| The following are the preliminary results of the January 1996 CWLA
Family Foster Care Survey, a survey of 450 CWLA voluntary member agencies (no public
sector agencies) who provide foster care, treatment foster care, kinship care, or a
combination of those services. The following outlines only a portion of the survey
results; final results will be available within the next several months.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Defing the Problem:
- In 1993, 449,000 children were in foster care. 75% or 337,000 were in family foster care
placements.
- Children in care increased by 61% between 1984 and 1993.
- In 1985, there were 147,000 foster homes and 276,000 children in care. In 1994, there
were 125,000 foster homes and an estimated 450,000 children in care.
- Foster Homes are licensed for fewer children today then they were prior to
- We need even more foster homes to maintain the same number of foster care slots or beds.
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DECREASE IN
FOSTER HOMES
Economic Issues
- In 1990, the U.S. experienced a recession. 80% of American households have not recovered
from the recession and their median incomes are actually below what they were in 1989.
- According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: the average income of the
bottom fifth of households in 1994 was $7762--7.5% below its level in 1989; --the average
income of the middle fifth remained $2,185, or 6.3%, below its 1989 level, at $32,385 in
1994; --even the next-to-top fifth suffered a loss--its average income fell $1897 to
$50,395 in 1994, which was a drop of 3.6%; --by contrast, the average income of the top
fifth climbed by more than $1,000 to $105,945 in 1994; and the average income of the top
5% rose by at least $7,000, reaching $183,044 in 1994.
The Economy and Foster Parents
- Studies have consistently shown that most foster parents are in the low to lower middle
income ranges.
- Studies show that only 7.2% of foster parents want to foster as a way to increase their
families' income.
- Reality is that most foster parents and potential foster parents have less real income
today to meet their families needs then they did in 1989.
- For some foster parents adding to the family by fostering can create a financial
hardship.
- 22% of foster parents report the reasons for leaving is economics.
- APWA survey of states' foster care maintenance rates shows that the average foster care
rate in 1994 was $329 (for 2 year olds). The range was from $588/mo. in Alaska to $161 in
West Virginia.
- The survey also showed the rate decreased in 5 states and stayed the same in
- 25 states from 1993 to 1994.
- The average maintenance payment of a nine year old child in 1991 was $292/month and the
USDA estimate for raising a child at a moderate level was $475/month.
- The estimated annual expenditure on a child in 1993 in a middle income, two parent
family was $6,870 or $572/mo.
- Maintenance rates are typically lower than the true costs of providing routine care for
a child, and foster parents often make up the difference.
The Children in Foster Care
- The population of children needing foster care today is a factor in foster parent
retention and recruitment.
- Alcohol and drug abuse are factors in the placement of more than 75% of the children.
- Between 1984 and 1990 there was a 12% increase in the number of children in
- foster care because of their own handicap or disability.
- 58% of young children in foster care have serious health problems.
- Estimates are that 30% of the children have severe emotional, behavioral, and
developmental problems, including conduct disorders, depression, difficulty in school and
impaired social relationships.
- Estimates are that between 85% and 97% of the children in foster care also have siblings
in care, but estimates are that only 25% are placed together.
- Children of color comprise 61% of all children in care, but the majority of foster
parents are white.
- Youth between 13 and 18 years of age are 1/3 of the population in foster care, but only
comprise 12% of the U.S. population.
- 15% of foster homes licensed after 1985 are specialized foster homes.
- 51% of foster parents who left fostering stated a foster child related problem as the
reason.
Supports and Benefits for Foster Parents
- 64% of foster parents said the reason for leaving was due to agency related
problems--poor communication with the foster care worker; insensitivity of the agency to
foster family needs; and a lack of supports such as respite care, mentors/buddies, day
care, and training.
- 73% of respondents to a Wisconsin/CWLA survey reported that providing liability
insurance is an aid to retention , 94% reported that respite care has a positive impact on
retention.
- Insufficient reimbursement, the changed needs of today's children in foster care, and
the lack of supports and positive recognition are interrelated factors which result in
foster parents leaving fostering and fewer new parents interested and willing to become
foster parents.
CWLA NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON FOSTER CARE
- National Advisory Committee on Foster Care was created by CWLA in March
- 1995.
- Committee is made up of executive directors and foster care managers from CWLA's public
and voluntary sector members.
- Committee identified many issues associated with the retention and recruitment of foster
parents and advised CWLA to address them.
- The committee's concerns coupled with the frequency of telephone and on-site
consultation requests on these issues resulted in a decision to survey the membership.
CWLA Survey
- Purpose was to provide and updated national picture of family foster care. Questions
were asked on regular and treatment foster care services related to --financial
compensation --benefits(health, liability, etc.) --supports to foster families
- Also collected demographics on foster parents and children in care, health and mental
services to children, sibling placement issues, levels of care and step down policies.
- Wanted to have aggregated data on trends and a data base on specific agency programs and
contact persons.
- Survey Methodology
- Written Survey Questionnaire was sent to 450 CWLA members on 1/30/96. So far we have a
50% response rate and will increase that prior to compiling the final results.
- We wanted to know if agencies enhanced the minimum maintenance rate to regular and
treatment foster parents based on --age of the child --special needs of the child
--special training of the foster parent --level and length of experience of foster parents
--an emergency placement --other factors
- We wanted to know what, if any, agencies provide regular and/or treatment foster parents
with a supplemental payment such as stipend or salary.
- We wanted to know whether benefits such as health, liability, and disability insurance
are provided.
- We wanted to know what supports such as respite, day care, buddies/mentors, etc. are
provided.
SURVEY RESULTS
The preliminary results which follow are based on the responses of
91 voluntary agencies.
- The minimum maintenance rate for the regular foster parents is $416/mo. and for
treatment foster parents it is $940/mo.
- The average monthly regular foster care maintenance rate paid by the voluntary agencies
in the sample is higher than the rate paid by public agencies--$416/mo.
- compared to $329/mo.
- Agencies tend to increase the regular foster care maintenance rates because of age and
special needs of the child, foster parent specialized training, and for emergency
placements.
- Almost 1/4 of the agencies provide a supplemental payment in the form of a stipend to
regular foster parents and almost 1/3 do so for treatment foster parents. (The definition
of supplement payment used in the survey was--a payment above and beyond the minimum
maintenance rate and the enhanced maintenance rate.)
- One agency, Northeast Adoption Services in Warren, Ohio, pays treatment foster parents a
salary of $5.50 to $7.00 per hour for attending training, treatment team meetings, school
IEP meetings, and work groups with other parents.
- No regular foster parents received a salary.
- Most agencies that provide enhanced maintenance rates and/or supplemental payments
believe these payments positively impact recruitment, retention, cooperation, and services
provided by foster parents.
- Most foster parents--regular and treatment--do not receive any insurance coverage or
retirement benefits.
- Less than a third of regular and treatment foster parents have liability insurance
provided by the agency.
- Agencies are providing an array of supports to regular and treatment foster parents.
- The most common supports for both groups of foster parents are in-service training,
pre-service training, out-of-home respite, support groups, and recognition events.
- Liability insurance is only provided to 23% of the regular foster parents and to 29% of
the treatment foster parents.
- 55% of regular foster parents and 32% of treatment foster parents must pay for their
liability insurance.
- Of agencies that provide liability insurance for their foster parents, almost 50% are
self-insured and almost 50% pay a premium to private insurance company.
- Most regular foster parents with liability insurance do not have coverage for damage to
their property by the child in care, damage to other's property, negligence, false arrest,
character defamation, libel/slander, or legal defense.
WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE PRELIMINARY
SURVEY RESULTS
- Regular foster parents, who typically have low or lower middle income levels, are likely
not being reimbursed for the true costs of caring for foster children.
- Enhanced maintenance rates, treatment maintenance rates, and supplemental payments
reduce or eliminate foster parents using their families' resources to meet the needs of
children in care.
- Foster parents may need benefits such as health insurance, liability insurance, and
disability insurance that are most likely not provided by the agency. In the case of
liability insurance, even if it is provided, the coverage is limited and may not protect
the foster parents from financial loss and hardship.
- Agencies are providing supports to foster parents, but the interrelationship of
inadequate financial compensation and lack of benefits may be contributing to retention
and recruitment problems.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Agencies may need to closely examine their foster care population to learn if the
children placed with regular foster parents are significantly different from those placed
with treatment foster parents. Regular foster parents may leave fostering because they
believe they are fostering children with the same needs as children placed with treatment
foster parents who receive a much higher maintenance rate and more frequently receive
supplemental payments.
- The actual cost of fostering needs to be determined. The feasibility of doing this
should be explored with the USDA and other funders.
- Agencies can determine their retention rate and their costs for recruiting, training,
and assessing new foster parents. It may be more cost effective to redirect funds to
financial compensation, benefits, and/or supports for current foster parents rather than
spending it on bringing in new foster parents who may quickly leave fostering.
- Redirection of financial resources could take many forms-
- enhanced maintenance rates based on training, level of expertise, and/or achievement of
performance outcomes for a child in care --
- supplemental payments such as stipends or salaries --
- collaborate with other agencies on training programs to maximize financial resources --
- access the need and interest of foster parents for certain benefits and try to provide
them through the agency and/or look for other organizations to partner with, such as
local, state and the national foster parent association
- Look for ways to impact the costs of fostering that don't involve agency funds.
Examples:
- getting foster parents access to food banks
- gift certificates from large chain stores such as Wal-Mart for foster parents who
recruit new foster parents
- negotiate discounts with stores for foster parents on items they need to accommodate a
large family
- Operationalize the agency's support and respect for foster parents as team members by:
- ensuring that all training for agency staff and foster parents is based on the value and
belief system which sees foster parents as team members in providing foster care services
and bringing about permanency for children.
- training social workers and foster parents together
- ensuring that foster parent training is competency based so that foster parents are
trained on how to do what they have to do to be effective
- holding team or case planning meeting with foster parents present; use conference
calling if they cannot physically attend
- using technology such as e-mail add voice mail boxes to keep communication flowing to
and from foster parents
- pairing foster parents together as buddies and/or mentors
- sending an invitation from the executive director to all new foster parents to visit the
agency, see the operations, and meet the staff
- having foster parents involved in agency committees such as planning, placement, etc.
- providing a parking space for foster parents so they can more easily bring children to
and from the agency's offices
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