A New Approach to Servicing Families

 Introduction to the practice of kinship care specific to A Second Chance Inc.  An Overview of how kinship care lends itself to better outcomes for children and families – safety, permanency & well-being.  The Natural Fit of Kinship Care and Family Group Decision Making: When and how to introduce and incorporate Family Group Decision Making into work with kinship families.  A closer look at how FGDM is incorporated into case planning from the onset of the case.  A look at various effective outreach approaches to be utilized with families.  Collaboration with the county and service providers  Hands on approaches with how to effectively engage with the county will be discussed.

 ASCI began as a vision of President and CEO Dr. Sharon McDaniel while serving in another professional capacity. It was there that she saw firsthand the disparity between the large number of African-American children requiring out-of-home placement care, with the availability of African-American families providing such care.  Currently servicing Allegheny, Philadelphia, Delaware and Berks Counties.  ASCI provides Kinship Foster Care, Emergency Kinship Placement Services, SWAN, FGDM, and Family Finding.

The number of children being raised by kin over the last ten years increased by 18%.* At least 1 in 11 children will spend some amount of time in kinship care before the age of 18. For African American children the is true for 1 in 5 children. Kinship care is a practice embedded in the child welfare system. * Annie E. Casey Foundation: Stepping Up for Kids: What Government and Communities Should Do to Support Kinship Families, Stepping Up for Kids: What Government and Communities Should Do to Support Kinship Families

Safety: – There is lesser likelihood that children will experience another occurrence of abuse or neglect when placed in kinship care compared to children placed in non- relative care.* – Some studies indicate that children in non-relative care are 10 times more likely to have a new allegation of abuse or neglect.** *Center for Law and Social Policy: Is Kinship Care Good for Kids? Conway and Hutson, 2007 ** Families in Society: A Matched Comparison of Children in Kinship Care & Foster Care on Child Welfare Outcomes, Winokur & Crawford

Children placed in kinship care experience fewer placements. Children placed in kinship care are less likely to experience school movements – 63% of children in kinship care compared to 80% of children in non-relative care. Research indicates that children who reunify with birth parents following kinship care placements are less likely to experience a re-entry into care than children placed with non- relatives. * Center for Law and Social Policy: Is Kinship Care Good for Kids? Conway and Hutson, 2007

Challenges of Kinship Care

Casework StagesFGDM Influences Preventing placementIdentify informal Kinship resources Finding Out of Home CareIdentify Kinship placement Stabilizing Out of Home Care Placement Implementing Family Support for Kinship placement PermanencyConnect Triad

 40% Reunification occurred with biological parents or family Almost half of our successful plans resulted in the reunification of the children to their parents and/or family members. Families came together to offer supports and assist in the process of reunification.  21% Kinship resource established About ¼ of our successes resulted in identifying other family for youth and/or parents. Family members were identified to provide supports, foster care or a permanent placement after discharge of a child from a facility.  32% Placements prevented and family supports were established More than ¼ of our successes for the year were due to families creating a family support team to prevent foster care placement of children.

 Connects the Triad  Ensures the Communication  Emphasis Relationship Building  Provides a Framework for the Plan  Shares Ownership for the Success of the Plan

 Changing the Lens to Family Driven Services  Beyond Collaboration to Partnerships  Integrating New Counties into an Existing System CHILD The County Service Providers A Second Chance

Caitlin Price, Regional VP Ahmad Kamara, FGDM Director Souki Kyne, Supervisor Levelle Alexander, Supervisor 1341 N. Delaware Ave. Suite 101 Philadelphia, PA