“ EDUCATION IS THE LIFELINE FOR FOSTER STUDENTS” Child Welfare and Early Learning Partnership with Region 2 Children’s Administration King County Offices 1

PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE 2 A child is placed in “out of home care” based on a set of risk factors which indicate that a child is in “imminent danger” if left in their environment. The child enters foster care temporarily, until the court determines that he should return home or remain in out-of-home care.

WHAT IS FOSTER CARE? Foster care is a temporary placement and an alternative to living in an unsafe environment. Minors are placed either with a relative, suitable other, or in the care of a WA State licensed foster family. 3

KINSHIP OR RELATIVE CARE If a child is in need of an out-of-home-placement, a best fit is a relative or an individual who has a positive relationship with the child and where the child feels safe. To be considered a placement resource, the adult relatives or suitable other persons must pass a background check. 4

Child Welfare Data at A Glance How much child abuse is reported in Washington? Washington State CPS received about 90,000 unique reports of child abuse in How many reports of child abuse or neglect are investigated by CA? Children’s Administration conducted an investigation and/or assessment for 45,525 households in In this same year, 6,281 children entered out-of-home care. How many families receive services to prevent placement in foster care? 6,723 households received services to prevent placement of a child in “Education is the Lifeline for foster children and their families” 5

Child Welfare Data at a Glance 6 How many children are in foster care? On January 1, 2015, there were 8,382 children in out-of-home care. This represents approximately five out of every 1,000 children in Washington State. Where do children go when they are removed from their homes? 93% of the children in out-of-home care were in a family setting: 52% were in foster homes and 41% were with relatives on January 1, Nearly 7% of children in out-of-home care were in a non-family setting. How long do children remain in foster care? Children who enter out of home care have a median length of stay of 15 months.

7 Child Welfare Data at a Glance How many children are referred to foster care multiple times? 45% of households with a child reported to the child welfare agency had at least one child who was re-reported within 36 months. How many children under 5 are in foster care? 50% percent of all children in out of home care were under 5 years of age in 2014.

8 Why focus on Early Childhood? Safety  In the last year about 1/3 of all screened in referral have a child in this age group Wellbeing It is the largest age group of children coming into care What happens in the 1 st five years sets the trajectory for the rest of their life High quality early learning environments buffer against adversity and stress Young children need at least one healthy, safe, responsive and nurturing caregiver

9 King County Infants & Toddlers in Out of Home Care Ages Total 823

10 King County Infants & Toddlers In Care by Office

11 King County Child Welfare Early Learning Partnership Early Learning & Development Programs –  Prepare children for 1 st day of kindergarten  Support parents’ positive relationships with their children  Link families to other community resources  Programs are High Quality, Research-based, Strength-based  Over 150 program sites in King County & Over 45 providers  Offered in many languages  Home visiting program for all families  Additional home visiting program for Native American families  Free to low-income families & Children’s Administration (CA)  CA children given priority for enrollment in some programs  In-home and out-of-home services - last up to 2 years Serves Young Children – Prenatal to Age 5 Serves Parents & Caregivers

12 King County Child Welfare Early Learning Partnership CA Regional Leaders have communicated their strong support for making referrals for services and appointed a regional contact person and each office has a liaison to communicate with the coordinator of this project, Nancy Ashley of Children’s Home Society. Role of the Liaison:  Publicize the availability & benefits of the case staffing  Send out monthly notices  Maintain a sign-up sheet & forward to Nancy prior to the scheduled staffing.

13 Case staffing are held in each King County DCFS office:  Martin Luther King, Jr (Seattle)  King East (Bellevue)  King South (Kent)  King West (Queen Anne)  Office of Indian Child Welfare (OICW) West Seattle  White Center (West Seattle) Social Workers in each CA office sign up in advance to staff cases. King County Child Welfare Early Learning Partnership

14 King County Child Welfare Early Learning Partnership 2 nd Quarter to 3 rd Quarter 2015: *Number of CA staff attending case staffing more than doubled (34 to 70) *Number of cases staffing more than doubled (40 to 73) Annual Report January - December 2015 *Number of case staffing meetings convened 47 *Number of social workers who attended case staffing 215 *Number of providers who attended case staffing 217 *Number of cases reviewed at case staffing meetings 227

15 King County Child Welfare Early Learning Partnership Current News for 1 st Quarter 2016  OICW/White Center went “live” with their first staffing on February 4 th. Results showed an excellent turnout with over 7 cases staffed. King South held another training session for new staff King East had an outstanding turnout with over 10 cases staffed King West staffed 4 extremely complex and complicated cases MLK consistently scheduled a full roster of cases each month Provider’s made the following comments: “Staff was well prepared and very thoughtful” “The liaison was very welcoming and organized” “I’m impressed with how many services were already connected to the children and families on these cases”

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17 Developmental Screening and Monitoring Child Health and Education Tracking (CHET) Identify & address long-term wellbeing needs of children in out-of-home care It is designed to identify & organize essential information within several life domains (medical, developmental, social connections, education, trauma and emotional/behavioral health of children. Tracking focuses on bringing the efforts of CA, local public health jurisdictions, Regional Service Networks, community providers, and local school districts to improve the overall health of kids in care.

18 Donna LaFrance, MSW Region 2, Regional Education Program Manager and Early Learning Liaison 500 First Avenue S., Suite 300 Seattle, WA (206) “Education is the Lifeline for foster students”

19 Citations Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Practice and Procedures Guide, Child Welfare Services, Foster Care 4530 Child Welfare Data at a Glance; Why Focus on Early Childhood; Children’s Administration Intranet King County Infants and Toddlers in Out of Home Care; Region 2 Source Data; Famlink March 3, 2016 King County Infants and Toddlers in Care by Office; Region 2 Source Data; Famlink March 3, 2016 Child Welfare Early Learning Partnership, 2015 Quarterly and Annual Reports; Source Data; Children’s Home Society, Nancy Ashley Child Health and Education Tracking; Children’s Administration Intranet