Measuring a Collaborative Effort a Child Welfare – Drug & Alcohol Family Preservation example Family Design Resources, Inc.  Fawn Davies  Deborah W. Gadsden  Satoko Marquet

Background Parent’s D&A addiction is:  The primary factor in Child Welfare (CW) involvement with Families.  The major reason for child’s out-of-home placement. Lancaster County Children and Youth Agency’s (CYA) two collaborative strategies:  Family Alternatives : Intensive case management  Lancaster Freedom Center : CYA in-house D&A counselors

Family Alternatives (FA) Program Collaborative program  CYA & other service providers Intensive case management provided by Gaudenzia, Inc.  Joint case planning, Advocacy, Training For families addressing D&A issues  Children removed from home & in care – Placement unit (PL)  Children are at risk of removal – Family Support unit (FS)

Family Alternatives Program Goal To provide intensive case management services to support families in addressing D&A issues in a timely manner and stabilize the level of crisis in the family unit in Lancaster County

Family Alternatives Program Objectives 1. Keep children in home 2. Achieve reunification 3. Reduce time in foster care 4. Access into D&A treatment 5. Retain clients in program 6. Reduce D&A use 7. Increase self-sufficiency

Indicators 1. Keep children in home: % of clients that were able to keep their children in their custody through FA case closure 2. Achieve reunification: # of clients that reunified with their children by completing the program 3. Reduce time in foster care: % of clients that reunified in less than 12 months from the date of their children’s most recent entry into foster care

Indicators 4. Access into D&A treatment: Average days from the FA program entry to a D&A treatment entry 5. Retain clients in the program: % of clients that complied and retained with the FA program 6. Reduce D&A use: % of clients that reduced their D&A use at discharge 7. Increase self-sufficiency: # of clients that maintained or obtained employment or housing after enrolling in the FA program

Data collection methods Client’s demographic information:  Provided from the FA database Client’s outcomes information:  Document review (FA monthly client status reports)

Family Alternatives Program Participants 113 parents (89 families) admitted to the FA program from 2012 – 2014.

1. Keep children in home More clients were able to keep their children in home through FA intervention.

2. Achieve Reunification Outcome data has not been collected on 12 clients still in service.

3. Reduce time in foster care Length of FA children's foster care stay is shorter than the state and national averages. Data source: Office of Children’s Bureau (2014). Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System

4. Access into D&A treatment Access time to D&A treatment was reduced from 70.8 days to 26.3.

5. Retain clients in the program Clients with children in home are more likely to be retained in the program.

6. Reduce D&A use More clients who entered FA in 2013 reduced D&A use than those in 2012.

7. Increase self-sufficiency A small percentage of clients were identified as being self-sufficient.

Lessons Learned It is best when building relationships with the data providers to meet them in person. Meeting in person is invaluable towards establishing trust. Going to the site enables one to better understand the nature of the service and clients so that when the numbers are gathered you can better assess their meanings.

Lessons Learned Recognize that it usually takes much longer to gather the data and to put the data into a meaningful and assessable form than you initially thought. Directors may not know how their data is stored. The director promised data would be provided in electronic formats; however, data is stored in many formats, including hand-written notes.

Ongoing Measuring Outcomes 8. Prevent child maltreatment # of child maltreatment incidents within 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after enrolling in the FA program 9. Prevent re-entries to foster care placement # of children re-entered foster care in less than 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after reunification 10. Timeliness of permanency # of children who achieved a finalized adoption or legal guardianship in <24 months from the most recent foster care placement

Questions? Contact: Satoko “Koko” Marquet

Questions? Contact Information Fawn Davies Program Manager Family Design Resources PO Box JPL Wick Dr Harrisburg, PA Satoko “Koko” Marquet Research specialist Family Design Resources PO Box JPL Wick Dr Harrisburg, PA