Foster Care  (return to Issue Areas)

E. FOSTER CARE

Reports

Þ     National

• FOSTER CARE, Voices from the Inside
  Commissioned by: The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care
      

• New Report ReleASed by the PEW Commission
  FOSTERING THE FUTURE:
  Safety, Permanence and Well-Being for Children in Foster Care

  
       

• Foster Care Study - Identifying Promising Approaches

Þ     State

News Articles

·         Links

        Þ     National

• National Foster Parent Association - The only national organization which strives to support foster parents and remains a consistently strong voice on behalf of all children.

        Þ     State

• Health and Family Services in Florida - List of web sites directly related to health and Family Services in Florida. 

• Statewide Office of the Guardian Ad Litem

·         Legal Reference

Þ     Statutes  

Þ     Legislation  

• Abuse Hotline

  • Institutional Abuse - Talking Points   (doc)

  • Institutional Abuse Bill   (doc)

  • SB 1672 ABUSE HOTLINE   (pdf)

·         Media coverage

Þ     News Clippings

Þ     Television

·         Resources

Þ     Organizations  

    ·         National

FOSTER CARE ALUMNI OF AMERICA   - Florida's Children First is proud to be an organizational member of Foster Care Alumni of America.  FCAA brings together the expertise of professionals and foster parents with alumni of the foster care system for those adults who spent time in care as youth.  Through FCAA those multiple areas of expertise come together to inform policy and practice in foster care, working toward erasing the differences and disadvantages that youth in care face.  Foster Care Alumni of America is a national network of members and groups working to transform the foster care system and to build a permanent "extended family" community for alumni across the life span.

                a)   Center for the Study of Social Policy
  -  Improving the Performance and Outcomes of Child Welfare through State Program Improvement Plans (PIPs) http://www.cssp.org/whatsnew.html  -  This paper presents background information on the federal legislative and regulatory context for the Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSRs) and the Program Improvement Plan (PIP), and identifies the principles and guidelines for program improvement. Perhaps the most compelling section of the paper is a close look at five states that have completed program improvement plans. For executive summaries and final reports for the 32 states assessed so far, visit  -  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwrp/staterpt/  

               b)   Health and Human Services
  - Mentoring Programs for Children of Prisoners  - http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20031003a.html  -  HHS has announced nearly $9 million in grants to 52 organizations to train adult volunteers as mentors to children whose parents are incarcerated. The grantee organizations will receive referrals from parents, caretakers, schools, courts, social services agencies or religious organizations. They will train and match mentors with children from age four to 15. They will also screen all potential mentors for child and domestic abuse and other criminal history. Mentors will be required to make at least a one-year commitment and to meet at least once weekly with his or her child. They will also be encouraged to form a relationship with the whole family in order to ease the transition when the incarcerated parent is released. The grantees will monitor and assist the mentors on an ongoing basis.

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