Report to Congress on Adoption and Other Permanency Outcomes for Children in Foster Care: Focus on Older Children


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Report to Congress on Adoption and Other Permanency Outcomes for Children in
Foster Care: Focus on Older Children

2. Challenges and Strategies

Numerous challenges have been documented in efforts to achieve permanency for children in foster care, especially for older children. At the same time, several strategies show promise for overcoming these challenges. Challenges discussed in the following sections address a lack of permanent families, lack of services, inadequate permanency planning, resistance from youth, staff issues, and court and legal issues. Strategies presented include those related to recruitment of families, pre- and post-placement services, involvement of youth in permanency planning, staff enhancements, court reform, and child welfare system reform. Some of these strategies are applicable to achieving adoption and other permanent family outcomes for all children in foster care, and some are especially relevant for older children.

2.1 Challenges to Achieving Permanency⁶

The following sections summarize many of the challenges faced in securing and supporting a permanent family living arrangement (i.e., achieving permanency) for children exiting foster care, especially older children and include challenges to achieving adoption as well as other permanent family outcomes such as guardianship, placement with relatives, and family reunification.

Lack of Permanent Families. Many State agencies and community programs cite a lack of adoptive and other permanent families as a major challenge to achieving permanency for older youth (Landsman & Malone, 1999; Macomber, Scarcella, Zielewski, & Geen, 2004; Tello & Quintanilla, 2003; Winkle, Ansell, & Newman, 2004). The shortage of adoptive family resources for older youth may be due to families' initial preferences for younger children and concerns about assuming responsibility for older youth who may have emotional and behavioral difficulties resulting from abuse and neglect or lengthy stays in foster care. Foster and kinship families may be hesitant to adopt or assume guardianship for fear of losing financial benefits available to youth in foster care (e.g., through federally funded independent living programs) that are critical to meeting children's unique needs. Some kin choose not to adopt because they feel it would disrupt the relationship with the youth's parents (their kin). Additionally, many States have been inconsistent in seeking paternal relatives as placement resources, thereby limiting permanency opportunities for children in foster care (U.S. DHHS, 2004b).

Lack of Services. A number of studies and programs cite a negative impact on permanency outcomes from a lack of services for birth families, children, and prospective or permanent families (Fostering Results, 2004; Freundlich & Wright, 2003; Landsman & Malone, 1999; U.S. DHHS, 2004b; Winkle et al., 2004). Adequate provision of services to birth families is necessary to achieve reunification or demonstrate that reasonable efforts were made to reunify a child with his or her birth parents in termination of parental rights hearings.

Insufficient post-placement supportive services for children and prospective permanent families also can delay permanency. Children and families must be adequately prepared to choose a permanent family living arrangement as a goal and be successful in that choice. Similarly, insufficient post-placement and post-adoption services may result in some potential families not choosing permanency because they do not believe they can be successful without adequate supports. Without post-placement and post-adoption services, some potential permanent families do not succeed and the placements disrupt prior to adoption finalization or dissolve after finalization. Several studies have indicated that children who are older at the time of adoption have adoptive placements that are at the greatest risk of disruption and dissolution (Barth, 1992; Freundlich & Wright, 2003).

Inadequate Permanency Planning. As foster care is meant to be a temporary arrangement, a permanency plan should be developed for each child in foster care, identifying the desirable permanent family living arrangement for the child and the tasks required to accomplish that goal. Anything short of such a plan is inadequate permanency planning; this can take a number of forms. Some children in foster care do not have any permanency goal established (U.S. DHHS, 2004), indicating a lack of focus on permanency. In other cases, the goals of long-term foster care (U.S. DHHS, 2004b) or emancipation (Mallon, 2005) are used inappropriately, and there is little focus on finding a permanent family for the child. Sequential permanency planning also can lengthen a child's stay in foster care. Sequential permanency planning involves establishing and working on only one permanency goal at a time (e.g., reunification), changing goals and shifting efforts (e.g., to adoption) only after the first goal has proved unattainable. Problems also exist when a goal (such as reunification) is maintained for too long even when little progress has been made and achievement of the goal is unlikely (U.S. DHHS, 2004b).

Federal reviews of State child welfare agency performance have found that very few States are in substantial conformity with Federal outcomes for the achievement of timely permanent family living arrangements for children in foster care; timely achievement of adoption is one of the weakest indicators in this area (U.S. DHHS, 2004b). A State by State analysis of foster care adoption reported that 42 States identified barriers to establishing or changing a child's permanency goal to adoption (Macomber et al., 2004). In addition, a review of the Federal findings from a youth development perspective noted that inadequate permanency planning was a barrier for older youth in 17 of 45 States reviewed (Winkle et al., 2004). See Section 3.2, "Child and Family Services Reviews," for more information.

Youth Resistance. Youth themselves may resist the idea of seeking a permanent family other than their birth family for many reasons (Charles & Nelson, 2000; Macomber et al., 2004; Mallon, 2005). Many youth maintain strong emotional ties to their birth families, even if visitation is no longer occurring. They may resist the idea of adoption because they feel it is disloyal, they hope for reunification, or they believe it will separate them from siblings. They also may resist permanency with another family if they fear rejection or have no confidence in their own ability to be successful in relationships.

Reasons given by teens for not wanting to be adopted: "I don't want to lose contact with my family." "I'll just mess up again." "I don't want to betray my birth family." "No one will want me." "Mom said she would come back." "I want to make my own decisions." "I don't want to risk losing anyone else." (Mallon, 2005, p. 29)

Staff Issues. The ability of child welfare staff to perform their jobs has an obvious impact on permanency outcomes for children, and high rates of staff turnover and heavy workloads can contribute to difficulties in achieving permanency (Charles & Nelson, 2000; DePelchin Children's Center, n.d.; Landsman & Malone, 1999; Macomber et al., 2004). Heavy workloads can prevent staff from devoting the efforts needed to find and support a permanent family for each youth. In addition, turnover in child welfare staff can result in inconsistent and lengthened service delivery as the new staff person attempts to learn the case history and build a relationship with the youth. Solid evidence of the link between staff activities and outcomes for children is provided by the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews, which found significant associations between the frequency and quality of caseworker visits with children and with birth parents and the timely achievement of permanency outcomes, especially reunification (U.S. DHHS, 2004b).

Some staff problems are specific to achieving permanency for older youth. Many studies document resistance from child welfare and residential treatment staff about seeking permanent families for older youth (DePelchin Children's Center, n.d.; Louisell, 2004; Mallon, 2005; Winkle et al., 2004). Often, this resistance seems to stem from workers' beliefs that many older youth are "unadoptable." This belief may be due to the youths' emotional or behavioral disturbances, an impression that prospective adoptive families do not want older children, or an idea that older youth no longer need a family as they are close to the age of adulthood. Another area of resistance involves staff reluctance to pursue youths' family members as permanent placements, which may stem from concerns about biological parents' ability to overcome the problems that resulted in foster care placement (such as substance abuse) and concerns that extended family also may be afflicted with these problems and/or unable to keep the youth from harm. A number of States cite as a barrier a lack of staff training on specific issues related to achieving permanency for adolescents (Winkle et al., 2004).

Quote from a former foster youth: "I said no to adoption when they first asked me, ... Back then, before I realized that it would never happen, I thought I was going to go home, so I didn't even think about being adopted... No one ever asked me again either - so the message I got was - who would want to adopt me? ... If I had known that being adopted was a possibility, especially during the bad times, I think I would have felt differently." (Mallon, 2005, pp. 43-44).

Court and Legal Issues. Courts must approve permanency plans and permanent placements for children in foster care; therefore, court systems have a significant influence on achievement of permanency outcomes. Yet numerous studies cite widespread court-related problems in these efforts.

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2.2 Strategies to Address Challenges

A number of publications present comprehensive lists of recommendations or lessons learned regarding strategies to achieve permanency for children in foster care, especially for older children (Center for the Study of Social Policy, Center for Community Partnerships in Child Welfare, 2003; Charles & Nelson, 2000; Flynn, 2004; Landsman & Malone, 1999; Louisell, 2004; Macomber et al., 2004; Mallon, 2005). These recommendations were derived either from reviews of numerous program reports or from discussions among professionals experienced in working with adolescents in foster care. Common elements of these recommendations, supported by evidence from other programs, are presented in the following sections; many address multiple barriers.

Recruitment Strategies. Strategies to recruit permanent families for children in foster care fall into three categories: general, targeted, and child-specific.

General recruitment strategies are primarily those aimed at the general public that focus on the need for adoptive families for all children in foster care.
Targeted recruitment efforts focus on a specific group of children, such as adolescents or Hispanic youth. The former National Center for Resource Family Support listed components of an effective targeted recruitment campaign (Casey Family Programs, 2003), including the following:

Agencies must have good data and truly "know" the children.
Agencies must understand what types of families are most likely to adopt these children.
Recruitment messages must clearly identify the children's issues.
Agencies must select communication strategies that will be seen or read by those most likely to adopt the targeted children.

Targeted campaigns often are used to recruit families for minority children. For example, recruitment efforts for Hispanic or Latino youth have used Spanish-language media (including television, radio, and print) and presentations at Hispanic community events (Tello and Quintanilla, 2003; Stanford, Zaid, & Saliba, 2004).

Child-specific recruitment efforts are those that seek a family for a specific child, and this type of recruitment is increasing. Efforts include website photolistings of children waiting for adoption, profiling specific children in television spots, and matching parties at which children waiting for adoption can meet prospective adoptive families. Many programs that seek permanency for adolescents focus on recruiting permanent families from people the youth has known, including extended family, fictive kin (adults who have played an important role in the youth's life and whom the youth considers to be family), and adults with whom the youth is building a relationship, such as foster parents. The key to these efforts is involving the youth in the recruitment strategies, especially in identifying adults with whom the youth has either a current or past connection. One report stated that teens "were resistant and appropriately apprehensive about recruitment activities done 'to' and 'for' them" (Mallon, 2005, p. 21). Engaging older youth to recruit prospective permanent families for themselves may be a particularly promising recruitment strategy. In fact, a report on States' Child and Family Services Reviews from a youth development perspective noted this practice as a strength for the States that employ it on a large scale (Winkle et al., 2004).

Most programs cited in this report used targeted and/or child-specific recruitment strategies.

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Quote from a former foster youth: "I always thought that I was adoptable even though I was 16 years old, but my social worker kept saying I was too old every time I asked him about it. I worked after school at this hardware store and the guy who owned it was so kind to me. He was such a good guy and I always talked to him... I invited him to my case conference because my social worker said I could invite anyone who I wanted to, and at that point he asked about adoption. I was shocked at first, but it made sense. We finalized my adoption three months ago. That day was the happiest day of my life." (Mallon, 2005, p. 27).

Pre- and Post-placement Services. Pre- and post-placement services for the child and prospective permanent family can significantly affect achievement of permanency outcomes. These services help the child and family choose an appropriate permanent living arrangement and help smooth the transition and increase the chances for long-term success.

Post-placement services should involve exploring various permanency options (such as adoption or guardianship) to help the child and family make an informed decision about the outcome that best suits them. Counseling and discussions with the child and prospective permanent family about their visions and expectations for permanency also are key. Anticipating the realities of the permanent relationship can help them foresee the joys and prepare for the challenges. One study of long-term successful adoptive families of teens found that a key to their success was that, "Adoptees did not expect to find the ideal family and parents did not expect to find the ideal children" (Flynn, 2004, p. 2).

Availability and provision of post-placement and post-adoption services also have shown to be influential in successful permanency outcomes. Post-placement and post-adoption services can be provided to the child and/or the permanent family and generally fall into four categories: material assistance (e.g., financial and medical assistance), clinical services (e.g., crisis intervention, counseling, respite care, and residential treatment), educational and informational services (e.g., information and referral to community services), and support networks (e.g., support groups and social gatherings) (Freundlich & Wright, 2003). Some caregiving families may be reluctant to consider a permanent placement if they believe they will lose financial or supportive services. Several studies found that the most meaningful services for each family depend on the composition of the family, the children's ages, and the children's special needs (Freundlich & Wright, 2003). Some States have used Adoption Incentive bonus awards to enhance post-placement and post-adoption services (Ledesma, 2000). A recent review of all States' adoption programs indicates that 35 States reported efforts to enhance services and subsidies as a promising approach (Macomber et al., 2004).

Permanency Planning and Expanded Permanency Options. Keys to successful, timely permanency for children in foster care include concurrent planning, team approaches to permanency planning, and an array of permanency options.

Concurrent planning is a structured approach that involves working on reunification with the birth family while developing and implementing an alternative permanency plan, such as relative placement or adoption. If efforts toward reunification are unsuccessful, progress may already have been made toward another permanency outcome, reducing the child's length of stay in foster care. Complementing concurrent planning is dual licensure of foster/adoptive parents; thus, if the child is freed for adoption and the foster family wishes to adopt, the time to permanency is shortened because the foster family already has completed the necessary training, home study, and other certification or licensure requirements for adoption (Lutz & Greenblatt, 2000).

A key strategy for enhancing permanency outcomes involves a team approach, such as Family Group Conferencing or Family Unity Meetings (Landsman & Malone, 1999; Louisell, 2004; Walter R. McDonald & Associates, 2000). The central theme in these approaches is the engagement of many people who have an investment in the child; these may include the biological parents, extended family, foster parents, caseworker, counselor, and the youth (when appropriate). Often, the youth is encouraged to invite adults of his or her own choosing. The team is uniquely created for each child; the team members collaborate to establish a permanency plan and work toward achieving its goals.

Another key aspect of effective permanency planning is having an array of permanency options to offer the youth and prospective permanent families, especially when traditional arrangements such as adoption and relative placement are not viable. One option that is being extensively tested is subsidized guardianship in which a family can assume legal responsibility for a child without terminating the birth parents' rights, and the guardianship family can receive financial support to help meet the child's needs. Mallon (2005) states " [T]he challenge is to arrive at the best permanency outcome in a timely manner that offers the greatest measure of emotional and legal permanency for every child or youth" (p. 12).

When adoption or another legal permanent solution is found to be unattainable, many adolescent permanency programs focus on developing and supporting meaningful, lifelong connections between the youth and caring adults. They emphasize that permanency often is in the mind of the youth and that the legal arrangement may be less important to the youth than the quality of the relationship (Charles & Nelson, 2000; Landsman & Malone, 1999; Mallon, 2005).

Youth Involvement. One key to achieving successful permanency outcomes for older youth is their involvement in their own case planning, including talking with them about their visions for permanency, asking them to identify potential permanent families from among people they have known, and involving them in team discussions about potential permanency plans and progress toward carrying out those plans. While it is important to engage youth in these discussions and activities, many programs caution that exploring and achieving permanent family living arrangements for teens is a process, not a one-time event. If youth initially resist the idea of pursuing a permanent family, staff can explore reasons for youth's resistance and often turn "No!" into "Yes" (Mallon, 2005).

"One teen liked the way his caseworker approached him about adoption. 'He kind of asked me what it would be like if I could describe my perfect family. After I gave him a description, he said that he would try to find one for me.'" (Flynn, 2004, p. 4).

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Staff Enhancements. Numerous publications and program reports identify staff improvements as primary strategies for enhancing permanency outcomes for children in foster care, especially older children. Having enough staff with minimal turnover is believed to enhance staff's ability to perform the demanding work consistently (Center for the Study of Social Policy, Center for Community Partnerships in Child Welfare, 2003; Landsman & Malone, 1999; Mallon, 2005). Also, many States have proposed training enhancements in their Program Improvement Plans (Winkle et al., 2004).

Specialization of staff and specialized training for staff are other key issues. The Quality Improvement Center on Adoption proposes that the best chance for achieving positive adoption outcomes involves using staff who specialize in adoption rather than staff who have mixed caseloads (e.g., both reunification cases and adoption cases) (Atkinson, 2002). In 2004, 45 States reported efforts to enhance adoption outcomes by improving case management services, often through the use of specialized adoption staff or additional training on adoption (Macomber et al., 2004).

Many programs that focus on permanency for adolescents believe hiring and training staff who are especially effective with teens is vital (Flynn, 2004; Louisell, 2004). A review of State Child and Family Services Reviews identified specialized staff who work with teens as a strength in some States and noted that a number of States have plans to enhance staff training on permanency for teens (Winkle et al., 2004). Such training can be combined with networking and other forms of support to assist many types of staff (such as child welfare, residential, and court staff) in understanding the permanency needs of adolescents and learning strategies to achieve permanent family outcomes for them (Charles & Nelson, 2000). Effective strategies include staff communicating with youth about possibilities for permanency and holding conversations to address the youth's concerns (Mallon, 2005).

Court Reform. A number of studies cite the need for improvements in the court system to enhance permanency for children in foster care. Court improvement recommendations of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care (2004) include better tracking systems, increased collaboration between court and child welfare agencies, more input from children and families in court hearings, better representation for children and families in court, and stronger judicial leadership in child abuse and neglect cases. The American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law (n.d.) recommends such strategies as more efficient docketing systems, deadline tracking on individual cases, early provision of information to judges, more efficient creation and distribution of court orders, more efficient scheduling and noticing of hearings, and the early appointment of counsel. A number of programs recommend hiring more court staff to support these activities and training court staff (including judges, attorneys, and guardians ad litem [court-appointed attorneys or trained volunteers who represent the best interests of the child]) to promote a greater understanding of the permanency needs of children in foster care (Center for the Study of Social Policy, Center for Community Partnerships in Child Welfare, 2003; Charles & Nelson, 2000; Kirk, 2001; Mallon, 2005). In 2004, 36 States reported progress related to permanency hearings, such as improvements in scheduling of trials and the use of child welfare "bench books" (reference books) for judges (Macomber et al., 2004). The goals of these strategies include strengthening court staff's support of the child welfare system's focus on permanency (including permanency for older youth) and reducing court-related delays.

Child Welfare System Reform. Some studies cite a need for larger systems reform to enhance permanency for children in foster care. These suggestions include explicit State policies regarding the expectation of permanency for all children in foster care, including older children (Louisell, 2004); strong management support for the implementation of efforts to enhance permanency (Tello & Quintanilla, 2003; Walter R. McDonald & Associates, 2000); improved public-private collaboration to strengthen service provision (Atkinson, 2002; Stuart Foundation, n.d.; Walter R. McDonald & Associates, 2000); and more flexible child welfare funding to better meet the individual needs of children and families (Cornerstone Consulting Group, 2001; Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, 2004). The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) support the President's child welfare program option that would allow States the option to receive Federal foster care funds as a flexible grant for five years or maintain the program as it is currently funded. The option would provide States with the flexibility to develop a continuum of services to promote children's safety, permanency, and well-being.

Notes

⁶"Permanency" means a safe, permanent living arrangement with a family, for each child leaving foster care.back

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