FOSTER CARE CASE MANAGEMENT

Our Beliefs

· 1. All children have a fundamental right to a permanent, loving, and secure home that allows them to reach their potential.

· 2. The best place for a child to grow up is a safe and permanent home, preferably with family members.

· 3. All children are entitled to be free from any form of abuse by their parents or caregivers.

· 4. Siblings should be placed together both in relative placements and out-of-home care unless specific reasons necessitate their separation.

· 5. Seamless case management services should ensure high quality and maximum effectiveness for children and families.

· 6. Communities should provide support to families in creating a safe and nurturing environment for children.

· 7. Families actively involved in decision-making are more likely to develop the capacity to safely care for their children.

· 8. Services to children and families must be culturally competent, responsive, timely, and designed to improve and strengthen families.

· 9. The service delivery system must be held accountable to specific performance standards.

YFA works in partnership with the Department of Children & Families (DCF) and Community Based Care lead agency providers. Professional case management staff work to ensure children are safely maintained or reunited with their parent, or, if this is not possible, work to ensure children are safe and stable with appropriate relative or non-relative caregivers.
Case Management service referrals are accepted through the lead agency and Child Protective Investigation (CPI) staff, and through self-referrals or voluntary service agreements with parents and caregivers.
Case Managers work with families and caregivers to access and coordinate services that are available and appropriate to the child's situation. Service needs for a child in the home with a parent may vary greatly from the needs of a child that has been removed from a parent or caregiver.
Case Managers coordinate the delivery of community services to families and caregivers of the children in care. Case Management services are provided to:
Keep families intact by strengthening and educating parents and caregivers; reunify children who have been removed from their family; maintain a stable, safe placement for children who are in out-of-home care; and, locate appropriate, safe and permanent placement for children who cannot be returned to their parents or caregivers.
Case Managers assist parents with accessing a variety of community services that are available and appropriate to their situation. The goal is to ensure parents have the tools, services, and support they need to independently provide a safe, nurturing environment for their children. Parents are often referred to providers who specialize in:
Parent training; child care; housing services; domestic violence services; psychological/psychiatric services; substance abuse and co-occurring disorder treatment; family preservation services.