Foster Parent Mentoring Program Brandy, Amanda, Shelley, Lindsay

Our Mission Our mission is to provide support to parents with children in out-of-home care in order to aid in the reunification process and lower the re-entry rate of children in foster care.

Presentation To the Washington State Grant Committee on Child Welfare

Client Needs The number of children in the foster care system in Washington State in July of 2008 was 10,323. The median length of stay for children in out-of-home care in July 2008 was 572 days or about 17.6 months. The longer a child is in foster care, the more he/she becomes estranged from their biological parents and the less likely becomes the option of adoption.

Logic Model See Handout

High priority goals that serve as a basis for the program Decrease the length of stay for children in out-of-home care. Provide the parent with a qualified and experienced mentor whom can help them with the barriers to returning their children home. Provide children with a permanency plan in a shorter amount of time. Provide parents with extra support and services to get their children home sooner. Provide parents with the necessary life/parenting skills to provide a stable/safe home when their children return. Reduce the re-entry rate of children into foster care.

Program Plan Evaluation A formative evaluation looks at the improvements of an ongoing program. Weekly emails from mentors. Monthly mentor meetings. Evaluations done by mentor and mentee at the end of the four month process. Data on all cases kept organized for future use.

Goal-Based Model Goal-Based Model Based on the goals and mission of our organization. Measures specified outcome variables based on the collected mentor relationship data. Assesses effectiveness of program by looking at the collected case data and mentor evaluations.

Evaluation Results Parents aren’t always motivated enough to participate in the program. Social workers may see the program as more work or a hassle to them. The courts can rule against CPS’s recommendations and not return home. There is a huge gap of time between when the client gets accepted into the program and when the mentor starts working with the client. Mentors can only carry two cases at a time due to funds. The person in charge of the program was given a case load due to budget cuts and doesn’t have time to run the program.

Improvements and Assessments Require social workers to have the first planning meeting with the mentor and client within one week of making the referral. Allocate more funds to pay mentors or train more mentors. Allocate more funds to hire for a Program Supervisor position.