Different Approaches to Licensing in Child Welfare

1. Tiffany Conway Perrin Senior Policy Analyst Different Approaches to Licensing in Child Welfare NARA 19th Annual Licensing Seminar September 12, 2011

2. Center for Law and Social Policy CLASP is a non-profit organization that develops and advocates for policies at the federal, state, and local levels to improve the lives of low-income people. We focus on policies that strengthen families and create pathways to education and work. • Child Welfare • Child Care and Early Ed. • Welfare Policy • Work-Life

3. Overview of Session • Interest in and work around foster care licensing at the National level • Annie E. Casey licensing project • CLASP’s project and preliminary impressions • Discussion

4. Interest at the National Level – Why? • Economy and lack of resources • Investing in what works • Not enough foster homes • Attention to kinship care families and discussions around licensing them continues • Research • Policy • Advocacy community

5. Kinship Care - Research • Numbers • At least 2.5 million, only a small percentage of which is formally involved with the child welfare system • Value of kinship care • When children cannot remain safely at home, placement with relatives is often the best option • Current and future research

6. Kinship Care - Policy • Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) • ASFA final rule • Cannot receive Title IV-E reimbursement for kinship homes licensed/approved using separate standards • Kinship Caregiver Support Act • Proposed separate licensing standards for relatives • Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 • Emphasized that non-safety related licensing standards can be waived, on a case-by-case basis, for relatives • ACF report to Congress: Report to Congress on States’ Use of Waivers of Non-Safety Licensing Standards for Relative Foster Family Homes http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/statesuse/statesuse.pdf

7. Kinship Care – Advocacy community • Advocacy efforts • Encouraging quality implementation of Fostering Connections –including making connections between the Identification & Notice and Waiver provisions • Implementation resources - http://www.clasp.org/issues/pages?type=child_welfare&id=0001 • Relative Foster Care Licensing Waivers in the States: Policies and Possibilities

8. Annie E. Casey Licensing Project • CLASP, Children’s Defense Fund, American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law and many other national organizations involved • Goal is to understand what the role of licensing in child welfare is and what it should be

9. CLASP Project – Our process • CLASP’s piece: the licensing process • How is licensing done rather that what are the standards • 13 states: CA, CO, CT, GA, ID, IL, MD, MN, NJ, NY, OH, TX and VA • Coordination of efforts with other grantees • Pull statutes, regulations and policy manuals that were available online and reviewed • Develop preliminary list of questions • Review policies to answer questions and develop summaries • Develop state specific questions • Calls with folks in each state • Report

10. Preliminary impressions • Differences between states • Philosophical • Process • Understanding how licensing happens is a challenge

11. Preliminary impressions – Differences between states • Philosophical • Approach to relatives • Assessing potential foster parents • Foster parenting – “select” individuals vs. fairly open • Process • Length of time licenses are valid for • Agency that carries out licensing activities (human services vs. child welfare vs. ??)

12. Discussion Questions Comments Feedback on project

13. Tiffany Conway Perrin Senior Policy Analyst, Child Welfare CLASP  1200 18th Street NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 906-8026 tconwayperrin@clasp.org