California State Foster Parent Association, Inc.

Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has introduced bipartisan legislation that recognizes the crucial role that foster families play in our communities.

“In Arkansas, 2,403 children live in foster homes, and the numbers are increasing. Unfortunately, the number of foster families has steadily decreased, and across the nation, nearly 25 percent of families leave the system each year. States face ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining families to care for these children in the child welfare system. This legislation would better ensure that every child has access to a safe, loving and permanent home,” said Lincoln.

Known as the “Resource Family Recruitment and Retention Act of 2008,” Lincoln’s legislation establishes much-needed standards of consistency in agency and state policies for foster and adoptive care. It also calls on agencies to follow best practices proven to increase and retain the number of foster, adoptive and kinship parents. The bill establishes a grant program to better allow states to develop innovative methods of education and support for families.

Arkansas groups endorsing the legislation include the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; Arkansas State CASA Association; the Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape, and Domestic Violence; Treatment Homes, Inc.; Garland County Adoption Coalition, Jefferson County Adoption Coalition; Northeast Arkansas Adoption Coalition, Pulaski County Adoption Coalition, River Valley Adoption Coalition, and Foster Parent of White County.

Several national groups have endorsed the Resource Family Recruitment and Retention Act of 2008, including the Alliance for Children and Families, the American Humane Association, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the Child Welfare League, the Children’s Defense Fund, First Focus, Generations United, the National Foster Parents Association, the National Council for Adoption, the North American Council for Adoptable Children, Pew trusts and the Voice for Adoption.

Fact Sheet

Resource Family Recruitment and Retention Act of 2008

Lincoln’s legislation calls for the following:

Agency Responsibilities to Resource Families: Upon each agency’s yearly license review, the agency would be required to assure that it, and any agencies it supervises, follows a number of best policies and practices in its work with foster parents, including:

Notification to foster parents of scheduled meetings concerning the child in order to allow foster parents to actively participate and have input in the case-planning and decision-making process regarding the child.
Open, complete and timely responses from the agency and timely and complete information about all permanency options available and the benefits, rights and responsibilities associated with those options.
Assistance with the coordination of services for dealing with family loss and separation when a child leaves the resource family’s home and when relocation is not the result of an immediate threat to the health and safety of the child caused by the resource family.
Support services and appropriate training that will enhance skills and ability of the resource parent to meet the child’s needs.

Grant Program: Establishes a grant program to fund, by awarding cooperative agreements, multi-faceted programs for resource families that also will help states better conform to the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) resource family recruitment and retention quality standards.

The grant program would be funded at $10.4 million per year for 5 years. Every state or territory with an approved application would be entitled to receive $75,000 per year for 5 years, with remaining funds distributed proportionally to that state’s share of children in foster care.
States would submit projects to test innovations in four main areas of focus – resource family empowerment and leadership, support, training, and recruitment. Suggested efforts would include, but not be limited to the following:
- Resource Family empowerment/ leadership initiatives, such as programs to more appropriately give foster parents recognition as key partners in the child welfare team, more flexible spending options that permit states to purchase items to assist foster parents in doing their jobs, and programs to involve resource families to a greater degree in assessment and case planning activities.
- Resource Family support initiatives, such as the establishment of peer-to-peer support and mentoring groups and programs to provide reliable and accessible respite care.
- Resource Family training initiatives, such as the establishment of training programs on the court process, the role of CASA and Guardian Ad Litem, as well as training programs on caring for children with special needs and educational innovations that offer on-line learning.
- Resource Family recruitment initiatives, such as innovative ways to provide outreach and follow through to increase participation of new families, building alliances with faith-based organizations to improve the recruitment and support of resource families, engaging the business community and other community partners in these efforts, and finding explicit ways to mitigate language and cultural barriers such as providing materials that are culturally or linguistically specific.
Nonprofit resource family associations (foster, kinship or adoption organizations) could utilize the grant and work with the state/agencies to implement the new policies/practices.

Written By: Gary Krentz