fostering normalcy for teens in foster...
TRANSCRIPT
Fostering Normalcy for Teens in Foster Care
Whitney UntiedtPartnerAkerman LLP
Ericka GarciaCEO & Co-Founder
Collaborative Justice Partners
• What exactly is “normalcy” anyway?
• What is the legal framework?
• Why is normalcy important for court-involved kids?
Definitions• Normalcy – The state or fact of being normal.
₋ Def.1. Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster Dictionaries. Web. 15 August 2018.
• Age-Appropriate – Activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity, based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacity that is typical for an age or age group.
⁻ Fla. Stat. ch. 39.4091(2)(a).
• Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard – Standard characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the child’s health, safety, and best interests while at the same time encouraging the child’s emotional and developmental growth, that a caregiver shall use when determining whether to allow a child in out-of-home care to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.
⁻ Fla. Stat. ch. 39.4091(2)(c).
• Self-Determination – Free choice of one’s own acts or status without external compulsion.
₋ Def.1. Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster Dictionaries. Web. 15 August 2018.
Developmental Implications
• Self-determination is correlated with increased personal safety
• Social experiences & relationships during adolescence are critical to brain development and maturation
Developmental Implications
• Poor impulse control
• Misinterpretation of social cues & emotions
• Accident prone
• Risk-taking behavior
• Lack of empathy & insight
• Failure to consider consequences
Developmental Implications
“The over part of overparentingis a reference to excessive levels of involvement, control, and problem solving dispatched seeming in the service of the child’s well-being.”
BUT…
“Inappropriate, anxiety-driven parenting tactics compromise children’s autonomy, mastery, and personal growth.”
Estroff Marano, Hara. Helicopter Parenting: It’s Worse Than You Think.
Developmental Implications
• Where to live
• Where to attend school
• Friendships
• Family relationships
• Social media access
• After-school activities
• Job opportunities
• Field trips & travel
• Counseling & treatment
Developmental Implications
• Employability
• Independence
• Social Stability
• Sustainable Earning Potential
• Physical and Mental Health
• Recognize & Resist Abuse
•Happiness & Fulfillment
Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
“Supporting Normalcy for Children in Foster Care”
• Support participation in age-appropriate activities
• Create standard for caretaker consent
• Include kids in case planning
• Restrict APPLA permanency
• Require courts to actively ensure that kids experience normalcy
Florida’s “Let Kids Be Kids” LawFlorida Statutes section 39.4091 – Participation in childhood activities.
(1) FINDINGS AND INTENT.
a) The Legislature finds that every day parents make important decisions about their child’s participation in activities and that caregivers for children in out-of-home care are faced with making the same decisions for a child in their care.
b) The Legislature also finds that when a caregiver makes decisions, he or she must consider applicable laws, rules, and regulations to safeguard the health and safety of a child in out-of-home care and that those rules and regulations have commonly been interpreted to prohibit children in out-of-home care from participating in extracurricular activities.
c) The Legislature further finds that participation in these types of activities is important to the child’s well-being, not only emotionally, but in developing valuable life-coping skills.
d) It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize the importance of making every effort to normalize the lives of children in out-of-home care and to empower a caregiver to approve or disapprove a child’s participation in activities based on the caregiver’s own assessment using a reasonable and prudent parent standard, without prior approval of the department, the caseworker, or the court.
“Let Kids Be Kids”
KIDS
§ 39.4091(3)(a) Fla. Stat.
“Each child who comes into care under this chapter is entitled to participate in age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.”
CAREGIVERS
§ 39.4091(3) Fla. Stat.
• Child’s age, maturity, developmental level
• Potential risk factors
• Best interests of the child
• Encouraging growth
• Family-like living experience
• Child’s behavior history
Funding Normal Teen Stuff
§ 409.145(4)(g) Fla. Stat.
From July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, community-based care lead agencies providing care under contract with the department shall pay a supplemental room and board payment to foster care parents of all family foster homes, on a per-child basis, for providing independent life skills and normalcy supports to children who are 13 through 17 years of age placed in their care.
Normal Teen Stuff: Driving
§ 409.1454(1) Fla. Stat.
The Legislature finds that the costs of driver education, licensure and costs incidental to licensure, and motor vehicle insurance for a child in out-of-home care after such child obtains a driver license create an additional barrier to engaging in normal age-appropriate activities and gaining independence and may limit opportunities for obtaining employment and completing educational goals. The Legislature also finds that the completion of an approved driver education course is necessary to develop safe driving skills.
Florida Administrative Code
Fla. Admin. Code R. 65C-13.029 (2016)
“Community-based care lead agencies shall provide training to all foster parents and contracted agencies to ensure normalcy for all children in care.”
Florida Administrative Code
Out-of-home caregivers SHALL:✓Facilitate visits between children and birth families
✓Refrain from making disparaging remarks to children about their families
✓Participate in parent-teacher conferences
✓Ensure children attend all health care appointments
✓Teach teens age-appropriate life skills and responsibilities
✓Be supportive of transitions
Florida Administrative Code
Agency approval is not required for a caregiver’s decisions regarding participation in childhood activities, including:
✓ Extracurricular clubs
✓ School and community sports
✓ Youth group activities
✓ Service organizations
✓ Birthday parties & sleepovers
✓Outings with peers
✓Driver’s education
✓ School or camp field trips
✓ Summer & school break camps
✓Vacations with the caregiver’s family and friends
CF Operating Procedures
CFOP 170-11, Chapter 6: Normalcy
It is the policy of the Department of Children and Families to fully support the efforts of caregivers, providers, and Community-Based Care lead agencies to ensure that children in our care have the opportunity to fully participate in activities in their schools, neighborhoods, and communities.
“A child’s right to live a healthy, normal childhood is paramount.”
CF Operating Procedures
• Children should be encouraged to participate in normal school, community, or social activities and outings
• Background screening is not required for children to participate in normal activities and outings, including overnight activities like sleepovers, sports, and lock-ins
• Computers, social media, and cell phones are permitted, and children can self-disclose information
• Children should be supported and assisted in learning how to drive and getting a license
• Background screening is not required for vacation or travel with the caregiver’s friends and family
Kids Need Our Help…
2018 DCF Survey Results: Ages 13-17• 22% have a Florida ID card
• 43% have a Social Security Card
• 17% have a savings account they manage
• 53% want to attend court (but only 37% do)
• 23% report that “no one” attends their parent-teacher conferences
• 59% receive their personal allowance
• 22% do not participate extra-curricular activities
• 61% need and want help in learning skills to get a job
…And It’s Not All Bad News
2018 DCF Survey Results: Ages 13-17• 85% attend school dances
• 80% are treated like family in their placements
• 93% are able to practice their preferred religion
• 75% have a cell phone
• 74% have a trusted adult who is not paid by the state
• 90+% have been taught about healthy relationships, dangers of drugs and alcohol, and recognizing domestic violence
Normalcy + Support = Life Skills Development
2018 DCF Survey Results: Ages 18-22• 74% are enrolled in school
• 78% have had a job in the past year
• 44% are living on their own, and 11% live with roommates
• 41% have experienced homelessness, and 23% have experienced at least one period of extended homelessness in the past year
• 46% receive public food assistance, and 85% are on Medicaid
• 76% have a bank account
• 24% have been incarcerated in the past two years
• 85% have a trusted mentor who is not paid by the state
• 67% have a close relationship with a biological family member
Balancing Safety & Normalcy
• Uncertainty
• Bureaucracy
• Liability
• Best Interests
• Different parenting styles & standards
The Court’s Role
§ 39.4091(3)(c) Fla. Stat.
The department and community-based care lead agencies are required to verify that private agencies providing out-of-home services to dependent children have policies consistent with this section and that those agencies promote and protect the ability of dependent children to participate in age-appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.
The Court’s Role
• Actively oversee agency and caregiver compliance with legal and administrative requirements
• Encourage kids to participate in age-appropriate case planning, decision-making, and court hearings – and accept their decision
• Require regular reports on children’s involvement in normal social, educational, and developmental activities
• Participate in training on adolescent brain and social development, trauma, and implicit bias
The Parties’ Roles
• Know and understand applicable laws and regulatory rules
• Become familiar with agency and office policies
• Participate in training on adolescent brain and social development, trauma, and implicit bias
• Involve kids in age-appropriate case planning and decision-making
• Encourage kids to get involved in extra-curricular activities, and provide logistical support for involvement
• Work with caregivers to ensure that all regulatory and court-ordered normalcy requirements are being met
The Parties’ Roles
Department of Children and Families Open Letter to Foster Parents and Residential Group Care Providers
February 29, 2012
“We can all do much more to make sure that foster children have every opportunity to live normal lives… These children have already lost so many things through no fault of their own. Let’s be sure that they do not lose their childhood.”
The Parties’ Roles
CBC of Central Florida CREST Statement
January 20, 2016
“I want to emphasize that what is good for the child is good for us. Our job is to improve their lives and enrich their childhood, as much as it is to protect them and find them permanency.”
The Parties’ Roles
Department of Children and Families
Online Social Networking Policy
February 22, 2012
“Use of online social networking sites to communicate with family and friends is a normal, everyday practice for most people in our modern society. Foster families and foster children are no exception... If a child chooses to disclose his or her foster status, such disclosure is a matter of free speech which the department has no ability, desire, or right to control.”
(PS – Isn’t the story better if Rapunzel rescues herself…?)
Ericka Garcia
CEO & Co-Founder
Collaborative Justice Partners
407.443.4920
Whitney Untiedt
Partner
Akerman LLP
305.982.5636
BibliographyAmerican Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making. 2016 September; No. 95, available at https://www.aacap.org/aacap/families_and_youth/facts_for_families/FFF-Guide/The-Teen-Brain-Behavior-Problem-Solving-and-Decision-Making-095.aspx (accessed August 16, 2018).
Children’s Defense Fund. Implementing the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (P.L. 113-183) To Benefit Children and Youth, available at http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/data/implementing-the-preventing.pdf (accessed August 16, 2018).
Estroff Marano, Hara. Helicopter Parenting—It’s Worse Than You Think. January 31, 2014, available at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/nation-wimps/201401/helicopter-parenting-its-worse-you-think(accessed August 16, 2018).
Florida Department of Children and Families. 2018 My Services Report, available at http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/independent-living/reports (accessed August 16, 2018).
Florida Department of Children and Families. 2018 Florida National Youth in Transition Database Report, available at http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/independent-living/reports (accessed August 16, 2018).
Florida Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program. 2014 Normalcy Checklist, available at http://guardianadlitem.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/checklist-book.pdf (accessed August 16, 2018).
Florida Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program. Florida Guardian ad Litem Dependency Practice Manual. April 2016.
Khemka I., Hickson L., Reynolds G. Evaluation of a decision-making curriculum designed to empower women with mental retardation to resist abuse. Am J Ment Retard. 2005 May; 110(3): 193-204.
Pokempner J., Mordecai K., Rosado L., Subrahmanyam D. Promoting Normalcy for Children and Youth in Foster Care. Juvenile Law Center. 2015 May.
Steinberg, Laurence D. Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence. Mariner Books, 2015.
Legal Resources
§ 39.4091, Fla. Stat.
§ 409.145, Fla. Stat.
§ 409.1454, Fla. Stat.
CF Operating Procedure No. 170-11, Ch. 6 (July 25, 2016).
Fla. Admin. Code R. 65C-28.018 (2016).
Fla. Admin. Code R. 65C-28.019 (2016).
Florida Let Kids Be Kids Law, Florida Statutes Chapter 2013-21 (April 11, 2013).
Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014, Pub. Law No. 113-183 §§ 111, 112. (September 29, 2014) https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4980/text.