Permanency & Placement
COMPETENCIES and LEARNING OBJECTIVES
RELEVANT CHILD WELFARE OUTCOMES
Safety 1
Children are, first and foremost, protected from abuse and neglect
Permanency 1
Children have permanency and stability in their living situations without increasing
reentry to foster care
Permanency 2
The continuity of family relationships and connections is preserved for children
Well-being 2
Children receive services appropriate to their educational needs
Well-being 3
Children receive services adequate to their physical, emotional, and mental health
needs.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Knowledge:
K1.
The trainee will be able to identify the following aspects of permanency:
a) the distinction between legal permanency and permanent
connections;
b) the different permanency goals (reunification, adoption,
guardianship);
c) the connection to concurrent planning;
d) strategies to facilitate permanency for older children, youth, and
young adults;
e) the importance of documenting family finding and permanency
connection efforts;
f) the benefits of permanency.
K2.
The trainee will be able to describe tools for helping families who experience
trauma, grief and loss following child welfare placement, including:
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a) identifying behaviors that indicate separation trauma in children,
youth, and young adults of different developmental stages and of
different cultural backgrounds;
b) identifying engagement strategies to assist children, youth and adults
to engage in collaborative mental health assessment and treatment to
address their feelings of grief and loss related to placement; and
c) identifying strategies including collaborating with mental health
service providers to promote attachment for infants, children, youth,
and young adults in placement.
K3.
The trainee will be able to identify the principles of concurrent planning as
defined in PL 96-272 and key steps for successful concurrent planning.
K4.
The trainee will be able to identify cultural factors that affect:
a) children and youth in their adjustment to out of home care;
b) the interaction between families of origin and substitute care
providers;
c) transition planning
d) concurrent planning;
e) permanency options.
K5.
The trainee will be able to recognize the key elements of public policy, federal
laws, California laws, and regulations specific to children and youth placed in
out-of-home care as described in:
a) The Adoption and Safe families Act of 1997 (including but not limited to
amendments made by PL 105-200)
b) The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1997
c) The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980
d) The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
e) The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
f) California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 361, 362, 366, 16002,
16003 and 16501
g) Family Code 7950
h) California Social Services Policy Manual Section 31 (including but not
limited to relative and NRFM placement, sibling placement, and
institutional abuse)
i) The Foster Children’s Bill of Rights
j) Assembly Bill 490 (Ensuring Educational Rights for Foster Youth)
k) Assembly Bill 408 (Prudent Parent and Check for Important People)
l) Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act (TPVRA) of
2008 (SIJS)
m) The Fostering Connections to Success Act
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K6.
The trainee will be able to identify the following tools to support substitute
care providers:
a) factors associated with substitute care providers’ ability to meet the
needs of children and youth for safety, permanence and well-being;
and
b) strength based service interventions to support substitute caregivers
in meeting those needs.
K7.
The trainee will be able to describe the critical assessment processes that
drive decisions about reunification and permanency planning (i.e., risk
reduction, visitation quality/quantity, and safety).
K8.
The trainee will be able to recognize that purposeful and frequent
parent/child visitation is highly correlated with successful reunification.
K9.
The trainee will be able to recognize that purposeful and frequent social
worker/child visits are associated with increased placement stability and
permanency.
Skills:
S1.
Given a case scenario, the trainee will be able to develop a culturally
appropriate concurrent plan, identifying barriers and strategies to overcome
those barriers when making placement decisions throughout the life of a case.
S2.
Given a case scenario, the trainee will be able to demonstrate culturally
appropriate prevention and intervention strategies to minimize trauma and
long-term negative consequences for children and youth placed in out-ofhome care.
S3.
Given a case scenario, the trainee will be able to demonstrate
a) engagement strategies to engage children, youth, and families in the
process of identification and assessment of permanent relationships;
b) best practice for documenting family finding efforts, including
identification and assessment of permanent relationships.
S4.
Given a case scenario, the trainee will be able to demonstrate strategies to
assist infants, children, youth, and young adults to nurture, support, and
sustain emotional connections.
Values:
V1.
The trainee will value placing children and youth in the least restrictive
environments that will meet their needs.
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V2.
The trainee will value using assessment processes that promote consistency
and equity when making decisions about reunification and permanency.
V3.
The trainee will value engagement of children, youth, young adults, parents,
extended family members, and caregivers in the effort to achieve permanency
for children, youth, and young adults.
V4.
The trainee will value relational permanence and maintaining connections to
family, culture, and support systems to ameliorate the effects of separation
trauma for children, youth, and young adults placed in out-of-home care.
V5.
The trainee will value as critical aspects of placement and permanence:
a) providing services to promote the well-being of children and youth,
(including health, education, visitation, and mental health services
within a cultural context); and
b) providing services to promote the well being of parents, caregivers
and other permanent connections .
V6.
The trainee will value the philosophy that permanency is achievable for all
children, youth, and young adults regardless of age, disability, culture, race,
ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation.
V7.
The trainee will value gaining insight into personal biases that may affect
placement and permanency decisions.
V8.
The trainee will value documenting permanent connections and family finding
efforts.
RELATED TITLE IV-E MSW CURRICULUM COMPETENCIES
CF 10(a).a. Demonstrate the knowledge base and affective readiness to intervene
constructively with individuals and groups.
CP 10(a).1. Skillfully and respectfully establish working relationships with clients and
community partners in accord with social work values, and utilize those
relationships in forging goals and positive outcomes.
CF 10(a).b. Demonstrate the capacity to exercise empathy and use of self in
engagement and service delivery
CF 10(a).c. Demonstrate the ability to work with individuals, families, and groups to
identify and work towards accomplishment of shared goals.
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CF 10(b).a. Demonstrate ability to effectively engage with diverse individuals to
gather, analyze, and interpret consumer/client information in a coherent,
objective manner.
CA 10(b).1. Consistently gather qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of
sources, form coherent meaning from the data, and use the resulting
information to make recommendations and to plan interventions that meet
standards for child welfare social work practice.
CP 10(b).1. Create service plans that demonstrate data collection and assessment
methods reflecting goal mutuality and respect for clients from diverse
backgrounds
CF 10(c).e. Recognize the importance of understanding the transition and termination
processes and demonstrate the capacity to sensitively terminate work.
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