Final Report - RI Department of Children, Youth & Families

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APPENDIX L: FOSTER CARE COMMITTEE REPORT ! Continue and enhance Communications Committee monthly meetings with foster parents to improve relationships. ! Establish regional chapters of the RIFPA to organize and improve retention and communication. ! Increase awareness of Family Centered Practice initiative. ! Initiate Foster Parent Retention Survey in conjunction with RIFPA to gather data and make necessary modifications to improve retention. ! Re-establish an Executive Director position for RIFPA to ensure coordination of programs and improve retention efforts. RHODE ISLAND FOSTER PARENTS ASSOCIATION The Rhode Island Foster Parent Association is located in Warwick, Rhode Island. It was formally incorporated in 1995 with funding received from the Department of Children, Youth and Families. A volunteer board of directors governs the Association. The mission of the Association is to provide education and other forms of support to families that provide substitute care, and to the community-at-large, in order to further the cause of children who cannot live with their parents. The Rhode Island Foster Parents Association represents approximately 1100 foster families and 2000 foster children in the care of the Department of Children, Youth and Families. All of the programs and activities at the Rhode Island Foster Parents Association have been staffed by one full-time Mentor Program Coordinator and one full-time Life Skills Program Coordinator; one part-time Office Manager, and one part-time Teacher Assistant for Life Skills. The Rhode Island Foster Parents Association’s primary function is to provide support services to foster families through the Mentor Program; provide training and develop independence for teens who are being fazed out of the foster care system through the Life Skills Program; and finally offering limited financial assistance to teens 14 to 21 through our Teen Grant Program who are in foster care whether in foster homes or residential programs. Other programs the RIFPA is responsible for are the monthly Newsletter, Holiday Gift Distribution Program, Web Site, The Annual Town Meeting, and The Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner. The Cribs, Beds, Clothes Oh My Program is exclusively organized and facilitated by the Association through donations. Mentor Program The Mentor Program provides twenty-four (24) hour support through the Help Line for all licensed foster parents. In addition, during their first six (6) months of fostering, a newly approved foster parent is matched with a veteran foster parent who is available to provide personal, one on one assistance and share their experiences. It is the strong belief of the Mentor Program that they will be successful in retaining foster parents by offering crucial support during the initial six months when new foster parents are asking questions like “is this child’s behavior normal?”, “am I capable of providing for the needs of this child?”, or “how is System of Care Task Force Report (January 2003) 138
APPENDIX L: FOSTER CARE COMMITTEE REPORT this child going to affect the other children in my home?” The Mentor Program is a service dedicated to new foster parents who may need encouragement and direction in order to fulfill the needs of the foster children in their care. The Mentor Program serves as an avenue for retention. Sharing positive experiences of new foster parents and their Mentor, it also serves as a recruitment resource by foster parents making referrals. The Mentor Program’s primary function is providing support services. On average, the Help Line receives 170 calls per month. Seventy newly licensed foster parents are serviced monthly as well as countless other foster families who still call on their former mentors for advice and direction. The Mentor Program and the Help Line are advertised in the monthly RIFPA Newsletter. Teen Grant Program The Teen Grant Program was designed to provide funds for activities that would enhance the preparation for independence for youth in DCYF care. It is available for activities that contribute to personal growth, skills building, educational pursuits, sports, and other areas that enhance self-esteem. This program is now available to teens ages 14 through 21, which constitutes a lowering of the age qualification from the previous age of 16. This will encompass a larger number of teens able to access moneys for positive promotions. Newsletter Program The RIFPA Newsletter is a monthly publication that provides information regarding the Association and DCYF activities. The Newsletter is distributed to all licensed foster homes as well as DCYF and other agencies upon request. This publication has a mailing list of approximately 1300 foster homes and businesses. The Newsletter is the main source of information received by foster families regarding any news or upcoming events or training. This is a major source of recruitment as well as retention. Web Site The web site is a new resource of information that the RIFPA has embarked upon within the last two years. It also provides foster families as well as other interested individuals information regarding the Association and the programs they service. It allows for potential recruitment of foster parents and is a support and informational guide to present foster families and outside organizations. Life Skills Program The Life Skills Program provides detailed instructions to DCYF involved teens that reside in out-of-home placements, ages 16 to 21 regarding survival and independence. One full-time coordinator and one part-time teacher assistant as well as two teacher aides staff this program. Life Skills provides transportation to all regions of Rhode Island to teens that are participating in the program. Nightly, nutritious meals are prepared with the teens as well as reinforcing positive cleaning skills. Sixteen weeks of independent living skills ranging from food management, housing, money management, emergency and safety skills, job seeking, and maintaining skills. In addition, there is a $200.00 incentive check upon completion of the program, which is distributed at a graduation ceremony. The graduation features the teens with their invited guests, DCYF staff, and a guest speaker. There are multiple field trips that System of Care Task Force Report (January 2003) 139
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TOWARD AN ORGANIZED SYSTEM OF CARE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSMITTAL LETTE
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TRANSMITTAL LETTER Hon. Donald L. C
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TRANSMITTAL LETTER With strong stat
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PREFACE The Rhode Island System of
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This plan for an
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY stakeholders have
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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW The Rhode Islan
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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW SYSTEM STRATEGY
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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW the four Region
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CHAPTER 2: COMMUNITY-STATE PREVENTI
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CHAPTER 3: STRENGTHENING DCYF AS A
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CHAPTER 3: STRENGTHENING DCYF C. Re
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CHAPTER 3: STRENGTHENING DCYF 5. $
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CHAPTER 3: STRENGTHENING DCYF (Marc
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CHAPTER 4: FINANCING THE SYSTEM OF
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CHAPTER 5: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Wo
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CHAPTER 5: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Ch
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CHAPTER 5: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ex
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CHAPTER 6: PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND
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CHAPTER 6: PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND
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CHAPTER 7: IMPLEMENTATION CHAPTER 7
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CHAPTER 7: IMPLEMENTATION i. Legisl
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CHAPTER 7: IMPLEMENTATION programmi
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APPENDICES 61
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APPENDIX A: RHODE ISLAND SYSTEM OF
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APPENDIX A: SYSTEM OF CARE TASK FOR
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APPENDIX B: PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY CE
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APPENDIX C: DEFINITIONS, CORE VALUE
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APPENDIX C: CULTURAL COMPETENCY cri
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APPENDIX D: VALUES AND PRINCIPLES F
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APPENDIX E: SERVICE AND PROGRAM COM
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APPENDIX F: DCYF FAMILY SERVICE REG
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APPENDIX G: COMPREHENSIVE CARE NETW
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APPENDIX G: COMPREHENSIVE CARE NETW
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Page 153 and 154: Introduction The Current Reality Su
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Final Report - RI Department of Children, Youth & Families

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