The Permanency Enrichment Project

Overview

The purpose of this project is to advance the permanency of children who are in foster care in Illinois’ central region. The Permanency Enhancement Project is a partnership of Central Region of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Center for the Adoption Studies. The first year of the project was a collaboration among DCFS, the Center for Adoption Studies, the African American Family Commission and the African American Advisory Council of DCFS.

The overall goals of the project are to improve permanency and reduce racial disproportionality among families served in the 50 counties that comprise the Central region; to examine the existing permanency outcomes for central Illinois youth; and to explore the factors that may promote or impede permanency among DCFS involved youth in Central Illinois.

The first year of the project involved providing a snapshot of permanence and disproportionality in each county. In addition, Center staff conducted focus groups of judges, state’s attorneys, child welfare workers and supervisors, and formerly served clients.

The Central Region of DCFS is divided into action teams made up of child welfare, judicial, legal and other professionals, community stakeholders and those who have received services from DCFS. Each action team develops goals related to improving permanency and reducing disproportionality in its own area. Beginning in January of 2008, the Center for the Adoption Studies provides training, technical assistance and evaluation of community based action team efforts.

Funding Source

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Research Questions and measures

How do the skills, attitudes, beliefs and practices of court personnel promote or impede permanency for youth?

How do the skills, attitudes, beliefs and practices of DCFS staff promote or impede permanency outcomes for youth?

What family preservation and reunification services are available in Central Illinois?

What service gaps exists that may hamper family preservation and reunification efforts in Central Illinois?

What are the factors that DCFS involved families identify as promoting and/or impeding family stability?

Selected Findings to date

At case initiation:

African American children are more likely than Caucasian children to be in care rather than served in intact families.
African American children consistently achieve permanency more slowly than white children.
Caucasian children were more likely to return home within 12 months than African American children.
A large percentage (34%) of children in care are teens with 17% over 18.
Almost 60% of the children 18 or over are African American.
African American children make up only 8 % of the population in Central region but are 43% of the children in care. Caucasian children make up 52%. Very few Hispanic children are in care in Central region.
For year 2006, the significant majority of children (79%) in care were in family foster care either traditional or kin.
African American children are considerably over represented (66%) among children in independent living.
Central region is more likely than the state as a whole to reunify children (permanency) within 12 months of their entry into care.
Reunifications are the most common type of permanency, followed by adoption. Subsidized guardianship in infrequently used in Central region.
In Central region, the median time in care for all children has gone up (from 14 to 21 months in 2004) since 1998.
African American children consistently have higher median months in care than Caucasian children. By 2004 the median length of care for them was 4 months longer than for white children.

Focus Group data here:

(To be completed by the staff)

Year two data here:

(To be completed by the staff)

Project Status

Phase one of the project was completed in spring of 2008, when action teams and community stakeholders across the region participated in the first Permanency Enhancement Symposium. The morning session reviewed defined the nature of the problem with an overview by DCFS Director Erwin McEwen and discussion of the needs of African American families by nationally known speaker Zena Oglesby of the Institute for Black Parenting.. Center for Adoption Studies staff presented data on permanency and disproportionality and findings from focus groups. In addition, a panel of judges, assistant state’s attorneys and a youth who graduated from foster care discussed the challenges of moving children more quickly to reunification or other permanency.

The session was telecast from Illinois State University to 5 additional sites across the region.

In the afternoon, participants divided into action teams to establish goals for their particular community. Each team had data specific to its county which presented 12 and 36 month permanency rates compared to the region as a whole and permanency rates by race. Action teams then set times to meet to continue planning to address goals they identified.

In Phase Two of the project, beginning in January of 2008, Center staff work with action teams to carefully define goals and objectives and to overcome barriers to action team progress.

[Updated April 22, 2008]