MAINE DHHS RECEIVES ADOPTION OPPORTUNITY
GRANT
Adoptions Created Through
Relationships (ACTR) is a new project
funded through a five-year Adoption Opportunities
grant awarded to the state of Maine, Department
of Health and Human Services by the US
DHHS Administration for Children and Families.
The project was developed based on federal
program reviews of child welfare programs
which found that a disproportionate number
of children in the age range of 9 –
15 are remaining in foster care for extended
periods, not finding permanent homes.
Focusing on children who are legally free
for adoption and for whom no adoptive,
or legal guardianship placement has been
found, ACTR is a model intended to result
in the placement of more youth in legal,
permanent homes.
ACTR is a collaboration
between four different organizations—the
Maine Department of Health and Human Services,
Connecticut Department of Children, Youth
and Families, Casey Family Services, and
the University of Southern Maine.
The core of the project
is an intervention that consists of two
complimentary approaches that are considered
best practice with this population:
-
Family team conferencing - Family
Team Meeting (FTM) in Maine and
Life Long Family Ties (LLFT) in
Connecticut, and
-
Clinical services and therapeutic
supports to facilitate attachments
between the child and the child's
new family. Some of these services
include:
-
Adoption competent individual
therapy for
parents/children
-
Adoption competent family
therapy
-
Family based services
-
Support groups
-
Informal recreational activities
It is anticipated that a
total of 45 children/youth, per year,
age 8 – 14, will be served through
the project sites, District 1 [Biddeford
office], District 2 [Portland office]
and District 6 [Bangor] in Maine and Bridgeport
and Waterbury DCYF offices in Connecticut,
and a total of 225 served during the five-year
project period.
A Project Management Committee,
with representatives from each of the
four organizations, oversees the project.
This committee has been sharing information
between the two states, and has compared
training approaches and target populations
in order to define a service delivery
model that meets the needs of both Maine
and Connecticut. Both states have been
conducting training for social workers
on their respective family team conferencing
models. A Youth Advisory Committee, which
is comprised of youth age 18 and older
who have experience with the foster care
system (in Maine or Connecticut), will
provide input to the ACTR model and evaluation
procedures, and will regularly advise
the Project Managers on any changes and
issues. The group includes a cross-section
of youth with different experiences in
care—some, who have been adopted,
some who have not, some with other permanency
arrangements.
The University of Southern
Maine will conduct an evaluation of the
two group conferencing approaches and
the service delivery system to identify
best practice in support of children and
their families. The evaluation of the
ACTR project will include data from state
agency social workers, Casey Family Services
social workers, caregivers/significant
adults in a youth's life, and input
from the youth themselves. Data will be
collected on the types of services provided,
and the family team meeting process. In
addition, social workers will assess child/youth
functioning at intervals, and caregivers/significant
adults will be asked to complete surveys
on parent stress, family adaptability
and cohesion, empowerment and service
use.
Referrals of children/youth
into the project began in late April 2004
and the evaluation of the project will
begin at the end of July 2004. We are
very excited about this project to improve
permanency results for our children in
care. A special thank you to the foster
families that have begun to work with
us in this project in support of the children
in their home.
If you have any questions
or would like more information about this
exciting project, please contact Virginia
Marriner, Project Lead, Maine Department
of Human Services, at 287-5060 or virginia.s.marriner@maine.gov;
or contact Amy Detgen, Project Administrator,
University of Southern Maine, at 626-5003
or amy.detgen@maine.gov
