1. Place Matters Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home
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2. Why Does Place Matter?
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3. Place Matters because: All Children Deserve a Family All families should provide a safe, permanent home for children, where their well-being is paramount.
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4. Safety Children must be safe and need to be protected
Safety Children must be safe and need to be protected. Children must be protected from abuse and neglect. Services must be provided to ensure that children, when possible remain in their homes. When children are no longer able to remain in their homes they must be protected in the least restrictive environment.
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5. Permanency Children need to be with families.
Permanence occurs when a child has a lasting, nurturing relationship with at least one adult. That relationship should demonstrate mutual commitment and be legally secure.
Examples include: reunification, custody/ guardianship to relatives, adoption
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6. Well-being
Children are entitled to live in an environment where they are nurtured and can thrive.
This includes meeting their needs:
Educational
Health care
Social/relationship
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7. Maryland’s Placement Statistics
10,164 children in out-of-home care
60 % of caseload in Baltimore City
40% of caseload in 23 other counties
61% in family foster care
20% in group homes
Average length of stay: years
*July 2007 Statistics
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Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home

8. Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home
Barriers to Success
Lack of family foster homes
Over reliance on group care
Jurisdiction of origin vs. Jurisdiction of placement
Gaps in the placement continuum statewide
Insufficient mental health, educational and community supports for foster children and their families
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Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home

9. Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home
Goals
Keep children in their communities
Place children in families first
Reduce reliance on out of home care
Minimize the length of stay
Manage with data and redirect resources
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Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home

10. Place Matters Framework
Family-Centered Practice
Alternative Response
Integrated In-Home/Family Preservation Services
Targeted Child Well-Being Practices
Foster/Adoptive Family Recruitment and Retention
Kinship Care
Placement and Community Resource Development
Focused Permanency Policy and Practice
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Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home

11. Place Matters Strategy
Place Matters Action Team
Purpose:
Plan, develop and provide oversight to Maryland’s Place Matters Initiative
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Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home

12. Place Matters Strategy
Key Information Sources
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Strategic Consulting Group
MD Foster Parent Association
Foster Care Provider Council
Maryland Association of Resources for Families and Youth
StateStat
Case Reviews: Permanency, Levels of Care, Proximity
GOC Resource Development Plan
Group Home Census
Treatment Foster Home Inventory
Quality Assurance/CFSR Reviews
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Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home

13. Major Initiatives
1000 by 2010: Foster Parent Recruitment/Retention
Family Centered Practice
Service Array/Resource Development
Provider Accountability
Focus on Permanency & Wellbeing
Contract Monitoring/Quality of Care
Geographic Proximity
Practice Improvement
Family Centered/Community Based/Child Focused
Placement Protocols
Level of Care Assessment
Placement Decision Making Criteria
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14. Place Matters Nothing Matters More to a Child Than a Place to Call Home
Cathy F. Mols, LCSW-C
Executive Director, Social Services Administration
Maryland Department of Human Resources
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