National AIA Resource Center
Helping professionals help families affected by drugs and HIV

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Save the Date
Substance Exposed Newborns: Collaborative Approaches to a Complex Issue
June 23-24, 2010

This national summit will bring together colleagues from the fields of health, child welfare, drug treatment, and early intervention to consider effective policies and collaborative approaches to prevent, identify, refer, and address the needs of substance exposed newborns. More...

Webcast Now Available
Collaborative Approaches to Identifying and Serving Substance Exposed Newborns
In this video, representatives from four federally funded demonstration projects shared their experiences developing policies and procedures to meet the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act mandates. More...

Source - Spring 2009
The Source, Fall 2009 [PDF]
Challenges for Mothers with HIV

 

National Abandoned Infants
Assistance Resource Center

University of California, Berkeley
1950 Addison Street, Suite 104 # 7402
Berkeley, CA 94720-7402
Phone: (510) 643-8390
Fax: (510) 643-7019
E-mail: aia@berkeley.edu

Information & Resources : Shared Family Care

A Comparative Look at Seven Shared Family Care Programs

  Programs
Features of
Program
Design
Whole Family Placement (MN) A New Life
(Philadelphia, PA)
Ukama Project
(Oakland, CA)
Sponsoring
&
Implementing Agency(s)
Growing Home MN (formerly MN Human Service Associates)—a private, non-profit, treatment foster care agency RW Brown Community Center (part of Crime Prevention Association of Philadelphia—a private, non-profit organization) Alameda County Social Services Agency through a contract with Family Support Services of the Bay Area—a private, non-profit agency
Funding General and foster care funds from each referring child welfare agency Local Coordinated Office for Drug & Alcohol Abuse Programs

State Medical Assistance (through local managed behavioral healthcare company)

County Office of Emergency Shelter Services (for transitional housing)

Philadelphia Dept. of Human Services discretionary funds

Private foundation

Federal IV-E (foster care) and IV-B (family preservation) funds

State funds for child welfare services

County general funds

Target
Population
Families in child welfare system referred by social services, child protection, or the court Substance abusing women who are pregnant, have children with them, or are trying to reunify with their children Families in the child welfare system (primarily, but not necessarily, in family reunification)
Mentors (1) Individuals and couples, most of whom have previous experience as foster parents (often with teen moms) and do not work outside the home

Licensed as child foster families with a state waiver on a case-by-case basis

African American women (single and married) who are typically retired, often widowed, and primarily lower-middle class

Not licensed as foster parents (but certified through Crime Prevention Association)

Individuals and couples in the community who generally work outside the home

Not licensed as foster parents

Placement
Duration
1-24 months (avg. 6 months) 3-6months (avg. 5.5 months) 6-13 months (avg. 9.5 months)
Unique
Program
Elements
Regional program (accepts referrals from various counties)

Started as program for homeless families with funding from Comic Relief and HUD

At least one mentor is licensed as a group home and accepts more than 1 family at a time

Housed in community center

Provides intensive comprehensive outpatient drug treatment program (with on-site child care) that all clients must participate in.

Provides 1 year of transitional housing after the mentor placement (in 3 homes for up to 9 families)

One county welfare worker initially screens all families referred to the program and works closely with program staff

County initiated the program with sole source contract to FSSBA

Next

1) Although most programs do not license their mentors, they all have rigorous screening procedures and certification requirements similar to the licensing regulations.

For more information, contact;

Amy Price, MPA
(510) 643-8383
amyprice@berkeley.edu

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