Kinship Foster Care in California Testimony to Assembly Select Committee on Foster Care Sacramento, CA 2/15/06 Barbara Needell, MSW, PhD Center for Social Services Research University of California at Berkeley presentation prepared by Emily Putnam Hornstein, MSW, Graduate Student Researcher The Performance Indicators Project at CSSR is supported by the California Department of Social Services and the Stuart Foundation

1998 to June 2005 California: First Entries by First Placement Type While the number of children entering foster care has remained relatively constant since 1998, there has been a decrease in the number of children who are initially placed in Kinship Homes or Foster Homes and an increase in the number placed in Foster Family Agency (FFA) Homes. Other/Missing TOTAL Guardianship Group/Shelter FFA Foster Kinship 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

July 2004-June 2005 California: First Entries by First Placement in Kinship Care Although most counties have experienced a decrease in the proportion of children entering care who are placed initially in Kinship Homes, the proportion varies widely--over 30% in Los Angeles and Orange and less than 10% in Sacramento, Santa Clara, and Alameda, for example. Over 30% % Less than 10% San Francisco San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara San Bernardino Note: CWDA 20 Small counties excluded.

1998 to July 2005 California: Caseload by Placement Type The child welfare caseload has dropped from over 108,000 in 1998 to about 83,000 in 2005. The number of children placed in Kinship or Foster Homes has decreased, while the number of children in FFA and Group homes has remained relatively consistent over time despite the drop in overall caseload. Other TOTAL Pre-Adopt/Guardianship Group/Shelter FFA Foster Kinship 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

July 1, 2005 California: % of Children Placed in Kinship Care by County Caseload Counties vary widely in their use of Kinship Care—over 50% of San Francisco foster care caseload and less than 25% of Fresno foster care caseload are in Kinship Care, for example. 53.6% % 21.9% San Luis Obispo Note: CWDA 20 Small counties excluded.

July 1, 2005 California: Child Welfare Foster Care Caseload by Age and Placement Type About 35% of the children in care are in Kinship Care; about 43% of 1-5 year olds in care are in Kinship Care (34.6)* (11.0)* (23.2)* (8.5)* * Series total

July 1, 2005 California: Child Welfare Foster Care Caseload by Race and Placement Type About 38% of Black, 30% of White, and 35% of Hispanic children in care are in Kinship Care. %

July 1, 2005 California: Children Placed with All Siblings by Placement Type and Family Size Sibling Groups are more likely to be placed together in Kinship Care than in other types of care, especially with larger sibling groups. (For sibling groups of 4 or more, 40% of those in Kin Care are placed all together vs. 15% in FFAs and 10% in Foster Homes.) % With All Siblings %

2003 First Entries California: Home/Placement Distance by Kin and Non-Kin for Children Still in Care at 12 months Children placed with Kin are much more likely than those in Non-Kin care to be placed close to the home they were removed from (28% vs. 5% less than 1 mile from home). Children placed with Kin are much more likely than those in Non-Kin care to be placed close to the home they were removed from (28% vs 5% less than 1 mile from home).

1998 First Entries California: Placement Stability Over 72 Months Children in Kinship Care are less likely to have multiple placement moves, particularly if they are in care for an extended time. Kin Non-Kin Q4 2004 Data The suggested way to cite the above data is as follows: Needell, B., Webster, D., Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Armijo, M., Lee, S., Lery, B., Shaw, T., Dawson, W., Piccus, W., Magruder, J., Kim, H., Conley, A., Henry, C., Korinek, P., Paredes, C., & Smith, J. (2005). Child Welfare Services Reports for California. Retrieved [month day, year], from University of California at Berkeley Center for Social Services Research website. URL: <http://cssr.berkeley.edu/CWSCMSreports/> *PIT Data Months Months

1999 First Entries California: 60 Months From Entry Five years after first entering foster care, a smaller proportion of children placed mostly in Kinship Care are still in care than children placed mostly in Non-Kin Care (8% vs. 10%). While the proportion reunified is slightly lower for children placed in Kinship Care (56% vs. 62%), the proportion adopted is similar (16-17%) and children in Kinship Care are much more likely to exit to guardianship (15% vs 2%), so that 87% achieved permanency, compared to 81% of children placed mostly in Non-Kin Care. 56 62 81 87 16 17 15 2 5 3 5 2 8 10 Months Months

2001 First Entries California: Reentry following Reunification within 12 months by Age Children who are reunified from Kinship Care are less likely to reenter care than those who are reunified from Non-Kin Care. 12-23 months 25.7 6-11 months Within 6 months 20.8 18.5 18.3 17.3 16.1 16.4 13.8 12.6 11.4 % 8.4 5.4 <1 yr 1-2 yrs 3-5 yrs 6-10 yrs 11-15 yrs 16-17 yrs Kin

Kin Breakouts by Time in Current Placement Episode California: Children in Child Welfare Supervised Foster Care by Kin Placement and Time in Current Episode In 2000, just over 75% of children placed in Kinship Care had been in care for more than 1 year. 60% had been in care for more than 2 years . Kin-GAP Time Eligible (36,035) 60+ months 24-59 months 12-23 months <12 months Kin Breakouts by Time in Current Placement Episode January 1, 2000 Caseload

Kin Breakouts by Time in Current Placement Episode California: Children in Child Welfare Supervised Foster Care by Kin Placement and Time in Current Episode 63% of children placed in Kinship Care have been in care for more than 1 year, over 40% have been in care for more than 2 years . Kin-GAP Time Eligible (18,174) 60+ months 24-59 months 12-23 months <12 months Kin Breakouts by Time in Current Placement Episode July 1, 2005 Caseload

California: Children in Probation Supervised Foster Care by Kin Placement and Time in Current Episode There are 239 children in Probation supervised Kinship Care, and 169 have been in care for more than 1 year. Kin-GAP Time Eligible (169) 60+ months 24-59 months 12-23 months <12 months July 1, 2005 Probation Supervised Foster Care Caseload Kin Breakouts by Time in Current Placement Episode

California: Cumulative % of Children with Substantiated Referrals After Entering Kin-GAP (n=12,898) Children exiting to Kin-GAP are relatively unlikely to be re-abused (about 3% within 1 year, 11% within 4 years) . <4 yrs <3 yrs <2 yrs < 1 yr n=5,414 n=2,903 n=2,316 n=2,265 * Based on data through September 30,2004.

California: Cumulative % of Children Re-Entering Foster Care from Kin-GAP (n=12,898) Children exiting to Kin-GAP are relatively unlikely to re-enter foster care (about 2% within 1 year, 7% within 4 years). <4 yrs <3 yrs <2 yrs < 1 yr n=5,414 n=2,903 n=2,316 n=2,265 * Based on data through September 30,2004.

Kinship Support Service Program (KSSP) Study Summary From October 2001-January 2003, 19 California KSSP sites delivered a range of community based services to (2,169) caregivers and their (3,923) relative children. 91,385 service delivery incidents were documented. The most popular services provided to these caregivers and their children include: Overall Satisfaction A survey of KSSP providers found that the program is very well received and that respite care and support groups were the most popular services. The KSSP was established in 1997 with Assembly Bill 1193 (Shelley, Chapter 794, Statutes of 1997; amended WIC Section 16605). This created a grants-in-aid program that allows eligible counties to establish community-based support programs that provide needed services to relatives caring for abused and neglected children and those at risk of becoming dependent children. Overall Satisfaction Percent Values (Percent of respondents assigning grade--A, B, C, etc.--to Overall Satisfaction with KSSP): A 63.5 B 24.3 C 7.1 D 1.7 F 0.5 The bill appropriated $1,500,000 for KSSP. Eligible counties could access KSSP funds through a funding application process. Counties were eligible to apply for KSSP funding if at least 40% of the children in foster care in their county were placed in relative care. In September 2000, the Governor signed SB 1946, Chapter 866, Statutes of 2000, to maintain the eligibility of those counties which met the eligibility requirements in January 1998 when the program was established but whose relative placements were reduced by foster care exits. About services – we expect that the number of documented services is a dramatic undercount since we received only about 55% of the expected service reports. Of caregivers who responded to the question of how the KSSP program could be enhanced, the most common responses indicated that no improvement was needed (43.9%).

Data Sources: http://cssr. berkeley Data Sources: http://cssr.berkeley.edu/CWSCMSReports Unpublished KinGAP analyses using CWSCMS data Shlonsky, A., Dawson, W., Choi, Y., Piccus, W., Cardona, P., & B. Needell.  (2004 report to CDSS).  Kinship Support Services in California: An Evaluation of California’s Kinship Support Services Program (KSSP)  

Thank you for this opportunity Go Bears bneedell@berkeley.edu 510.642.1893 cssr.berkeley.edu/CWSCMSreports