The Next Phase of Child Welfare Reform in Illinois:

1
The Next Phase of Child Welfare Reform in
Illinois

• The Lifetime Approach

2
Major Reforms/New Direction

• The Lifetime Approach

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Lifetime Approach

• Embrace role as parent
• Anticipate and respond to developmental and
  clinical needs
• Evaluate impact by
• education, well-being and life skills of the
  young adults who emerge and
• success in sustaining foundation through
  development of own strong families.

4
Goals of Lifetime Approach

• Early identification of trauma.
• Strong correlation between trauma, treatment plan
  and services.
• Improved well being outcomes.
• Sustainable life foundation.
• Strong adults building healthy families.

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Trauma Impact is Lifelong

• Trauma includes abuse and neglect, exposure to
  violence, and removal home
• Research concluded that,
• The effects of trauma can be pervasive,
  impacting school readiness and performance,
  diminishing cognitive abilities and leading to
  substance abuse, disabling mental disorders and
  costly physical health problems.

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Next Two Years Devoted to Implementing

• The Lifetime Approach

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Major Reforms

• Integrated Assessment
• Child Youth Investment Teams
• Trauma Treatment
• Transitional Independent Living Re-Design
• Foster Care Caseload ReDesign

• Early Childhood School Readiness Initiative
• Intensive Stabilization Services
• Family Supported Adolescent Care
• Residential Performance Unit

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Integrated Assessment

• Provides a comprehensive clinical understanding
  of the child from the moment he enters care.
• A service plan directly related to identified
  clinical assets.

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Trauma Treatment

• Integrated Assessment will identify issues.
• Existing contracts will be targeted to ensure
  treatment over two years.
• Recognition of impact of trauma will be infused
  throughout service plan and treatment systems.

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School Readiness Initiative

• Birth to 6 is critical time for brain development
• School readiness critical for longterm
  educational outcomes success
• Children who start out behind often never catch
  up
• If we want to improve educational outcomes for
  child-welfare involved children overall, we need
  to start early

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5 Dimensions of School Readiness

1. Physical well-being general health,
   immunizations
2. Social and emotional development positive
   relationships, personal self-confidence
3. Approaches toward learning
4. Language development
5. Cognition and general knowledge

National Education Goals Panel
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To be ready for school, children must

• Be able to recognize letters and how they relate
  to numbers and words, use simple number concepts,
  and be able to communicate with others
• Be excited by learning, have confidence to try
  new things, understand that school is important
• Understand other peoples feelings, get along
  with others, be able to control their emotions
  and behavior

National Research Council From
Neurons to Neighborhoods
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• Remediating the effects of abuse and neglect
  experienced during early childhood at later ages
  requires much more intensive, long-term, and
  costly treatment than early responses
• The best time to address these important issues
  is during early childhood, and the children who
  enter the child welfare system in the early years
  are those most in need of this early response.
• -- Linda McCart and Charles Bruner
• Child Welfare and School Readiness Making the
  Link for Vulnerable Children

Child and Family Policy Center
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How does the Lifetime Approach apply to our
youngest children?

• Getting kids ready to start school with quality
  ECE
• Stability in ECE placement

School Readiness Initiative
Strategy A

• Bolster ability of ECE to work with children in
  child welfare system and to prevent child abuse

Strengthening Families Illinois
Strategy B
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IDCFS School Readiness Initiative

1. Developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed
   child welfare practice for children birth to 5
2. Children 3 5 in quality early learning program
   (Head Start, state Pre-K or other)
3. Partner to build quality in early childhood
   programs so that they can meet the needs of our
   kids (Strengthening Families Illinois)

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Strategy A School Readiness Initiative

• All children in the system ready for school
• Goal September 2006 all 3-5 year olds enrolled
  in quality preschool (center-based early care and
  education programs)
• Help caseworkers and foster parents understand
  the importance of quality ECE
• Working with early childhood community to ensure
  that quality preschools can meet our childrens
  needs
• Working internally to ensure educational
  stability across placements and trauma-sensitive
  transition planning

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Supports for Enrolling Children

• Updated Policies All wards turning 3 by
  September 1 must be enrolled in preschool for at
  least part of the day
• Head Start
• State Pre-Kindergarten (ISBE / CPS)
• Strengthening Families pilot center
• Accredited child care center with strong early
  learning program
• Performance Contract language (07)

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Supports for Enrolling Children

• Finding Programs
• Directory of local Head Start programs (To come)
• List of Strengthening Families sites
• City of Chicago www.earlychildhoodchicago.org --
  Pre-K and Head Start programs
• Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies

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Supports for Enrolling Children

• Local Head Start Collaborative Agreements
• Training
• Written Tools / Resources

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Supports for Enrolling Children

• Local Head Start Collaborative Agreements (with
  grantee agencies)
• Maximize participation of child-welfare involved
  children and families with Head Start programs
• Encourage collaboration between child welfare
  staff and early education staff
• Support for caseworkers and comprehensive
  services to families

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Supports for Enrolling Children

• Training
• Workers in Regions / POS DCFS
• Head Start Collaborative Agreement Training
• Strengthening Families Pilot Sites
• Foundation Training

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Supports for Enrolling Children

• Written Tools / Resources
• Brochure for use with foster parents Our Kids
  Deserve A Fair Start Enroll them in a Quality
  Preschool Today! in English and Spanish
• 10 Great Reasons to Partner with Preschool Staff
• Caseworker Guidance for Selecting an Early
  Learning Program

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Supports Enrolling Children

• People Inside DCFS
• NIU Educational Advisors and Educational Liaisons
  help to locate programs
• DCFS Early Childhood Specialists help with
  special needs
• People Outside DCFS
• Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
• (Action for Children dedicated staff position
  pilot)
• SFI pilot site hub coordinators
• Head Start grantee agency

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Strategy B Strengthening Families Illinois

• Early childhood and child welfare systems working
  together to prevent child abuse and neglect by
  strengthening protective factors
• 7 States / RFP National Model
• DCFS Convener for Illinois
• 25 partners
• 5 pilot sites involving 50 child care centers

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Early Childhood Child Welfare systems working
together

• Child care centers work with families to keep
  children safe and healthy
• Parental involvement (foster, biological, and
  adoptive parents)
• Child care centers better able to meet the needs
  of children who have experienced trauma (and
  promote social and emotional well-being of all
  children)
• Child welfare workers and child care center staff
  intentionally work together to keep children safe

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Protective Factors

• Research says if these are present, children
  are less vulnerable to child abuse and neglect
  (CAN)
• Parental resilience
• Knowledge of parenting and child development
• Positive social connections
• Access to help in times of crisis
• Childrens social and emotional well-being

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Pilot sites

• Local learning networks of 50 child care centers
  in
• Chicago / North Lawndale
• Southern Cook County
• Peoria
• Kane County / Carpentersville
• Southern Illinois 11 counties
• Evanston (To be added in FY 2007)

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Additional Networks Forming

• Partnership for Quality Child Care (Chicago)
• Stephenson County / Freeport
• Rockford
• Rock Island / Quad Cities

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Lessons Learned

• Importance of
• Education frame and language
• Top-down / bottom-up buy-in and responsibility
  within DCFS (staff team cross-departmental,
  middle-management)
• Engaging early childhood community around their
  needs and interests
• Learning networks