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| Demonstration Type: | Assisted2Guardianship Phase II3 |
| Approved: | January 1, 2004 |
| Implemented: | June 30, 2005 |
| Completed: | December 31, 2008 |
| Interim Evaluation Report Date: | Expected December 31, 2007 |
| Final Evaluation Report Date: | Expected June 30, 2009 |
Background
Illinois ' first five-year assisted guardianship demonstration was approved September 22, 1996 . In January 2004, the Children's Bureau granted Illinois a five-year extension of the project (through December 31, 2008 ).
Phase II of the Illinois guardianship demonstration allows for the continuation of Phase I activities (also known as the "standard program"), plus an "enhanced program" component that includes strategies for pursuing permanency for older wards (youth ages 14 or older). The goal of the enhanced guardianship component is to improve permanency outcomes for older wards by making transition programs and services available to them. Specifically, the enhanced subsidized guardianship program will make available to former wards who achieve permanency through adoption or guardianship after attaining age 14 the same array of independent living and transition services available to youth who "age out" of foster care without achieving permanency.
Per the Terms and Conditions (T&Cs), implementation of the enhanced program component demonstration was originally to occur no later than September 30, 2004. However, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) received permission from the Children's Bureau to extend the implementation date until June 30, 2005.
In order to meet eligibility requirements for the demonstration, children must have been in legal custody of the State for at least one year and have resided with their prospective guardian for at least one year. Although the demonstration is geared towards eligible children living with relatives, children in licensed non-relative foster homes may also participate. Both title IV-E eligible and non-IV-E eligible children may participate in the demonstration.
To participate in the standard program, children who live in the home of an unrelated foster parent must be at least twelve years of age; there is no age requirement for children living in kinship homes. Children between the ages of 14 and 18 who meet the above criteria and who have already been assigned to the experimental group in the standard program will be randomly assigned to receive enhanced guardianship services or standard services. All children assigned to the demonstration will remain eligible for the same transitional and Chafee services that they would have received had they remained in foster care.
Illinois is implementing the assisted guardianship demonstration statewide. However, the enhanced program component will be implemented in the three evaluation sites: the Cook County (Chicago) Region, the East St. Louis Sub-Region, and the Peoria Sub-Region.
Standard Program
Illinois offers eligible relative caretakers and licensed, non-relative foster parents the option of assuming legal guardianship of children in their care. To assist in the transition to guardianship and to ensure the ongoing well-being of children and families, the State provides monthly subsidy payments equal to the State's adoption assistance payments, along with related services.
Enhanced Program
This enhanced program component will test the efficacy and impact of the offer of independent living and post-permanency transition services to youth who are adopted or enter subsidized guardianship at or after the age of 14. Examples of independent living and transition services that will be available to youth through the enhanced program component include education and training vouchers for post-secondary education and room and board assistance for youth ages 18 to 21
The State will test the efficacy and impact of the offer of post-permanency transition programs that are currently available only to youth who age out of the child welfare system, are adopted, or enter subsidized guardianship at or after the age of 14.
The evaluation includes process and outcome components, as well as a cost analysis. Although the demonstration is conducted statewide, the evaluation is limited to three sites: Cook County Region, East St. Louis Sub-Region, and Peoria County Sub-Region. Within each of these sub-regions of the State, cases are randomly assigned to experimental and control groups.
Sampling Plan
A sampling plan for Phase II of the demonstration is being drafted by IDCFS staff and their evaluators. The plan will be submitted for the Children’s Bureau’s approval prior to implementation. The State expects to assign 500 children to both the control and experimental groups over the course of the five-year demonstration.
Outcome Study
The key questions regarding assisted guardianship relate to its potential effect on child welfare outcomes- namely, the ultimate goal of keeping children in safe, stable home environments that provide for their physical, emotional, and developmental needs. Questions that have arisen with respect to child welfare outcomes include:
Illinois' evaluation of the enhanced program component will examine all of the above, along with self-sufficiency outcomes related to education, housing, and employment. The evaluation will also assess whether expanding eligibility for independent living and transition services for youth who have achieved permanency affects access to such services for other youth remaining in foster care.
No findings from Phase II of the demonstration are available at this time.
Evaluation reports associated with Illinois’s three demonstrations are available on the following web page: http://cfrcwww.social.uiuc.edu/cfrcdescrip/AcitivitiesMainProjectsEVAL.htm
The Illinois Guardianship Demonstration Final Report (for the project's first five years) is available at: http://cfrcwww.social.uiuc.edu/pubs/Pdf.files/sgfinalreport.pdf
1 This is one of three Illinois Child Welfare Demonstration Projects. Back
2 Based on information submitted by the State as of February 2005.Back
3 Illinois completed Phase I of this project on December 31, 2003.Back
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