From: Family Finding
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 2:50 PM
Subject: From the Desk of Bob Friend, NIPFC

Hi there Permanency Warriors.  While some of you have not heard from me in an email format for quite a while and others may be new to this list, I have been interfacing with many of you during the last 12 months during the transition from the California Permanency for Youth Project (CPYP) to the National Institute for Permanent Family Connectedness.  In case you haven’t heard the good news, CPYP merged with the Center for Family Finding and Youth Connectedness at Seneca Center (founded by Kevin Campbell) in February 2010 and morphed into the National Institute for Permanent Family Connectedness (NIPFC) via a very supportive bridge grant from the Stuart Foundation. We are providing training and coaching in California and across the country for child welfare agencies, juvenile courts and community partners to install and implement the practice, policy and administrative changes needed to meet the Fostering Connections Act and create better connectedness between foster children/youth and their families to reduce their length of stay and increase legal permanency.

One training we are highlighting at this time focuses on compliance with the regulations established by AB-938 (Fostering Connections – Notice and Engagement to Relatives) in California.  This training is customized for California Dependency and Delinquency stakeholders.  It can be conducted within each organization individually or in a multidisciplinary setting and will include handouts and check sheets.  We are also able with sufficient notice to customize this training to meet the laws and regulations in every state. Our lead trainer on this subject is Kelly Beck, an attorney who represented parents and youth in hundreds of child welfare hearings.

This training will focus on the development of processes to comply with AB-938 and recently enacted mandatory Rules of Court in California.  Included is an overview of Federal and State legislation with an emphasis on how to use this process as a permanency “springboard,” by expeditiously locating and meaningfully engaging relatives (including non-custodial fathers) who could provide a supportive relationship or placement.  This front-end based discovery work inter-connects with and supports other mandates, such as Concurrent Planning, Paternity, Reasonable and Active Efforts, Visitation/Family Time and others.

Another main focus of this training is defining what due diligence looks like for foster care related cases and how will we know we are in compliance.  There will be hands-on exercises with an emphasis on real-time, case specific fact scenarios.  County specific development and implementation of front-end work (i.e., providing intensive family finding and engagement to prevent removal or in support of the permanent plan) will also be discussed.

We understand that the Courts have ramped up their compliance expectations since the Rules of Court have been established.  We are eager to help you establish practice that is more connected and family based.

This update is the first of three “Permanency Blasts” we are providing to give you a sense of the type of content we will regularly be offering.   Some of the blasts will be targeted to particular items and trainings, while others will offer more diverse content, inclusive of connection stories, case law updates, and reports on evolving issues or trends.  Following the third “blast”, we will provide a link for you to easily opt out of these free and (hopefully) informative emails, or for others to opt in by clicking a link as well. 

In the meantime, if you choose to be removed from these emails, please reply directly to Familyfinding@senecacenter.org and you will be removed from the list.

Look for information about search/discovery services we will be offering in the near future via contracting with one of the most experienced search specialists in this field, priced at an affordable non-profit rate in our next blast!
For more about NIPFC please view our website by clicking here http://www.senecacenter.org/familyconnectedness. 

To learn more about the transition from CPYP to NIPFC, please click http://www.senecacenter.org/familyconnectedness/about_CPYP. 

For specific information about our trainers and costs, please click http://www.senecacenter.org/perm_training.

Warm Regards,
Bob Friend
Director of National Institute for Permanent Family Connectedness
At Seneca Center

Kelly Anderson
Family Finding Coordinator
National Institute for Permanent Family Connectedness (NIPFC)
at Seneca Center
I am in the office M-Th 7AM-330PM (PST)
F 9AM-530PM (PST)

Please Note New Location for Office
6925 Chabot Road.  Oakland, CA 94618
Main: 510.654.4004 Ext. 2238
Cell: 510.363.1537
Fax: 510.317.1451