No Place Like
HOME
Texas
Kick Off
Meeting
What is “ No Place Like Home” all about?
• Examining the effectiveness of FGDM in safely
preventing children from entering or re-entering
foster care when they are receiving in-home
services.
• 3 child welfare agencies with mature family
group decision making (FGDM) programs
• Training and technical assistance plan
• Rigorous process and outcome evaluation
components
December 2011
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What will be measured?
• To improve the safety, permanency and well-being of
children through implementation, program enhancement,
and rigorous evaluation of FGDM, and to impact local
and national child welfare practice/policy and
disproportionality rates of African American, Latino and
American Indian children.
– Rigorously test the effectiveness of FGDM models in preventing
children from entering or re-entering foster care
– Determine the costs for FGDM implementation
– Analyze implementation of multiple FGDM models to provide
knowledge on fit, flow and sustainability
– Disseminate implementation, cost and outcome findings and
products
December 2011
3
Why is this important?
• Comprehensive assessment of model
• Potential to be strongest FGC evaluation
• Supports work we are currently doing to
engage families
• Provides additional training
• Outcomes will be felt on a state, national
and international level
December 2011
4
How will families be selected?
• Random Control Study in Texas
• Evaluation based on 400 families
• Selection based on when referral received
by FGDM staff
Evaluation Process for 400 families
200 families
provided FGC
December 2011
Next 200 families
in control group
5
How will this work?
Staff
• Focus groups
• Strategies for FGDM
• Meeting preparation and engagement
• Interviews
• Purpose and function of FGDM
meetings
• Barriers
• Staff and family characteristics that
help/hinder use of model
• Self-report surveys
• Demographics
• Job satisfaction
• Quality of work
• Organizational culture and climate
Caregivers
• Self-report surveys
• Mental health, domestic violence,
substance abuse
• Parenting stress
• Protective factors
• Satisfaction with services
Meeting Characteristics
• Timing
• Number and type
• Model fidelity
•December
Cost
2011
Outcomes
• Administrative data
• Out-of-home placements
• Relative placements
• Re-reports
6
What should I expect?
•
•
•
•
Requests for information
Surveys
Focus groups
Trainings & technical assistance
December 2011
7
What do I need to do?
•
•
•
•
•
Refer families for FGC based on Policy
Participate in FGC
Respond to surveys / evaluation needs
Participate in focus groups & trainings
Continue to work with families as you have
been
December 2011
8
When must I refer to FGC?
•CPS Handbook §3141.1 Applying Family Group
Conferences to an FBSS Case
•Caseworkers must offer families a Family Group
Conference under one or more of the following
circumstances:
– When the FBSS case has been open for nine months
or longer
– When the parents are not participating in services and
legal intervention is not yet necessary or is not
possible
– When the parents are not making the necessary
changes to keep their child safe and legal intervention
is not yet necessary or is not possible
December 2011
9
When may I refer to FGC?
• Caseworkers have the option of offering families a Family Group
Conference under one or more of the following circumstances:
– The parents are teenagers
– Chronic substance abuse exists in the family
– The parents are receiving, have received, or need local services for
issues related to mental health or intellectual disabilities
– The family has history of CPS involvement
– The child is in a parental child safety placement (see 2234.4 Criteria for
Parental Child Safety Placements and 3172 Parental Child Safety
Placement)
– The parents plan to allow the child to remain in the parental child safety
placement long term (see 2234.47 Closing a Case Involving a Parental
Child Safety Placement)
– Domestic violence exists in the family (approval by a program director is
required in such cases)
– The caseworker plans to close the case
– The caseworker or family members believe that a Family Group
Conference would be beneficial
December 2011
10
Next Steps
• Focus groups
• Follow-up training & technical assistance
• FGCs for evaluation start by April, run
through September
December 2011
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Who can I contact if I have
questions?
• Barbara Johnson – Service Program Administrator R03
– Email: [email protected]
– Phone: 817-792-5266
• Ellen Letts – FGDM Program Specialist SO
– Email: [email protected]
– Phone: 512-438-4611
• Kathryn Sibley – FBSS Program Specialist SO
– Email: [email protected]
– Phone: 512-438-5646
December 2011
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