Family
foster care is an essential service for children and their families
who have been separated due to child abuse, neglect, or dependency.
Recognizing that foster parents are an essential part of and fulfill
an integral role on the child welfare team, the Illinois General Assembly
determined that there was a need to establish public policy regarding
the rights and the responsibilities of foster parents. This policy is
known as the Foster Parent Law. The law states that each DCFS region
and every agency providing foster care by contract with DCFS is required
to develop an annual plan to implement the law. The Statewide Foster
Care Advisory Council is responsible for ensuring that the plans are
submitted and scored each year. Plans must score a minimum of 75 out
of 104 points to be accepted by the Council.
This year, 77 agencies and six DCFS regions submitted implementation
plans. The five agencies submitting the plans with the highest scores
were honored at the Statewide Foster Care Advisory Couuncil meeting
held July 30th in Chicago. The following Executive Summaries identify
key points regarding each of the top five agencies' implementation plans.
Executive
Summaries
Casa
Central
There are several key characteristics that make the Casa Central
implementation plan a success. The foster care program places a heavy
emphasis on treating all team members with dignity and respect, striving
to reach this goal by providing team members ample opportunities for
involvement and input. Providing accurate, consistent and timely information
to our foster families has also been imperative. Foster families receive
case information during monthly home visits via their notification of
scheduled meetings form, which includes court dates, court results,
Administrative Case Review meetings, staffings and an opportunity to
provide input. All team members are also actively encouraged to assist
with recruitment activities/efforts. Team members are asked to assist
with a range of tasks from passing out flyers to local businesses, neighborhoods
or friends to creating a foster care video, conducting radio/TV interviews
or writing articles for our newsletters. These experiences heighten
the team's understanding that everyone has a role in foster care and
developing safe homes.
Catholic
Charities of Chicago
The key characteristic of the Catholic Charities Foster Parent Law
Implementation Plan is mutual respect for the fostering team as shown
by the sharing of information between staff and foster parents, providing
supports for foster parents and continued staff and foster parent training.
Catholic Charities of Chicago appreciates the strengths of its foster
families. Through quality communication between staff and caregiver,
and dedication to identifying and serving children's needs, Catholic
Charities Foster Care Services staff and foster parents work together
in a team effort. A solid knowledge base for decision-making is a key
component of quality services. Information on policy changes, training
for skill building, and opportunities for social outlets are provided
through presentations, in written articles and video materials and through
the bimonthly newsletter.
Catholic
Charities of Rockford
Catholic Charities promotes dignity and respect of our foster children
and their families by engaging in discussions with foster parents about
the importance of making only positive comments about birth families.The
agency also monitors the foster parents when the monthly and/or bimonthly
home visits occur and includes a family-to-family training in its monthly
in-service training program. A priority of our agency is to promote
equity between foster parents' biological children and their foster
children, i.e. Mutual Rights Form. Foster parents are notified and encouraged
to attend all meetings for children in their care, and they are encouraged
to give input into case planning. Their input is given full consideration
when creating the child's service plan. Foster parents are also invited
to attend court hearings. Caseworkers inform foster parents of all legal
orders and court decisions immediately. Catholic Charities also meets
with foster parents periodically in order to gather input to improve
our program, as well as for Quality Assurance purposes. Catholic Charities
staff and foster parents annnually collaborate on the Implementation
Plan in order to provide strategies for improvement.
Evangelical Child and Family
Although the Foster Care Program's licensing team takes the lead,
ECFA's Implementation Plan reflects the ongoing review of services of
three programs that license homes (Foster Care, Adoption, and Pregnancy
Support Services). The reviewers are a mix of staff, interns and foster
families. The Implementation Plan also involves members of ECFA's Board
of Directors, Pride Trainers and leaders of support groups. Many of
the services mentioned in the Plan have their origin as suggestions
from frontline staff and/or foster parents themselves. The agency believes
that by developing an ongoing consensus of participation and a spirit
of inclusiveness, they can build strength into their plan.
Lutheran
Social Services of Illinois
The Lutheran Social Services of Illinois' (LSSI) 2004 Foster Parent
Implementation Plan sets forth LSSI's vision for a continued partnership
with foster parents. Foster parents are seen as integral to LSSI's ability
to provide quality services to children in need. Without foster parents,
LSSI would be unable to fulfill its mission to bring "healing,
wholeness and justice" to children and families in Illinois. A
primary theme of LSSI's 2004 Foster Parent Law Implementation Plan is
respectful interaction with foster parents at all times. LSSI's 2004
plan notes that particular emphasis on respectful interaction is needed
during times of problem resolution, such as during licensing investigations,
placement disruptions and abuse/neglect investigations. New to LSSI's
2004 plan is the requirement that program sites submit quarterly reports
to LSSI's management team regarding their efforts at implementing the
2004 Plan. This is designed to keep LSSI's plan fresh and in front of
staff throughout the year.
