What Does Economics Tell Us about Early Childhood Policy? By the Rand Corporation. Research Brief. (Rand, Santa Monica, California) 2008 5 p.
["An increasing chorus of Fortune 500 CEOs, Federal Reserve Bank analysts, Nobel Prize-winning economists, and other business and economic leaders have led the call to increase public "investments" in early childhood. This call is driven by research findings that increasingly emphasize the importance of laying a strong foundation in early childhood and that show that a range of early interventions can successfully put children on the path toward positive development, preventing poor outcomes in adulthood. These findings-along with increasing recognition in the public-health and social-service sectors that providing program services in early childhood has benefits over treatment later in life-have contributed to the evolution of economists' support for early childhood investments. To help decision makers in the public and private sectors, service providers, and the public more generally, RAND researchers drew on their decades-long expertise in applying economics to early childhood issues to demonstrate how two economic concepts-human capital theory and monetary payoffs-contribute to a unifying framework that provides evidence-based guidance for early childhood policy. These concepts are summarized in this research brief."]
Full text at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/2008/RAND_RB9352.pdf
Friday, June 13, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
No Workshops on June 27, 2008
Please note that the 3rd scheduled set of workshops for the Fresno Birth to Six Initiative planned for Friday June 27th, has been canceled.
Please keep an eye out for updates to follow.
Please keep an eye out for updates to follow.
June 6, 2008 Work Group Notes
GROUP 1 – IMPROVED COORDINATION
Agenda -
Introduction/Recap
Refine Issues
-Assessment
-Agency Changes
-Underused Resources
-Barriers/Solutions
Next Steps
Blog Address – http://www.fresnobirthto6.blogspot.com/
A. Assessment
1. Medical
2. Children’s Advocacy Center - expansion in future
3. First 5/DCFS new position to facilitate screenings – should address this
4. Stuart Foundation educational liaison
5. Ensure continuity of medical care
6. Individualized development plan
B. How should department be organized to meet unique developmental needs.
1. Options
a. All have basic knowledge
b. Dedicated “baby” unit knows a lot
c. Hybrid with key people with knowledge who can be consulted
2. Department looking at specialized group that would stay with kids
a. But all staff need training
C. Available but Under-used Resources
1. Head Start – Foster kids not automatically referred
a. Head Start only half day – a few full day
b. Hard for foster parents with many different appointments
c. Consolidate services
d. Put foster kids at top of list
2. Subsidized child care
a. Designated contact person to help foster parent/DCFS with apps.
b. Should this be part of individual service plan?
c. In addition to individual service plan, need a comprehensive plan for family because changes to kid’s plan can affect siblings or other kids in foster home.
D. Needed Resources
1. Occupational therapy/speech therapy
2. Minimal OT in Central Valley
3. Sensory integration – funding problem
4. CSU Fresno family treatment center offers play therapy and other programs may be underutilized
5. Speech clinic at CSUF
6. Funding questions – EPSTD/Medi-Cal
7. Where are services/how to pay for them?
a. No private providers take Medi-Cal
8. Backlog at IMH because all kids 0-5 are being referred
E. Barriers
1. Specialty clinic
2. Need training for medical providers
3. UCSF – Dr. Scofeld, Children’s Hospital
4. Continuity of medical care providers
a. Difficult for foster parents to find MDs who take Medi-Cal
b. Foster kids go to M.D. that they pick so if placement changes, M.D. changes
c. 10% cut to reimbursements in Medi-Cal.
5. Fresno First 5 to do resource guide like Kern County – on web?
6. People need to request developmental wheels/checklist from Mamie, myee@ylc.org
7. Transportation to medical appointments problem for foster parents
a. CBS to research if this is a service covered by Medi-Cal (ask Alice)
F. Resource
1. DCFS to hire retired foster parent who has experience with medical fragile kids to mentor/work with current foster parents with medically fragile kids.
GROUP 2 – TEAMWORK AGENDA
Agenda -
Introductions and review
Finish last month - MH/CW
Refine key issues
-Foster parent/Bio parent teaming
-Techniques to improve relationships
-Challenges and solutions
-Improving agency teamwork
-Courts/attorneys
Next steps
A. Issues in Mental Health/Child Welfare teamwork
1. Communications gap
2. May be working at cross purposes - Example, clinician focused on reunification but DCFS moving to terminate
3. Suggestions – involve Mental Health in case plan meetings/FR panels before any big decisions made, esp. before going to court
4. Solicit clinician input before making big decisions
5. Social worker may not know who the clinician is and/or vice versa.
6. No forum for sharing info.
7. Mental Health needs training on how Child Welfare legal framework works. Role clarification.
B. Foster Parent-Bio Parent Team
1. Should this be an expectation?
2. Foster parents getting different messages from different FFAs
3. Need ongoing support because it’s not enough to just say it at training.
4. One stop resource center for bio parents – they need a “life coach” but is asking too much to make foster parent do it.
5. Help foster parent/bio parent relationship – foster parent felt she was helping behind the scenes
6. Parent Partners – parents who have successfully reunified as role model/mentor to bio parents in the system
7. Foster parent can be “parent coach” but not the “life coach”
8. Kin caregivers not getting support
9. Have foster parent know what resources to point a bio parent to
10. Expectation of on-going relationship between foster parent and bio parent
a. Counseling/support for foster parent post reunification over loss
C. Foster Parents/Court/Attorneys
1. Foster parents don’t always know they have a right to go to court or write a letter to judge with facts.
2. LAPP handbook on role of FP in court process
3. Some foster parents are taught that long term foster care is okay and shouldn’t adopt (especially kin)
4. Public health nurses
5. Role of social workers – training issues
GROUP THREE – TRAINING AND SUPPORT
Agenda -
Intros/Recap
Review Key Issues
Current trainings and needs
-Courts/CASA/Attorneys
-Law Enforcement
-Foster Parents
-Social Workers
Next Steps
A. Who needs training?
1. Admin
2. Managers/CWs
3. Foster parents and Kin caregivers
4. Court/CASA/Attorneys
5. Law enforcement
6. Mental health
7. Medical personnel
B. Foster Parent Training – Core Elements
1. Pool resources of all the training agencies to focus on this population of kids.
2. Continuum of training – not just classroom
3. Before & ongoing
4. Sue Shaw surveys foster parents each year on what they need
5. Foster parents need training as issues arise
6. Problem – State licensing only counts training hours with teachers
7. Technology to assist foster parents
a. Videos, e-learning
b. Chat rooms for foster parents, etc., post questions to others
8. Foster Parent mentor to work with new foster parents with babies/toddlers
9. Identify/assess what subject areas should be in person versus video, frequency needs.
10. There should be a special certification for infant/toddler care.
11. Ongoing in service
12. Need training on the special needs of kids in care (ex. Drug exposed, trauma exposed, abused)
13. DCFS needs to work on subsets of special populations of kids
14. Training on how to work with bio parents
15. Training on how to discipline trauma exposed youth
C. Social Worker Training
1. Basic developmental information for all social workers
a. Transfer learning from class to practice
2. Bring back specialized unit
3. Role of team in working with bio parent
4. Considerations in removing very young children from home (wallet care from Detroit)
5. How much inter-disciplinary training?
6. Includes foster parents in case staffing.
7. Training much track with policy change
8. Cumulative affect of trauma of job on social workers – compassion fatigue
9. Debriefing between supervisor and social worker
Agenda -
Introduction/Recap
Refine Issues
-Assessment
-Agency Changes
-Underused Resources
-Barriers/Solutions
Next Steps
Blog Address – http://www.fresnobirthto6.blogspot.com/
A. Assessment
1. Medical
2. Children’s Advocacy Center - expansion in future
3. First 5/DCFS new position to facilitate screenings – should address this
4. Stuart Foundation educational liaison
5. Ensure continuity of medical care
6. Individualized development plan
B. How should department be organized to meet unique developmental needs.
1. Options
a. All have basic knowledge
b. Dedicated “baby” unit knows a lot
c. Hybrid with key people with knowledge who can be consulted
2. Department looking at specialized group that would stay with kids
a. But all staff need training
C. Available but Under-used Resources
1. Head Start – Foster kids not automatically referred
a. Head Start only half day – a few full day
b. Hard for foster parents with many different appointments
c. Consolidate services
d. Put foster kids at top of list
2. Subsidized child care
a. Designated contact person to help foster parent/DCFS with apps.
b. Should this be part of individual service plan?
c. In addition to individual service plan, need a comprehensive plan for family because changes to kid’s plan can affect siblings or other kids in foster home.
D. Needed Resources
1. Occupational therapy/speech therapy
2. Minimal OT in Central Valley
3. Sensory integration – funding problem
4. CSU Fresno family treatment center offers play therapy and other programs may be underutilized
5. Speech clinic at CSUF
6. Funding questions – EPSTD/Medi-Cal
7. Where are services/how to pay for them?
a. No private providers take Medi-Cal
8. Backlog at IMH because all kids 0-5 are being referred
E. Barriers
1. Specialty clinic
2. Need training for medical providers
3. UCSF – Dr. Scofeld, Children’s Hospital
4. Continuity of medical care providers
a. Difficult for foster parents to find MDs who take Medi-Cal
b. Foster kids go to M.D. that they pick so if placement changes, M.D. changes
c. 10% cut to reimbursements in Medi-Cal.
5. Fresno First 5 to do resource guide like Kern County – on web?
6. People need to request developmental wheels/checklist from Mamie, myee@ylc.org
7. Transportation to medical appointments problem for foster parents
a. CBS to research if this is a service covered by Medi-Cal (ask Alice)
F. Resource
1. DCFS to hire retired foster parent who has experience with medical fragile kids to mentor/work with current foster parents with medically fragile kids.
GROUP 2 – TEAMWORK AGENDA
Agenda -
Introductions and review
Finish last month - MH/CW
Refine key issues
-Foster parent/Bio parent teaming
-Techniques to improve relationships
-Challenges and solutions
-Improving agency teamwork
-Courts/attorneys
Next steps
A. Issues in Mental Health/Child Welfare teamwork
1. Communications gap
2. May be working at cross purposes - Example, clinician focused on reunification but DCFS moving to terminate
3. Suggestions – involve Mental Health in case plan meetings/FR panels before any big decisions made, esp. before going to court
4. Solicit clinician input before making big decisions
5. Social worker may not know who the clinician is and/or vice versa.
6. No forum for sharing info.
7. Mental Health needs training on how Child Welfare legal framework works. Role clarification.
B. Foster Parent-Bio Parent Team
1. Should this be an expectation?
2. Foster parents getting different messages from different FFAs
3. Need ongoing support because it’s not enough to just say it at training.
4. One stop resource center for bio parents – they need a “life coach” but is asking too much to make foster parent do it.
5. Help foster parent/bio parent relationship – foster parent felt she was helping behind the scenes
6. Parent Partners – parents who have successfully reunified as role model/mentor to bio parents in the system
7. Foster parent can be “parent coach” but not the “life coach”
8. Kin caregivers not getting support
9. Have foster parent know what resources to point a bio parent to
10. Expectation of on-going relationship between foster parent and bio parent
a. Counseling/support for foster parent post reunification over loss
C. Foster Parents/Court/Attorneys
1. Foster parents don’t always know they have a right to go to court or write a letter to judge with facts.
2. LAPP handbook on role of FP in court process
3. Some foster parents are taught that long term foster care is okay and shouldn’t adopt (especially kin)
4. Public health nurses
5. Role of social workers – training issues
GROUP THREE – TRAINING AND SUPPORT
Agenda -
Intros/Recap
Review Key Issues
Current trainings and needs
-Courts/CASA/Attorneys
-Law Enforcement
-Foster Parents
-Social Workers
Next Steps
A. Who needs training?
1. Admin
2. Managers/CWs
3. Foster parents and Kin caregivers
4. Court/CASA/Attorneys
5. Law enforcement
6. Mental health
7. Medical personnel
B. Foster Parent Training – Core Elements
1. Pool resources of all the training agencies to focus on this population of kids.
2. Continuum of training – not just classroom
3. Before & ongoing
4. Sue Shaw surveys foster parents each year on what they need
5. Foster parents need training as issues arise
6. Problem – State licensing only counts training hours with teachers
7. Technology to assist foster parents
a. Videos, e-learning
b. Chat rooms for foster parents, etc., post questions to others
8. Foster Parent mentor to work with new foster parents with babies/toddlers
9. Identify/assess what subject areas should be in person versus video, frequency needs.
10. There should be a special certification for infant/toddler care.
11. Ongoing in service
12. Need training on the special needs of kids in care (ex. Drug exposed, trauma exposed, abused)
13. DCFS needs to work on subsets of special populations of kids
14. Training on how to work with bio parents
15. Training on how to discipline trauma exposed youth
C. Social Worker Training
1. Basic developmental information for all social workers
a. Transfer learning from class to practice
2. Bring back specialized unit
3. Role of team in working with bio parent
4. Considerations in removing very young children from home (wallet care from Detroit)
5. How much inter-disciplinary training?
6. Includes foster parents in case staffing.
7. Training much track with policy change
8. Cumulative affect of trauma of job on social workers – compassion fatigue
9. Debriefing between supervisor and social worker
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