Kids Need Their Dads

Pennsylvania’s Father Engagement Strategy

State Children’s Roundtable Priority

June 28, 2011

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Building the Foundation

Assumptions:

Statewide issues & solutions (no pilots)

Administrative Collaboration (Courts/Agency)

Voluntary process (no Supreme Court “directives” – just “gentle pressure applied relentlessly”)

Focus on strengths & solutions

Relationships, relationships, relationships

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Building the Foundation

Pennsylvania’s CIP structure:

Local Children’s Roundtables

Leadership Roundtables

State Roundtable: Workgroup Structure

Pennsylvania Children’s Roundtable Structure

Local Children’s Roundtable

• County Commissioners

• Hearing Masters

• Solicitors

• Guardians ad Litem

• Parent Attorneys

• Youth & Families

• County Child Welfare Staff

• Juvenile Probation Staff

8 Leadership Roundtables (LR) comprised of like size counties grouped together

LR 1 LR 2 LR 3 LR 4 LR 8LR 7LR 6LR 5

Lead Dependency Judge & Children &Youth Administrator plusone additional designated stakeholder from the Local Children’s

Roundtable advance to a Leadership Roundtable

Lead Dependency Judge and Children &Youth Administrator (co-chairs) advance to the State Roundtable and act as representatives for each LR (additional representation for some LRs).

•Office of Children and Families in the Court•Leadership Roundtable Co-Chairs•Directors of Human Services•Guardians ad Litem• Solicitors•Child Advocates•Special Invited Guests

•State Supreme Court Justice •Secretary of Public Welfare•Deputy Secretary of OCYF•Pennsylvania Legislators•American Bar Association•American Humane Association•Pennsylvania Bar Association•Pennsylvania County Commissioners Meets Annualy

Meets Semi-annually

Meets regularly as determined by lead dependency judge and

child welfare administrator

• Law Enforcement

• Medical Professionals

• County Agencies

• School Districts

• Other Community Stakeholders

• Other Service Providers

• Office of Children & Families in the Courts Program Analyst

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Pennsylvania’s Timeline

Honorable Max Baer, Supreme Court Justice 2004Supreme Court assumes oversight of CIP 2006OCFC created July 2006 Inaugural meeting of State Roundtable June 2007CPCMS Outcome tracking data system roll-out 2008Permanency Practice Initiative (Phase One) begins March 2009

Family Group Decision Making Family Finding Family Development Credentialing

Mission & Guiding Principles for Pennsylvania’s Dependency System created May 2009

Father Engagement selected as State Roundtable Priority May 2009

Dependency Bench Book created 2010PPI Phase Two begins August 2010PPI Phase Three begins February 2011

http://www.ocfcpacourts.us/about-ocfc/guiding-principles

http://www.ocfcpacourts.us/judges-and-legal-professionals/benchbook

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Building the Foundation for Father Engagement

• State Roundtable presentation May 2009–Karen Jenkins, AHA & Mimi Laver, ABA

• Father Engagement Workgroup established 2009

• “Bringing Back the Dads” – distributed at 1st Children’s Roundtable Summit September 2009

• First Report to State Roundtable & York County Panel presentation May 2010

• Father Engagement Keynote at 2nd Children’s Roundtable Summit – September 2010 - Distributed Green Book - Father Engagement Plenary Session: Ron Clark, NFI & Jessica Kendall, ABA - County Planning document

• Second Report to State Roundtable May 2011

Pennsylvania

Children’s Summit

September 28, 2010

Philadelphia

http://www.ocfcpacourts.us/assets/files/page-329/file-547.jpg

QIC Tools Used

Bringing Back the Dads: Engaging Non-Resident Fathers in the Child Welfare System

Advocating for Nonresident Fathers in Child Welfare Court Cases (Green Book)

National Expert Presenters

ABA Center on Children and the Law

National Quality Improvement Center

Policy Roundtable – Washington DC

Best Practice Conference – Washington DC12

QIC Policy Roundtable

February 8, 2011

Washington DC

Father Engagement Workgroup

Honorable Kim Berkely Clark, Committee Co-chairHonorable Maria Musti Cook, Committee Co-chair

Ann Marie Cucinotta, Berks Hearing MasterBarbara Ash, Philadelphia HS Legal Dept.

Bill Phifer, Allegheny CYSCarrieAnn Frolio, York CYS

Honorable George Hartwick, III, Dauphin CommissionerDan Worley, York Parent Advocate

Gene Detter, CWTPKaren Jenkins, American Humane Association

Lisa Chambers, Allegheny CYSTonya Burgess, CWTP Parent Ambassador

Tina Zanis, ProviderSteve Suknaic, Dauphin JPO

Honorable Flora Barth Wolf, Philadelphia

Workgroup Activities

• Researched state and national best practices (2008-2010 QIC)

• Conducted Pennsylvania survey of courts and child welfare professionals (2009)

• Conducted focus group of non-resident fathers (2009)

• Created Key Areas for Fathers in Child Welfare (2009)

• Created protocols for agency, attorneys, & court (2010)

• Created Father Brochure (2011)

• Creating regional training (2011)15

http://www.ocfcpacourts.us/about-ocfc/father-involvement

To What End: Change Perceptions, Change Behavior, Change Outcomes

Develop Protocol for:Develop Protocol for: Establishing PaternityEstablishing Paternity Locating FathersLocating Fathers Engaging Fathers:Engaging Fathers:

Case planning Case planning ServicesServices CourtCourt

Supporting Culture ChangeSupporting Culture Change Agency (Father-friendly checklist)Agency (Father-friendly checklist) CourtCourt Community/ServicesCommunity/Services

Developing Education – judges, attorneys, child welfare, cross-systemDeveloping Education – judges, attorneys, child welfare, cross-system17

To What End: Change Perceptions, Change Behavior,

Change Outcomes

Incorporated as overarching theme inIncorporated as overarching theme in

Judicial Bench BookJudicial Bench Book

Incorporating Father Engagement in all Workgroup discussions & planning: Legal Representation, Visitation, Bench Book

Collecting data to conduct evaluation of efforts & impact (CPCMS Collecting data to conduct evaluation of efforts & impact (CPCMS Module & focus groups)Module & focus groups)

Included in Pennsylvania’s Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

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Establishing Paternity

One Father per Child!!!!!

Engagement Requires a Cultural Change

We must recognize and acknowledge the value of fathers in the lives of their

children

Leadership from the top is needed to accomplish this but change at all levels needs to occur

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Engaging Fathers

Engagement with a non-custodial father is an

ongoing, strength-based, solution focused process

It takes more than sending

him a letter!21

2011/2012 Activities

Developing a plan for the dissemination of the father’s brochure

Developing Fatherhood component for all judicial, legal and child welfare education sessions

Developing father support groups in counties 22

2012 Workgroup Activities

• Send request to Juvenile Court Procedural Rules Committee – revised CPCMS order forms to:

– include a checkbox that would require the court

to find that paternity has been established and how paternity was established

– collect data to measure outcomes with respect to father engagement

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Protocols & Best Practice

Child Welfare Agency

Parent Attorney

Court

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http://www.ocfcpacourts.us/about-ocfc/father-involvement

Kids Need Their Dads!Pennsylvania’s Father Engagement Work

Thank You!!

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