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To restore or not to restore -- the stakes are high!

To restore or not to restore -- the stakes are high!. What does the Research say promotes successful reunification?.

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To restore or not to restore -- the stakes are high!

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  1. To restore or not to restore -- the stakes are high!

  2. What does the Research say promotes successful reunification? • Research Finding One: A service that is able to engage parents and children early in their entry in to the child-protection system in an assessment of viability for restoration, and the restoration plan itself. • Clare (2002) states that the consideration of restoration in a timely manner harnesses the motivation of the parent, minimises hurt to the child and reduces the chance of the child losing their place in the family system • Fifty percent of parents referred to FNP have been separated from their child/ren for 12 months or more • Importance of advocacy through Out of Home Care programs • Importance of responding to parent/’s grief and anger

  3. What does the Research say promotes successful reunification? • Research Finding Two:A service able to provide a comprehensive and holistic assessment which focuses on all aspects of familyfunctioning including both strengths and concerns. • Clarity around the purpose of assessment • Psychodynamic component of assessment • Empirically tested scale – North Carolina Family Assessment Scale for Reunification (FCFAS-R) • Main indicators predicting viability of restoration are:- Motivation to be reunified with their child/ren. • - Acknowledgement of reasons for initial removal • - Motivation to work toward change • - Ability to work with the agency • - Capacity to meet practical minimal requirements for good enough parenting within a reasonable time-frame

  4. What does the Research say promotes successful reunification? • Research Finding Three:A service that works in partnership with parents, children, extended family and other services in a collaborative and respectful manner • Acknowledging and harnessing the client’s skills, strengths & experience • Inclusion and participation of children and other significant family members • Challenges and strategies to meet goals • The FNP contract – “rules of engagement”

  5. What does the Research say promotes successful reunification? • Research Finding Four:A service that places high priority to maintaining the parent-child relationship during the child’s time in placement, through contact and is able to utilise this time to work on parent-child bonding and attachment and parenting skills • Contact is one of the key predictive factors of children successfully returning home (Frame et al, 2000) • Contact – “the heart” of family reunification • Improves quality of attachment, parent/child relationships, motivation and hope for the child • Provides opportunity for learning • Contact should be creative, encourage parental involvement and validate the parental role

  6. What does the Research say promotes successful reunification? • Research Finding Five:A service that concentrates on the physical, intellectual and emotional aspects of a parent’s ability to provide adequatecare for children over time • Involves a large investment of time • Counselling and discussion around: - grief and loss - parent/child history circumstances surrounding removal - upcoming challenges - needs of the child - parenting skills • Task focussed component - establishing goals for the week - strategies

  7. What does the Research say promotes successful reunification? • Research Finding Six:A service able to offer intensive, family centred assistance with much work being carried out in the family’s home • Hours spent in the parents home – a key predictor of the success (Barber & Gilbertson, 2001) • As months in Out of Home Care increase, the likelihood of restoration decreases (Ainsworth 2001) • FNP would ideally involve a restoration phase of 3 -12 months, but can be longer because of very complex nature of cases • Mental health and/or drug & alcohol issues = a longer and more intensive restoration phase (Risley-Curtis et al, 2004, Carlson et al, 2006) • 83% of FNP cases have involved mental health and/or drug & alcohol issues

  8. So what is this level of intensity like for Caseworkers and Clients? • Stakes are very high for parents, children and workers alike • Caseworkers invest a huge proportion of their professional life into just one family • Client/Caseworker dynamics- beginning of the program = mutual excitement and motivation between client & caseworker - middle of the program = things getting more difficult (client may feel angry, caseworker may feel exhausted) - transition phase = client and caseworker have re-established motivation to meet goals required for transition.

  9. How Successful is the Family Network Program? • 66% of families were successfully reunified during their time in FNP • The remaining 34% entered either relative or foster care because their parents were unable to successfully meet the goals required for “good enough parenting” • Many of the parents who are not ultimately reunified with their children feel more resolved about the decision as a result of becoming more stated they feel aware of exactly what is involved in good enough parenting through their time in FNP • Success or failure should not be based on child returning home or not

  10. Future Challenges for FNP? • Achieve more effective ways of monitoring all of the different benefits of a program such as FNP for children and families • Establish systems to conduct more meaningful program evaluations in years to come • Evaluation of North Carolina Assessment Tool

  11. References: Ainsworth, F. (2001) Family Preservation, family reunification and related issues: Recent news. Children Australia, 26(4), 29-35. Barber, J. & Gilbertson, R. (2001), Foster Care: The State of the Art, Australian Centre for Community Services Research, Adelaide. Carlson, B.E., Smith, C.A., and Eversman, M. (2006) A Pilot Study of Reunification Following Drug Abuse Treatment: Recovering the Mother Role. Journal of Drug Issues, 36(4), pp 877-902. Clare, B. (2002). Family Reunification: Rhetoric and Risks. Children Australia, Vol. 27, No. 3. Frame, L., Berrick, J.D. and Brodowski, M.L. (2000). Understanding re-entry to out-of-home care for reunified infants. Child Welfare, 79, (4), 339-369. George, R.M. (1995). The Reunification Process in Substitute Care. Social Services Review, vol. 64(3), p 422. Risley-Curtiss, C., Stromwall, L.K., Truett-Hunt, D., and Teska, J. (2004) Identifying and Reducing Barriers to Reunification for Seriously Mentally Ill Parents Involved in Child Welfare Cases. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, vol 85(1).

  12. Contact information: Family Network Program Children & Youth Services, Centacare Catholic Community Services 8 Jacobs Street, Bankstown NSW 2200 Tel: (02) 8709 9333 Fax: (02) 8709 9390 Program Manager: Rachel Dillon Email: rachel.dillon@centacare.org FNP Caseworker: Melissa Cox Email: melissa.cox@centacare.org

  13. Restoration Phase Transition Post-transition Support Viable Permanency Planning Assessment Not viable Termination of FNP Permanent placement for child

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