Permanency Planning Options for Children in Formal Kinship Care

This article describes efforts under way in Illinois to improve permanency outcomes for children in formal kinship care. Between June 1986 and June 1995, the number of children in the state's home-of-relative program increased sevenfold. Administrative and judicial changes in the 1990s contribu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child welfare 1996-09, Vol.75 (5), p.451-470
Main Authors: Testa, Mark F., Shook, Kristen L., Cohen, Leslie S., Woods, Melinda G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adopted Children
Adoption
Block Grants
Caregivers
Child Advocacy
Child Caregivers
Child Custody
Child Rearing
Child Support
Child Welfare
Child Welfare Services
Children
Dependents
Families & family life
Family Involvement
Family Relationship
Family Structure
Federal Legislation
Foster Care
Foster Children
Foster Family
Guardianship
Illinois
Kinship
Kinship Care
KINSHIP CARE POLICY
Kinship foster care
Parents
Permanency Planning
Permanency Planning (Foster Care)
Permanent placements
Placement (Foster Care)
Placement Prevention
Placement Rate
Planning
Policy Formation
Relatives
Social services
State government
Welfare Services
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article describes efforts under way in Illinois to improve permanency outcomes for children in formal kinship care. Between June 1986 and June 1995, the number of children in the state's home-of-relative program increased sevenfold. Administrative and judicial changes in the 1990s contributed to a permanency planning crisis, as reflected in declining discharge rates. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) developed a special permanency planning status—Delegated Relative Authority (DRA)—for children in secure and stable family foster care with relatives. This article presents findings from 1,116 assessments of children in formal kinship care that tested the feasibility of the DRA option.
ISSN:0009-4021