an overview georgia program improvement plan - Department of ...

Used the results obtained from the Child Placement Services Evaluation and Reporting (E & R) Social Services Reviews, thereby achieving the PIP requirement for
documenting efforts to place siblings together.
Assured that all Basic and Advanced Case Plan Reporting System (CPRS) Training was provided to staff in all 159 counties and that it include specific references to
placing siblings together. In SFY 2003, 1,200 supervisors and case managers attended either Basic or Advanced CPRS training. In SFY 2004, an additional 377 staff
were trained. Staff was trained on how to input and retrieve data. As a result of these efforts, Georgia achieved this goal.
Documented efforts to place siblings together in 91.30% of cases reviewed for the quarter, January 2004-March 2004. Of 37 cases reviewed, 23 were relevant to sibling
placements.
Provided training opportunities for foster parents to learn skills in managing sibling groups. Foster parents chose whether they preferred to receive the training locally, at
the Annual Staff and Foster Parent Institutes or during the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia’s Annual Conference. The importance of placing siblings
together was emphasized at all training programs.
Increased the number of recruited foster homes willing to accept sibling groups. The most recent available data (from the Foster Care and Adoption Recruitment
Quarterly Reports for April 2004-June 2004) shows that 1,284 of 3,020 approved and active foster homes indicated a willingness to accept sibling placements. This data
shows a stable correlation with the first two QCR data in that 1,289 of 2,382 approved foster homes in the 2 nd quarter and 1,440 of 2,693 approved and active homes in the
1 st quarter were documented as willing to accept siblings. This represents 54% of the total population for each of these quarters. Georgia continues to develop strategies
to identify the number of new homes committed to accepting sibling groups. NOTE: The system we currently use to collect data does not have a field, which separates
out newly approved homes. Also, it should be noted that during many of the reporting periods, some of the counties had not yet reported, which would adversely affect
the totals shown. The state is committed to working on both of these limitations.
Committed to develop a significant number of homes accepting sibling placements. As a means to measure progress towards fulfilling this commitment, Georgia
developed and implemented a survey of all 159 county departments to determine the number of new foster homes recruited during the past year, and of those new homes,
the number willing to accept sibling placements. All of the counties responded to the survey. The results of the survey indicated that 1,251 new homes were approved
during the period. Of that total, 919 homes were willing to accept sibling placements. This represents 73.46% of the newly approved homes.
Initiated a survey of caregivers to determine the impact of respite care services provided on behalf of children/youth in foster care. The survey required contacting the
foster care resource families directly. The survey was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of respite care services as a strategy to prevent placement disruptions. Three
Georgia counties, Bartow, Fulton and Harris, were chosen as the sites to interview twenty (20) foster parents about respite care services. The interviews included families
that both had and had not used respite care services. The study findings indicated that 70% of the total sample had used respite services in the past. In Bartow County,
100% of those sampled had used respite, whereas 60% of those sampled in Harris had never used respite. A total of 57% of those sampled in Fulton had used respite care
services. Participants cited various reasons they chose to use respite care services including, illness, vacation, attending a conference, family/personal or business
obligation or the need for a break/relief. Participants were asked how they thought respite care services could be improved. Their feedback indicated four primary areas
of concern: (1) more respite care time; (2) more respite care providers; (3) more ease in making arrangements; and (4) more timely payments. Georgia will continue to
consider ways respite care services can be used to enhance services to children and their caregivers.
Safe Futures – A Plan for Program Improvement
Georgia Department of Human Resources
November, 2004 Quarter 8 – Table of Contents Page xi