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Question of the Week
Q: I know the Cal Grant deadline is less than a month away, and I need some guidance to help my foster child. She is a high school senior, and is hoping to attend our local Cal State University.
Her Grade Point Average (GPA) is 2.8, but I understand that the GPA requirements for the Cal Grant A are 3.0. Should my child still apply? For the answer, follow this LINK.
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CAFYES, FYSI, EOPS...Alphabet Soup? Get Schooled on Foster Youth On-Campus Support
Over the past several years, there have been significant developments at the state and local levels to better support foster youth on California’s college campuses.
Priority status for student housing and class enrollment, along with a wide range of social and academic support including over 80 programs targeting foster youth, are just a few of the resources that current and former foster youth can access on college campuses. It is important that those working with foster youth are capable of connecting them with this critical support.
What types of resources and support are available at community colleges versus 4-years? Are there eligibility requirements? Which programs are specifically for current and former foster youth? What do the new Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support (CAFYES) programs provide?
These and other questions will be answered on a web seminar on the various resources and supports for current and former foster youth at community colleges, California State Universities and University of California campuses.
Please join John Burton Advocates for Youth for the fifth web seminar in the Post-Secondary Education Training Series on March 9th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. To register for the March 9th webinar, follow this LINK. To download a flyer, follow this LINK. Previous webinars in this series can be viewed by following this LINK.
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Phase II of Continuum of Care Reform Rolls Out, DSS Unveils New Rate Structure
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has released All County Letter (ACL) 17-11, outlining Phase II of implementation of Continuum of Care Reform. This follows a previously released ACL which outlined Phase I.
ACL 17-11 introduces the newly established Home Based Family Care (HBFC) Level of Care (LOC) rate structure that will be used for Resource Families (RFs) and Foster Family Agencies (FFAs), which will be effective December 1, 2017.
Under the LOC rate structure, the age-based system will be replaced by a four-tiered rate structure and based on the child/youth’s needs as determined by the LOC Protocol, with an exception for some children/youth in FFAs which is described in the ACL. The rate to be paid must be based on an LOC Protocol completed upon initial placement of a child into foster care or triggered by the individual and changing needs of a child or youth.
Using the LOC Protocol, care and supervision needs will be identified based on five core domains: physical, behavioral/emotional, educational, health, and permanency/family services. There is no annual LOC rate determination requirement. Rather, the social worker/probation officer must use the LOC Protocol when a triggering event occurs.
The ACL also includes an Intensive Services Foster Care rate, previously referred to as Intensive Treatment Foster Care, that can be used to support Therapeutic Foster Care Services. A complete list of rates under the new rate structure can be found in the ACL. To read the ACL, follow this LINK.
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Largest Probation Department Pilots New Juvenile Justice Model, Major Culture Shift
The Children’s Defense Fund has released a report funded by the California Wellness Foundation, on the new “LA Model” of juvenile incarceration. The LA Model will be piloted at a new small-group therapeutic facility being constructed at the site of the former Camp Kilpatrick, characterized by a therapeutic environment that is deeply rehabilitative.
The expectation is that the principles of the LA Model will ultimately be implemented at every Los Angeles County facility and in every County agency. The report outlines the LA Model in detail, describing the core elements of the treatment program and the foundation for evidence-based programming and skill-building activities.
The report also makes specific recommendations to implement and support the essential elements of the LA Model, including the importance of multi-disciplinary team planning; engaging programming for youth; the inclusion of families in the treatment plan; aftercare and reentry as core drivers of case planning; a focus on relationships, homelike living spaces, and shared responsibility; psychological and physical safety; academic achievement and engagement; staff as mentors and support for staff mental health; individualizing, strength-based programming; and the importance of data-driven decision-making. To read the report, follow this LINK.
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2/22 Webinar - Which Foster Care Records Are Confidential?
Which health, education and mental health foster care records are confidential? How are records protected and who can access them?
Join the Step Up Coalition of the Alliance for Children’s Rights on a February 22nd web seminar from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on the confidentiality of foster care records.
Attendees will be provided an overview of policies, best practices, and confidentiality as it relates to the new Resource Family Approval process, Child and Family Team meetings and adoption. To register, follow this LINK. To download a flyer, follow this LINK.
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