Q&A
Assessment and support for kinship placements
1:36:46
ยท
4 min
Council Member Stevens inquires about the assessment of stability in kinship placements and the support provided to kinship caregivers. Commissioner Dannhauser explains ACS's approach to kinship care assessment and support.
- ACS conducts initial assessments including criminal background checks and home evaluations for potential kinship placements
- The agency provides additional support through child and family specialists to help kinship foster parents navigate the system and access resources
- ACS facilitates parent-to-parent meetings to improve communication between birth parents and kinship caregivers
- The agency offers mediation services to address conflicts between kinship caregivers and birth parents
- Despite challenges, kinship placements show higher stability rates compared to non-kinship foster care
Althea Stevens
1:36:46
In the five year strategic plan, ACS emphasized the importance of identifying kinship placements for children and young people.
1:36:55
How does ACS assess the stability of kinship placements before making a placement permanent placement decision?
1:37:01
Because one of the things that I'm always, like, curious about and, obviously, we want to keep families together, and that is always the goal, and that needs to be the priority.
1:37:09
But sometimes, I'm like, well, these people, we remove them from one traumatic situation, and it still might be trauma there.
1:37:17
And so then how are we supporting this family around this trauma that might be the reason why these young people ended up in this case?
1:37:24
Right?
1:37:24
So we might move it from the mom and dad, but now they're with grandma.
1:37:27
And grandma was the cause of the trauma from the mom that you know?
1:37:31
So it's like all this trauma that sometimes we need to clean up, and obviously, we wanna keep people with our families.
1:37:36
But how are we and what supports are we giving the families to kind of ensure some of this trauma is cleaned up before we place them there?
1:37:45
Yeah.
1:37:46
And And listen, it's not easy to ask.
1:37:48
That's a lot.
1:37:48
I just ask.
Jess Dannhauser
1:37:49
Yeah.
1:37:50
I mean, I think anyone who exists within a family knows that there's complications.
1:37:54
Right?
1:37:54
And so I think we we talk to young people, obviously, the young people who are verbal age to really understand whether they feel safe there and whether this is we talk to to parents in that early stage.
1:38:09
There's a to make sure we reduce the time, the initial assessment is is pretty short.
1:38:16
Right?
1:38:16
It's a clearance around criminal background, SCR, state central registry, and and around the home.
1:38:24
And sometimes there's something that comes up in the State Central Registry that's 30 years old, and then our sort of that has to get ratcheted up, and our managers are empowered to waive certain rules under the state law so that we can maximize that.
1:38:39
During that process, we found gaps in the support to the kinship providers.
1:38:44
This is why we had the other unit of social workers, not just CPS, so our child and family specialist, which is a separate title.
1:38:53
They are now going out to support those kinship foster parents, making sure that not only they're going through the process to get connected to an agency, but they know what's available medically, that there is reimbursement for for things like getting to school.
1:39:10
And I think we're we're seeing improvements there because of that additional support.
1:39:16
We do have a parent to parent meeting, and that's for kinship parents and parents that happens within the first week to talk about you know, parents want, as an example, their child's hair done a certain way or wanna make sure that they have their teddy bear.
1:39:33
Like, those kinds of things where they can talk about ways in which the co parenting relationship can be as healthy as possible.
1:39:40
We do have mediation that's often available through the court as well, where there's where the kinship and and families are at sort of loggerheads or are not getting along or need to be able to come to a decision together.
1:39:56
And so the court has expanded the availability of that, and we're working with our providers to make sure that they take advantage of it.
Althea Stevens
1:40:03
Yeah.
1:40:04
I mean, it's definitely hard.
1:40:07
That was one of the things that I'm always pondering because I'm like, know we we are focused on keeping families together and kinship, but sometimes there's just so much trauma there and, like, it's so much to uncover.
1:40:17
I should But they're not given, like, any, like like like, you know, support around, like, therapeutic services for them or counseling, or do they have folks that are obviously, you have a case manager who's come to assessments, but, like, stuff to support the adult and not just the young person.
1:40:33
Is that available as well?
Jess Dannhauser
1:40:35
Yes.
1:40:35
Absolutely.
1:40:36
We have some services that are around early attachment that are available.
1:40:44
There's certainly therapeutic services for families that we can get access to.
1:40:49
There's definitely therapeutic services for children.
1:40:52
I think I should note that the the stability amongst kinship caregivers is higher than non kinship caregivers.
1:40:59
And so we are working through this process, most often to provide stability for kids.
1:41:05
But, yes, those services are are available.
1:41:08
You know, as I mentioned earlier, the availability of mental health services generally is difficult, so I I don't wanna paint a picture that's perfectly rosy there.
Althea Stevens
1:41:20
Yeah.
1:41:21
It's a shortage.
1:41:21
Yeah.
1:41:22
Yep.
1:41:22
Across the city.
1:41:23
But it's just one of those things that has been really, like, pressing to me of, like, some of these people are toxic.
1:41:29
How we send them back to toxic research?
1:41:30
Alright.
1:41:31
What post recertification support does ACS provide to ensure that families remain stable and successful after reunification?
1:41:38
And are there specific programs or services in place to prevent reentry into the foster care system?