Authentic youth engagement is critical to improving outcomes for young people transitioning from foster care to adulthood. This point recently was emphasized in Maximizing Youth Engagement in Court Reviews and Case Planning, a webinar hosted by the Casey Foundation’s Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.

1. 0

2. 1
• Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015
• Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016
• Monday, March 28, 2016
• Thursday, May 26, 2016
• Tuesday, July 26, 2016
• Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016
All times are 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. EST
Leveraging the Strengthening Families Act (SFA)
Webinar Series Dates

3. 2
• If you experience technical difficulties during this
webinar, visit www.aecf.org/webex for guidance. If
you still have trouble, notify us using the chat or
Q&A window, or contact WebEx technical support
at 1-866-229-3239.
• If you do not see the Q&A window, make sure the
Q&A icon at the top of that column is blue (see
image to left; icon circled in red). If it is not blue,
click the icon, and the window should appear.
• You can type questions for presenters in the Q&A
window at any time during the webinar.
• The webinar is being recorded and will be available
after the presentation.
Questions?

4. 3
• Nick Abdallah, director and foster care review board facilitator,
Maury County (Tennessee) Juvenile Court
• Nyasha N. Justice, Court Improvement Program,
Tennessee Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts
• Jenny Pokempner, child welfare program director, Juvenile Law Center
• Esther Rodolphe, peer advocate, Johnson City (Carter/Washington/Sullivan counties)
• Brandon Rutledge, peer advocate, Shelby County (Memphis)
• Andy Shookhoff, attorney and former juvenile court judge (Tennessee)
Moderator:
Gina Davis, senior communications associate, the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Presenters

5. 4
• Legal and practice background
– Benefits of enhanced youth engagement
– Legal structure for youth engagement in case review and
case planning, including new SFA requirements
– Federal structure for court and administrative reviews
– Court Improvement Program.
• Panel discussion: Tennessee’s foster care review boards
• Replicating the model and enhancing youth engagement
Agenda

6. LEGAL AND PRACTICE BACKGROUND
THE CASE REVIEW STRUCTURE AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
5

7. • More information improves accuracy of decision making
• Having a youth present provides helpful information about safety
and well-being
• The youth’s understanding and involvement in the process and
decisions making fosters trust in the system
• Having a youth present helps keep everyone focused on case goals
Meaningful Youth Engagement Benefits Systems
6

8. 7
• It gives them a better understanding of their cases
• They get the opportunity to advocate for themselves
• They feel respected by the system
• They feel like they have some control of their own lives
• It helps them feel like the system is fair, even if they don’t agree
with the outcome
SOURCE: Youth Justice Board, “Stand Up Stand Out: Recommendations to Improve Youth Participation in
New York City’s Permanency Planning Process.” 2007
Youth Applaud Meaningful Engagement

9. 8
• Existing requirement
The court must “consult” youth in an “age-appropriate manner”
about the proposed permanency and transition plan
42 U.S.C.A. § 675 (5)(C)(iii)
• New requirement
For youth with the permanency plan of Another Planned
Permanency Living Arrangement (APPLA), the court must ask
the child about his or her desired permanency plan
42 U.S.C.A. § 675a(a)(2)(A)
Youth Engagement in Case Reviews:
The Legal Requirements

10. 9
• At each review hearing for youth with plan of APPLA, the court must
document that steps are being taking to ensure:
‒ The child has regular, ongoing opportunities to participate in age- and
developmentally appropriate activities
‒ The caregiver is exercising the Reasonable and Prudent Parent
standard
• To satisfy this inquiry the court can consult with the child in an “age-
appropriate manner about the opportunities of the child to participate in
the activities”
42 U.S.C.A. § § 675a(a)(3)(B) & (a)(3)(A)
Court Oversight and Youth Engagement
Requirements with Respect to Normalcy

11. 10
• The court should play an important role in the development
and review of the transition plan
• Hearings/case reviews should be held under conditions that support
active engagement of the youth in key decisions
SOURCE: Guidance on Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Program
Instructions, ACYF-CB-PI-10-11 (July 9, 2010), p. 7, available at www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/pi1011.pdf
Federal Guidance

12. 11
• States must have a process to review cases for which the child
welfare agency has placement care and responsibility
• These reviews take the form of status and permanency reviews
The Case Review Process Under Federal Law

13. 12
• The status of each child is reviewed periodically but no less
frequently than once every six months by either a court or by
administrative review
42 U.S.C.A. § 675 (5)(B)
• “Administrative review” means a review open to the participation
of the child’s parents, conducted by a panel of appropriate people at
least one of whom is not responsible for the case management of,
or the delivery of services to, either the child or the parents who are
the subject of the review
42 U.S.C.A. § 675 (6)
Status Reviews

14. 13
• Must be conducted at least once a year
• Must be conducted by a family or juvenile court or another court of
competent jurisdiction or by an administrative body appointed or
approved by the court which is not a part of or under the
supervision or direction of the title IV-E agency
• Paper reviews, ex parte hearings, agreed orders, or other actions or
hearings that are not open to the participation of the parents of the child,
the child (if of appropriate age), and foster parents or pre-adoptive
parents (if any) are not permanency hearings
45 CFR § 1355.20 (2)
Permanency Review Hearings

15. 14
• Funds to state courts to maximize the court’s capacity to facilitate
the achievement of permanency, safety and well being
• Court Improvement Program funds are used to:
– Assess court process
– Develop and implement court process improvements that:
o provide for safety, well-being and permanence of children in
foster care, or
o implement a corrective action plan, or
o increase and improve engagement of the family in court
processes relating to child welfare, family preservation, family
reunification and adoption
Court Improvement Program
42 U.S.C.A. § 629h

16. 15
• Nick Abdallah, director and foster care
review board facilitator, Maury County
Juvenile Court
• Nyasha N. Justice, Court Improvement
Program, Tennessee Supreme Court
Administrative Office of the Courts
• Esther Rodolphe, peer advocate, Johnson
City (Carter/Washington/Sullivan counties)
• Brandon Rutledge, peer advocate, Shelby
County (Memphis)
• Andy Shookhoff, attorney and former
juvenile court judge
Panel discussion

17. 16
Resources

18. 17
Wrap-up and Recommendations

19. 18
For additional information
www.aecf.org/work/child-welfare/jim-casey-youth-opportunities-initiative/
Questions?

20. 19