Concurrent Planning

CONCURRENT PLANNING 101: The Honorable Sandra Miller Paulding County Juvenile Court

Barbara Burnley & Angie ChandlerPaulding County DFCS

Julie York & Amy MobleyDFCS Education & Project Management Unit

Georgia Child Welfare Legal AcademyEmory University School of Law

Nov. 18, 2011Atlanta, GA

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Our Shared Vision for Today Understand the Theory Behind

Concurrent Case Planning

Understand the Practices that Promote Good Concurrent Case Planning

Understand Where Georgia is Today with Respect to Concurrent Case Planning

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Agenda

Foundational Matters Concurrent Planning Nationally Concurrent Planning in Georgia The Trials & Tribulations of CP at the

County Level Questions & Answers

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What is Concurrent Planning? Concurrent Planning: Working towards

reunification while at the same time establishing and implementing an alternative permanency plan.

Permanency Options: Reunification is always required as the primary plan Alternative Plans Include:

1. Adoption2. Guardianship3. Permanent Custody with a Fit & Willing Relative.

APPLA is not an appropriate option for concurrent plans

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Alternate Plans Number of Alternate Plans

Adoption 1191Guardianship 80Permanent Custody with Fit & Willing Relative

1573

APPLA 52

Current Planning in Georgia Today

On October 1, 2011: 2902 children in foster care with concurrent

case plans. That’s about 40% of the overall population.

Most common Primary plan is Reunification, but there are primary plans of APPLA, Live with Fit & Willing Relative, and Adoption (which is not good)

Alternate Plans Break Down Like This:

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Current Planning in Georgia by Age

Median Age: 6.1 // Range: [.1,18)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 180

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10

15

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25

30

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Concurrent Plan Distribution by Child Age

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Why Concurrent Planning? Benefits of Concurrent Planning:

Fewer Placements for Children in Care. Fewer Adoption Disruptions Reduced Length of Time in Care Formation of New Extended Families Supports Continuity and Stability in

Family Relationships May Produce Cost Savings

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Theory of Concurrent Planning Reduce Time in Care: Foster Care is a

Temporary Setting & Children Should Spend no More Time in Care Than Absolutely Necessary

Shift the Emotional Burden: Adults, Rather than Children, Should Assume the Emotional Risk of Foster Care & Uncertain Futures

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Agenda



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Concurrent Planning Emerges

Adoption Assistance & Child Welfare Act of 1980 Practice Required a Preferred Permanency Plan to

Be Ruled out Before an Alternative was Developed

Lead to Sequential Case Planning Believed to be Among the Contributors to ‘Foster

Care Drift’

Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 Allows Courts to Order Concurrent Case Planning

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Concurrent Planning Ruffles Feathers

Courts & Attorneys: Development of an Alternative Case Plan Conflicts

with Agencies’ Genuine Pursuit of Family Reunification.

Provider Community: Certain Services (e.g., Adoption Recruitment) May Not

be Initiated Until Petition to TPR is Filed. Local Casemanagers:

Inherent Tension in Working with a Family at the Same Time You are Recruiting a New One

Foster Parents & Relatives: Asking them to Sign up for the Role of “Plan B.”

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The Fed’s Recognize the Challenge

The Children’s Bureau: “concurrent planning efforts are not being

implemented on a consistent basis when appropriate. . .”

“some states had formal, excellent concurrent planning policies at the state level, but there was no evidence of concurrent planning practices in the case reviews.”

“In a number of states, concurrent goals were written in the case files, but case reviews showed that efforts towards the goals were sequential rather than concurrent.”

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Research on Non-Reunification

Most Common Indicators for Non-Reunification: Parent previously killed or

seriously harmed another child. Parent repeatedly and with

premeditation harmed a child. Parent’s only visible support

system is a drug culture. Parent has significant and

untreated mental health issues.

Parents rights to another child have been involuntarily terminated.

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Atlanta, GA: Timeliness to Perm.

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Jacksonville, FL: Timeliness to Perm.

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Concurrent Planning Takes Shape

INVOLVES: Up Front Assessment: individualized and intensive

Family Engagement: full disclosure of parental strengths, needs, indicators for concurrent planning and consequences

Diligent Search: early and ongoing aggressive search

Early Identification of All Permanency Options: not just reunification at the start

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Components of Concurrent Planning

Firm Timelines for Permanency

Full Disclosure to Parents

Early & Ongoing Exploration of Family Members as Caretakers

Early Paternity Determination

Frequent & Meaningful Visitation

Active Examination of Parental Ambivalence

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Primary Culprit: the CP Assessment Guide

Agency Completes Assessment of Family’s Likelihood of Being Reunified Quickly Based on A Number of Indicators

Families with Poor Prognosis of Reunification are Given a Concurrent Plan and Full Disclosure of Such

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Agenda



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Current Planning in Georgia is Born

Innovation Zones: Training Jan – Mar 2010

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CHILD FAMILY

Changing the Message

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Myths and Concerns Concurrent planning is just a fast track

to Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) and will set birth parents up for failure.

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Myths and Concerns Concurrent planning will cause case

managers to give up on birth parents too quickly, or to not sincerely work on reunification efforts.

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Myths and Concerns Concurrent planning just means having a

back up plan, you don’t actually have to do any work on this plan until you know for sure that reunification is not going to happen.

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Myths and Concerns You can do concurrent planning anytime

during the life of a case.

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Myths and Concerns When DFCS implements concurrent

planning, every child in foster care will have to have a concurrent plan.

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Myths and Concerns Resource parents will sabotage the

reunification efforts because they just want to adopt.

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Agenda



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STATE COUNTY

Conveying the Message

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1. Staff Challenges

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2. Restructuring the Agency Implementing Mirrored Units New Terminology for My 6 F.P.’s

Partnership Parents: (formerly foster parents): refers to individuals who provide temporary care for children who are placed in out-of-the-home and are in the temporary custody of DFCS. PP are expected to engage in some level of partnership with the birth parents of children in their home, and to actively work with the birth parents toward reunification.

Resource Parents: Refers to a subset of PP who are reserved as resources for children with concurrent plans. These parents also work in partnership with birth parents toward reunification, but they also agree to be the child’s permanent resource IF reunification is not successful.

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3. Forced Creativity The Visitation Center

The First 48

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4. Limits in Data Systems

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5. Learning Lessons the Hard Way

Strategic Permanency Planning from the Start:

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Questions?“Concurrent Planning will Not Produce Miracles,

and Expectations Should Reflect as Much.”

Resources: DFCS Concurrent Planning Resources

www.dfcs.dhr.georgia.gov/training

National Resource Center for Permanency & Family Connections www.nrcpfc.org