Agenda
& Speaking Faculty
a
| Post Conference
Workshops: February 9, 2004 |
8:30 |
Workshop Registration
& Continental Breakfast |
9:00 |
Workshop A: Grants for Child
Welfare Programs
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) administers more
than sixty programs (block grants, mandatory grants, entitlement
grants and discretionary grants) authorized under twenty-two
legislative authorities, totaling more than $45 billion. Child
welfare programs focus on keeping families together and whenever
possible, prevention intervention services are enacted to prevent
the removal of children from their homes. The Child Welfare
Services program provides grants to states and Indian Tribes
under the Social Security Act. Services are available to children
and their families without regard to income. Successfully procure
grants for child welfare programs in your state. Identify and
meet the provisions to be eligible for federal child welfare
program grants.
- Conduct an inventory of all children in foster care for at
least six months
- Establish an information system for all children in foster
care
- Conduct periodic case reviews of all foster children
- Provide due process protections for families
- Conduct in-home and permanent placement service programs,
including preventive and reunification services
Janice Shafer, Director, Division
of Program Implementation, Children’s Bureau, Administration
for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services |
12:00 |
Networking
Luncheon |
9:45 |
Workshop B: Effective
Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Child Welfare Caseworkers
Child welfare agencies face numerous
challenges in maintaining staff such as low pay, risk of violence,
high caseloads, administrative burdens, inadequate training
and supervision. However, a stable and highly skilled child
welfare workforce is vital to providing a child welfare services.
High turnover of staff hinders the ability of the caseworker
to establish relationships with children and families and
therefore effectively determining whether or not a placement
is safe and stable. In addition, results of high turnover
of staff such as increased caseloads causes decreased visitations
and therefore delayed and sometimes unavailable reporting
on federal safety outcomes. Identify workforce retention strategies
that public and private child welfare agencies have implemented
in order to recruit and retain quality staff to improve child
welfare services. This interactive workshop session will discuss:
- Forging public/private partnerships for training programs
- Establishing mentorship programs
- Implementing recruitment bonuses and competency-based interviews
Jim Ward, College
of Social Work, University of South Carolina |
4:00 |
Workshops Adjourn |
| Day One: February
10, 2004 |
| |
Track
1:
Foster Care and Adoption Program Performance Measurement |
Track 2:
Child Care Program Strategies |
9:00 |
Registration & Continental Breakfast |
9:30 |
Keynote
Leadership Panel: Meeting Rising Performance Standards for Family
Services
Every
state child welfare agency is trying to meet national performance
objectives without compromising funding and program services.
Identify the best tools to implement in your child welfare agency
to improve performance
measures and measure performance outcomes. Join advocates and
experts in the field to identify and discuss useful outcome measures
to gauge state and national progress toward meeting the needs
of families and children in the child welfare system. This panel
discussion will include commentary from the leaders of both the
Children’s Bureau and Child Care Bureau to discuss the latest
performance standards, policy updates and program initiatives
facing family services today.
Susan Orr, Associate Commissioner,
Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children & Families,
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Mike Ambrose, Deputy, Child Care Bureau, Administration
for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services |
10:45 |
Break & Refreshments |
11:00 |
Foster
Care Today: Identifying Trends and Improvements in the Child
Welfare System
Approximately 260,000 children in the United States enter
the foster care system each year. While about 60% of these children
will be returned to their parents, the other 40% remain in the
system. Of more than 542,000 children in foster care in 2001,
126,000 are still waiting for someone to adopt them. Improvements
are being developed in the nation’s foster care system to
prevent children from remaining part of the child welfare system
for several years. Identify improvement in foster care currently
being incorporated at the federal, state and local levels. Improving
existing federal financing mechanisms to facilitate faster movement
of children from foster care into safe, permanent families and
reduce the need to place children in foster care as well as improving
court oversight of child welfare cases to facilitate better and
more timely decisions related to children's safety, permanence
and well-being.
Susan Orr, Associate Commissioner, Children’s
Bureau, Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department
of Health & Human Services |
Administering
Comprehensive Child Care: How to Best Meet Outcomes for Your Family
Services Program
The goal of any family services program is to promote healthy
child development and family self-sufficiency. With family support
and the help of other community agencies, quality child care services
can be achieved. Build a strong child care resource network in
your state while improving access and quality of services such
as:
- Safe and healthy learning
- Parental involvement
- Training and support for providers
Karen Tvedt, Research and Policy
Director, Child Care Bureau, Administration for Children &
Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
|
12:00 |
Luncheon Keynote: Recent Trends
and Implications in Funding and Program Performance Measurement
for Child Welfare Services
The number of governments contracting out child welfare services,
particularly with non-profits, is increasing rapidly. Traditionally,
child welfare contracts have been fee-for-service contracts and
haven’t been subject to competition. This is changing. States
and counties are now putting out Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
that seek bids for performance-based "capitated" contracts,
meaning they must agree to deliver the services in bundles for
a fixed price per case. This shifts the financial risks to the
private sector. Access and identify issues surrounding privatization
of child welfare programs.
Lisa Snell, Director of Education
and Child Welfare and Deputy Director, The Reason Foundation
|
1:15 |
Measuring
Outcomes to Shape Child and Family Service Policies
Measuring outcomes is a key part of all family services. Learn
how to effectively measuring outcomes to compete for contracts,
change program operations, lead new service development and shape
child and family service policies. Most importantly, consistent
and efficient monitoring of outcomes helps to improve the lives
of kids and their families. Mary
Beth Rauktis, LSW, Ph.D., Director Evaluation
and Research, Pressley Ridge School |
Strengthening
Communities through Child Care and Head Start Partnerships
Encourage positive youth development through collaboration of
education and early child care services in your community. Faith-based
organizations work to support families in their challenge to find
high quality care. Build the capacity in your community to work
with religious leaders in their efforts to meet the wide range
of unaddressed early childhood needs. Promote all sectors of the
community in efforts to meet early childhood care and education
needs in all of their forms.
Invited* |
2:15 |
“Meet
the Parents”: Requirements and Strategies for Recruiting
and Retaining Foster Parents
Address strategies for recruitment, retaining and certification
of foster parents. This session will highlight strategies that
involve various sectors of the community, specialized training
to increase the competence of parents and using foster caregivers
as resources for children and their families. Identify and implement
new services and enhance current training processes.
Connie Norman, Family
Advocate, Michigan Family Independence Agency
|
Raise
the Bar for Quality After-School Child Care
Explore public/private partnerships for effective delivery of
child care services. Collaboration with state and local government,
private sector, community organizations and educational institutions
is necessary to increase access and availability to quality
after-school child care programs. Learn to successfully enhance
the quality and availability of after-school programming by
engaging public- and private-sector partners, funding programs,
coordinating public and private funds and providing technical
assistance.
- Focus on quality
- Develop a clear vision
- Engage partners early
Mary
Bleiberg, Vice President for Policy Planning
and Fund Development, The After-School Corporation
|
3:15 |
Break
& Refreshments |
3:30 |
Case
Study: Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services
The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS)
was the state’s largest provider of adoption and foster
care services. Now they’re strictly a purchaser of services
and a contract monitor with respect to child welfare services.
SRS contracts out for family preservation, foster care and adoption.
A data-driven and outcomes-based system was created which enhances
the safety of children and helps return them to their homes or
move them to a safe adoptive home in as short a time as possible.
Determine what works and does not work in your present system
and identify a child welfare system that does work.
Sandra Hazlett,
Director for Children and Family PolicyKansas State Department
of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS)
|
Performance-Based
Contracting for Child Care Programs
Identify and implement a cost-effective approach by streamlining
service costs by competing out contracts to providers. Identify
lessons-learned when engaging in performance-based contracting
for family services. Ensure that service providers comply with
lead agency plans. This presentation will provide creative ideas
for tying monetary and non-monetary incentives to contracts.
Walter
Sachs,
Children & Family Services, State of Florida
|
4:30 |
Adjourn |
| Day Two: February
11, 2004 |
| |
Track
1:
Foster Care and Adoption Program Performance Measurement |
Track 2:
Child Care Program Strategies |
9:00 |
Continental Breakfast |
9:30 |
Performance Measures and Application
of the “Logic Model” to Assess Program Strategy and
Results for Child and Family Services Programs
Develop a framework for measuring and reporting the performance
of family services programs. Design, implement and effectively
use performance indicators consistent with the long-term development
aim of family services programs; child care, foster care and adoption.
Establish and utilize performance measures to develop a tactical
plan to improve family services. Use “Logic Modeling”
as a tool for establishing clear end-outcomes and intermediate-outcome
goals and measures.
Identify and implement the elements of effective child and family
services programs:
- Linking resources to results
- Strategic planning and goal setting
- Managing caseworkers and staff
- Harnessing the power of technology
- Forging partnerships and contracts for services
Jeffrey
E. Bergin, Director of the Government Performance
Center, The Performance Institute
|
10:30 |
Break & Refreshments
|
| 10:45 |
Analysis
and Information Systems for Measuring Outcomes in Child Welfare
Programs
The Children's Bureau supports the work of state
and local agencies administering child welfare programs that focus
on preventing the abuse of children in troubled families, protecting
children from abuse, and finding permanent placements for those
who cannot safely return to their homes. The Data Team within
the Children's Bureau, utilizing data from the Adoption and Foster
Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and the National Child
Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), generates much of the
data used in the State Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR).
These data include those measures generated for comparison to
the national standards associated with child safety and permanency.
This session will evaluate the role of information systems for
generating the data used in measuring outcomes in child welfare
programs and how these outcomes are constructed, evaluated and
how they can have an impact on child welfare programs.
John Hargrove, Data Team Leader,
Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services
David Baker, Senior Computer Systems Analyst,
Xtria, under contract to the Children's Bureau, Administration
for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human
Service |
Case
Study: Payment-to-Parent Assisted Child Care
Take a look at Utah’s model for promoting personal responsibility
and parental choice in their child care system. The Payment-to-Parent
Assisted Child Care Program provides funding for child care to
parents who are employed or employed, attending school or training
and who meet eligibility requirements.
Lynette Rasmussen, Director,
Utah Office of Child Care
|
11:45 |
Networking Luncheon |
1:00 |
Tough
Problems, Tough Choices: Guidelines for Needs-Based Service Planning
in Child Welfare
These guidelines are the final product of Casey’s multi-year
Outcomes and Decision-Making Project, which developed philosophical
and outcome frameworks and a set of decision-making guidelines
for child welfare service providers. Based on best-practice research
and recommendations from some of the country’s most experienced
child welfare service providers, the 14 guidelines help staff
(front line, supervisory and management) make sound and consistent
case- and service-planning decisions. In this session, participants
will explore the guidelines in depth and learn the results of
an effort to measure their effectiveness using system-wide outcome
data in one implementation site.
Nita C. Lescher, MSW, LICSW, Director
of Program Planning, Children's Services, American Humane
|
Linking
Child Care and Welfare-to-Work Efforts
CCDF block grant and states utilize portions of TANF block grants
for child care. States have considerable flexibility in funding
innovative child care programs. Parents pressured to find employment
creates an urgent need for affordable quality child care. Identify
how child care assistance in welfare-to-work programs can support
the employment of low income families.
Julie Poppe, Child Care Project
Manager, National Conference of State Legislatures |
2:00 |
Develop
a System of Accountability for the Welfare of Older Youth
Identify transition services to help children who remain in foster
care until 18 years of age make a successful transition to self-sufficiency.
Older youth in the foster care system need to learn valuable lessons
such as how to cook, clean and apply for a job. The new budget
proposal includes $60 million for an expanded Independent Living
Program to offer college tuition and training vouchers for youth
who are transitioning out of foster care. The 2003 budget proposal
also includes $25 million for an initiative to mentor children
with parents in prison. State and local public officials and child
welfare practitioners are responsible for administering independent
living and other child welfare programs. Identify a plan and collect
the necessary information to:
- Implement the appropriate performance measures
- Develop outcome measures that can be used to best assess the
performance of your independent living programs
- Account for the type and quantity of services being provided
Sandra Wilkie, Senior Associate,
Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative
|
Enhancing
Child Care Outcomes through Partnerships
Partnerships help states to develop supportive policies to further
successful child care services. Identify issues and challenges
across early child care and education. Collaborate to implement
faith-based/community-based child care initiatives, maximize funding
streams, and gain access to best practices and lessons learned
that produce positive outcomes children.
Gene Gousie, Technical Assistance Coordinator, National
Child Care Information Center
|
3:00 |
Break
& Refreshments |
3:15 |
Dual
Licensure for Foster and Adoptive Parents
Once a foster family has bonded with the child and made the commitment
to adopt, the standards, rules and process of transitioning from
a foster parent to an adoptive parent should be as seamless as
possible. Child welfare agencies are beginning to explore dual
licensure, which means foster and adoptive parents go through
the same screening, interview, home study, training and background
check processes. In the end, they receive the same "approval"
to provide foster and/or adoptive care. Dual licensure allows
for a foster parent to naturally and easily change their role
to that of an adoptive parent, without having to go through an
entirely new home study and training process. Identify arguments
and studies for and against dual licensure for foster parents.
Lorrie Lutz, M.P.P., Senior Partner,
L3P Associates |
Utilize
Resources of Campus Child Care
Campus child care programs provide a variety of models designed
to meet the educational research and service needs of the institution
and community at large. Resources must be made available in every
community to guarantee a safe, healthy and developmentally sound
program for all children. Heighten your community’s awareness
and increase utilization of financial assistance available for
child care.
Gail Solit, National Coalition for
Campus Children’s Centers |
4:15 |
Concluding
Remarks on the State of Family Services Performance Measurements
and Program Strategies
Identify and implement key lessons learned in your community.
Facilitator: Kara Farina, Director, Education
& Social Policy Center, The Performance Institute |
4:45 |
Conference Adjourns |
|
