Statewide Quality Assurance Report

Florida Department of Children and FamiliesCase Management Services - 2009-2010 Quality Assurance ReportYouth would like to see foster parents and group home staff undergoes stricter backgroundchecks. Youth also stated that they would also like caseworkers to do more unannounced visitsto the foster care placements. Additionally, youth recommended that foster parents and staffundergo more youth-sensitive trainings so that they can be more familiar with how to treat theirfoster youth, especially teenagers. The youth also expressed concern that siblings should beplaced together. The youth additionally expressed concern that foster youth should not betreated differently from biological youth, and their access to common areas in the home shouldnot be restricted.Further, the youth expressed concerns over not being involved in their court hearings. Theyouth felt that it was very important to be involved in their court hearings so they could talk tothe judge directly about their placements and any other concerns, as well as know about theirlegal rights in foster care.Many youth at the roundtable experienced going to more than one school during theschool year. Youth expressed that there was a lack of support from the educational systemitself, because no one knew that they were in foster care. Some youth also stated that they didnot want to be identified as being in foster care and labeled. Locally, Educate Tomorrow has aneducational mentoring program for foster youth, which the youth have found to be verybeneficial. Additionally, Educate Tomorrow has collaborated with the Miami Dade CountyPublic Schools to train high school counselors to help foster youth with their educational needsand has started foster youth support groups in high schools with the largest number of fosteryouth, for those youth who wish to participate.Also, the local juvenile court and Miami Dade public schools are beginning to experimentwith video-conferencing, so that some youth may participate in their court hearings fromschool.Transportation: Transportation is a major issue for youth in foster care. Many youth expressedthat they were not transported to medical appointments, to family visitations, to court hearings,and to other important appointments. Sometimes, there were disagreements between thecaseworker and the foster parents as to whom should be responsible for transportation. Theyouth expressed the need to have this disagreement resolved. The youth also expressed that itis important to have someone with them for medical appointments so that someone cancommunicate with the doctor and they are not just dropped-off.Office of Family Safety | Page 49