When children are unable to remain in the homes of their parents or other caregivers due to child maltreatment, CYFD strives to achieve permanency for these children as quickly and safely as possible. Additionally, the agency seeks to place children of all ages in the most family-like, least-restrictive setting to meet each child’s needs. Timely permanency and placement stability are linked with better outcomes for children in foster care, such as educational achievement, healthy attachments, better health, and higher income in adulthood.

CYFD will continue its successful efforts to place children with relatives whenever possible and as soon as possible. Above all, CYFD recognizes that what is most beneficial for a child is permanency in a safe, loving home.

To ensure that foster care placements are stable, supportive, and meeting the needs of children in our care, we need a surplus of available beds. This is fundamental to successfully matching children to the most appropriate foster caregivers; keeping siblings together whenever possible; and enabling children to remain in their communities of origin. At minimum, CYFD hopes to achieve a ratio of 1.5 beds per child in custody.

Active, diligent recruitment and timely licensure of diverse foster families, and continued focus on finding suitable relative homes will help us meet this target. CYFD will especially focus on recruitment and development of homes willing and able to support older youth in family-based settings.

Frequent overnight stays of children and youth in CYFD offices are a symptom of larger systemic challenges, including lack of foster homes able to meet the needs of teens or other placements that can assist youth who are in crisis; and a shortage of services that can prevent placement disruptions of higher-needs clients.

Foster and resource families are critical partners to the child welfare system. A robust recruitment strategy has been developed, and there will be a focus on recruiting families that are willing to do respite care to support these types of situations.

CYFD is making progress regarding the use of residential treatment for older children in care.

Residential treatment requires a determination of medical necessity and is intended to be short-term.

CYFD will continue its efforts to expand services available to children and youth with higher needs related to supervision and support, while exploring all available options in the child’s community to meet these needs in a family-like setting. When a child does require a higher level of care, discharge planning will be implemented from day one to ensure the congregate placement is short-term and results in a more appropriate, permanent placement, preferably in the child’s own community.

When children are unable to remain safely at home, the length of time spent in substitute care should be as short as possible. CYFD strives to achieve reunification within one year of removal. If reunification with family is not possible, case plans change to prioritize adoption at the appropriate time. With very few exceptions, permanency within 12 months of entry is an outcome of reunification.

This is one of the most difficult metrics to move, responsibly. Each case is complex and may involve one or more challenges such as mental health, social/economical realities, addiction, etc. We know children will do best with their biological family if it is a safe environment. CYFD strives to continue to connect families with various wrap-around state and local resources to help reunify the families safely. While the duration to permanency matters, it is not the only driving factor in case management.

Timely permanency—whether that is reunification, adoption, or permanent guardianship—is always the desired outcome for children in foster care. After 12 months, adoption and guardianship are more likely to be outcomes we see for children who achieve permanency within 24 months of entry into care.

CYFD must work with its legal partners to ensure cases move through the courts without undue delays, and continue recruiting foster-to-adopt families who are committed to providing safe, stable homes for children who cannot be reunified with their families of origin.

The majority of maltreatment allegations investigated by CYFD continues to be neglect. First and foremost, CYFD seeks to ensure child safety. Because removing a child from their home causes significant trauma to the child, CYFD first determines if keeping that child in the home and offering supportive services to the family is possible.

CYFD continues to monitor the fidelity of its safety assessment and risk assessment tools to ensure sound decision-making on behalf of child safety.

Unsubstantiated is a broader term that describes findings that either maltreatment did not occur or was accidental or otherwise not the result of caregiver action or inaction. It can also be indicative of cases in which no finding could be made, such as families being uncooperative or unable to locate based on the information provided to the Department.

Poverty-related challenges and other family needs do not necessarily mean that child maltreatment has occurred. Most cases can be handled through a lens of prevention, instead. CYFD will continue to develop an array of services in collaboration with community providers and other state agencies to take a less adversarial, more supportive approach with families in need.

It’s important the CYFD be responsive and supportive from day one when a potential new foster family makes contact. While it’s important to thoroughly vet and train new families, the process to obtain a foster care license should not be overly burdensome or drawn out.

We are improving the user experience of prospective foster families by building better technology to facilitate their applications and hiring a foster family liaison to support families as they navigate the system.

CYFD has a goal of recruiting 190 new non-relative homes to be licensed in 2023. This gauge will continue to show progress towards that goal.

The agency is making concerted recruitment efforts to raise public awareness and interest in becoming a licensed resource home. These efforts are part of a Foster Family Recruitment Plan.

Better supported foster families is just as important as licensing new ones. CYFD is committed to providing the support families need to continue providing this crucial and valuable service.

In the last year, CYFD implemented individualized retention plans for all resource caregivers in order to understand the unique factors that impact each family’s support needs and intention to stay with the agency. The agency will also be launching a Foster Family Resource Hub to support foster families.

The licensure process is necessarily thorough in order to ensure our resource families are well-trained, prepared, and supported. In the last few years, the agency has worked hard to reduce unnecessary barriers to getting families licensed in a timely manner.

In addition to assessing the foster application, training and licensing process, CYFD will identify additional opportunities for people to support children and families. Becoming a foster parent is a significant responsibility and many people are unaware of some of the challenges they will face until they begin the process.