APRIL 2013


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TeamYAP News:  Focus on Child Welfare

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. 

This month's newsletter will not only focus on the challenges associated with child abuse prevention and intervention, but will also highlight a few of our many innovative YAP programs and staff who support children and families involved with child welfare systems.  First, here are a few facts on child abuse in America. Approximately 3 million children are reported as potential victims of child abuse each year. That is over 50,000 reported cases each week. On average, 1 out of 5 children will be abused in their lifetime. Here's some promising news though. A recent Federal National Incidence Study on Child Maltreatment reported a 19% decrease in child abuse over the past 2 decades, indicating prevention programs across the US are having an impact.    

 

To learn more about National Child Abuse Prevention Month, click here

 

Roanoke STARS 

 

Over 400,000 children are living in foster homes nationwide. Foster homes provide a safe haven for children and youth whose biological families are unable to meet their needs. For a majority of children, foster home is a temporary respite designed to allow their parents to navigate a multitude of complex challenges. According to the Administration for Children and Families, over half of all children enter foster care in the US with the goal of reunification with their families of origin.

 

Foster parents play a critical role in child welfare where they not only provide care to children; they also serve as a bridge to reunification with the child's biological family.

 

According to a 2005 report from The National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning, "significant tensions, role confusion and communication problems" have unfortunately hindered the efforts of well intended foster parents and have served as barriers to long-term permanency options and reunification with the child's biological family.

 

Recognizing the need for support among foster parents, and the impact of foster parents on successful reunification efforts, Roanoke (VA) YAP's Specialized Treatment and Resource Support (STARS) Program promotes successful reunification through support for foster parents.

 

"Therapeutic foster care is Virginia's highest expenditure providing services to children, and has not had great outcomes. Local Departments of Social Services were looking to partner with an agency to achieve permanency quickly for these children."

 

To improve outcomes and permanency options, STARS provides 12 hours of initial training for foster parents that includes instruction on attachment, partnering with parents, support for traumatized youth, permanency, and grief and loss. Grief and loss training is significant for parents as they must not only be attentive to the grief and loss of children separated from their families of origin, they must also attend to their own sense of loss when foster children transition beyond the foster home.

 

STARS provides foster parents with 20 hours of training annually. "This month's training is on safer social media" says Koeppel.

 

In addition to training, STARS provides 2-4 home visits a month with the foster family to provide in-home support, supervised visitations with biological families, case management, quarterly team meetings, and crisis intervention support.

 

According to Benjamin Jones, Foster Care Supervisor at Roanoke County/Salem Department of Social Services, "STARS provides for a higher-level of pre-service training & support than is generally available for Resource Families in other programs. This higher level is able to effectively meet the needs of youth in our community that would otherwise be served by the more expensive and often distantly located congregate care/residential system."

 

 

"My goal is for (foster families) to become mentors for birth families" says Koeppel. Clarifying expectations of partnering with biological parents is part of the screening process of potential foster parents. Expectations are then further clarified through initial training and highlighted at every opportunity.

 

"It's a trickle down approach" says Koeppel, starting with program leaders, then case managers, and then to foster parents.

The Foster-Sibling Project 

 

Approximately 70 percent of children and youth in foster care have a sibling who is also in foster care. While it is widely accepted that when at all possible, siblings should be placed together in foster care, a substantial number of these children unfortunately are not placed with their siblings according to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

 

According to ACF, the size of the sibling group is a frequent factor in determining whether siblings can be placed in the same foster home. Larger sibling groups are more likely to be split up. Age gap is another factor. Since many foster homes only take children of a specific age group, the wider the age gap between siblings, the greater likelihood of them being split up in care. Finally, the unique needs of many children in foster care may increase the likelihood of them being separated from their siblings in an effort to place them in a home that best meet their needs.

 

Despite these barriers, sibling connections are crucial to both the permanency and the healthy development of children. Not only are these relationships important during childhood, the impact of these relationships can last a lifetime as sibling relationships are likely the longest lasting relationships in a person's life. In a healthy family, sibling relationships help children develop social skills and conflict resolution skills. For many children in foster care, their siblings have frequently been sources of parent-like guidance, supervision, and support.

 

Given the profound importance of sibling relationships, helping children sustain their connections to their brothers and sisters is essential. This can be a daunting task considering the distance between the placements of siblings. To support ongoing sibling attachments, NJ YAP, in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Human Services, and Easter Seals provides summer camp to siblings placed in separate foster homes.

 

For the siblings in out of home care in six (Bergen, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Warren Counties) Northern Counties in New Jersey, the Foster Sibling Camp Project, located at Camp Merry Heart in Hackettstown, New Jersey embarks on its 14th camp season this summer.  Up to 75 campers are reunited with their siblings for one week each summer.

 

The project is so successful that a contract was developed to offer foster siblings five respite camp weekends at Camp Merry Heart between October and April each year. This smaller camp weekend gives foster parents a break while up to 20 siblings enjoy a weekend away during the camp off season.

 

"Foster Sibling Camp is a great way for siblings in out of home care to have family bonding time, and reconnect as family" says Morris/Sussex YAP director and camp facilitator & liaison, Kathy Pross.

 

"They are given the opportunity to eat meals together. If they are the same gender, they sleep in the same cabins, and get to participate and enjoy summer camp activities together" says Pross. Campers receive camp store credit on their account, are provided with Camp Merry Heart t-shirts, and participate in a variety of memorable camp activities with their brothers and sisters.

 

YAP staff work throughout the week doing triage, facilitating activities, supporting bonds, and taking photos. Photos are then transformed into family treasures that each youth takes home with them; a photo album packed memories of their sibling camp week.

 

The photos albums have a profound and lasting impact on the campers. Pross recently encountered a former camper, now an adult, who attended camp for several years with his siblings. He was quick to point out that he "still has the photos albums from camp". 

This former camper said he has maintained a close relationship with his siblings because of camp. "His foster parents coordinated weekend visitations with his siblings because they saw the value and benefit of maintaining the relationships formed at sibling camp".

Pross, who has been with the Foster Sibling Project its entire 14 years, says this week at camp is her favorite and most meaningful week of the year.

 

Interested in supporting siblings in care? Click here to read more.

St. Lawrence 0-3 Reunification 

 

Each year over 200,000 children ages 0-3 come into contact with the child welfare system, mostly as a result of maltreatment. Children ages 0-3 represent a quarter of children who are abused or neglected and represent the largest population of children entering foster care.  Their foster care placements are frequently longer than the placements of older children, and they are more likely than older children to be adopted instead of being reunified with their biological families.

 

The negative experiences experienced by young children in the child welfare system occur during a remarkably sensitive and important period of their lives, when both social attachments and neurological development are significant.  For children already traumatized, involvement in foster care often further traumatizes them due to multiple placements and limited access to their biological families.

A 2011 joint report titled Action on Behalf of Infants and Toddlers, whose contributors include the American Humane Association, the Child Welfare League of America, the Center for the Study of Social Policy, the Children's Defense Fund, and ZERO TO THREE indicates "the child welfare system has not done well at addressing the developmental needs of infants and toddlers and, in some instances, acts in ways that threaten their development".

 

Recognizing the unmet challenge of supporting young children in foster care, St. Lawrence YAP and the New York Department of Social Services (DSS) partnered last September to provide family reunification services specifically for families of children ages 0-5 who are placed in foster care or who are at-risk of out of home placement.

 

According to St. Lawrence YAP program director Dana LaCoss, supporting parents is a key objective, recognizing that most have significant challenges themselves, such as substance abuse concerns, intellectual disabilities, and mental health challenges.

 

LaCoss references one of the first parents served in the reunification program, indicating she was a mother with an IQ of 72. DSS took custody of the baby at the hospital as a result of serious domestic violence.YAP support made a difference. "We went from the department saying 'there is no way the family can do this' to mom working and being successful" following reunification says LaCoss.

 

Parents receive as much as 25 hours of direct support from parent advocates. Support often includes helping meet parents' needs. "We help them get a free cell phone through the government" says LaCoss, referencing federally subsidized mobile phone service. "Then we move into medical" where YAP assists parents in locating pediatricians and even ob-gyn's for mothers. Parents also receive support in obtaining their GED's, driver's licenses, suitable housing, and employment.

 

St. Lawrence YAP Reunification also provides classroom training to parents on parenting skills. Parents receive training certification upon completion of the curriculum. Completion of parent training is often a DSS or court mandate. 

 

St. Lawrence reunification services also facilitate supervised visitations between children and their biological families 4-6 times per week. Action on Behalf of Infants and Toddlers indicates typical child welfare policy usually dictates visitations once per week. 82% of maltreated children experience serious disruptions in attachments to their caregivers. Support for frequent visitations helps to mend disrupted attachments.

 

Supporting permanency is the ultimate goal of family reunification services. Unfortunately, a child's biological parents may not be an option. In such instances, the program employs a method called "family finding" to identify other family resources.

 

"It's like private investigating basically" says LaCoss. Child welfare case workers are required to investigate family resources when parents are deemed unsuitable permanency options but such investigations are often limited due to time constraints. St' Lawrence YAP looks at every relative possible. "We're digging deeper" say LaCoss.

 

Family finding frequent includes a review of DSS family records as well as Facebook and obituary queries. "Even when they're not approved (by DSS), they can often point us to someone who is" says LaCoss. YAP then submits a list of possible family resources to DSS who makes the final decision.

 

6 months into the program, St. Lawrence YAP's approach is proving to be effective as their approach to working with young children is through a developmental lens and family focused. "I love this program. I'm excited to be doing this" says LaCoss. "We just started and we've already got kids back at home and out of the system".

 

 

If you have an employee to recognize, a story to share, or if you have a young person or family that wants to share their story in some way, let us know so that we can share with others.  Thanks!  
IN THIS ISSUE
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EMPLOYEE ANNIVERSARIES
15+ Years
Richard Stottlemyer
Chief Financial Officer
24 years 
 
Sesle Leonardi
Administrative Manager, NJ
21 years
 
Julie Macha
BSC/MT, PA
18 years
 
Kevin Wemple
Behavioral Assistant, NJ
15 years
10 Years
Michelle Senne
TSS, PA 
 
Karie Wagner
Assistant Director, PA
 
Timothy Baldwin
Advocate, PA
 
Heather Lengle
TSS, PA

Ayub Muthama
BSC/MT, PA

Tasha Williams
Program Coordinator, NJ
5 Years
John Batson III
Advocate, OH
 
Susan Brisbois
Director, NY
 
Sharon Gamble-Parker
Advocate, TX
 
Barbara Morgan
Family-Based Therapist, PA

Harold Rayfield
Advocate, TX

Lindsay Renoll
HR Generalist, TSC

Dana Ruggia
BH Specialist, NJ

Kevin Smith
Advocate, NJ

Terence Tierney
TSS, PA
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Cindy Allen
Assistant Director/Certified Parenting Instructor
St. Lawrence, NY YAP


We shine this month's employee spotlight on St. Lawrence YAP Assistant Director/Parenting Instructor Cindy Allen. Cindy started at YAP as an Advocate in February 2011. In July 2012 Cindy was promoted to an Assistant Director position where she was challenged to support a new pilot program with the New York Department of Social Services supporting family reunification for children ages 0-3 in care.

 

In addition to her Assistant Director duties, Cindy provides classroom training to the parents in her program on parenting skills.  As a certified Breakthrough Parenting Instructor, Cindy is able to support parents through the classes and provide them with a certificate upon completion. This training is often required by the Department of Social Services or Court mandates.

 

"I found that many families not only had the requirement of having hands-on parenting education but many also had court requirements of completing parenting classes" says Cindy. With long waiting lists and significant costs to parents to attend, Cindy researched possible programs that YAP could offer parents and discovered the Breakthrough Parenting Program.

 

"The parents are thrilled to hear that I have the ability to assist them in completing court mandated services and have learned beneficial parenting techniques" says Cindy. "One mom I work with called me not long ago stating she has to take parenting classes but is on a 6 month waiting list. I offered to begin Breakthrough Parenting with her and discussed she would have it completed in just over 2 months. Her reaction, 'Wow Cindy, this is great! This will definitely help me out!'."

 

"I have enjoyed building on the parenting program and developing it into a program that not only provides the families with completing mandated services, but also provides them with the tools they need to be successful parents for many years to come" says Cindy. She has also taken these parenting resources and incorporated them into resources for parents of older children served by St. Lawrence YAP with successful outcomes. "It is so rewarding to educate families, watch their family bond grow and develop, and to reunite families".

 

"I have had the pleasure of working with Ms. Allen on multiple cases for the past several months,"says Wendy Barton, DSS Foster Care/Preventive Caseworker.  "I would like to thank the Parenting Program and Ms. Allen for the advocacy, support and efficiency that is provided to our families on a daily basis.  It is clear that their time and efforts pay off.  Mrs. Allen's leadership qualities, diligence and devotion to families is evident."

 

"Cindy is phenomenal" says St. Lawrence Program Director Dana LaCoss. "Her hard work is making a huge difference".

 

YAP is grateful to Cindy for her hard work and for her commitment to kids and families.

RESOURCES

Six Protective Factors that promote the health and well-being of families

CDC Positive Parenting Tips

Foster Club for youth aging out of the system 

 

Represent Magazine is written by youth for youth in the system

 

"May you love me the most... When I deserve it the least... Because that's when I need it the most."

 

www.yougottabelieve.com

News at a Glance
April 21st-27th a delegation from Australia's "Life Without Barriers" will be touring a number of YAP programs to learn more about our model.
  
April 24th South Carolina YAP is hosting its "Rethinking Autism" Conference.
  
May 5th-11th is National Compliance Week.
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