Innovations in Family Recruitment Introduction: This presentation is an opportunity to share the Blueprint/Taking Action approach to revitalizing recruitment efforts. Today’s session Walkthrough the Blueprint/data driven recruitment approach so that you may utilize the tools too Share the Ulster County experience and Community Engagement efforts on the part of a foster parent/trainer/recruiter As well, Fostering Future NY will also share highlights about their innovative support and retention program for foster parents, and Albany County will share their experience with FFNY

Today’s Presenters Ayanna Spurlock-Shackelton, Project Specialist, WRI Barbara Sorkin, Deputy Commissioner, Ulster County Department of Social Services Lorraine Larsen, Foster Parent Trainer/Recruiter, Ulster County Department of Social Services Meredith Osta, Project Director, Fostering Futures NY, WRI Marcia Andersen, Foster Parent, Fostering Futures NY Michelle Dowe, Foster Home Finder and Adoption Supervisor, Albany County Department for Children Youth and Families

Innovations in Family Recruitment Five year federal diligent recruitment grant (2013-2018) Ongoing work with implementation counties to enhance foster parent recruitment and retention in Regions III, IV & V Tools: Revitalizing Recruitment (best practices) Taking Action (the “Blueprint”) This project is supported through a grant from the Federal Government, Children’s Bureau to the NYS OCFS with WRI managing the grant. It’s a 5-year project that builds on the knowledge obtained from prior federally funded programs related to foster and adoptive parent recruitment. We work closely with about 7 counties and a handful of agencies to engage around the best and promising practices related to recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive families. As part of our work we have also developed 2 resources: Revitalizing Recruitment which is a compilation of best practices and Taking Action, which is a blueprint on the “how to” of a data driven process Both resources are housed on our website recruit4fostercare.org www.recruit4fostercare.org

Spotlight on recruitment and retention Quality foster parents are essential to positive outcomes for children Counties and agencies invest in recruitment and want to receive the best return on that investment Effective Cost-efficient NYS Counties and Agencies - 3 year Recruitment and Retention Plans I am sure homefinders can attest to the enormous amount of effort that is put into recruitment and it’s an on-going need. Some of the more challenging homes to find, such as those for teens and large sibling groups, can take a tremendous amount of time often with limited results. This project is about getting our best return on that investment (e.g. effective and cost-efficient recruitment) by using a data driven approach to make recruitment and retention decisions The counties have recently submitted your plans, so you are familiar with some of the data that we assess to create a strategic, data driven approach to recruitment and retention The blueprint is a way to help you facilitate this data driven process, and so much more. Today I will walk you through the Blueprint which is on our website recruit4fostercare.org www.recruit4fostercare.org

This is the home page for recruit4fostercare.org On this page you can click on RR to go through the chapters of our best practices guide Or you can click on Taking Action and use the blueprint process to develop a data driven approach to recruitment and retention

Once on the opening page for taking action, you will see our circular model that illuminates our ongoing process of inquiry, assessment and review Quite simply the process is 5 steps that include COLLECTING DATA, ANALYZING DATA, CREATE A PLAN, TAKE ACTION & MEASURE PROGRESS Of course all of this must be done by a team, so the first charge in the blueprint process is to pull together a team to engage in this work

Who is on the team? In our experience with the counties we work with, the team may include a combination of the homefinders/recruitment specialists, MAPP trainers, Supervisors, the Director of Service, etc. Commitment is essential and commitment from the top is a must. The team has to feel that they have the space to come up with ideas they can actually implement – try something new. Leadership around the table helps to facilitate that action. The team also culls the data, analyzes the data and moves through the blueprint process together

First step: COLLECT DATA – The blueprint guide will walk you through the type of data that you are looking for and we also show exactly where to find it Our project focuses on looking at 3 types of data: tracking the inquiry to certification process, defining the characteristics of current and needed homes and identifying recruitment retention success and challenges

For example, if you click on defining the characteristics of current and needed homes, the blueprint will suggest that you to pull reports from both OCFS data (such as MAPS data) and your own local data as sources

Once all of the data is in front of you, then the blueprint will give you step by step instructions on how to ANALYZE THE DATA (Step 2). For example, what are the current demographics of youth coming into care? Is there an uptick in a certain demographic that may need your targeted recruitment attention now? What are your current foster homes and do they meet your current needs? For example, will the homes that you currently have take teens or large sibling groups? This is the beginning of a series of strategic conversations to discuss the hard data in numbers coupled with the personal data that only you know about your current families and their capacity to meet your current needs. There may be gaps

Once you analyze the data and have determined your needs, you have to start MAKE A PLAN (Step 3). This page allows you to click on a section, such as the big picture aim and the specific strategies to “build” a mock action plan

The Action Plan gives you an opportunity to see the aim, each strategy and the tasks needed to meet the aim. It also shows who is responsible for it by when, and what the anticipated outcomes are… TAKE ACTION – the Action Plan is a living breathing document! Implement the strategies to meet the outcomes Enlist your current foster parents that care for sibling groups to participate in a tea and talk with other foster parents without a placement. Allow the foster parents of large sibling groups to share how they stay organized, and manage their time with multiple kids and multiple priorities. other foster parents or Reach out to the community organizations that are focused on children and families in your targeted communities. Find ways to partner with them to support larger community efforts (Lorraine will talk about this a bit)

Lastly, MEASURE PROGRESS Lastly, MEASURE PROGRESS. Over time you will review the strategies that have been used and determine if they have been instrumental in meeting the needs of children in care. Did you get the number of homes in the specific community that you anticipated? If not, why not? Celebrate the successes and learn from the less fruitful outcomes. Why didn’t it work? Much of our work is about creating the time to have strategic conversations using real life data to make focused recruitment decisions. The team, the steps and the plan work together to meet and assess the outcomes.

As I wrap up, I just want to share that our site is chock full of tools, such as a Sample Utilization Study which helps you to organize the status of your current foster homes by those in use, those that are currently unused, etc. as well as Foster Parent Surveys to feedback from your foster parents Now Barbara Sorkin, Deputy Commissioner, Ulster County Dept. of Social Services and Lorraine Larsen, Foster Parent Trainer and Recruiter will share their reflections of the work in Ulster County.

Diligent Recruitment at Work Barbara Sorkin Deputy Commissioner, Ulster County Department of Social Services Lorraine Larsen Foster Parent Trainer/Recruiter, Ulster County Department of Social Services

Spotlight on recruitment and retention Innovations in Family Recruitment Engages counties and agencies in a process to illuminate strengths, build upon them and effectively strategize to address any gaps in the recruitment and retention of foster parents Retention Models Recruitment starts with Retention… Fostering Futures NY Recruitment isn’t effective without Retention Word of mouth from current FPs is the best way to recruit new FPs There are many innovative retention models nationally which we highlight in our resource: Mockingbird, Foster Parents as Champions, etc. We’re highlighting one today that has been a powerful support to FPs in the Capital Region: FFNY. Meredith Osta is the Program Director she is here to share the program with you