7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development1 Unit 4E: Working with Caregivers

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development2 Working with Caregivers Making a Difference

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development3 Relative Caregivers Foster Caregivers Why does our policy require seeking out relatives first?

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development4 PRIDE - Model Outcomes (Parent’s Resources for Information, Development and Education)  Children are protected and nurtured  Children’s developmental needs are met and their developmental delays are addressed  Relationships between children and their families are supported  Children are connected to safe, nurturing relationships intended to last a lifetime  Resource families worked with others as members of a professional child welfare team

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development5 PRIDE – Guiding Principles  Promoting Children’s Development  The Importance of Parents and Families  The Value of Diversity and Cultural Competence  Managing Loss  The Importance of Teamwork  Role Clarity  Combining Training for Prospective Foster Parents and Adoptive Parents  Integrating Mutual Family Assessment and Group Preparation  Mutual Assessment and Informed Decisions

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development6 Recruiting/Retaining Caregivers 40% of foster families discontinue fostering during the first year (Casey Family Program, 2000) and 20% plan to do so (Rhodes, Orme, & Buehler, 2001) Foster parents were more likely to discontinue fostering if they were dissatisfied with agency relationships or had poor communication with workers (Rhodes et al, 2001) Compared with foster parents who quit, foster parents who planned to continue reported being trained better and having foster parent mentors. (Rhodes et al; Ryan, 1985; Urquhart, 1989; Rindfleisch et al, 1998)

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development7 Working Together Toward Reunification Reunification Team  Parent  Caseworker  Caregiver

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development8 Caregiver’s Role with Birth Parents Building Bridges

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development9 Visitation

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development10 Supporting Caregivers in Promoting Mutual Attachments with Children Children in foster care have extensive needs. Child’s emotional energy devoted to grieving process. Child may not have a foundation for healthy attachment.

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development11 Conflict Types of Conflict:  Intrapersonal  Interpersonal  Intragroup  Intergroup Styles of Conflict Management:  Competing  Collaborating  Compromising  Avoiding  Accommodating

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development12 Steps in Collaborating* 1.Deal with the person, then the issues and don’t confuse the two. 2.Focus on interests, not positions. 3.Explore ways to satisfy the identified interests rather than trying to win a position. 4.Work with objective, mutually agreed upon criteria for a solution.

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development13 Home Visits What questions to ask… - parents - caregivers Recording all contacts on SACWIS

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development14 Interviewing Children in Foster Care

7/6/09Office of Training and Professional Development15 Concurrent Planning and the Caregiver Specific Requirements of Caregivers when Reunification is unlikely