This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cachildwelfareclearinghouse.org/
This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cachildwelfareclearinghouse.org/
Child Welfare Outcomes: Safety, permanency, and child/family well-being.
Type of Maltreatment: Not specified
Target Population: Families with an infant or young child in the child welfare system who are at risk of having their children removed or who are in the process of reunifying with them. The program targets parents who:
·have custody of at least one infant or very young child.
·may have just completed a residential alcohol or drug treatment program or are actively participating in an outpatient program.
·have a high risk of substance abuse relapse, as well as a potential for homelessness and child removal.
Most children have open child welfare cases; however this is not an eligibility criterion.
Brief Description:
Shared Family Care (SFC) has been rated by the CEBC in the area of Reunification. SFC is an innovative approach to helping families achieve permanency for their children and move toward self-sufficiency. Unlike traditional child welfare services, SFC involves the placement of a parent (usually the mother) and at least one young child in the homes of community members who mentor the families and help them to obtain the skills and resources they need to achieve these goals. The families are given comprehensive services to meet their needs and increase their social and life skills, as well as connect them to community supports for ongoing/future relationships. The overall mission of SFC is to protect children by offering services to parents and children together in a safe and supportive family setting. This setting helps either to preserve families or to facilitate the transition to other permanent arrangements.
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MENTORSHIP
A key component of the Shared Family Care Program is the entire family mentoring concept. The family receiving help is placed in the home of a mentor family. The mentor provides ongoing hands-on support and guidance to this family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
CASE MANAGEMENT
The case manager oversees all aspects of the case and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to the needs of the mentors and families receiving help. The case manager participates in referral meetings, assessments and matching visits between mentors and parents receiving help. The case manager completes the final assessment and home study of potential mentors. The case manager facilitates the end of the month meetings with the mentor, the parent receiving help, a county social worker, and other collateral staff. The case manager also completes, in collaboration with other team members, the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale at intake and discharge.
TRAINING
The trainer is responsible for the initial training of the mentors and facilitates the monthly training and support groups for mentors. The trainer administers assessments to the parent receiving help and her children. The assessments include: life skills, parenting and child development. The trainer acts as a coach for the parents, working with them individually on specific life skills and/or parenting issues.
HOUSING/BENEFITS SERVICES
The housing specialist works with the parent receiving help to develop the skills necessary to locate and secure long-term housing, including credit repair. The housing specialist links the families receiving help with the appropriate community agencies and landlords. The housing specialist follows through with the families until they obtain permanent housing and may provide services to the landlord and the family up to eighteen months. The housing specialist also assists the parent in obtaining other benefits and services for themselves and their children (i.e., TANF, WIC, childcare, clothing, etc.)
RELAPSE PREVENTION
The drug and alcohol counselor helps the parent receiving help develop a specific relapse prevention plan, and provides support to assist the parent in achieving their goal of staying clean and sober. The drug and alcohol counselor provides relapse prevention education to the Shared Family Care staff and mentor families. This education focuses on challenges and opportunities in the critical early stages of alcohol and drug recovery.
OUTREACH
The outreach coordinator is responsible for recruiting potential mentors.
PROGRAM SUPERVISION
The program supervisor is responsible for the overall supervision of the program and staff, and ensures that documentation, data collection, and reports are accurate and timely. Weekly team meetings and monthly individual meetings are conducted by the program supervisor to ensure the delivery and completion of appropriate services, training, case management, case plans, progress reports, etc. The supervisor is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support or back up each team member.
PROGRAM EVALUATION
The evaluation team will conduct interviews with program participants at the end of placement in the mentor home and one year later.
Shared Family Care (SFC) was not designed to be conducted in a group.
Shared Family Care (SFC) has not been tested for use in a group setting.
Recommended intensity: By design, the family receiving help is placed in the home of a trained mentor family who is available for support 24-hours a day. During the first month of placement, intensive services are provided as follows:
·Case manager-2 home visits each week
·Trainer-2 home visits in the month
·Drug/Alcohol counselor-1 home visit each week in the first month
·Housing specialist-2 home visits in the month
After the first month and for the duration of the placement:
·Case manager-1 home visit each week
·Trainer-2 home visits each month
·Drug/Alcohol counselor-2 home visits each month
·Housing specialist-2 or more home visits as needed
In the event of an emergency, services are available as needed.
Recommended duration: The recommended placement duration is 6 months in the mentor home. Optional aftercare services are available up to 6 months after placement is over. The average length of each contact/home visit is one-hour minimum; but depending on the services rendered the visit may last up to five hours.
Shared Family Care (SFC) includes a homework component.
Description: For parent education, handouts are provided including articles on child safety, nutrition, positive reinforcements, etc. Handouts also include exercises and interactions designed for parents and children of different ages. The trainer may ask the parent to keep a schedule or journal of the baby�??s activities including feeding times, nap times, foods eaten, etc.The case manager may require the parent receiving help to keep a record of employment contacts during the job search. The parents homework also includes responding to suggestions offered by the mentor regarding life skills (communication, budgeting, time management, etc.)
Shared Family Care (SFC) is typically conducted in: Not specified.
Shared Family Care (SFC) was designed with a Parent Component.
Shared Family Care (SFC) addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms: Family reunification, life skills/parenting, relapse prevention and housing.
Shared Family Care (SFC) was designed with a Child Component.
Shared Family Care (SFC) addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms: Social and emotional issues and child development.
Age range(s): 0-5
Shared Family Care (SFC) was not developed for children with developmental delays.
Shared Family Care (SFC) has not been tested for children with developmental delays.
Shared Family Care (SFC) was not designed for specific racial/ethnic/cultural groups.
Shared Family Care (SFC) was not tested in specific racial/ethnic/cultural groups.
There is a manual that describes how to implement this program.
There is training available for Shared Family Care (SFC).
Training contact: Amy Price, amyprice@berkeley.edu
Number of days/hours: Varies
Training is obtained: Can be provided on-site upon request and special arrangement. Occasional workshops presented at regional or national conferences.
There currently are additional qualified resources for training.
List of additional qualified resources: The following individuals are the program's representatives in Contra Costa County who are qualified to provide training on the county's program:
Debi Moss (CCC Division Manager); Antoinette Harris (FamiliesFirst Program Manager); Saundra Marshall (FamiliesFirst Program Supervisor).
In addition to the Contra Costa experts, the following individuals are also qualified to provide training on the program:
Richard Barth, PhD
Dean, School of Social Work
University of Maryland
525 Redwood Street
Baltimore, MD
The typical resources for implementing Shared Family Care (SFC) are: Personnel, trained mentors/mentor homes, community resources (housing, employment, AOD services, etc.), and office space (for personnel, interviews and trainings).
The minimum qualifications for program supervisor, case manager, trainer, and drug and alcohol counselor are: Master's degree preferred with experience in providing in- home supportive services to diverse populations.
The minimum qualifications for housing specialist and outreach coordinator are 5 years of experience in their respective fields, experience serving diverse populations, and the ability to articulate and present information to the public.
The minimum qualifications for the mentor family are: living in safe and stable housing that includes adequate space for the mentee family (typically one bedroom); economic self-sufficiency (employed or other means of self-support) adequate time to mentor; clean background check and completion of First Aid and CPR. The prospective mentor is also asked about their motivation for being a mentor and any current or past experience that would be relevant to being a mentor (foster parent, group home counselor, mentor, etc.).
Price, A., & Wichterman, L. (2003). Shared Family Care: Fostering the whole family to promote safety and stability.
Type of Study: Non-randomized comparison group
Number of participants: 84 families
Population:
Location/Institution: California and Colorado
Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations) This report details the outcomes for families experiencing Shared Family Care (SFC) in comparison with families in traditional foster care situations. Data was collected by questionnaire from program staff, mentors, clients, and independent evaluators. Results showed that 8% of the children in families who completed the SFC program re-entered foster care within 1 year of the program, compared to 14% in the state of CA and 17% in Contra Costa County. Seventy-six percent of participants were employed at graduation from the program compared to 36% at intake. The average monthly income of participants increased from $520 at intake to $1100 at graduation. The percentage of families living independently increased from 18% at intake to 76% at graduation. The overall cost of SFC is slightly more than basic foster care, but considerably less than treatment foster care.
Length of post-intervention follow-up: 1 year
Barth, R. & Price, A. (2005). Shared Family Care: Child protection and family preservation in action. In J. Scott & H. Ward (Eds.) Safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children, families and communities (pp. 197-227). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Simmel, C. & Price, A. (2002). The Shared Family Care demonstration project: Challenges of implementing and evaluating a community-based project. Children and Youth Services Review, 24(6-7), 455-470.
Barth, R. & Price, A. (1999). Shared Family Care: Providing services to parents and children placed together in out-of-home care. Child Welfare, LXXVIII, 88-107.
Price, A. & Schmidbauer, S. (2003). Parenting immersion through Shared Family Care. The Source, 21-24.
Also, the following website has links to many articles, reports, program evaluations and materials related to Shared Family Care, as well as ordering information for a free informational video and a link to a public radio program on Shared Family Care: http://aia.berkeley.edu/information_resources/shared_family_care.html
Contact name: Antoinette Harris
Affiliation/Agency: Families First Inc.
Email: aharris@familiesfirstinc.org
Phone: 925-602-1750
Fax: 925-602-1754
Website: http://www.familiesfirstinc.org