them and then let you grow up and go out with no one?

In what world does that make sense? “June”, foster care alumnahttp://www.adoptioninstitute.org/publications/2011_07_21_NeverTooOld.pdf

What would you want? Family

• Unconditional Love • Support/Guidance • Free Babysitter• Money • Help when sick • Celebrate Birthdays/Holidays• Emotional Support • Advice, Love, Safety Net • Unconditional acceptance • Sense of Belonging

Independent Living Program/Skills

• Financial assistance until 19 or 21• Documents • A place to live • Photo ID• A copy of their birth certificate • Source of income • Courses on money management,

finances, housekeeping, etc.• Resume

Skills In Relation to Family

You cannot give a youth enough skills to replace a family

Independence vs. InterdependenceInterdependence

• A life-long connection to a family, supplemented by a strong network of support

• A level of competence, knowledge, skills, and relationships that is needed to participate successfully in family, community and the workplace

Independence Not requiring or relying on something else, not looking to others for ones opinion or for guidance in conduct. Not requiring or relying on others.

Unpacking the No

When Youth Say No to Adoption

Moving Beyond No With Youth: Understand What Might Be Underneath

1. Normal part of adolescent development2. “No” is the beginning of the conversation

– Accepting the answer of “no” can confirm that you agree with their fears

• Fear of severing connections• Fear of further loss, changing their name, betraying

family, etc.3. The difficulty of envisioning future permanency with youth 4. Teenagers making major life decisions? 5. Inconsistent practice in our system

Moving Forward and Changing Practice

1. Giving youth the power to decide and normalcy – Strategize behind the scenes– Never giving up!

2. Young adults can consent to their own adoption (no TPR)

Paradigm Change

A change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of

metamorphosis. It just does not happen, but rather it is driven by agents of change.

(Kuhn, 1970)

Permanency Roundtables

Strategies, Tools and Resources

Permanency Roundtable Goals

Expedite legal permanency for a child

Stimulate thinking and learning about ways to accelerate permanency

Identify and address systemic barriers to expedited permanency

Permanency RoundtablesA Multi-Level Strategy

Micro Level PROFESSIONAL CASE CONSULTATION

“Real-Time” Learning Lab

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Macro Level SYSTEMS IMPROVEMENT

5 PRT Brainstorming Questions1. What will it take to achieve permanency?2. What can we try that we tried before?3. What can we try that hasn’t been tried?4. How can we engage the youth in permanency

planning?5. How many things can we do concurrently?

Permanency Roundtables in Florida • PRTs started in Florida in 2009

• PRTs are currently implemented in 13 CBCs

• Cold Case PRT component started in 2011 with Gainesville as the pilot

• 81 Cold Case PRTs wereconducted in 13 circuits

Some Permanency Tools• In-depth review of the case

• Identify leads on family members and other possible permanent connections for the child

• In-depth review of child’s mental health history• Develop a clinical review team to carefully review child's

mental health records, medications, etc.

How Attorneys Can Help

• Assist in handling various legal matters that arise• Ensuring TPR is achieved timely• Requesting appointment of an educational surrogate• Ensuring SSI and other disability applications are filed

and handled properly

• Provide information about how permanency impacts (or not) various benefits

Other Ways to Support Permanency

• Advocate for the child in connection with juvenile/criminal charges-many charges have been dismissed or reduced for our youth

• Work with private investigator to locate and engage family members

Permanency Strategies, Tools and Resources

• Permanency Pact (with shared parenting– www.fostercare.com (Link: Professionals)

• Record Review‒ Case Mining• Family Finding• Genograms• Placement/Mobility Mapping • Talking about Permanency can NEVER be a “one shot”

conversation

References & Resources

• Casey Family Programs, Achieving Permanency Through Roundtables, Curriculum, 2013

• Friedmann, A. (2014) “Lowering Recidivism Through Family Communication”. Prison Legal News. April 2014. Retrieved from https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2014/apr/15/lowering-recidivism-through-family-communication/

• National Center for Child Welfare Excellence at the Silberman School of Social Work, Permanency Pathways for Older Youth, Participant and Trainer Notebook

• Perry, B.D., & Szalavitz, M. (2006). The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog. And Other Stories From A Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook. What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing. New York: Basic Books.

• Guide from the NRCFCPPP on practice that supports permanency for older youth – http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/downloads/SixSteps.pdf

For More Information Contact:

• Matt Bachman – 813-272-5110– Matthew.bachman@gal.fl.gov

• Jennifer Behnam– 904-536-5362– jenbehnam@gmail.com

• Kelsey Burnette– 352-330-5516– Kelsey.burnette@myflfamilies.com

The End

QUESTIONS?