course »Placement Instability: Trends, Issues, and Outcomes

Date: 7/16/2018, 1:00 pm—4:00 pm
County: Alameda County
Location: Oakland
Sponsor: WestCoast Children’s Clinic
Phone: 510-269-9030
This training is designed to familiarize students with a range of issues pertaining to placement instability for children and youth residing in out-of-home care. Placement instability- the process of moving children and youth from one residential setting to another over time- has sufficient deleterious effects on children’s mental health and well-being. Because of the negative outcomes associated with placement instability the federal government has set targeted goals for all states to reduce placement instability for children in care, In spite of these goals, instability persists. This training will review the phenomenon and its prevalence in California and in Alameda County, the child characteristics associated with instability, why placement instability affects child’s mental health and well-being, and what clinical staff can do to improve children’s outcomes. The majority of children served in out-of-home care live in foster homes under the auspices of public or private agencies. Although some foster homes provide exceptional care, all vulnerable children in care demand high quality services. This presentation reviews evidence from the research literature on effective strategies for foster parent recruitment, screening. Special attention is paid to the clinical services that can be provided to support effective care and foster parent retention.