WELCOME!

Tom FinneganExecutive Director,

Kaleidoscope

~35,000

~6,000

~3,000“Specialized”

Department of Children & F amily S ervices

individualized

family-centered

community-focused

Olivia DelGiudice, LCSWAssociate Director,

Kaleidoscope

Therapeutic Family Foster

Care

What is a foster home?

Did you know?

Types of foster care:

1. Home-of-relative

2. Traditional

3. Specialized

Kaleidoscope Foster Care

1. Individual Treatment Program

2. Adolescent Parent Program

3. Medically Complex Program

How’s Kaleidoscope different?

• Unconditional care• inclusive admission policy• no punitive discharge policy

• Strengths-based

• Team approach

• Professional foster parent model

Whom doesKaleidoscope serve?

Some common characteristics:• multiple placements/moves• history of abuse (physical and/or sexual)• mental health diagnoses• aggressive behaviors• delinquent behaviors• drug and/or alcohol use• runaways• chronic medical conditions

How does someone become a foster parent?

• orientation & face-to-face meeting

• application

• interview

• study of the home and family members

• criminal background checks

• health and driving record reviewed

• trainings

What can a foster parent expect?

• On-going monthly trainings

• Weekly home visits by staff (announced and unannounced)

• Twenty-four hour emergency support

• Financial support

• Annual evaluation

Intake & Matching1.DCFS referral

2.Team matches youth with foster home

3.Foster parent reads files on youth

4.Foster parent meets with youth and youth’s worker

5.Transition plan and date of placement is established

Assessment & Planning

• Risk assessment • Integrated assessment• Treatment/service plan

Completed within 30 days of admission and is a computerized system with a strengths-based focus

What we doStaff build relationships and the following services to the youth, their foster and biological families

• Case management (plans and arranges services)

• Therapy• Educational monitoring/tutoring• Basic life skills building• Employment- and housing-seeking assistance• Parenting training/coaching• Recreational activities• Medication monitoring and nursing services

Goals• A safe home

(safety)

• To remain in that home (stability)

• An on-going connection(permanency)

• Quality of life(well-being)

Cassandra Rogers-LampkinDirector of Community Services, Kaleidoscope

Systems of Care(SOC)

Overview• Stabilize children whose placements

are at risk• 27 SOC agencies across Illinois; SOC

providers each cover a specific geographic area in the state.

• Kaleidoscope covers 4½ areas in over 25 neighborhoods

• SOC providers deliver and coordinate services

Eligibility• A child living in a foster home with a relative

• A child who is or has experienced significant traumatic events in life

• A child who has behavior or emotional problems and the child is displaying risk behaviors

• The foster parent is struggling to meet the needs of the child

• There is a risk of having the child removed from the home

Referral Process• Caseworker makes the referral• SOC and caseworker discuss the

presenting issues to determine eligibility

• If eligible, SOC admits child and schedules an initial home visit within 5 days

• SOC meets with child, foster parent and caseworker in the home to begin assessment and provide services

• The team works with the whole family and other professional involved with the child

• Foster parents usually know the child the best

• The caseworker provides valuable information to SOC – helps understand the child’s trauma history, risk behaviors and emotional issues and behaviors

Important Timelines• Initial home visit within 5 working days

of admission

• Child and family team meeting occurs and strengths-based treatment plan is developed within 30 days

• SOC meets with child and foster parent at least twice per month in the home

Strengths-based Assessment• SOC uses the “Child & Adolescent

Needs and Strengths” (CANS) assessment tool, which is used statewide

• Identifies existing and potential strengths of the child and placement

• Identifies existing needs of the child and placement

Identifying Strengths• Does the child have any hobbies or

participate in activities?

• Does the child have natural talents (e.g., musical, artistic or athletic)?

• Where does the child find a sense of importance or belonging?

• What skills does the child have (e.g., work, study, sports or cooking)?

• How well does the child get along with other children? With adults?

Child & Family Team• The foster parent, child, caseworker and

provider• May also include other providers, concerned family

members or concerned persons from the community (e.g., juvenile justice or education)

• Work together to develop a treatment plan for the child

• Team members:• Help identify important issues of concern

in the child’s life• Help the SOC provider understand what

supports are wanted and needed right now

Individual Plan of Care• Identifies child and foster parent strengths

and needs• Focuses on describing how child strengths will

be used to address the needs• Establishes who is responsible for providing

services and how the services will be paid for • Team Members:• Actively participate in developing the plan• Take the lead in one or more areas

(i.e., school, recreational, etc.) of the plan

Scope of Services• SOC does not replace the caseworker;

the goal is to bring everyone in the child’s life together to develop a plan

• SOC services focus on stabilizing the placement

• SOC can provide services directly, identify a community resource or pay for specialized services when necessary

Discharge Process• SOC services vary in length - 1 month

up to 12 months

• SOC will work with the caseworker, child and foster family to identify ongoing community supports

• Child and family team meets at time of discharge to review SOC services and agree on discharge plan

Renee Lehocky, LCSWDirector of Transitional

Services, Kaleidoscope

Transitional Living Services

(Youth 18-21)

The benefits of extending care beyond age 18

• Compelling evidence that foster children who stay in care beyond the age of 18 fare better than those leaving care at age 18

• They fare better in education, employment, they avoid the criminal system and are less likely to become homeless

• Approximately 55% of young men and 46% of young women between the ages 18 and 24 were living at home with one or both parents in 2003 (Fields, 2003)

Important milestones ofIllinois youth

Age 18• State’s legal age of majority• Youth provides own consent for medical care• DCFS placements and services may continue

Age 19• Court must find that continued care is in youth's best

interest in order for jurisdiction to continue

Age 21• End of juvenile court jurisdiction

Age 23• End of any residual educational assistance through

Department of Children and Family Services

Independent Living Program

Purpose of an Independent Living Program is to offer youth the opportunity to live in an apartment with a “safety net” of supports while they progress towards independence.

To be eligible, youth must:

be 19 years old have graduated from high school/have a GED have demonstrated capacity to live independently have history/desire to be gainfully employed be employed/enrolled in higher education

program

Independent Living Program

• Assessment of youth’s strengths and needs to determine treatment planning

• Tailored services to meet individual needs

• Youth is key in development of treatment plan

• Child and family team meetings to review goals

• Focus on discharge planning to reach goals

Youth Development Program

• Educational programming

• Employment services

• Financial assistance/counseling

• Housekeeping skills

• Obtain a driver’s license

• Food assistance

• Therapy

• Financial bonus for employment and education

Outcomes measured

• Education• Employment• Financial self-sufficiency • Placement stability• Engagement in healthy

living practices/behaviors

Transition to Adult Services Program (TAS)

• TAS transitions Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) wards with developmental disabilities from the DCFS system to the adult Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities (DHS DDD) System.

• TAS provides consultation/training to caseworkers, residential staff, foster parents, wards and anyone else involved in Department of Children and Family Services cases regarding the Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities process.

• TAS is currently working with about 250 wards.

Abbie SeeDevelopment Associate,

Kaleidoscope

Find Your Future(College Youth 18-

21)

Participating Employers

History

• Partnership between Kaleidoscope and DCFS

• Began in 2005

• Giving opportunities to past & current DCFS Youth

Eligibility

• Involvement with DCFS

• Full-time college students

• Minimum 2.5 GPA

• Application, resume, letter of recommendation, transcripts

Interns & EmployersInterns• Colleges• Freshmen-Seniors• Areas of studyEmployers• Past employers & prospects• Who are they?• Commitment

• Orientation

• Etiquette training

• Cultural experience

• Volunteer experience

• Resume workshop

• Closing Luncheon

Networking/Learning Opportunities

Thank you!