Day 2 – Residential Redesign
Working Sessions
Results and World Café Process
Small group & Dotmocracy results Permanency mindset

Attachment focus (8+6*)
◦ Build connections between homes (e.g. bridging between foster
and birth families; FP as key resource for birth family)
◦ Preserve attachment in multiple relationships & prevent
cumulative loss (can never have too many people that love you)
◦ Hold foster homes open to provide respite or transition for
birth family
◦ Relationship permanency for older youth can also come from
key workers

Create a permanency plan with the end in mind (5+7*)
◦ Full and open discussion
◦ Identify, engage and include kin early on as part of the plan
◦ Give foster parents authority to initiate plan
Assessment and planning
More Roots, Family Finders, FCPC, FGC
in early planning (7+4*)
 Family and youth identified as major
contributors to decision-making (4)
 Team based planning at regular intervals
(mandatory within 30 days of start) (3)

Placement planning and matching:

Ensure resource teams know their
caregivers well and can identify potential
matches/more options (2)
◦ Develop a placement matching online site by
community/region where caregivers post
information about self, home, skills,
characteristics (7+1*)
Expediting return home or to an alternative
permanent arrangement
Use family group decision making before
child comes into care, during CP
investigation to prevent child coming into
care and involve family at all important
decision points (2+3*)
 Work through and resolve conflicts
instead of moving (6+3*)

Diverse array of permanency
options

Family finders when child first comes into
care, to create their support network and
possible options for permanence (3+9*)
Preparation for transitions

Planning for transition must happen
sooner rather than later (5+9*)
Recruitment

Targeted recruitment:
◦ Tap into underutilized gay community that is currently
stigmatized by MCFD and birth parents (3+1*)
 address through education/information/awareness
 specific recruitment and support
◦ Gay and lesbian adoptive homes are waiting for
placements
◦ Single people, Immigrant families, Elderly
◦ Aboriginal (1*)
◦ Connect with groups of people who want to help idealism, faith groups, PAC’s, Rotary, service clubs, etc
◦ Look for people who are emotionally stable and open
to training
Education and training:


Reframing education offered to FP as a ‘gift’,
job benefit and support (6)
Focus:
◦ Pre-service training is necessary and should be
mandatory before placements (no exceptions) (7)
◦ 53 hours updated and relevant with specialized
streams
◦ Ongoing support which is also training
(mandatory) (5+2*)
◦ Resource workers also take 53 hours (2)
◦ Offer training on emerging issues and new
information
Support:


Acknowledge compassion fatigue – regularly
check in, re-energize, normalize (8+2*)
Provide access to counseling for
caregivers/family members (6+1*)
◦ EAP style – private
◦ Resource enhancement worker (familiar to
caregiver due to other roles)


Revamp the protocol process (we lose too
many FPs during and after the process)
(1+3*)
Once process is enhanced, develop clear,
short pamphlet to inform
Compensation, contracting, levels
classification

Consistent contracting (4+2*)
◦ Using ‘bed specific’ and ‘child specific’ contacts
appropriately
◦ Long-term contracts i.e., year-long contracts; 60day notice; bed-specific used for cost savings
◦ FP can count on the contract not being altered
◦ Not re-tendering contracts

FP Training (4+2*)
◦ Checks and balances for ongoing learning
◦ Support for childcare/relief costs
◦ Assistance paying the training costs

Increased availability of training
Valuing, respecting, including




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Invite them; consult with them; include them; ask
what supports they need on a frequent basis (7+2*)
Share information – more pre-placement information;
all information that is pertinent to care of the
child/youth (3)
Stop treating FPs like they are clients ((2+2*)
Focus supports from MCFD early on before crisis
happens (3); provide support when FP asks for help
Provide support to every home with clinical advisor
(hub and spoke) (3*)
Get feedback from FP for SW annual performance
review (6+1*)
Recognize therapeutic fostering (4+1*)
Reducing placement disruption

First placement is the last placement
(7+3*)
Our approach now
Some tasks require significant work in
working tables, etc (e.g. levels and
education)
 Some are self-evident and can be
incorporated into report and
recommendations
 Some require more development

World café topics – achieving
permanency
Improve planning processes
 Successfully identify, engage and include
extended family members
 Successfully work through conflicts
 Prepare youth for successful transitions
to adulthood
 Improve transitions between
placements/home/alternative family
arrangements

World café topics - foster
caregiving
Enhance targeted recruitment efforts
 Enhance emotional and relational
supports for foster caregivers (address
compassion fatigue)
 Improve the level of respectful
engagement and inclusion of foster
caregivers
 Implement therapeutic fostering options
 First (second) placement is the last
placement

Address
 What
gets in the way of us doing
this now?
 What would it take to achieve
this? (keep doing, stop doing,
start doing)
 How will we know that we have
been successful?
World café etiquette