Vermilion County Action Team
Laurie Krolikowski & Susan Werner
Where is Vermilion County?
Who lives in Vermilion County?
Racial Breakdown
There are 81,941 people in Vermilion County
 White: 85%
 African American: 13%
 Hispanic: 3.44%
 Asian: 0.6%
 Native American: 1.8%
 “Other”: 3.11%
What is the socioeconomic status of the people
in Vermilion County?
The median income in Vermilion County
is $37,277 compared to the state of
Illinois median of $54,124.
20% of the people live in poverty.
In August 2008, it was estimated that
8.9% of the population of Vermilion
County lived in extreme poverty (annual
income of less than half of the poverty
line- $10,325 for a family of 4).
What is the socioeconomic status of the people
in Vermilion County? (cont.)
 Vermilion County has seen an increase in
“extreme poverty” since the year 2000.
According to Robert Hill’s article the likelihood
of abuse and neglect go up as income declines
(Hill, 2006).
 Vermilion County has a higher rate of child
abuse as compared to the state and central
region (IL Criminal Justice Information
Authority, 2003, 2004 & IL Dept of Children
and Family Services 2004-2005).
How many indicated reports were there in
Vermilion County?
 For the fiscal years (FY)
2001-2007 the number
of children and the
ethnic differences that
experienced an indicated
report of child abuse
and/or neglect were:
– All children: An
average of 318.6
children experienced
an indicated report or
1.6% of the children
in Vermilion County.
 African American
children: An average of
74.4 or 2.5% of the
African American
children in Vermilion
County. African
American children
accounted for 23.3% of
the reports.
 White children: An
average of 232.3 or
1.5% of the White
children in Vermilion
County. White children
accounted for 72.9% of
the reports.
How many indicated reports were there in
Vermilion County?
Number of indicated reports in Vermilion County
350
300
250
200
White
Af rican Am
Hispanic
150
100
50
0
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
What is length of stay in care in Vermilion
County?
 For the fiscal years
1999-2006, the
median length of stay
by race was:
– All children: The
average median
length of stay was
23.4 months.
– African American
children: The
average median
length of stay was
26.1 months.
– White children:
The average
median length of
stay was 18.9
months.
– Hispanic children:
The average
median length of
stay was 37
months.
– Children of other
ethnicities: The
average median
length of stay was
17 months.
What is length of stay in care in Vermilion
County?
Median Length of Stay for Children in Care
1999
2000
2001
Af rican Am
2002
Hispanic
Other
2003
Caucasian
2004
2005
2006
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
How long does it take for kids to reach
permanency in Vermilion County?
 Permanency at 12
Months:
African American
children:19.9%
White children:
27.7%
Hispanic children:
11.8%
Other children:
28.8%
 Permanency at 24
Months:
African American
children: 39.5%
White children:
48.4%
Hispanic children:
33.3%
Other children:
45.5%
How long does it take for kids to reach
permanency in Vermilion County?
 Permanency at 36
months:
African American
children: 56.1%
White children:
69.4%
Hispanic children:
46.7%
Other children:
55.6%
How long does it take for kids to reach
permanency in Vermilion County?
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
African Am
White
40.00%
Hispanic
Other
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
12 months
24 months
36 months
Vermilion County is lower than the national
average.
According to the research in the
Government Accountability Office report,
African American children stay in foster
care on average 9 months longer than
white children (GAO, 2008). In Vermilion
County the average is slightly lower, and
African American children stay 7.2
months longer than white children (Child
& Family Research Center).
How are they addressing concerns?
• One of the new and exciting ways that
Vermilion County social service agencies
are working to address concerns is
through………….
FAMILY TREAMENT
COURT
Why is the idea for Family Treatment Court
important?
 According to the National Center for Addiction
and Substance Abuse (1999) 80% of the
confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect
have substance abuse as a precipitating factor.
 If a parent is unable to maintain a drug free
lifestyle and make other significant changes in
their lives, reunification with their children may
be delayed or never occur.
 Families that have substance abuse problems
often have additional challenges such as poor
housing, mental health problems, physical
health problems, transportation issues, lack
appropriate childcare, educational challenge
and unemployment.
Why is the idea of Family Treatment Court
important (cont.)?
 Parent often struggle with the mandates the
court gives them. Often they cannot get into
treatment as soon as they would like, do not
have a comprehensive case management plan
or have structured visitation with their children.
 Family Treatment court uses the best practices
model to effectively manage cases. This is
done to ensure the children's best interest and
provide all necessary services to the parents.
What is Family Treatment Court?
 The Family Treatment court brings the
professionals as an interdisciplinary team.
 All cases are reviewed weekly by the team.
 Incentives are given to the parent for meeting
goals.
 It extends beyond substance abuse treatment
and deals with other issues such as domestic
violence, mental and physical health, pending
criminal charges, housing, child care and
employment. These factors can further
complicate or delay reunification and increase
the time children remain in the foster care
system.
Who is involved in Family Treatment Court?
Parent
Judge
Child Welfare Case Worker
Substance Abuse Counselor
Any additional professional services
The 4 stages of Family Treatment Court
 Phase 1: Weekly meeting with probation,
weekly court date and weekly drug screen.
 Phase 2: Minimum 4 months of no rule
violations, weekly court date, every other week
drug screen.
 Phase 3: Minimum 6 months of no rule
violations, every other week court date and
drug screen
 Phase 4: Minimum 10 months of no rule
violations, monthly court date and drug screen
How does Family Treatment Court address the
issue of permanency?
 It is important to remember that according to
the National Center for Addiction and
Substance Abuse (1999) 80% of the confirmed
cases of child abuse and neglect have
substance abuse as a precipitating factor.
 Parents need to be substance free to be good
parents and FTC helps parents regain custody
of their children by helping them gain their
sobriety and address all other barriers to that
reunification.
Quoted from the Northwest Professional
Consortium, Inc. (2005):
“On average across sites, parents
enrolled in family treatment drug courts
were more likely than parents in
traditional child welfare cases processing
to be reunified with their children and less
likely to have terminations of parental
rights. On average, family treatment court
cases were shorter than traditional child
welfare cases.”
References
• Children and Family Research Center:
University of Illinois School of Social Work.
Practice Resource and Outcome Monitoring
Data Http://cfrcwww.social.uiuc.edu
• Heartland Alliance for Human Rights (2008).
Poverty trends in Vermilion County
www.heartlandalliance.org.
• Hill, Robert, (2006). Casey CSSP. Alliance for
Racial Equality in the Child Welfare System:
Synthesis of Research on Disproportionality in
Child Welfare.
• Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority,
(2003). A profile of juvenile justice activities
and juvenile delinquency risk factors in
Vermilion County. www.icjla.state.il.us
References (cont.)
• Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services (2005-2006). Child Abuse and
Neglect Statistics.
• United States Government Accountability
Office (2008). African American Children in
Foster Care. HHS and Congressional Action
Could Help Reduce Proportion in Care.
• United States Census Bureau (2000-2006).
American Fact Finder Vermilion County Illinois.
• Wheeler, M. & Carson, L. Family treatment
court: Applying the drug court model in child
maltreatment cases. Drug Court Practitioner
fact sheet June 2006 Vol. 1