Caregiver Parent Education Group Family and Children’s Services to address caregiver retention rates within MCDSS Betsaida Garcia Spring 2015

Mission: ●Prevent child abuse and neglect ●Keep children and youth safe from harm ●Provide stable and permanent home Services provided: ●24-hour Child Protective Services ●Foster Care Services ●Adoption Services ●Pathways to Safety ●Family to Family ●Child Abuse Prevention Council Agency Description Family and Children’s Services (CDSS, 2007)

Problem Description Decrease in caregiver retention rates within Child Welfare Agencies Contributing to the national shortage of caregivers Gap of support, preparation and resources provided Inadequate preparation to meet children’s needs Children move from home to home 30%-80% children show emotional and/or behavioral problems (Chipungu, 2004) (Cohen, 2010) (Kidscount, 2011)

Project Description Caregiver Parent Education Group (CPEG) ●Non-concurrent caregiver psychoeducational cluster group ●Supportive group by opening the floor for personal experiences and/or questions ●Informative group by providing necessary facts and tips about case processes | once a month | drop-in | 1 hr 45 mins | free of charge | continental breakfast | childcare provided |

Evaluation Open-discussion and post-surveys ●Level of competence and comfort within the support system ●Caregiver indicates that he/she is well informed ●Caregiver indicates he/she had time to discuss feelings ●Number of available caregivers for placements

Conclusion ●Caregiver retention rates increase with support ●Better opportunities for fit placements ●Healthy future for those individuals and our communities ●Primary purpose to support caregivers and children

Recommendations ●Distribute pre-surveys to agency professionals ●Refrain from promising or insinuating uncertain services ●Keep an optimistic attitude for a growing retention rate of caregivers Improve the quality of the fostering experiences for both adults and children

References CDSS. (2007). The California Department of Social Services. About CDSS: History of CDSS. Chipungu, S. S., & Bent-Goodley, T. B. (2004). Meeting the Challenges of Contemporary Foster Care. The Future of Children, 14 (1), 74. Cohen, J. L. (2010). Enhancing retention of foster parents: The role of motivational interviewing. (Order No , The University of Arizona). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Kids Count. (2011). Data Snapshot on Foster Care Placement. A Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Kidscount.org

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