Family to Family
The Philosophy of Family to Family
- Children in out-of-home care remain in their own community.
Maintaining a child in their own community allows them to continue to
attend the same school and simplifies visitation with parents, extended
family members and friends. Ultimately, this practice may help to build
the strengths of a community by focusing the residents on the needs of
their neighbors.
- Foster Parents act as Co-parents, Mentors and Family Team members.
Foster parents attend planning meetings and engage in an ongoing
supportive relationship with the birth parents. The foster parents act
as the primary point of contact for the birth parents in visitation and
child related activities (such as school meetings, appointments, etc.),
and offer support and respite to the birth parents after the child is
returned home.
- Case Managers are Family Workers, not just Child Workers.
One of the most important factors in whether children are reunified is
how much the parents change their behavior. The worker's role is to access
the needs of the parents and to link them with resources. This is not a
new role, but one that is not emphasized in current practice. Staff often
view their role as ensuring the safety of the child. Being a family worker
doesn't exclude this, but expands to include a responsibility to engage the
entire family.
The Practices of Family to Family Foster Care
- Early Intervention
Cases are assigned quickly and caseworkers attempt contact immediately
with families. The crisis of having a child placed can spur families into
working on changing behavior.
- Family Team Meetings
Family Team meetings are held soon after a child is placed and then on an
as needed basis to keep the team working together toward permanency for the
child. The family team consists of the birth parents, foster parents, child
(if age appropriate), extended family members, the social worker and
supervisor. Meetings are held to identify issues, clarify relationships and
set goals.
- Concurrent Permanency Planning
The worker discusses with the birth parents the initial plan for reunification,
and backup plans such as relative placement very early in the process. The
exploration of non-custodial parents and relatives as potential placement
resources, and the search for an absent parent, occurs at the same time as
reunification efforts.
- Aftercare Involvement by the Foster Parents
The foster parents remain involved with the birth family after reunification
as a support during the transition. This involvement often includes providing
child care or overnight respite for the parents.
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