Montana Resources

Tools

• ABA Legal Center on Foster Care and Education: Publications on Fostering Connections
• A Guide to Using the Guardianship Assistance Agreement
  A guide to using the Guardianship Assistance Agreement created by Children's Defense Fund and ChildFocus.
• Five Key Questions to Assess the Fiscal Impact of the Guardianship Assistance Program
  States are obligated to achieve permanence for children in foster care who cannot return home or be adopted. The new federal Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) can help states achieve permanence, particularly for those children living with relatives.
• Guardianship Assistance Program Checklist
  A checklist for implementing a Guardian Assistance Program.
• Identification of and Notice to Relatives Checklist
  A checklist for implementing relative notification.
• Making the Case for the Guardianship Assistance Program
  Information on fiscal and permanency outcomes in regards to implementing Guardianship Assistance Programs.
• Sample Guardianship Assistance Agreement
  A sample guardianship assistance agreement for states to use.
• Myths and Facts Related to the Use of Guardianship Assistance Programs
  Some myths and facts about Guardianship Assistance Programs.
• Sample Notice Letter
  A sample letter of relative notification.
• Key Considerations for Implementing the Notice Requirement of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
  This publication outlines the law's requirements with respect to providing notice of placement to relatives within 30 days of a child's removal from the custody of a parent. It also covers key considerations for states and tribes implementing this provision.
• Sample State Legislation on Federal Kinship Guardianship Assistance Option
  This sample legislation outlines the components that are required by the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 in order for a state or tribe to operate a federally supported kinship guardianship assistance program.
• The Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center Website
  A national legal resource created to educate individuals about state laws and legislation in support of grandfamilies and to assist interested state legislators, advocates, caregivers, attorneys, and other policymakers in exploring policy options to support relatives and the children in their care both within and outside the child welfare system.
• State Child Welfare Policy Database: Kinship Care
  A website with state-by-state policy information about kinship care. Visitors can view individual state policies and compare one state's policies to those of other states.
• FosterClub's Transition Toolkit
  A tool for developing a youth-driven transition plan using a team approach
• Webinar on Fiscal Impact of Extending Foster Care to 21 - Powerpoint slides
  Slides from a webinar on older youth issues sponsored by the Fostering Connections Resource Center in conjunction with The Finance Project and The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. The presentation focused on assessing the Fiscal Impact of Extending Foster Care to 21.
• Tennessee's Fiscal Analysis of Extending Foster Care to Age 21
  In response to the opportunities presented by the Fostering Connections Act, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services created a taskforce to assess the fiscal implications of extending foster care to 21. This taskforce was staffed by The Finance Project with support from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.
• Iowa's Fiscal Analysis of Extending Foster Care to Age 21
  In response to the opportunities presented by the Fostering Connections Act, the Iowa Children’s Justice Initiative created a Taskforce and requested assistance from The Finance Project, with support from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, to assess the fiscal implications of extending foster care to 21.
• State Child Welfare Policy Database: Older Youth
  A website with state-by-state policy information about kinship care. Visitors can view individual state policies and compare one state's policies to those of other states.
• State Child Welfare Policy Database: Older Youth
  A website with state-by-state policy information regarding older youth in foster care. Visitors can view information on individual state policies and compare one state's policies to those of other states.
• WEBINAR: Fostering Connections Through Adoptions
  A powerpoint presentation from the April 15, 2010 webinar on the Adoption Provision of the Act hosted by the Fostering Connections Resource Center in conjunction with the North American Council on Adoptable Children.
• Q&As from Adoption Webinar - April 15
  During a webinar on Fostering Connections to Adoptions on April 15, 2010, many participants had questions which were answered during and after the session. They are summarized here.
• Implementing the Adoption Assistance Provisions of the Fostering Connections Act
  This tool provides states with guidelines for implementation planning, including key questions to consider to determine cost-savings and reinvestment amounts from the provision. Also includes state-by-state data from AFCARS (2007) on characteristics of waiting children and adopted children regarding Title IV-E status, length of time in care, and age.
• IV-E Delink Cost Savings Worksheets
  A spreadsheet with embedded formulas designed to help states estimate the cost implications of the Adoption Assistance de-link provision. The tool estimates costs and/or savings for the state resulting from the implementation of the provision for FY 2010 and FY2011 (and, thus, the amount states must reinvest in Titles IV-B or IV-E services).
• In Focus: The Adoption Tax Credit
  This brief provides an overview of the legislative history of the adoption tax credit, and includes a summary of the changes affecting 2010 adoptions from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
• Adoption Assistance by State: What mental health services are provided by your State?
  A description of mental health services by State.
• The Child Welfare Policy Manual Section 9: Tribes/Indian Tribal Organizations
  The Child Welfare Policy Manual conveys mandatory policies that have their basis in Federal law and/or program regulations. It also provides interpretations of Federal statutes and program regulations initiated by inquiries from Child Welfare agencies or ACF Regional Offices.
• Federal and State Recognized Tribes
  A state-by-state listing of Indian tribes or groups that are federally or state recognized.
• Title IV-E: Helping Tribes Meet the Legal Requirements
  Many tribes have tribal codes, regulations and policies but many of these were developed outside the requirements of Title IV-E as tribes did not directly operate Title IV-E programs. When seeking to operate Title IV-E programs, tribes will need to assess their current codes, regulations and policies and make changes as needed. This report by Jack F. Trope provides tribes with detailed information about the Title IV-E issues that tribes must address through codes, regulations or policies and offers strategies that tribes can use to make needed revisions.
• Q & A on Adoption Webinar 4.15.2010

Research & Reports

• Child Welfare Outcomes 2003-2006: Report to Congress
  Child Welfare Outcomes 2003–2006: Report to Congress is a report created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) to meet requirements of section 203(a) of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA).1 ASFA amended section 479A of the Social Security Act to require an annual report on State performance. Child Welfare Outcomes 1998 was the first report created in the Child Welfare Outcomes series of reports.
• Addressing the Unmet Educational Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems
  Reviews educational barriers encountered by youth in the child welfare systems and describes recent legal and policy reforms. Includes promising practices and evidence-based interventions to improve educational outcomes.
• Improving Educational Continuity and School Stability for Children in Out-of-Home Care
  This report highlights the most promising practices developed by the participating teams where the focus was on improving educational continuity and school stability; these strategies influenced systems change by enhancing the way information is exchanged across systems and by coordinating resources and advocacy around educational issues.
• Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children
  A description of Reasonable Efforts as it applies to family reunification.
• New Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: Questions and Answers About the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
  This question and answer guide aims to ensure full and prompt implementation of the improvements in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act for children being raised by grandparents and other relatives.
• Fostering Connections Aging Out Brief
• Resources from the April 16h, 2010 Summit on Charting a Better Future for Youth
  Resources from the April 16th, 2010 Fostering Connections National Summit: Charting a Better Future for Youth hosted by the American Bar Association.
• Review of State Policies and Programs to Support Young People Transitioning out of Foster Care
  The report addresses the findings of a national review of state programs for young people aging out of foster care.
• Providing Federal Adoption Assistance to More Children with Special Needs: A Welcome Change
  This issue brief summarizes the following: the problems of the AFDC adoption assistance link; the new provision that removes the AFDC link; and what the child welfare community needs to do to take advantage of the law’s Maintenance of Effort provision (MoE), which requires states to continue their investments in child welfare services.
• Adoption Incentive History 1998-2008
  Table presenting state-by-state receipt of adoption incentive awards from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for each year from FY1998 through FY2008
• In Focus: The Adoption Tax Credit
  This report provides an overview of the legislative history of the adoption tax credit and a detailed analysis of the tax credit with respect to existing law. The report also outlines key policy considerations and summarizes pending legislation to modify the tax credit.
• Indian Child Welfare Act; Designated Tribal Agents for Service of Notice
  Federal Resource: This list of Indian Child Welfare Act; Designated Tribal Agents appeared in the Federal Register on Wednesday, May 19, 2010.
• Connecting Children to their Native American Roots. Tribal Contact Lookup:
  Private Company Created Resource: Ayazuta. Provides up to date information on Tribal Contacts and additional resources for states to strengthen their notice of tribes in child welfare cases.
• Key Considerations and Best Practices for Tribal Title IV-E Data Collection and Reporting
  This report by Dr. Priscilla Day and Erin Geary provides an overview of the critical issues related to American Indian child welfare and data collection. It describes the data reporting requirements under Title IV-E. Drawing on the experiences of successful tribal agencies that have collected and reported data in an effective, culturally relevant way, it describes challenges, lessons learned and best practice related to child welfare data collection. It further provides an assessment tool for tribes to use to assess their readiness to implement Title IV-E services.
• Montana Fostering Connections Act Implementation Report
  Provides an overview of the state's child welfare population, budget, native tribes, and the progress (as of 2009) the state has made in implementing the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act.
• Montana Adoption Facts
  Summary of data and statistics regarding waiting children and children adopted from foster care.
• A Carrot Among Sticks: The Adoption Incentive Bonus
  This report summarizes interviews with states and DC about what they are doing with their Adoption Incentive dollars, how they have responded/reacted to the Adoption Incentive program, and how they have reinvested these dollars.
• What Works for Older Youth During the Transition to Adulthood
  This fact sheet examines the role that programs for older youth can play in promoting positive development and subsequent self-sufficiency in adulthood. It synthesizes the findings from 31 rigorous evaluations of programs; all of the programs evaluated youth outcomes during the transition to adulthood (ages 18 to 25), but programs varied in the ages of targeted youth.
• ESEA Letter to Chairman Miller
  A letter from Rep. McDermott to Chairman Miller. The letter requests that the Chairman include language promoting educational stability for children in foster care in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) .
• Key Considerations for Implementing the Notice Requirement of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
  This document outlines the components that are required by the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering Connections Act) in order for a state or tribe to comply with the Notification of Relatives Provision (Section 103) of the law.

Analysis

• ACYF-CB-PI-08-05
  A description of the provisions of Public Law 110-351 by the Children's Bureau.
• Fostering Connections Aging Out Brief
• New guidance from Children's Bureau on Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program
  The Program Instruction, ACYF-CB-PI-10-01 issued on February 18, 2010, supersedes earlier instructions (ACYF-CB-PI-08-07 issued on December 24, 2008). This analysis describes the new PI. Under the new Program Instruction, states and tribes electing the KinGAP option and seeking to claim federal funding for children in guardianship arrangements prior to approval of the plan amendment must notify ACF of their plans to do so. They must submit a description to ACF explaining the process it will use to ensure that claims will only be submitted on behalf of children who meet all eligibility criteria for the KinGAP Program.
• Resources from CDF on policies and programs related to Fostering Connections Act
  An array of resources by the Children's Defense Fund on policies and programs related to the Fostering Connections Act.
• Connected By 25: Effective Policy Solutions for Vulnerable Youth

Training

No resources are available for Montana.

National Resources

Tools

• Children's Bureau Child Welfare Policy Manual: Title IV-E Training
  The Child Welfare Policy Manual includes several new Q & A regarding the new training opportunities provided by the Fostering Connections Act.
• ABA Legal Center for Foster Care and Education
  The ABA Legal Center is a national leader and resource in the effective implementation of the education provisions of Fostering Connections. Here you will find the Legal Center's materials for Fostering Connections to aid states working on implementation.
• Fostering Connections Act - Implementation Checklists for Education Provisions
  These checklists produced by the ABA Legal Center for Foster Care and Education are designed to guide conversations and support thoughtful implementation of the important education provisions in Fostering Connections.
• A Guide to Using the Guardianship Assistance Agreement
  A guide to using the Guardianship Assistance Agreement created by Children's Defense Fund and ChildFocus.
• Five Key Questions to Assess the Fiscal Impact of the Guardianship Assistance Program
  States are obligated to achieve permanence for children in foster care who cannot return home or be adopted. The new federal Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) can help states achieve permanence, particularly for those children living with relatives.
• Guardianship Assistance Program Checklist
  A checklist for implementing a Guardian Assistance Program.
• Identification of and Notice to Relatives Checklist
  A checklist for implementing relative notification.
• Making the Case for the Guardianship Assistance Program
  Information on fiscal and permanency outcomes in regards to implementing Guardianship Assistance Programs.
• Sample Guardianship Assistance Agreement
  A sample guardianship assistance agreement for states to use.
• Myths and Facts Related to the Use of Guardianship Assistance Programs
  Some myths and facts about Guardianship Assistance Programs.
• Sample Notice Letter
  A sample letter of relative notification.
• Key Considerations for Implementing the Notice Requirement of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
  This publication outlines the law's requirements with respect to providing notice of placement to relatives within 30 days of a child's removal from the custody of a parent. It also covers key considerations for states and tribes implementing this provision.
• Sample State Legislation on Federal Kinship Guardianship Assistance Option
  This sample legislation outlines the components that are required by the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 in order for a state or tribe to operate a federally supported kinship guardianship assistance program.
• The Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center Website
  A national legal resource created to educate individuals about state laws and legislation in support of grandfamilies and to assist interested state legislators, advocates, caregivers, attorneys, and other policymakers in exploring policy options to support relatives and the children in their care both within and outside the child welfare system.
• State Child Welfare Policy Database: Kinship Care
  A website with state-by-state policy information about kinship care. Visitors can view individual state policies and compare one state's policies to those of other states.
• Ten Steps Public Child Welfare Agencies Can Take to Support Children in Safe and Stable Kinship Families
  Lists ten steps public Child Welfare agencies can take to support children in safe and stable kinship families.
• Team Decisionmaking Can Support Safe and Stable Kinship Care: A Guide for Using TDM to Identify, Educate, and Engage Kinship Families
  This guide seeks to help agencies understand the provisions of the Fostering Connections Act, understand how TDM teams can support effective implementation, and advocate for kinship systems that can help support quality kinship care.
• Making Relative Search Happen
  This guide by ChildFocus provides useful tips for public agencies seeking to find and involve relatives at every stage of the child welfare process
• Six Steps to Find a Family
  These two practice guides provide practical advice and tools for notifying and involving extended families for children in foster care
• Family Search and Engagement: A Comprehensive Practice Guide
• Family Finding model
  The Seneca Center provides training and technical assistance on Family Finding, the model of relative search and engagement pioneered by Kevin Campbell
• FosterClub's Transition Toolkit
  A tool for developing a youth-driven transition plan using a team approach
• Healthy Foster Care America Website
  This site was developed as a place where professionals and partner organizations can find the latest information, facts, and figures on the health care of children and teens in foster care, including ready-to-use tools and resources. Foster parents or kin may also find these materials helpful in caring for the health needs of children and teens in their care.
• Webinar on Fiscal Impact of Extending Foster Care to 21 - Powerpoint slides
  Slides from a webinar on older youth issues sponsored by the Fostering Connections Resource Center in conjunction with The Finance Project and The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. The presentation focused on assessing the Fiscal Impact of Extending Foster Care to 21.
• Tennessee's Fiscal Analysis of Extending Foster Care to Age 21
  In response to the opportunities presented by the Fostering Connections Act, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services created a taskforce to assess the fiscal implications of extending foster care to 21. This taskforce was staffed by The Finance Project with support from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.
• Iowa's Fiscal Analysis of Extending Foster Care to Age 21
  In response to the opportunities presented by the Fostering Connections Act, the Iowa Children’s Justice Initiative created a Taskforce and requested assistance from The Finance Project, with support from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, to assess the fiscal implications of extending foster care to 21.
• WEBINAR: Designing Foster Care to 21
  A powerpoint presentation from the Feb 8, 2010 webinar on how to design foster care to age 21 hosted by the Fostering Connections Resource Center in conjunction with The Finance Project and the National Foster Care Coalition.
• FAQ: Youth and Young Adults Provisions of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
  Provides information about, and assists in the implementation of, Fostering Connections in states across the nation. The document answers questions about Fostering Connections' improvements that will impact youth and young adults in foster care and assist in the implementation process.
• State Child Welfare Policy Database: Older Youth
  A website with state-by-state policy information about kinship care. Visitors can view individual state policies and compare one state's policies to those of other states.
• Extending Foster Care to Age 21: Weighing the Costs to Government Against the Benefits to Youth (Issue Brief)
  This issue brief provides preliminary estimates of what the potential costs to government and the benefits to young people would be if states extend foster care to age 21. The analysis focuses on the increase in postsecondary educational attainment associated with allowing foster youth to remain in care until they are 21 years old and the resulting increase in lifetime earnings associated with postsecondary education.
• Extending Foster Care to Age 21: Weighing the Costs to Government Against the Benefits to Youth (Full Report)
• It's My Life: A framework for youth transitioning from foster care to successful adulthood
  The document provides the principles and assumptions that inform the basis of Casey Family Programs transition work.
• It's My Life: Postsecondary Education and Training
  This guide gives child welfare professionals the information ans tools they need to help youth prepare for and successfully complete postsecondary education or training.
• It's My Life: Housing
  This guide gives child welfare professionals the tools they need to help young people get and keep safe, affordable housing after they leave care.
• It's My Life: Employment
  This guide gives child welfare professionals strategies and resources for coaching young people, from ages 11 to adulthood, through the contiuum of career development and employment.
• CWLA Standard for Transition, Independent Living, and Self-Sufficiency Services
  This document on standards provides the framework for the successful planning, delivery, coordination, and development of family, community, and agency resources toward this goal.
• WEBINAR: Fostering Connections Through Adoptions
  A powerpoint presentation from the April 15, 2010 webinar on the Adoption Provision of the Act hosted by the Fostering Connections Resource Center in conjunction with the North American Council on Adoptable Children.
• Q&As from Adoption Webinar - April 15
  During a webinar on Fostering Connections to Adoptions on April 15, 2010, many participants had questions which were answered during and after the session. They are summarized here.
• Implementing the Adoption Assistance Provisions of the Fostering Connections Act
  This tool provides states with guidelines for implementation planning, including key questions to consider to determine cost-savings and reinvestment amounts from the provision. Also includes state-by-state data from AFCARS (2007) on characteristics of waiting children and adopted children regarding Title IV-E status, length of time in care, and age.
• IV-E Delink Cost Savings Worksheets
  A spreadsheet with embedded formulas designed to help states estimate the cost implications of the Adoption Assistance de-link provision. The tool estimates costs and/or savings for the state resulting from the implementation of the provision for FY 2010 and FY2011 (and, thus, the amount states must reinvest in Titles IV-B or IV-E services).
• De-Linking Provision Will Result in New Child Welfare Funds
  A summary of the Adoption Assistance de-linking provision of the Fostering Connections Act; questions for states to consider when projecting their potential cost-savings and the reinvestment of these dollars, per the Fostering Connections' Maintenance of Effort requirement. Data on states with the highest percentage of children impacted by the law in its initial phase: non-IV-E waiting children; non-IV-E waiting children who have been in care for at least 60 months; and non-IV-E waiting children who are at least 16 years old.
• Claiming the Federal Adoption Tax Credit for Special Needs Adoptions
  Summary of the federal adoption tax credit for families who adopt a child with special needs from foster care, including frequently asked questions on eligibility, claiming the credit, and timing of adoption finalization.
• In Focus: The Adoption Tax Credit
  This brief provides an overview of the legislative history of the adoption tax credit, and includes a summary of the changes affecting 2010 adoptions from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
• IRS Topic 607-Adoption Credit
  IRS's summary of the adoption tax credit, which includes links to the relevant tax form, Form 8839 (Qualified Adoption Expenses)
• IRS: Adoption Benefits Increased
  Links to information on the 2008 and 2009 adoption tax credit provisions on the IRS website.
• Overview of Tribal Provisions in P.L. 110-351
  Detailed description of the tribal provisions of Fostering Connection.
• Technical Assistance on American Indian Child Welfare Systems
  National Indian Child Welfare (NICWA) staff and consultants provide technical assistance (TA) in the area of the Indian child welfare service systems development and improvement. The emphasis is on empowering tribal programs and increasing their capacity. TA services are adapted to meet the needs of both Indian and non-Indian organizations who request assistance in developing child welfare systems that impact American Indian children and their families.
• National Indian Child Welfare Association on Mental Health
• Systems of Care Tribal Communities
• Native American Child Health
• Title IV-E: Helping Tribes Meet the Legal Requirements
  Many tribes have tribal codes, regulations and policies but many of these were developed outside the requirements of Title IV-E as tribes did not directly operate Title IV-E programs. When seeking to operate Title IV-E programs, tribes will need to assess their current codes, regulations and policies and make changes as needed. This report by Jack F. Trope provides tribes with detailed information about the Title IV-E issues that tribes must address through codes, regulations or policies and offers strategies that tribes can use to make needed revisions.
• Circles of Care
• Native American Children and Youth Well Being Indicators: A Strengths Perspective
• Native American Kids, 2001. Indian Children's Well Being Indicators: Databook
• Title IV-E Plan Pre-print
  The attached pre-print from the Children's Bureau incorporates the statutory provisions of P.L. 110-351 that are effective through FY 2010
• Q & A on Adoption Webinar 4.15.2010
• Designing Foster Care to 21: A Discussion Guide for State Leaders
  State leaders considering the opportunities to extend IV-E eligibility presented by Fostering Connections face a variety of design decisions regarding how best to structure supports and services for older youth in foster care. This brief is intended to support state leaders in that decision making process

Research & Reports

• Child Welfare Outcomes 2003-2006: Report to Congress
  Child Welfare Outcomes 2003–2006: Report to Congress is a report created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) to meet requirements of section 203(a) of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA).1 ASFA amended section 479A of the Social Security Act to require an annual report on State performance. Child Welfare Outcomes 1998 was the first report created in the Child Welfare Outcomes series of reports.
• "Green Book"- Child Welfare section
  The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee "Green Book" section on child welfare includes information on federal programs dedicated to child welfare purposes, including program requirements, spending and characteristics of children served.
• Addressing the Unmet Educational Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems
  Reviews educational barriers encountered by youth in the child welfare systems and describes recent legal and policy reforms. Includes promising practices and evidence-based interventions to improve educational outcomes.
• Improving Educational Continuity and School Stability for Children in Out-of-Home Care
  This report highlights the most promising practices developed by the participating teams where the focus was on improving educational continuity and school stability; these strategies influenced systems change by enhancing the way information is exchanged across systems and by coordinating resources and advocacy around educational issues.
• Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children
  A description of Reasonable Efforts as it applies to family reunification.
• New Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: Questions and Answers About the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
  This question and answer guide aims to ensure full and prompt implementation of the improvements in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act for children being raised by grandparents and other relatives.
• Strengthening Families Through Guardianship
  This publication provides a brief overview of guardianship and why it is important as a permanency option for children in foster care
• Subsidized Guardianship: Testing the Generalizability of an Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come
  This powerpoint presentation provides an overview of the results of Tennessee's subsidized guardianship waiver
• Child Welfare and Child Support: Working Together to Help Families
  Published by the Administration for Children and Families, this document provides advice on how child support and child welfare agencies can work together to identify family resources for children at risk of or in foster care
• State Practices for Assessing Health Needs, Facilitating Service Delivery, and Monitoring Children's Care
  A report by the GAO on Foster Youth Health
• Addressing the Health Care Needs of Foster Care Children
  This brief highlights a number of critical health concerns and policies impacting children in the foster care system.
• Children in Foster Care: Challenges in meeting their health care needs through Medicaid
  An overview of the challenges of meeting the health care needs of foster youth through Medicaid.
• Medicaid and Financing of Health Care for Children in Foster Care: Findings from a National Survey
  An overview of findings on Medicaid and Financing of Health care for Children In Foster Care
• Protecting Children in Foster Care: Why Proposed Medicaid Cuts Harm Our Nation's Most Vulnerable Youth
  A report on medicaid cuts and the effects on youth in foster care
• Lighthouse independent living program: Characteristics of youth served and their outcomes at discharge
  This study examined the outcomes of 455 young people who entered the Lighthouse Independent Living Program during the period 2001–2006.
• Resources from the April 16h, 2010 Summit on Charting a Better Future for Youth
  Resources from the April 16th, 2010 Fostering Connections National Summit: Charting a Better Future for Youth hosted by the American Bar Association.
• Guiding Principles for Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 Provisions Addressing Older Youth
  This document provides a set of principles regarding the essential elements of implementing the Fostering Connections provisions for older youth.
• Extending Foster Care to Age 21: Benefits, Costs, and Opportunities for States
  This audioconference gives an overview of research conducted by Chapin Hall and others shows that foster youth who are allowed to stay care beyond age 18 -- when most states end guardianship -- are more likely to go to college and derive other benefits.
• Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth
  The Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (Midwest Study) is a prospective study following a sample of young people in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois as they make the transition from foster care to early adulthood. It provides a comprehensive picture of how foster youth are faring during this transition since the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 became law.
• Continuing Foster Care Beyond 18: How Courts Can Help
  The study involved analysis of administrative data, a statewide survey of caseworkers, focus groups with substitute caregivers and with youth, and site visits to interview court personnel across the state. Findings indicate that strong advocacy within the juvenile court on behalf of foster youth plays a primary role in keeping youth in care.
• Youth Transitioning from Foster Care: Background, Federal Programs and Issues for Congress
  This report summarizes the issues faced by young people when they leave foster care without safe, permanent families. Youth who spend their teenage years in foster care and age out are likely to face challenges in early adulthoold.
• Review of State Policies and Programs to Support Young People Transitioning out of Foster Care
  The report addresses the findings of a national review of state programs for young people aging out of foster care.
• When Should the State Cease Parenting? Evidence from the Midwest Study
  This Issue Brief discusses the potential benefits of allowing foster youth to remain in care past age 18. In particular, data from the Midwest Study suggest that allowing foster youth to remain in care past age 18 increases their likelihood of attending college and their likelihood of receiving independent living services after age 19. It may also increase earnings and delay pregnancy.
• Children Discharged from Foster Care: Strategies to Prevent the Loss of Health Coverage at a Critical Transition
  Kaiser Family Foundation report on health of foster care children at transition time
• Transition or Eviction: Youth Exiting Care for Independent Living
  This journal reviews promising strategies to support young adults leaving foster care.
• Teen Pregnancy Prevention Among Youth in Foster Care
  This brief makes recommendations for how federal, state, and local governments can use provisions in the Fostering Connections Act to help young people in and transitioning out of foster care to get the education and health services they need to avoid teen pregnancy.
• Fostering Connections to Success: Extending a Social Safety Net for Youths Facing Homelessness and Poverty
  A journal article on the Act's effect on older youth aging out of foster care.
• Providing Federal Adoption Assistance to More Children with Special Needs: A Welcome Change
  This issue brief summarizes the following: the problems of the AFDC adoption assistance link; the new provision that removes the AFDC link; and what the child welfare community needs to do to take advantage of the law’s Maintenance of Effort provision (MoE), which requires states to continue their investments in child welfare services.
• In Focus: The Adoption Tax Credit
  This report provides an overview of the legislative history of the adoption tax credit and a detailed analysis of the tax credit with respect to existing law. The report also outlines key policy considerations and summarizes pending legislation to modify the tax credit.
• Adoption USA: A Chartbook Based on the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents
  Findings from the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP), the first-ever representative survey on the characteristics, adoption experiences, and well-being of adopted children and their families in the U.S.
• A Report to Congress on Barriers and Success Factors in Adoptions from Foster Care: Perspectives of Families and Staff
  Results from two adoption studies: (1) surveys/interviews of families seeking to adopt children with special needs from foster care, as well as private and public agency adoption professionals, regarding barriers in the adoption process (the "Barriers" study); and (2) an investigation of factors influencing successful adoptions (the "Success Factors" study)
• Ending the Foster Care Life Sentence: The Critical Need for Adoption Subsidies
  Results of a survey of nearly 250 parents who have adopted (or are considering adopting) children from foster care,on their experiences, including factors influencing their decisions to adopt, the impact of the adoption subsidy on the adoption, and other challenges/barriers with the adoption process.
• Federal Income Tax Benefits for Adoption Use by Taxpayers 1999-2005
  An overview of the use of the federal adoption tax credit between 1999 and 2005.
• Title IV-E Claims and Adoption Assistance Payments
  History of the federal adoption assistance program, national statistics and trends regarding the use of Title IV-E adoption assistance payments, and state-by-state data on adoption assistance claiming and subsidy amounts.
• The Value of Adoption
  Summary of a cost-benefit analysis of foster care adoption, focusing on adoption's private and societal impacts. Explores foster care adoption as an intervention, and its cognitive and educational, health and mental health, behavioral, and economic effects on individuals and society.
• Understanding Adoption Subsidies: An Analysis of AFCARS Data
  Analysis of AFCARS data from 1999-2001, showing national trends and state differences in use of adoption subsidies; the relationship between states' subsidy use and adoption outcomes; and the relationship between child, family, and state characteristics and subsidy levels and usage.
• Overview of Tribal Provisions in P.L. 110-351
  Detailed description of the tribal provisions of Fostering Connection.
• Tribal/State Title IV-E Intergovernmental Agreements: Facilitating Tribal Access to Federal Resources
• Indian Child Welfare Act; Designated Tribal Agents for Service of Notice
  Federal Resource: This list of Indian Child Welfare Act; Designated Tribal Agents appeared in the Federal Register on Wednesday, May 19, 2010.
• Connecting Children to their Native American Roots. Tribal Contact Lookup:
  Private Company Created Resource: Ayazuta. Provides up to date information on Tribal Contacts and additional resources for states to strengthen their notice of tribes in child welfare cases.
• National Indian Child Welfare Association's Information on Customary Adoption
• The Indian Extended Family and Its Relationship to Parenting
• Traditional Native American Culture and Contemporary U.S. Society: A Comparison
• Key Considerations and Best Practices for Tribal Title IV-E Data Collection and Reporting
  This report by Dr. Priscilla Day and Erin Geary provides an overview of the critical issues related to American Indian child welfare and data collection. It describes the data reporting requirements under Title IV-E. Drawing on the experiences of successful tribal agencies that have collected and reported data in an effective, culturally relevant way, it describes challenges, lessons learned and best practice related to child welfare data collection. It further provides an assessment tool for tribes to use to assess their readiness to implement Title IV-E services.
• Trauma Exposure in American Indian/Alaskan Native Children
• Transition Programs in Indian Country
  Provides an initial understanding of programs available to American Indian youth and services provided within American Indian communities.
• Improving Access to Independent Living Services for Tribes and American Indian Youth.
  Describes how Tribes can access independent living services for Indian youth and be involved in the development of culturally appropriate services to assist Indian youth as they begin the transition from tribal and state foster care systems to adulthood.
• Court Reform and American Indian and Alaskan Native Children: Increasing Protections and Improving Outcomes
  Description of court reforms related to handling of cases involving American Indian and Alaskan Native children.
• The role of housing in the transition process of youth and young adults: A twenty-year perspective.
• Needs and Demographics of Former Foster Youth Entering California's THP-Plus Program: Findings from the Statewide Participant-Tracking System
  The report provides the findings of an analysis of data collected from 1000 former foster youth who entered California's THP+ Housing Program with supportive services.
• Securing Child Safety, Well-being, and Permanency Through Placement Stability in Foster Care
  Provides an overview of how to achieve successful placement stability within foster care.
• Screening foster care children doubles detection rate of potential developmental problems
  The addition of a simple and systematic screening among children in foster care doubled the detection rate of developmental disabilities in a population that is at high risk for developmental problems. The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) study published in Pediatrics in January 2010 shows that universal screening is feasible in a busy pediatric practice.
• A Carrot Among Sticks: The Adoption Incentive Bonus
  This report summarizes interviews with states and DC about what they are doing with their Adoption Incentive dollars, how they have responded/reacted to the Adoption Incentive program, and how they have reinvested these dollars.
• What Works for Older Youth During the Transition to Adulthood
  This fact sheet examines the role that programs for older youth can play in promoting positive development and subsequent self-sufficiency in adulthood. It synthesizes the findings from 31 rigorous evaluations of programs; all of the programs evaluated youth outcomes during the transition to adulthood (ages 18 to 25), but programs varied in the ages of targeted youth.
• ESEA Letter to Chairman Miller
  A letter from Rep. McDermott to Chairman Miller. The letter requests that the Chairman include language promoting educational stability for children in foster care in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) .
• Key Considerations for Implementing the Notice Requirement of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
  This document outlines the components that are required by the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering Connections Act) in order for a state or tribe to comply with the Notification of Relatives Provision (Section 103) of the law.

Analysis

• Summary and Section-by-Section Description of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (H.R. 6893)
  This memorandum provides a section-by-section overview of major provisions included in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.
• Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008: New Opportunities for Children in Foster Care and Beyond.
  This Powerpoint presentation provides an introduction to the new law, background on key provisions, the potential impact on children and families, and an information to guide implementation.
• Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act: Implementation Issues and a Look Ahead at Additional Child Welfare Reforms
  This brief summarizes the Fostering Connections Act and examines implementation issues.
• Testimony of Kathleen M. McNaught on the Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
  Testimony of Kathleen M. McNaught, Director of the Legal Center for Foster Care and Education, on behalf of the American Bar Association, before the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support Committee on Ways and Means of the United States House of Representatives on "Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act." (September 15, 2009)
• The Fostering Connections Act Webinar: Ensuring Educational Success
  This webcast provides a detailed overview of the education provisions included in the Fostering Connections Act and an update on the national efforts to support implementation. It highlights Pennsylvania, a state that is moving forward with implementation of these provisions by engaging education, child welfare, and the advocacy community.
• Subsidized Guardianship: Testing the Generalizability of an Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come
  This powerpoint presentation provides an overview of the results of Tennessee's subsidized guardianship waiver
• The Cost Savings of Extended Foster Care
  This edition of On-the-Line with CWLA features important insights from the March 2009 report that examines the potential costs and benefits of extended foster care
• New Federal Law Overhauls U.S. Child Welfare Financing
  A summary of all provisions of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
• The President Signs Into Law Historic Child Welfare Legislation with New Tribal Funding for Foster Care, Guardianship, Adoption and Independent Living Services
  Provides an overview of Tribal Provisions of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.
• The Adoption Tax Credit: Is It an Effective Approach to Promote Foster Care Adoption?
  Describes results of analyses of income tax returns filed between 1999 and 2005, regarding the use of the adoption tax credit. Examines who received the adoption tax credit (types of adoptions, characteristics of adopted children, income levels of families claiming the tax credit), and the efficacy of the credits in promoting foster care adoption and adoption more generally.
• Resources from CLASP on policies and programs related to the Fostering Connections Act
  An array of resources by the Center for Law and Social Policy on policies and programs related to the Fostering Connections Act.
• Resources from CWLA on policies and programs related to the Fostering Connections Act
  An array of resources by the Child Welfare League of America on policies and programs related to the Fostering Connections Act.
• New guidance from Children's Bureau on Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program
  The Program Instruction, ACYF-CB-PI-10-01 issued on February 18, 2010, supersedes earlier instructions (ACYF-CB-PI-08-07 issued on December 24, 2008). This analysis describes the new PI. Under the new Program Instruction, states and tribes electing the KinGAP option and seeking to claim federal funding for children in guardianship arrangements prior to approval of the plan amendment must notify ACF of their plans to do so. They must submit a description to ACF explaining the process it will use to ensure that claims will only be submitted on behalf of children who meet all eligibility criteria for the KinGAP Program.
• Resources from CDF on policies and programs related to Fostering Connections Act
  An array of resources by the Children's Defense Fund on policies and programs related to the Fostering Connections Act.
• Connected By 25: Effective Policy Solutions for Vulnerable Youth

Training

• The Legal Center for Foster Care and Education Webinar: Clearing the Path to School Success for Students in Out-of-Home Care
  This interactive webinar provided a framework for liaisons, educators, and child welfare advocates to ensure immediate, appropriate school enrollment for students "awaiting foster care placement" under McKinney-Vento, as well as for other students in foster care.
• WEBINAR: Designing Foster Care to 21
  A powerpoint presentation from the Feb 8, 2010 webinar on how to design foster care to age 21 hosted by the Fostering Connections Resource Center in conjunction with The Finance Project and the National Foster Care Coalition.