Twenty-seven child welfare professionals participated in the first year of the Leadership Fellows program, learning how to use data to 1) identify issues that negatively impact children and families in the child welfare system and 2) make recommendations to address those issues. The fellows focused on teenage girls in out-of-home placement and recommended strategies to reduce home removal and – in situations where placement was necessary – to improve the placement experience.  In addition to addressing system issues, the program served as a professional development experience for the fellows and resulted in improved career opportunities for many.

Click here to view the full report. 

Content and analysis: Brian Bell and the 2014 Child Welfare Leadership Fellows
Writer: Susan Gove

 

When removing a child from home is necessary, a stable foster home is the preferred placement option; unfortunately, adolescents and teenagers are much less likely to find such a home and often end up in group homes or other congregate settings.  The Families for Teens initiative, funded by the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is designed to increase the number and quality of foster homes for these older youth through a variety of collaborative, training, support and marketing strategies.

Click here to view the full report. 

Content and analysis: Sanjeev Baidyaroy, Emily Kulick and Katherine Stoehr

Child welfare out-of-home placements are stressful events, compounded by the fact they may result in a youth changing schools. Research shows mid-year school changes to be disruptive both academically and socially. This report examines child welfare imposed mobility, identifying system challenges as well as the positive factors that have led to an overall decrease in these system-imposed school moves.

Click to read the full data brief. 

Content and analysis: Emily Kulick and Samantha Murphy
Writer: Jeffery Fraser

By the spring of 2015, 16 school districts, Propel Schools and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit had signed legal agreements with the Department of Human Services (DHS), allowing data to be shared on a level never before possible.

This publication describes the way in which DHS’s partnerships with local school districts continued to expand and enabled us to focus on specific issues, such as homelessness, greater collaboration between human services and school social workers, and faster and more through identification of students in need.

Click here to read the report.

Click here to read Improving Outcomes and Well Being: August 2013 Update.

The cost of out-of-home placements vary greatly, depending upon length, type of placement and level of care required.  Type of placement was a significant factor in cost variation; group home placements, at approximately four times the cost of kinship care, were the most expensive.  Cost increased with the child’s age at entry, although this may be attributed, in part, to the fact that older children were more likely to be placed in more expensive placement types. Placement in more expensive group settings may also be the reason why subsequent home removals were more costly than initial placements.

Click here to view the full report. 

Analysis and content: Kyle Jennison and Sarah Thurston

The Parents Raising Safe Kids curriculum was developed by the American Psychological Association and implemented nationally in an effort to teach positive parenting skills to parents and caregivers. Offered locally at 17 program sites throughout the County, the curriculum was found to improve parenting skills; media literacy; knowledge of child development; and parental attitude and behavior toward children.

Click here to view the full report.

Prepared by: Farhod Yuldashev, Brian Bell and Evelyn Whitehill

Linking provider payments to performance measures is gaining popularity as a way to improve outcomes, efficiency and innovations.  Three performance-based contracting models have been implemented in Allegheny County, targeting: 1) the Senior Center network; 2) child welfare providers; and 3) DHS-funded providers of the Allegheny County Jail Collaborative.  Each focuses on service-related outcomes and offers fiscal incentives for improvement.

Click here to view the full report.

Permanency Roundtables are an important component of Allegheny County’s strategy to improve permanency outcomes for children in child welfare out-of-home placements. Roundtables engage practitioners, caseworkers, providers and permanency experts in an intense two-hour brainstorming session in which barriers to permanency are identified along with strategies to address those barriers. The creativity of the collaborative process – in which no blame is assigned and no idea is off the table – can be particularly effective for children and families with complex issues that interfere with permanency goals.

Click here to view the full report. 

Inua Ubuntu, designed to provide culturally-based intervention with a goal of reducing the rate of out-of-home placement for African American males, was implemented by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services in 2010.  The program is based on an African-centric concept of family and community, and is driven by the theory that services are most effective when delivered by those who understand – and are a part of – the family’s culture and community.

Click here to read the full report. 

An initial assessment is often a client’s first service experience, and, as such, it plays a major role in the perception, comfort and outcomes of the service. Simultaneously, the assessment can set the tone for the eventual outcomes of the  This report describes the process of adapting and/or developing common assessments for use in Allegheny County, the implementation process, and the impact on consumer engagement and service delivery.

Click to read the full report.

Designed to inform local leaders, this report places the issue of homeless youth within a national context and provides information about local need, services and strategies to prevent and address homelessness among Allegheny County’s young adults.

Click here to read the full report.

Although prenatal drug/alcohol exposure cases accounted for less than two percent of child welfare referrals in Allegheny County, this exposure can have significant health and developmental consequences. More than one in four newborns were re-referred to child welfare at least once before the end of 2011; early intervention is critical to avoid a repeat referral and to address the physical and developmental needs of the child.

Click here to view the full data brief. 

An analysis was conducted on fathers’ involvement in child welfare cases from 2010 through 2012. Biological fathers were identified in 81 percent of cases (as compared to 94 percent of mothers). The data provided in this brief address the factors that may influence this involvement; it also includes a discussion of practice measures being implemented to increase involvement by parents and, by extension, fathers.

Click here to view the data brief.

Focus groups with youth and caregivers identified a number of concerns about the way in which psychotropic medications were prescribed to youth in a child welfare out-of-home placement. A quantitative analysis by Community Care Behavioral Health indicated that youth in child welfare placement and on medical assistance were about two and a half times more likely to be taking at least one psychotropic medication that their peers who were not in placement.  Recommendations to address these issues are included in this report.

Click here to view the full report. 

The Brief Wraparound Residential model emphasizes working with youth on what they need to be successful following their stay in residential care; that is, at home, in school and in the community. It involves immediate engagement with the youth and family and is designed to support reunification and successful re-entry into the home and community. This report describes the model as well as lessons learned and challenges to full implementation.

Click here to view the full report.