Safe & Equitable Foster Care Reduction in Oregon

ICWA Conference: Reviving Hope Through the Circle October 2009

Safe & Equitable Foster Care Reduction in Oregon

Partnership between:•DHS•OCCF •Tribes•Casey Family Programs

Why?

•Oregon has one of the highest foster care placement rates in the country

•Children placed in foster care are more likely to have poorer outcomes throughout life

•Black and Native children are over-represented in Oregon’s system

•Focusing our efforts to keep children safely in their homes or family networks.

How is Oregon addressing this?• N8V Summit & County Strategic Planning

• Executive leadership commitment

• Child Welfare Equity Taskforce/SB 630

• PSU Decision Point Research

• DHS/CAF Diversity Unit

• OYA / DHS Collaboration

• Model Court/ Courts Catalyzing Change

• Community Engagement & Partnership

Partnership GoalsSix statewide goals to be met by 2011:

1. Safely reduce children in foster care by 20%2. Increase relative placements by 50%3. Reduce children entering care by 10%4. Increase foster care exits by 20%5. Reduce the disproportionality index for Native

and African American children (numerical goal to be set at the end of 2009)

6. Hold the child abuse, neglect rate at or below 7.5%

8 County Sites & N8V Summit Plans

•Tillamook•Multnomah•Washington•Marion•Coos•Deschutes•Malheur•Jackson

•9 – Federally recognized Tribes

•2- Urban native teams

•DHS Central Office team

Child Welfare Equity Task Force“The Task Force shall study the reasons

for, and develop a plan to reduce, the disproportionality of minorities in the child welfare foster care.”

The Task Force may…▫ Collect and analyze data▫ Set specific goals to reduce disproportionality of

minorities in child welfare▫ Study, assess and recommend strategies to

enhance recruitment and retention efforts to increase minority representation

Concerning reduction Staff and Community Partner training Prevention future disparity and disproportionality

Preliminary Statewide Quantitative FindingsSummer/Fall 2009

Study Components

I. Literature Review

II. Analyzing Administrative Data to explore differences in pathways and outcomes for children and families

III. Conducting focus groups to obtain individuals’ perspectives on the differences in pathways and outcomes for children and families

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8 Major Decision Points10

1. Intake/Reports to CPS

2. Screening

3. Removal

4. Disposition

5. Foster Care Stay

6. Placement

7. Plan

8. Exit

Decision Point Findings

Point 1: Reports to CPS

Do communities report abuse and neglect more for families of color?

American Indian/Alaskan Native families are 2 times more likely to be reported than in Oregon population

Point 2: ScreeningPoint 2: Screening

Are families of color more or less likely to be referred for a full assessment?

American Indian/Alaskan Native families are less likely than other families to be referred for a full assessment

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Decision Point Findings (cont)Point 3: Removal

Are children of color more likely than White children to be removed from parental care?

Black and American Indian/Alaskan children are more likely than White children to be removed

Decision Point 4: Disposition

Who is most likely to have a ‘founded’ report? (found that abuse or neglect actually did occur)

American Indian/Alaskan Native families are more likely than others to have a report founded

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Oregon’s Foster Care and General Child Oregon’s Foster Care and General Child Population Comparison Population Comparison

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Decision Point Findings (cont)Point 5: Length of Stay

How long do children stay in foster care?

• 21% of American Indian/Alaskan Native ICWA-eligible children who exit within one year

▫ 55.2% of American Indian/Alaskan Native ICWA-eligible children exit in two or more years

▫ Of the American Indian/Alaskan Native ICWA-eligible children in foster care, 28.7% are in care more than 4 years

Point 6: Nature of Foster PlacementWhich groups have the highest percentages of children with kinship foster homes?

Of all American Indian/Alaskan Native ICWA-eligible children in foster care, 24.9% are in kinship care

Of all American Indian/Alaskan Native children in foster care, 20.3% are in kinship care

AI/AN – highest percentages of children with kinship foster homes

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Percentage of Children by Race Percentage of Children by Race Remaining in Foster Care Over 4 YearsRemaining in Foster Care Over 4 Years

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Decision Point Findings (cont)Point 7: Permanency Plan

Who is most likely to have ‘long-term foster care’ as a plan?

American Indian/Alaskan Native children are the most likely to have a plan of long term foster care

Point 8: Exit Pathway

Which children are more likely to be Adopted?

American Indian/Alaskan Native children have the highest percentage of adoptions .

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Adapted from Congressional Research Service. August 2005. Race/Ethnicity and Child Welfare.

More likely to come into contact with social service or other workers who notice and report maltreatment

More likely to be in poor, single parent homes – risk factors for maltreatment

Have less access to services that prevent placement and hasten permanency

More likely to be reported and less likely to be reunified due to biased decision making

Children of color

Disproportionality Theories: Research

Moving Toward Equity: 6 “critical levers”

Best & Promising Practices

• Clear data capture and reporting

• Objective CPS assessment process (family strengths-

based)

• Family based decision making / group conferencing

• Family Finding/Relative placements & connections

• System wide, anti-bias training

• Culturally competent practice and services

• Diligent diverse adoption recruitment

Next Steps

“Micro” Practice Principles• Cultural humility: Understand and be humble

about the power you hold. Keep learning from families and from the community.

• Watch out for code words (ex.‘hostile affect’, ‘non-compliant’, etc.). Dig deeper.

• Learn to confront or appeal policies that tend to embed disproportionality (ex. licensing)

• Develop relationships with people who are culturally different from you.

• Work with others to develop a culturally responsive service array