Practice-relevant information in the areas of Mental Health, Education, Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, Family Involvement, Primary Care, Substance Abuse, and Youth Development

Value of Social Networks Practice Brief Series

Annie E. Casey Foundation has released the first three of five publications in its series on the importance of social networks. The series explores the lessons learned from the foundation's Making Connections initiative which is dedicated to helping families in troubled neighborhoods improve their quality of life.

• Tapping the Power of Social Networks: Understanding the Role of Social Networks in Strengthening Families and Transforming Communities lays the foundation for the series by presenting an overview of the benefits of strong social networks for families, as well as relevant definitions and key findings from research literature. It also includes ideas for strengthening positive social networks.
  To read this brief, go to
  http://www.aecf.org/publications/data/sp_tapping.pdf
• Ties That Bind: The Practice of Social Networks presents findings from site visits about the efforts of families, communities, and organizations around the country to promote social networks. The six organizations that the Casey Foundation selected include: Beyond Welfare in Ames, IA; Community Organizing Families Initiative in Chicago, IL; Family Independence Initiative in Oakland, CA; Grace Hill Settlement House in St. Louis, MO; Lawrence Community Works in Lawrence, MA; and La Union de Pueblo Entero in San Juan, TX. These visits included observations, document reviews, interviews, and focus groups with the key staff and families involved with these organizations.
  To read this brief, go to
  http://www.aecf.org/publications/data/sp_ties.pdf
• Relationships Matter: How Agencies Can Support Family and Social Network Development focuses directly on discussions with participating families and their experiences and lessons learned about social networks through.
  To read this brief, visit
  http://www.aecf.org/publications/data/sp_elena.pdf
  
• To read summaries and to learn more about the Annie E. Casey Foundation, please go to http://www.aecf.org/publications/browse.php?filter=3

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Practice Guide Helps Caseworkers Serve African American Families

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has published a guide intended to help social workers address the systemic overrepresentation of African American children and families involved in child protective services. The guide focuses on the affect of current systems and practices on the lives of African American families involved in the child protection system, including courts, schools, and law enforcement. The publication focuses on practice and systemic change at the caseworker level by helping caseworkers:

• augment or develop their best-practice skills in client engagement;
• understand cultural differences between caseworkers and African American clients;
• appreciate different world views shaped by family tradition, race, culture, and socioeconomic factors; and
• develop new methods of engagement that can lead to improved child safety and well-being for African American children.

To view the practice brief, go to
http://edocs.dhs.state.mn.us/lfserver/Legacy/DHS-4702-ENG

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Teaching Educators About Adoption

A recent report from the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute addresses the challenges that many adoptive children and families face within the school system, and it offers recommendations for how educators—teachers, counselors, and other school personnel—can best meet the needs of these children and families. Teacher training in the issues surrounding adoption may help sensitize educators to the best way to help children in their classroom who are adopted or in foster care.
The report offers several recommendations, including:

• Modify school assignments (such as the family tree) that are problematic or inappropriate for adopted and foster children.
• Include education about adoption and foster care in diversity courses and development trainings for teachers and other school personnel.
• Provide accurate information about children so that educators can identify children's needs correctly and provide effective interventions.
• Develop school policies that prohibit harassment and negative comments about adoption and foster care.

To view Adoption in the Schools: A Lot to Learn: Promoting Equality and Fairness for All Children and Their Families, go to
http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/policy/2006_09_adoption_in_the_schools.php

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Supports for Youth in Foster Care

Foster Club recently published its Permanency Pact, a new tool to support permanency for youth in foster care. A Permanency Pact is a pledge by a caring adult to provide specific supports to a young person in foster care who is preparing to transition to adulthood without a permanent family. The goal of the pact is to formally establish a lifelong, kin-like relationship. The pact is created between the youth and adult with the help of a facilitator, who can be a caseworker, independent living provider, or other adult.

Included with the tool is a description of how to create the pact and a list of supports the adult might provide as the youth prepares to transition out of foster care. Members of the pact work together to choose appropriate supports from the list. Once the final list is agreed upon, copies of the pact are given to the youth and adult and are maintained in the case record as part of the youth's transition plan. A certificate to affirm the Permanency Pact made between the youth and supportive adult can also be used to symbolize the importance of the agreement.
The tool is available for downloading from the Foster Club's Web site
http://www.fosterclub.com/pdfs/PermPact.pdf