Using An Action Approach to the Problem of Permanency and Over-Representation of Minorities in Child Welfare Systems: Evaluation of Two Communities

Background/Purpose: While many children have benefited from child protection services, there is a growing community outcry for increased “permanency” whenever possible through family stabilization services, timely family reunification, and expedited adoption services to prevent children from lingering in foster care indefinitely. Multicultural children and families are among the most vulnerable when it comes to issues of permanency and well-being within the child welfare system as evidenced by high foster care placement rates and extended foster care stays (Hill, 2006). While legislators and policy makers have attempted to reduce foster care rates and improve permanency outcomes through the use of federal and state mandates and funding incentives, a 2004 evaluation of each state's progress in achieving timely permanency for children revealed that no state met federal standards for satisfactory permanency outcomes (DHHS, 2004). As a response to these problems, the state of Illinois has developed an initiative allowing communities throughout the state to design and implement their own “Action Teams” to address local permanency rates and decrease over-representation. This presentation highlights the evaluation of two of these community-based initiatives. Each community-based Action Team decided on specific, localized outcomes for a focused intervention. Next, each team designed an Action Plan that they then implemented. Lastly, these plans were evaluated on both process and outcomes based results.

Methods: Case study methods were used to track the progress of two separate community's Action Plans and the implementation of these plans over the course of two years. Both of these communities were located in the state of Illinois, and were part of a broader state-wide initiative designed to increase permanency and decrease over-representation of racial minorities within the foster care system. Data were collected from both of these communities using various instruments (both quantitative and qualitative), including: surveys, semi-structured interviews, life history interviews, and participant observation of meetings.

Results: Findings indicate that the community-based Action Team approach that these two communities undertook had a positive impact on the relations and communication among professional stakeholders, increased levels of community education, and produced a slight decrease in length of time families remained in the system. However, this approach did not result in a decrease in over-representation of racial minorities within the local foster care system. Overall findings from both communities indicated a need for more “buy-in” and participation by the targeted families within the community considered “at-risk” for involvement in the child welfare system.

Conclusions/Implications: The Action Team approaches highlighted here illustrate the process of community-based, localized involvement. Although results of the evaluations indicate that decreases in over-representation were not achieved, evidence shows that other positive results were achieved, including an increase in permanency-based outcomes. Recommendations on how best to reformulate community-based plans in order to more accurately reflect all targeted outcomes (including over-representation) is provided. This study provides valuable information on how best to proceed with community-based action approaches to child welfare problems.