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NGA Policy Academy Brings States Together to Learn from Each Other
Representatives from eight states met in Berkeley, California, July 13 to 15 for the National Governor's Association (NGA) Policy Academy on Youth Transitioning from Foster Care. State teams gathered to learn from each other, gain expertise, and establish a timeline for policy change. The prestigious Policy Academy was sponsored by the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, the Eckerd Family Foundation, the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, and the Freddie Mac Foundation.
The eight state teams included: California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and South Carolina. Representatives from Virginia and Tennessee audited the sessions and gained insights that they can use in their states.
From left to right: Mary Ault-CA, Bryan Samuels-IL, Marianne Udow-MI,
Don Winstead-FL, Steve Vonderharr-MN, and Mary Williams-SC
The conference began with a state team leader panel that discussed the key challenges, primary focus, and innovative efforts under way in each state. These state leaders included Mary Ault, deputy director, Children and Family Services Division, California Department of Social Services; Bryan Samuels, director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services; Marianne Udow, director, Michigan Department of Human Services; Steve Vonderharr, supervisor, Child Safety and Permanency Division, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Mary Williams, director of Human Services, South Carolina Department of Human Services; and Don Winstead, deputy secretary, Florida Department of Children and Families. State leaders gave an overview of Independent Living in their states and recent improvements to the system. These improvements include:
- Lowering caseloads statewide in Illinois to 15 youth to one caseworker.
- Utilizing the Guardian Scholars program that provides year-round housing for California youth in foster care.
- Enabling the youth voice by having young adults in Michigan present their recommendations for improvement of the system to policymakers, legislators, and the governor.
Participants also reported on specific programs, such as the following:
- Florida's innovative "Connected by 25," which provides community-based care that enables youth to transition from care with educational, housing, and financial supports.
- Minnesota's homecoming project in which youth are involved in recruiting adoptive parents.
- South Carolina's partnerships with organizations (such as the Urban League) to focus on providing transportation, driver's licenses, and housing for youth.
Dorothy Ansell of the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development discussed the need for state internal collaboration, utilization of education and training vouchers (ETV), tuition waivers and the Medicaid option, data collection and a shared vision for youth.
Members of the Michigan Strategy Team
After each plenary session, two hours were devoted to "team time." Facilitated by NGA staffers, teams developed short- and long-term plans to effect policy change to help transform their child welfare systems.
Young adults also were represented on their teams and gave a panel discussion on how states can meaningfully engage youth in the policy process and program development. The panel members included Linda-Marie Pettus Grund from Florida, Michael Morris of Michigan, Krystel Reid of South Carolina, Jennifer Rodriguez of California, and Desiree Taylor of Illinois. All are active members of their youth boards and have advocated to legislators, conducted research, and trained caseworkers.
Desiree Taylor-IL and Jennifer Rodriguez-CA
Permanency policy and practice were important topics throughout the meeting. Sarah Greenblatt, director of Casey Center for Effective Child Welfare Practice, Pat Reynolds-Harris, founding director of the California Permanency for Youth Project, Marianne Udow, and Gary Stangler, executive director of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative discussed the importance of permanency in the lives of youth transitioning from care and what states can do to better assist these youth in finding a caring adult in their lives Udow offered the definition of permanency given by youth board members in Michigan: "A circle of supportive adults that youth can count on for the rest of their lives." Other definitions included a drive for family and lifelong connections, an enduring family relationship, and safe, loving, secure, and consistent relationships.
Left to right: Sarah Greenblatt, Pat Reynolds-Harris, Gary Stangler, and Marianne Udow
Other sessions included topics such as school to work/employment connections, approaches for collecting data and tracking outcomes of foster youth, improving housing options, and using Chafee dollars to increase accountability and effectiveness.
Stangler presented information on helping young adults build assets and the work of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Information was shared about the Opportunity Passport™, the importance of permanency, and building assets.
The meeting concluded with a peer-to-peer sharing of teams' outcomes and strategies. The Policy Academy will meet again in November 2006 to review accomplishments and continue implementation of strategies to improve the lives of youth aging out of foster care.
