California Partners for Permanency is a new federally funded project to reduce the number of children in long-term foster care. It is one of six projects in the country funded through a $100 million Presidential Initiative.

The California project focuses on African American and Native American children who are over-represented in the state's child welfare system and for whom it has been most challenging to find loving and permanent homes. Project goals are to both reduce long-term foster care and improve child well-being. The way in which this will be accomplished is through a comprehensive approach to child welfare systems change.

Over the course of five years and with $14.5 million in federal funding, California Partners for Permanency will:

• Conduct an analysis of local child welfare systems to better understand the barriers to permanency and inform solutions to reduce long term foster care;
• Develop an integrated child welfare practice model that builds on existing permanency practices;
• Refine, test and evaluate the approach in four California counties, and then;
• Replicate the approach in 10 more counties statewide and develop a plan to spread statewide.

At the project's completion, the goal is to have implemented changes in child welfare systems so that there are not only fewer children and youth in long-term foster care, but also fewer entries into foster care in the first place.

Helping children and youth stay connected with family members and others who can love and care for them is a critical part of the solution.

The longer that children stay in the foster care system - without the support of loving and permanent families - the more likely it is they will face negative outcomes.

Foster children and youth struggle in school (less than half graduate), and most face mental health and other challenges given the trauma and abuse in their young lives. Too many youth age out of care at 18 into a future that includes unemployment, homelessness and incarceration.

Data provide a telling overview of the disproportionate impact on African American and Native American children:

• More than half (54 percent) of African American children in California's foster care system have been in care for more than two years, and sadly, more than 30 percent have been in the system for more than five years.
• Nearly half (45 percent) of Native American children in California's foster care system have been in care for more than two years.

Two overall outcomes guide California Partners for Permanency:

Reducing Long-term Foster Care
The first desired project outcome is to reduce long-term foster care specifically among African American and Native American children, youth and families. Objectives include a reduction in the number of foster care entries, increased timelines of permanent placement, removal of identified barriers to permanency planning and the removal of negative incentives to adoption.

Improving Child Well-being
The second desired project outcome is to improve child well-being specifically among African American and Native American children, youth and families. Objectives includes the creation of an integrated system of services that includes substance abuse treatment for parents; improved behavioral health for children by creating an integrated system of services that recognizes the impact of loss, grief and trauma; a reduction in the number of children in foster care who exit into the criminal justice system; and improved educational outcomes.

Key elements of the project include:

• County Analysis
  Four counties (Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Santa Clara) will engage in in-depth analysis and receive technical assistance to understand why so many African American and Native American children are in long-term foster care.
• Development of Child Welfare Practice Model
  Promising permanency practices will be integrated to create a child welfare practice model that will inform how cases are managed and staffed.
• Implementation
  Ten additional counties may replicate the practice model to help spread and sustain change statewide.
• Evaluation
  Outcome data will be evaluated and mid-course corrections will be made throughout the life of the project.
• Fiscal and Reinvestment Strategies
  Partners will develop and implement fiscal strategies that support implementation of the refined practice model.

How child welfare cases are practiced is core to California Partners for Permanency's success. The aim is to integrate promising permanency practices into a child welfare practice model ensuring a laser-like focus on permanency - from the very beginning and then throughout the life of a case.

While a number of permanency strategies currently are underway in parts of some counties, this project will now integrate them into an improved practice model to be used in counties throughout the state.

Key elements of this integrated practice model include:

• Family Finding and Engagement
• Team Decision Making and Permanency Teaming
• Integrated Mental and Behavioral Health Assessment and Treatment
• Innovative Family, Caregiver and Child/Youth Engagement Strategies
• Post Permanency Supports

Led by the California Department of Social Services, the project includes the following partners:

• 14 California Counties
• California Tribes (out of state Tribes when applicable)
• California Child Welfare Co-Investment Partnership
• California Department of Social Services
• County Welfare Directors Association
• Administrative Office of the Courts
• Philanthropy - Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, Stuart Foundation, Walter S. Johnson, Zellerbach Family Foundation
• Child and Family Policy Institute of California
• University of California Berkeley Center for Social Services Research
• California Social Work Education Center
• California Regional Training Academies
• California Youth Connection
• Center for the Study of Social Policy

• CAPP Overview - Summary description of California Partners for Permanency, including approach to working in partnership to reduce long-term foster care. [pdf]
• CAPP Talking Points - Short resource document summarizing information about California Partners for Permanency. [pdf]
• Re-CAPP January 2012 - Re-CAPP is a bimonthly bulletin intended to provide updates and key information about CAPP and its collaborative work to reduce long-term foster care. This inaugural issue includes information on The Art and Science of Improving Outcomes, How Community and Tribal Partners Guide and Callenge CAPP to Listen and Learn and What's Ahead in 2012. [pdf]
• CAPP Implementation Plan (Version 1.0) - Working document that summarizes CAPP's proposed plan for reducing long-term foster care in California, including the collaborative development and implementation of a new Child and Family Practice Model that can be implemented by Child Welfare and partner agency systems. The plan is intended as a guide and will be revised in partnership with CAPP Federal Technical Assistance partners and the Children's Bureau as new information is learned and the model is tested, evaluated and refined. [pdf]
• Insights, African American and Native American Children and Youth Overrepresented in Child Welfare System - This resource document provides an overview of the disproportional representation of African American and Native America children in California's foster care system. Insights is published by the California Child Welfare Co-Investment Partnership.
• Permanency Innovations Initiative Kickoff Meeting (Nov. 2010) - PowerPoint Presentation by Commissioner Bryan Samuels at Administration for Children and Families' orientation for new grantees as new Presidential Initiative to reduce long-term foster care is formally launched. [ppt]
• CDSS Press Release (Oct. 2010) - Press release from the California Department of Social Services announcing $14.5 federal grant from the Administration for Children and Families to reduce long-term foster care in the state. [pdf]
• Federal Grant Application (Aug. 2010) - California's application to the Administration for Children and Families to participate in a Presidential Initiative to reduce long-term foster care. The $100 million Initiative provides funding and technical assistance to six projects across the nation. California's application was submitted by the California Department of Services in partnership with a diverse group of organizations and stakeholders. [pdf]

To learn more about California Partners for Permanency, contact Nicolle Larkins, Project Manager, at the California Department of Social Services (nicolle.larkins@dss.ca.gov or 916.657.3751).

This project is a service of the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.