The Prevention section is generously supported by the Doris Duke Foundation as part of the OPT-In for Families Initiative.
"},{"title":"special-considerations-when-referring-screened-out-calls-for-prevention-services","heading":"Special Considerations When Referring Screened Out Families to Prevention Services","about":"In some situations, referring a family or individual to prevention services may not be the right strategy. We have collected example criteria from jurisdictions that have exception paths for you to consider as you build your own screen-out referral pathway.","how":"Categories to consider not referring to prevention services include\n * **Agency employees.** County-administered systems report success in referring these cases to other counties.\n * **Certain screened-out sexual allegations.** A report of a 19 year old and a 17 year old may not benefit from prevention services.\n * **Criminal cases.** In some jurisdictions, a case technically “screens out” when it is reported to law enforcement. If this applies to you, referring these cases to prevention probably does not make sense.\n * **Domestic violence.** An allegation of domestic violence may screen out, but it can put an individual at risk if they get an out of the blue phone call offering prevention services in response to a domestic violence report. See [best practices for handling screened-out domestic violence allegations](https://www.childwelfareplaybook.com/recommendations/domestic-violence-in-prevention-referrals/).\n * **Licensed foster homes.** Most jurisdictions have a separate pathway for investigating licensed foster homes for violations, and prevention services may not make sense in this context.\n * **Open cases.** If a family screens out on a particular allegation but already has an open case, it may not make sense to offer new prevention services. Hopefully, tailored prevention services are already being offered to that family.\n * **Tribal involvement.** Consider codesigning a referral pathway that connects tribal members with their tribe as a first step.\n * **Sensitive cases.** In your jurisdiction, this may include high-profile individuals such as politicians or celebrities, or cases that are in the news.","extraContent":""},{"title":"domestic-violence-in-prevention-referrals","heading":"Handling Domestic Violence When Offering Prevention Services","about":"Allegations of domestic violence need to be handled carefully; well-intentioned offers of services can put victims at increased risk. Jurisdictions that codesigned solutions with domestic violence survivors developed this recommendation.","how":"* If an allegation related to domestic violence screens out, you may not want to refer that individual to prevention services via your normal pathway. See our other [list of recommended exceptions to offering prevention services to screened-out referrals](https://www.childwelfareplaybook.com/recommendations/special-considerations-when-referring-screened-out-calls-for-prevention-services/). * Train staff to handle disclosures of domestic violence and how to do a live, warm hand-off to skilled local resources in your area. * Do not reference domestic violence allegations in verbal or written communications.","extraContent":""}]};
let CORAM_TOPICS = {"topics":[{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Connecting Youth to Their Supportive Adults","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"connecting-youth-to-their-supportive-adults"},"layout":"topic","title":"connecting-youth-to-their-supportive-adults","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FPL.svg","about":"Youth in foster care often leave with fewer connections than they entered care with. Children can't be expected to maintain these relationships by themselves—they can't drive, may not have a phone while in care, and may not even have contact information. It should be the responsibility of every child welfare system to maintain and nurture all of a child's supportive relationships throughout their time in care.","why":"Children in foster care deserve every support available, including rich relationships with their support network.","what":"\n\n* **Document a youth's support network.** Whether with a heart map or a genogram, capture all of a youth's relationships, their contact information, and a next step for staying in touch. \n* **Make it policy to keep in touch.** A child's worker and foster family should have an active plan for staying in touch with every connection, whether that's through in person visits, video calls, summer trips, rides to school, or other interactions. It should be a formal responsibility for the worker and the foster family to adhere to this plan. \n* **Support those supportive adults** An adult may love a child but not know exactly how to support them or to navigate the child welfare system. Offer resources, like training or even simply an occasional conversation, to the entire support network.","recommendations":["ask-about-supportive-adults","plan-for-youth-to-keep-connected-supportive-adults","create-life-books","supportive-adults-have-robust-presence","provide-transportation-to-visits-with-supportive-adults","provide-training-for-supportive-adults","use-dna-to-find-more-family-connections"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Emergency Placements","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"emergency-placements"},"layout":"topic","title":"emergency-placements","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FPL.svg","about":"While some entries in foster care are planned in advance, many others are sudden, perhaps in the middle of the night or on a weekend. Placement desks are under great duress to find family or a matching foster home immediately, even in the face of dwindling resources and homes. Worse, when unsuitable placements are made under duress, they might work out for days or weeks, but eventually disrupt and start the emergency all over again.","why":"A strategic variety of emergency options can ultimately increase the number of youth initially placed with kin (by giving the system enough time to find them) and avoid institutional placements.","what":"\n\n* **Dedicated emergency placements.** Sometimes called crisis nurseries or receiving homes, facilities or dedicated foster homes that specialize in very short-term (usually under 72 hours) emergency placements can give taxed placement desks enough time to find and resource kinship placements, or at worst, thoughtfully match the child with an available home in the community that matches their needs. \n* **Have families on call** A foster parent may be available to take a placement, but simply can't answer the phone right away. A schedule and/or compensation for families to be \"on call\" for possible placements can ensure children have placement options no matter what time of day.","recommendations":["on-call-families","require-private-agency-emergency-beds","designated-emergency-homes","emergency-shelters"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"primary","title":"Extended Foster Care","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"Extended Foster Care"},"layout":"topic","title":"extended-foster-care","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-EFC.svg","about":"The end of foster care can be a difficult and confusing time for youth. However, there are several important ways that staff can better prepare and support youth during this time.","why":"Youth can often be confused about the end of foster care—even about the date foster care will end. This means that youth may miss out on opportunities to build independence or connections.","what":"\n\n* **Be specific about the end of foster care.** Youth often report confusion about the day foster care ends, as they may misunderstand “until 21” to mean that care continues until their 22nd birthday. Using specific language about when foster care ends will ensure that youth are better prepared and not accidentally delaying plans or activities that can prepare them for independence.\n* **Make sure youth know their options.** Allowing youth to explore and select from available programs means youth can better select the topics most relevant to them, rather than being assigned to specific sessions. If possible, providing positions within your agency for youth with lived experience is a valuable way to center lived experiences of care in your work, while providing employment options to youth. \n* **Make it easier to receive Extended Foster Care stipends.** Youth report that direct deposited funds or cash is more useful than store-specific gift cards. Requiring youth to pick up a check in person each month can put a burden on youth who are in college, working, or don’t have access to adequate transportation.","recommendations":["self-service-portal","allow-foster-youth-to-manage-their-growth","allow-youth-to-explore-and-select-programs-available-to-them","find-alternatives-to-physical-mail-for-sharing-documents-with-youth","use-direct-deposit-to-distribute-extended-foster-care-stipends","keep-a-schedule-of-when-youth-will-age-out","give-cash-or-prepaid-cards-for-youth-stipends","use-specific-language-about-the-end-of-foster-care","hire-youth-with-lived-experience"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"secondary","title":"Finding kin","image":"/src/images/heros/all-topics.jpg","imgAlt":"Kin Finding"},"layout":"topic","title":"finding-kin","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FF.svg","about":"Children in care do better when they’re placed with family members or other adults they know and trust. But identifying and connecting with extended family members can be a challenge for foster care programs.\n\nChild welfare systems who have adopted the practices listed on this page are able to place children with relatives more than 80% of the time.\n\n**Track adoption of these practices on the [progress dashboard](/compare/kin-states/)**.","why":"Children can’t have too many adults who care about them. A strong support system of adults supports young people’s resiliency and long term health and well-being. \n\nBut most youth enter foster care with more connections than they leave with.\n","recommendations":["ask-about-supportive-adults","use-heart-map","establish-a-dedicated-family-finding-responsibility","use-the-snowball-method","never-stop-looking-for-kin","use-social-media","make-a-genogram","keeping-in-touch-with-kin-formal-responsibility","Use-expansive-legal-definition-of-kin","plan-for-youth-to-keep-connected-supportive-adults","be-gentle-when-interacting-with-kin-first-time","supportive-adults-have-robust-presence","use-extreme-family-finding","red-team-to-prevent-group-home-placements","senior-staff-sign-off-for-non-relative-placements","use-dna-to-find-more-family-connections","create-life-books","use-dna-to-find-more-family-connections","maintain-a-shared-list-of-kin","use-a-variety-of-contact-methods","involve-kin-prior-to-removal","leverage-the-court-system-to-encourage-kin","test-your-communications-with-real-kin"],"what":" \n"},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Foster Parent Compensation","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"foster-parent-compensation"},"layout":"topic","title":"foster-parent-compensation","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FPL.svg","about":"There are a variety of ways to compensate resource families beyond the standard room and board rate (which itself can vary based on different factors), including special salaried foster parent programs and ad hoc additional employment opportunities.","why":"Every caregiver of a dependent child should have financial support to provide a stable and supportive placement. In many systems, kinshp caregivers lack access to these resources. And in the case of some youth with high levels of need, growing professional foster parent programs are proving better outcomes and helping keep these youth out of institutions. And providing smaller but meaningful ways for your families to earn extra money for related work, like co-leading trainings, can increase satisfaction and retention.","what":"\n\n* **Look for additional ways to compensate foster parents.** This might take the form of paying them to appear on panels, provide mentoring to new families, or incentive payment for providing referrals or placement stability. \n* **Pay for respite.** Every foster parent needs a break sometimes. \n* **Pay your kinship caregivers** If your system has the practice of unlicensed (unpaid) kin, look for ways to either secure state funding to fill in the gap, or streamline your licensing process and take greater advantage of relative non-safety exemptions to get all your relatives licensed and eligile for IV-E reimbursement. (Reach out to us for pro bono advice!) \n* **Establish a professional foster parent program.** A professional foster parent doesn't have to (indeed, shouldn't) have outside employment or income; they receive a salary in exchange for committing to fully meeting the needs of the child in their home. These programs can help avoid institutional placements and, when designed well, are generating impressive outcomes for even children with very high levels of need.","recommendations":["pay-for-respite","summer-camp-stipends","professional-foster-parents","placement-stability-bonuses","pay-to-keep-homes-open","pay-kinship-caregivers-until-they-get-licensed","provide-more-ways-for-foster-parents-to-earn-money","financial-bonuses-for-recruitment-referrals"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Foster Parent Licensing","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"foster-parent-licensing"},"layout":"topic","title":"foster-parent-licensing","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FPL.svg","about":"Foster parent licensing can be a lengthy, and at times inefficient, process. Delays in licensing can mean losing homes in a time when placement options are already severely limited.","why":"While it is important to be thorough, delays in the process can overburden licensing workers and inspectors or even risk losing families.","what":"\n\n* **Increase support for licensing workers.** Providing clerical support for licensing workers helps staff maintain a higher case load, while increasing family satisfaction. If you can give families a dedicated licensor through the whole process, staff will be able to reduce the likelihood of errors while developing a more holistic picture of the family. \n* **Make safety inspections easier for families.** Some families do not pass the inspection on the first try simply because they were missing one or more items that they didn’t know they needed. When an inspector has to return, it makes the process longer by weeks or months. By providing families with a checklist of safety items ahead of time, as well as providing families with items they need but cannot acquire, you can streamline the safety inspection process and avoid delays.\n* **Continue licensing and training while social distancing.** Some agencies paused their licensing or training during the pandemic. However, federal regulations do not require that these processes take place in person. By providing foster parent training online and conducting key parts of the licensing process remotely (like doing the initial safety walkthrough over video), you can avoid having to halt your licensing and training work during the pandemic.","recommendations":["align-checklists-to-statutes","provide-clerical-support-for-licensing-workers","give-families-a-dedicated-licensor","distinguish-important-mail-for-foster-families","use-evacuation-plan-magnets","help-relative-placements-access-financial-assistance","license-homes-while-social-distancing","offer-online-foster-parent-training","provide-safety-inspection-items-for-families-in-need","provide-safety-inspection-checklists-ahead-of-time","accept-photos-to-resolve-minor-pending-inspection-items","send-appointment-reminders","use-bilingual-staff-members-instead-of-interpreters"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"primary","title":"Inquiry Management","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"Inquiry Management"},"layout":"topic","title":"inquiry-management","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-IM.svg","about":"Responding to and tracking inquiries from potential foster families can be time consuming, but represents a key moment for engagement and successful recruitment.","why":"Potential families may fill out an inquiry form when they are ready to apply the next day, or the next year. Remaining proactive in your inquiry management process can mean keeping families engaged over the months or years as they decide to become a foster family, while allowing families who are ready to move to the application process quickly.","what":"\n\n* **Respond to inquiries quickly.** If too much time passes after a family completes an inquiry form, a potential caregiver may become discouraged, second guess themselves, or change their mind. Responding quickly and providing more information will help families to immediately feel engaged and supported, while allowing those who are ready to complete an application more quickly. \n* **Stay in touch with families.** Some families may take years to decide they’re ready to become a foster family. Closing inquiries after a certain time period risks losing these potential caregivers altogether. Instead, stay in touch with families who inquire through email newsletters, personal check-ins, or by offering them other ways to support foster youth besides becoming a foster parent. \n* **Leverage inquiry data.** You can use the data from incoming inquiries, such as zip code or languages spoken, to highlight gaps in your recruitment. Additionally, by tracking detailed referral information from new inquiries, you can better understand which recruitment methods are most successful.","recommendations":["track-referral-information","dont-close-inquiries","talk-with-families-quickly-after-inquiry","respond-quickly-to-inquiries-with-information","reminders-to-stay-in-touch-with-families-who-submit-inquiries","use-inquiry-data-to-identify-recruitment-gaps"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"primary","title":"License Renewal","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"License Renewal"},"layout":"topic","title":"license-renewal","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-LR.svg","about":"License renewal can be a time-consuming process for both staff and families, but a successful license renewal process can ensure better retention and increased family satisfaction.","why":"The license renewal process can provide an opportunity for staff to connect with foster families, maintaining family engagement and increasing retention.","what":"\n\n* **Use electronic tools to increase understanding and engagement.** Emailing renewal requirements to families can decrease the chances of important documents going unnoticed in the large amount of mail that families receive from agencies. Additionally, families often have multiple renewal dates pending, for items like CPR recertification or pet vaccines. Using an electronic calendar to track and send reminders for these items helps families to be better prepared at renewal time. \n* **Take the opportunity to check-in with families.** Use renewal as an opportunity to check-in with families who may be feeling overwhelmed, as well as those who may be interested in increasing their training and taking on more responsibility.","recommendations":["increase-retention-with-renewal-check-ins","email-renewal-requirements","high-value-training-for-renewals","track-renewal-dates-on-calendar"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Out of State Child Abuse and Neglect Checks","image":"/src/images/heros/background-checks.jpg","imgAlt":"background checks"},"layout":"topic","title":"out-of-state-background-checks","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-BC.svg","about":"Child welfare programs are required to check the child abuse and neglect registry in each state where a potential foster parent lived during the past 5 years. This is called the “Adam Walsh check” after the 2006 act that requires it. Programs must do this for anyone else in the home who’s 18 years or older.\n\n**Track adoption of these practices on the [progress dashboard](/compare/background-checks/)**.","why":"Flaws and inconsistencies in states’ out of state child abuse and neglect check processes are: \n\n* Putting children at risk. Some states only respond to requests when someone doesn’t pass the background check. This means that foster care programs don’t know if a potential foster parent passed the background check or if the request was simply lost. \n* Causing delays in licensing foster parents. Foster care programs have to decide how long to wait for a potential response to an Adam Walsh check request before proceeding and assuming no response is a good response. While they’re waiting, children need placement. \n* Adding to the financial burden of relatives. Some programs don’t financially support relative placements until they are fully licensed. Delays in out-of-state background checks translate into weeks or months of grandmothers struggling to make ends meet while caring for their grandchildren.\n\nWe can eliminate these inefficiencies. But to solve this problem, we need to approach it from both sides — how we fulfill background check requests and how we make these requests.","what":"### **Make it easier for people to request background checks from your state.**\n\n**Don’t require a witnessed or notarized signature.** It’s very difficult for a social worker to gather all household applicants together at one time to visit a notary and/or witness. This step does not provide any safety benefits. The vast majority of states don’t require a notarized signature or a witness.\n\n* _“It was so impossible to get a whole household of adults with different work schedules and who already had kids to meet me half an hour away at the notary, that all of us in the office just became notaries ourselves so we could do it.”_ —Licensor\n\n**Accept requests electronically.** Whether you build an online portal or accept email requests, this will allow you to process requests more efficiently. \n\n* _“[State] moved to an electronic request system, which is great. But it only allows one account per child welfare system. Someone else from my state already registered, so now I can’t.”_ —Licensor\n\n**Don’t charge a fee.** It’s so difficult for some states to issue a check to another state — even for a few dollars — that many licensing workers report paying these fees out of their own pockets. The vast majority of states don’t charge any fees.\n\n* _“It was so hard to get my office to generate the checks, that we gave up and pay for them out of our office snack fund.”_ —Licensor\n\n**Send inquiries to a general mailbox, not an individual person.** If you direct Adam Walsh inquiries to a specific person's desk or email, then when that person is on vacation — or retires — those inquiries will all be lost. Since no response is considered a \"clean\" check, this creates a real risk of missing known child abusers. Instead, create a general desk/group to process these requests.\n\n**Respond to all requests.** Without a response, the requestor doesn’t know whether the applicant passed the check or if the request was lost.\n\n**Eliminate other burdensome requirements.** For example, some states require specific ink colors or typefaces. \n\n* _“In the pandemic, the thing I miss most about the office is access to the typewriter. Without it, I can’t send a typed Adam Walsh form to [State], like they require.”_ —Licensor \n* “[State] requires typed forms. But their PDF isn’t fillable.” —Licensor \n* _“[State] requires you to fill out the form in black ink, but sign it in blue ink, or they send it back. And they DO send it back.”_ —Licensor \n* _“[State’s] requirement for the blue ink and the blank ink means I can’t fax this form to them, either.”_ —Supervisor\n\n### **Improve your process for requesting out-of-state background checks.**\n\n**Collect information early.** Ask whether applicants and the other adults in their household lived in other states in the last 5 years as early as possible in the process. For example, if your application process includes a “mini” application or a “pre-application” form, ask there. \n\n**Start background checks early.** Submit out-of-state requests as early as possible in your process. Review your licensing worker checklists to move this step towards the top of the list.","recommendations":["electronic-background-check","background-check-form"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"primary","title":"Recruitment","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"Recruitment"},"layout":"topic","title":"recruitment","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-Recruitment.svg","about":"Foster family recruitment is vital to ensuring a wide pool of placement options for youth in care. Innovative programs are finding a variety of creative ways to successfully recruit new foster families that meet the needs of children in care.","why":"Successful recruitment means that youth in care can be placed with families who are in their existing community and culture, who speak the same language, etc. Start by identifying the families your children need most, followed by intentional recruitment methods targeting the communities and types of families matching those needs.","what":"**Be specific and intentional in recruitment.** Use data about the youth who currently need placements, as well as the data from incoming foster family inquiries, to identify the gaps in your current recruitment. Once those gaps are identified, you can tailor your recruitment materials and methods to better reflect your community and the families needed most. Additionally, be clear in your materials that you need homes willing to work towards reunification, not people looking to adopt infants. Clarity early in the process will help potential foster families make the right choice for themselves, as well as help staff focus on the families most needed for placements.\n\n**Make the recruitment, application, and placement process seamless.** By including recruiters in follow up activities with potential foster families, you can increase family satisfaction and prevent losing potential families, who may feel confused or unsupported if they’re passed off between multiple staff members. Recruiters should also be included in your routine case management and placement meetings, as they can help identify any pending families who are good matches for current youth. Once identified, you should prioritize licensing these matching families. \n\n**Include current foster families in recruitment efforts**. Positive word of mouth can be a valuable tool in recruiting potential foster families. You can encourage current foster families to help recruit other families by providing financial bonuses for referrals, or when referrals complete major milestones like completing their application. Hiring current foster parents as trainers or for an orientation can also help current foster parents feel valued, while providing valuable information and perspectives to new families.\n\n**Be creative.** Our members have had success using a variety of creative recruitment methods, including: \n\n * Hosting information sessions with community organizations like fraternity and sorority alumni groups (especially HBCU fraternities and sororities).\n * Recruiting families on military bases, who are often well-equipped with community supports and can be strong placements.\n * Hosting brown bags at local hospitals to recruit caregivers with medical training for medically fragile children. In Michigan, they leave branded items like flashlights and stress balls in hospital lunch rooms with the Department phone number on them. \n * Hosting information sessions at teachers’ events, including events for retired teachers. \n * Hosting events at churches, or partnering with churches to host fundraisers and donation drives. In Washington, D.C., over 25 churches each host a monthly resource parenting information session. \n * Inviting older foster youth to read books at the local library or participate in other community events to help spread awareness of the need for foster homes. \n * To raise awareness of the need for fostering teenagers, Clinton County MDHHS in Michigan created a poster, “The Advantages of Teenagers.” Shared at farmer’s markets and other events, the poster reminds people of the advantages of fostering teenagers (like not having to change diapers and having someone who can help around the house).","recommendations":["focus-recruitment-on-fostering-not-adoption","use-youth-data-for-foster-family-recruitment","dont-license-infant-only","financial-bonuses-for-recruitment-referrals","social-media-for-recruitment","hire-current-foster-parents-to-train-new-foster-parents","include-recruiters-in-follow-up-activities","include-placement-and-recruitment-in-case-planning","include-pending-families-in-placement-searches","recruit-relative-caregivers-to-become-general-caregivers","reflect-community-in-recruitment","digital-marketing-for-recruitment"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Relative Licensing Exceptions","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"relative-licensing-exemptions"},"layout":"topic","title":"relative-licensing-exceptions","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FPL.svg","about":"Federal law allows child welfare systems to make exceptions for relatives to any foster parent licensing requirement that's not a safety issue. Most systems are not taking advantage of this flexibility, and should. **States currently using this flexibility are licensing 100% of their relative caregivers within 60 days.**","why":"In states that allow unlicensed kinship placements, greater licensing flexibility would give financial support to all your kinship caregivers (by getting them all licensed/approved/certified).\n\nIn states that don't allow unlicensed placements, flexible licensing for relatives will significantly increase your available kinship placements, who are far better for children than strangers or institutions.\n\nThis flexibility also shortens the licensing process for relatives.","what":"\n\n* **Update your policy to allow flexible exceptions for relatives.** Don't limit exceptions to a specific list. If a relative is safe enough to have _placement_, then by definition, any other licensing requirements are non-safety issues and you can waive them. \n* **Normalize making exceptions for relatives.** In systems that do this now, exceptions happen more often than not! Don't use special forms and approval processes to request exceptions. Instead, build natural places to document variations into your standard process, such as your home study template. \n* **Empower line workers.** Workers who are interacting directly with families are best positioned to understand the child and family dynamics at hand and make smart trade-offs. Licensing workers should be able to approve most, if not all, exemptions. Some systems reserve specific types of exemptions, such as criminal history, for higher level supervisors. \n* **Approve everyone with placement.** If your kinship caregivers can't get through your licensing process, you need to fix your licensing process. If they already have placement, there cannot, by definition, be any safety issues remaining — so you can use relative non-safety waivers to get that caregiver licensed.","recommendations":["pay-kinship-caregivers-until-they-get-licensed","normalize-relative-licensing-exceptions","maximize-relative-exceptions","license-undocumented-kin","empower-line-level-exceptions","flexible-licensing-wording"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Retention","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"retention"},"layout":"topic","title":"retention","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FPL.svg","about":"Most child welfare systems are struggling to retain experienced foster parents who are increasingly exiting due to burnout or frustration.","why":"Retaining quality foster homes reduces the need to recruit new homes, and over time, creates experienced homes that can support youth with higher levels of need.","what":"\n\n* **Proactively prevent burnout.** This is hard to do in practice, but if a family did really well with a child with complex needs, the _last_ thing you should do is call them the next morning to take another complicated case. Check in with families to provide a break, an ear, or even grief counseling — whatever they need to fully prepare to take a future placement. \n* **Show appreciation for current families.** It can be easy to take foster families for granted. Even small showings of appreciation can help them \n* **Build community** When a foster family is part of a community of families, they are more likely to remain engaged. \n* **Carefully define retention goals.** If a family doesn't renew their license because they just adopted a sibling group of three from foster care, or because it's clear to everyone early on that fostering isn't right for them, that's not a failure — that's a success. Similarly, a family not renewing because they moved or are going through unrelated personal circumstances (like a divorce or illness) don't indicate a system failure. You want to focus your retention efforts on the families that are well-suited to supporting your children. \n* **Talk to your existing families** Getting their feedback early and often can help address smaller issues early on, before they blow up into big issues that make them want to quit. Real relationships are far superior to mailing out surveys.","recommendations":["measure-retention-carefully","ideas-for-recognizing-resource-families","resource-family-support-groups","accompany-resource-parents-to-meetings","check-in-frequently-on-first-placements","provide-childcare-at-resource-parent-events","provide-regular-updates-to-resource-parents","welcome-bag-for-new-resource-parents","make-it-easy-for-resource-parents-to-meet-new-licensing-requirements","support-resource-parents-through-allegations","mentors-for-resource-parents","give-resource-families-opportunities-to-be-heard","foster-a-sense-of-community-amongst-resource-families","check-in-with-your-resource-families-regularly","financial-supports-for-resource-families","normalize-respite","identify-natural-supports-for-caregivers","proactively-avoid-resource-family-burnout","create-a-resource-parent-handbook"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Sibling Connections","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"social-media"},"layout":"topic","title":"sibling-connections","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FPL.svg","about":"Keeping siblings together in foster care should be top priority. If siblings must be separated, systems need to keep those siblings connected.","why":"Siblings should not be separated.","what":"\n\n* **Bring separated siblings together.** Train resource parents that keeping children in their care connected to their siblings is their explicit responsibility, and provide transportation stipends and alternatives to enable visits. Resource parents of separated siblings should be in regular contact. \n* **Never stop looking.** Continue searching for placements that can reunify a separated sibling group. ","recommendations":["host-events-and-camps-to-bring-together-separated-siblings","never-stop-looking-for-placements-for-sibling-groups","use-parent-visits-to-bring-siblings-together","encourage-resource-parents-to-collaborate-on-sibling-connections","provide-transportation-for-sibling-visits","remove-barriers-for-visits-with-adult-siblings","formally-require-sibling-visits","post-adoption-sibling-visits","reimburse-for-sibling-visit-transportation","make-sibling-visits-fun","train-resource-parents-about-sibling-connections"]},{"hero":{"backgroundColor":"light","title":"Social Media","image":"/src/images/heros/hero-baby.png","imgAlt":"social-media"},"layout":"topic","title":"social-media","image":"/src/images/topics/Topic-FPL.svg","about":"Social media has many roles in child welfare, from the targeted recruitment of new foster parents to finding teens who have run away from care. Having the right policies in place can help your department unlock its many benefits while protecting privacy.","why":"Few child welfare systems are fully utilizing the power of social media, which can be a top driver of recruiting new successful foster parents, finding kin for children in care, locating runaway children, and more.","what":"\n\n* **Publish social media guidance for your agency.** The best social media policies _require_ using social media for crucial tasks like recruitment and kin finding, but set the right parameters for protecting the privacy of children, families, and staff. Providing exact examples and steps can help staff gain comfort with using new social media tools. We have multiple policy examples to copy and build on. \n* **Use social media to find kin.** Social media is proving far more effective at identifying and contacting kin than any other method. \n* **Use social media to recruit new homes.** While you can use social media for general recruitment information, it really shines when you use it to target the specific types of families your children need most, such as by school district or language spoken. \n* **Encourage social media for supporting current foster parents.** Online support groups for foster parents can help increase retention, solve problems, and build community.","recommendations":["use-social-media","social-media-policy","social-media-for-recruitment","social-media-for-targeted-recruitment","find-awol-youth","protect-youth-privacy-on-social-media","foster-family-support-groups-on-social"]},{"layout":"topic","title":"prevention","hero":{"title":"Prevention","image":"src/images/heros/all-topics.jpg","imgAlt":"a family dancing together"},"image":"src/images/topics/Topic-FF.svg","why":"Removal is traumatic for a child and family, even in a best case scenario where they can stay with kin they know and love until they can reunite. When prevention services can safely prevent removal altogether, everyone benefits.\n","what":"- [Special Considerations When Referring Screened Out Families to Prevention Services](https://www.childwelfareplaybook.com/recommendations/special-considerations-when-referring-screened-out-calls-for-prevention-services/)\n- [Raise Funds by Charging Government Service Providers Rent in a Community-Based Location](https://www.childwelfareplaybook.com/recommendations/charge-service-providers-rent/)\n- [Handling Domestic Violence When Offering Prevention Services](https://www.childwelfareplaybook.com/recommendations/domestic-violence-in-prevention-referrals/)\n\n\n\n","about":"Families should be kept together and supported with necessary prevention services whenever it's possible to safely do so. But it can be challenging for child welfare agencies to identify families that would most benefit from services, engage families in voluntary services without being coercive, and develop a service array that fundamentally meets the needs of families.\n\nThe plays in this section were developed by members of the Doris Duke Foundation's OPT-In Initiative Prevention Learning Collaborative, a coalition of child welfare agencies focused on developing effective prevention strategies.\n"}]};
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