Permanency Opportunities Project

The Permanency Opportunities Project (POP) is an innovative, community-wide effort developed by the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) in partnership with Adoptions Together. Its purpose is to achieve permanency for children and youth in the District of Columbia foster care program by removing barriers and creating opportunities. We define permanency as:

A process and a result that includes involvement of the youth as a participant or leader in finding a permanent connection with at least one committed adult who provides a safe, stable, and secure parenting relationship, love, unconditional commitment, and lifelong support in the context of reunification, a legal adoption or guardianship, where possible, and the opportunity to maintain contacts with important persons including brothers and sisters.

Why POP?

Every child in foster care deserves a permanent home and many have waited far too long. There are currently over 500 waiting children in Washington, DC foster care. According to the latest data available, their average length of stay in care is over 4 years! And in 2007, 157 youth in the District of Columbia “aged out” of foster care without a permanent, legal family. When children age out of care without a permanent family, they face an uphill battle. A nationwide study found that 12-18 months after leaving foster care, 27% of males and 10% of females had been incarcerated, 37% of former foster children had not finished high school, and 50% were unemployed.

History

When POP started in November 2008, our goal was to expedite permanency for 65 waiting children in Washington, DC. To date, over a third of those children are now adopted or placed in permanent homes (with adoption finalization expected soon). We have since included 20 additional children and hope to accept even more applications in the coming months.

How POP Works

POP utilizes a collection of best practices in recruitment and permanency work from similar programs around the country. The POP team includes a group of permanency-focused licensed social workers called Permanency Specialists. They partner with a child’s existing team and offer different permanency techniques for each unique situation. Some of the tools the POP team uses include:

Case Mining/Family Finding: This model was first developed by youth permanency expert Kevin Campbell to find lifelong supports for children and youth in foster care. In his initial work, he was able to find anywhere from 40-150 family relationships for each waiting child in his program. We use a similar approach in POP. Permanency Specialists read through each case record looking for positive adult relationships and family connections from the child’s past. The process also includes interviews with the child, caregivers, professionals, teachers and other interested individuals. Internet searches and searches of other public and private entities are conducted in accordance with the guidelines of HIPPA and other privacy policies. These techniques have already helped us find family members and connect children to positive individuals. Though these relationships do not always lead to adoption or guardianship, they do help to build a network of support and lifelong connections.

Child Profile: The Permanency Specialist creates a comprehensive, strengths-based report that summarizes all available information about each child. The Child Profile is shared with licensed prospective placement resources. It also serves as a historical document for new workers on the case and, eventually, for the child.

Permanency Teaming and Assessment: The Permanency Specialist strives to involve the entire team in identifying barriers to permanency and working to remove them. This includes team meetings and consistent communication between all parties working for the child.
Digital Me Videos: These short documentary videos highlight the strengths of the child or sibling group. Each video typically includes an interview and footage of the child doing an activity he or she chooses. Parents interested in adoption can schedule a time to view these videos by emailing POPinfo@adoptionstogether.org. Videos are also shown during information meetings, recruitment events and church or community gatherings.

Mentoring: We are in the early stages of creating a mentoring project that pairs foster children with adults formerly in foster care. Some children in foster care have given up hope that they will ever be adopted. The focus of the POP Mentoring Program is to help increase openness to permanency and to renew hope for children and youth currently in foster care. Former foster children interested in being a mentor can email mtesta@adoptionstogether.org for more information.

Training and Support for Parents: For potential parents, adoption can seem like a daunting process. Our team works with interested individuals from the very beginning, helping them to arrange the 27-hour training and home study required to become a licensed adoptive parent. Throughout the adoption process, our team works with families to answer questions and provide additional training. Once a parent is matched with a child, they are offered family therapy and support through the Post Permanency Family Center. For more details on the process of adoption in Washington, DC, you can download a copy of our Parent’s Roadmap to Adoption.
Professional Trainings: POP offers several trainings a year for child welfare professionals, focused on permanency for children and youth. To find out about our upcoming trainings, call: 301-422-5110.

How You Can Help

Children in foster care have overcome incredible obstacles in their young lives. Each and every one of them deserves a loving, permanent family. You can help. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about adoption or if you would like to host an information/video screening event at your church or community center.

Email: POPinfo@adoptionstogether.org
Phone: 301-422-5115 (DC, MD and VA)

There are hundreds of children in Washington, DC who need our help. Together, we can find the opportunities for permanency!