June 1, 2012
Minister Outlines Progressive Enhancements to Foster Care
The Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services, announced further details on the new continuum of care strategy, including enhancements to foster care. The announcement was made today (Friday, June 1) during the 2012 Canadian Foster Family Association Conference taking place in St. John's this week.
“This national conference brings together members of foster family organizations, foster parents, social workers, and community agencies to share ideas and learn from each other,” said Minister Johnson. “In the development of the new continuum of care strategy, our government worked closely with the Newfoundland and Labrador Foster Families Association to identify enhancements that will benefit foster care throughout our province.”
As announced in Budget 2012: People and Prosperity, the new continuum of care strategy focuses on recruiting and retaining foster families to provide supportive, nurturing care to the province's most vulnerable children and youth. With a total expenditure of $18.4 million over the next two years, this strategy aims to eliminate current Alternate Living Arrangements by implementing a new system consisting of four levels; kinship care; foster care, specialized foster care, and, staffed residential care. Alternate Living Arrangements are staffed emergency homes for children and youth who could be placed in a foster home if one was available. Details regarding each level are included in the backgrounder below.
The new system will provide compensation specific to each level by recognizing the experiences, training, and skills of foster parents and matching children and youth with a foster family who best meets their specific needs. The implementation of this level system will be supported by enhanced training that will be developed throughout 2012. In addition, a promotional campaign to inform and attract potential foster parents will be launched.
In particular, Level 1 Kinship Homes will see a significant monetary increase. They will move from the existing Child Welfare Allowance, which had one rate for the whole province, to the current basic foster care rate which is much higher and recognizes increased costs in Labrador. It is expected that many existing foster families will see increases as well as a restructuring of how compensation is provided. None of these families will see a decrease.
The strategy also provides an improved approach to funding for foster families by implementing block funding. This means foster parents will be reimbursed for certain costs, such as social recreation, transportation, and weekend respite, in the form of a block transfer of funds rather than having to submit requests individually, and wait for approval and reimbursement. Current foster parents will be given the option of receiving the block transfer or continuing with receipt-based reimbursement, while new foster parents will receive the block transfer. This new approach will not only remove the administrative burden, but will provide foster parents and social workers with more time to focus on the child or youth in-care.
“The development of these enhancements is very positive news for the foster care program in our province,” said Diane Molloy, Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Foster Families Association. “Our association is looking forward to continuing to work with the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services as the new continuum of care strategy is released.”
In addition to enhancements to foster care, Minister Johnson also released the results of the Foster Families Survey that was conducted by the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services in partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Foster Families Association and the Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency. The Foster Families Survey Results, which informed the continuum of care strategy, is posted on the department's website at www.gov.nl.ca/cyfs.
- 30 -
Media contacts:
| Michelle Hunt Director of Communications Department of Child, Youth and Family Services 709-729-5148, 725-1593 MichelleHunt@gov.nl.ca |
Diane Molloy Executive Director Newfoundland and Labrador Foster Families Association 709-754-0213 dianemolloy@nfld.net |
BACKGROUNDER
Continuum of Care Strategy
Highlights
The existing continuum of out-of-home placement options will be replaced by a new level system consisting of:
- Level 1: Kinship Homes, Relative/Significant Other Foster Homes and Interim Approved Non-relative Foster Homes
- Level 2: Foster Homes
- Level 3: Specialized Foster Homes
- Level 4: Contracted Staffed Residential Services
- The new level system is scheduled to be fully implemented over the next two years, with the first two levels coming into effect in January 2013.
Level System
Level 1: Kinship Homes, Relative/Significant Other Foster Homes and
Interim Approved Non-Relative Foster Homes
- Families approved through the Child Welfare Allowance Program will now be called Kinship Homes. These homes will provide care to a child or youth who they are related to or have a significant relationship with as part of a plan with a parent(s) to prevent the child from coming into the care or custody of a Manager of Child, Youth and Family Services.
- The Child Welfare Allowance rate, including any special needs assessment rate, will be replaced by the current basic foster care rate.
- Kinship homes will be reimbursed at the current basic foster care rate plus some other individualized child specific costs related to transportation, counselling, health, medical, child care, and education. These homes will receive the child tax credit directly.
- Relative/significant other foster homes and interim approved non-relative foster homes will be reimbursed at the current basic foster care rate plus some other individualized child specific costs, receive a portion of the child tax credit in the amount of $85 as well as block funding which will be based on average costs.
Level 2: Foster Homes
- Level 2 will include foster homes (relative/significant other and non-relative) that have completed Parents’ Resources for Information, Development and Education (PRIDE) and provide care and support to children and youth requiring a foster home.
- It is expected that the majority of existing foster homes will be Level 2 homes.
- For each child and youth, foster homes will receive the current basic foster care rate per month plus some other individualized child specific costs, receive a portion of the child tax credit in the amount of $85 as well as block funding which will be based on average costs; and a level fee of $600 that will replace the existing special needs assessment rate.
- For those foster homes currently eligible for respite, the existing weekend respite rate of $135 for a two-day weekend and $180 for a three-day weekend will be increased by $40 per weekend.
Level 3: Specialized Foster Homes
- Level 3 will be specialized foster homes that must meet all the requirements of Level 2 homes, plus will be assessed as having the skills and willingness to meet Level 3 expectations; participate in specialized training; have a stay-at-home foster parent; and will be matched with children and youth that have very complex needs.
- For each child and youth, these specialized foster homes will receive the current basic foster care rate per month plus some other individualized child specific costs; receive a portion of the child tax credit in the amount of $85 as well as block funding which will be based on average costs; a level fee of $1,600; an additional respite weekend bringing the total to two per month; and wrap around supports (e.g. support worker).
- For those foster homes currently eligible for respite, the existing weekend respite rate of $135 for a two-day weekend and $180 for a three-day weekend will be increased by $65 per weekend.
Level 4: Contracted Staffed Residential Services
- Level 4 will include all types of staffed living arrangements that will provide care to children and youth with the most complex needs.
- The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services will consult with current residential care providers over the coming months and will release further details in early fall 2012.
Basic foster care rate
- The current basic foster care rate varies depending on the age of child and youth, as well as for Labrador and remote communities in Labrador. The table below outlines the specific rates by age and location.
| Age | Current Basic Foster Care Rate | Current Basic Foster Care Rate | Current Basic Foster Care Rate |
|
Island |
Labrador |
Remote Labrador |
|
|
Birth-2 |
$915 |
$1,052 |
$1,190 |
|
2-4 |
$715 |
$822 |
$930 |
|
5-11 |
$815 |
$937 |
$1,060 |
|
12 and older |
$915 |
$1,052 |
$1,190 |
2012 06 01 10:20 a.m.