Thinking of adopting through foster care? Check with your local agency to find out if the Family to Family Initiative is in place in your county.

I first heard of this program when I went to a specialized training for new foster parents. The class was designed to teach us about the effect this program would have on our foster status.

Foster parents who had been with the system had a lot of questions and things to say about the program - not all of it positive, but I've only seen positive results - mostly for the children. (I’ll be sharing the comments in upcoming posts).

My basic understanding of the program is this:

• Children will be placed in their own neighborhoods when going into foster care.

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  Children under five must have a permanency plan within several weeks of placement and be in a permanent home within a year of placement.

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  Birth family becomes part of the decision making process for the children, attending meetings when possible.

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  Outside community resources are implemented to help assist the children in staying with birth family instead of pulling the children into foster homes.

The Casey Foundation has this overview of the program:

The good news is that during the past several years, a number of state and local child welfare systems have seen a reduction in the numbers of children coming into care and have been able to increase the numbers of children placed for adoption. However, the severity of the challenges facing child welfare makes this an opportune time to rethink the fundamental role of family foster care and to consider very basic changes.

The Foundation’s interest in helping communities and public agencies confront these challenges is built upon the belief that smarter and more effective responses are available to prevent child maltreatment and to respond more effectively when there is abuse or neglect.

Often families can be helped to safely care for their children in their own communities and in their own homes -- if appropriate support, guidance, and help is provided to them early enough. However, there are emergency situations that require the separation of a child from his or her family. At such times, every effort should be made to have the child live with caring and capable relatives or with another family within the child's own community -- rather than in a restrictive institutional setting. Family foster care should be the next best alternative to a child's own home or to kinship care.

continued....



Link to more info: The Casey Foundation