Children's Bureau Website - Oregon: Flexible Funding/Assisted Guardianship

Oregon¹

Demonstration Type:	Flexible Funding /Assisted Guardianship Phase II
Approved:	March 24, 2004
Implemented:	April 1, 2004
Completed:	March 31, 2009
Interim Evaluation Report Date:	October 1, 2006
Final Evaluation Report Date:	September 31, 2009

Background

During the five-year extension period (Phase II of the demonstration), the State will: 1) continue its demonstration of the flexible use of title IV-E funds; 2) continue the assisted guardianship portion of the demonstration, and 3) within the flexible funding component of the demonstration, undertake a special study of Family Decision Meeting Service Coordination (FDM-SC).

Oregon's original five-year demonstration project authorized the use of flexible funds for Family Decision Meetings (FDMs). FDMs accounted for nearly half of all title IV-E expenditures during the first five years of the demonstration. An evaluation of Phase I found that increased numbers of FDMs appeared to contribute to more effective partnerships between families and child welfare professionals. Oregon will, therefore, undertake a special study of FDM-SC within selected counties.

Target Population

Children ages 0 to 18 who are at risk of or currently in out-of-home placement are eligible to participate in the flexible funding component of the demonstration. The target population for the assisted guardianship component is children between the ages of 4 and 17 who have been in substitute care for more than 12 months and lived continuously in a safe and stable home with a prospective guardian for at least 6 months. For the FDM-SC study, the target population will be families newly entering the State’s child welfare system, usually through Child Protective Services.

Jurisdiction

Flexible Use of Funds

During Phase II of the demonstration, the flexible use of title IV-E funds may be effective statewide (along with Tribes that have a formalized title IV-E agreement with the State) with the exception of Jackson and Clackamas counties, which will serve as the control group for cost neutrality purposes.

FDM-SC

Five counties will participate in the FDM-SC study. The experimental group will consist of families residing in Multnomah Josephine, and Yamhill Counties. The control group will consist of families residing in Clackamas and Lane Counties.

Assisted Guardianship

Guardianship assistance will be available to all eligible families statewide during Phase II of the demonstration

Intervention

Flexible Use of Funds Intervention

During Phase II, experimental group counties and participating Tribes may use title IV-E funds for a variety of purposes and will not be limited to spending them on foster care maintenance payments. Title IV-E funds will be used with increased flexibility to provide services specifically tailored to the particular needs of children or families. This needs-based approach will include out-of-home care as well as family support. Services will include but will not be limited to post-permanency supports, maltreatment prevention, child protection, crisis intervention, and reunification.

FDM-SC Intervention

During the five-year extension (Phase II) of the demonstration project, the State will undertake a special study of FDM-SC within selected counties. During the first nine months of Phase II, the State will engage experts, caseworkers, and consumers in the development of FDM-SC. This process will include: 1) defining the role and functions of the service coordinator; 2) formalizing the structure and tools for developing and monitoring individual family service plans; 3) developing measures and procedures for ensuring model fidelity; and 4) piloting the FDM-SC model.

Assisted Guardianship Intervention

The State offers an assisted guardianship program for eligible children in foster care. The option is offered only when other permanency goals, including return to the parent(s) or adoption, are determined not to be in the child's best interests. The State will provide a one-time nonrecurring payment to caregivers to cover the legal costs of establishing the guardianship, including court costs and filing fees. In addition, guardians will receive a monthly subsidy equal to the State’s basic monthly foster care payment. Guardians will have the same access to post-permanency services as adoptive parents. The assisted guardianship option is represented to families as one which will normalize and stabilize family life, empower caregivers in assuming the complete parenting role, and minimize the level of State intrusion into their lives.

Evaluation Design

The evaluation includes process and outcome components, as well as a cost analysis. During Phase II of its demonstration, Oregon will conduct a statewide process evaluation along with three separate outcome evaluations, one for each component: 1) Flexible Use of Funds, 2) Assisted Guardianship, and 3) a special study of FDM-SC.

Sampling Plan

Flexible Use of Funds

The flexible funding component will be evaluated using aggregate data.

FDM-SC Intervention

Oregon expects an initial sample of at least 500 families for the Flexible Funding component. However, based on a potential attrition rate of 30 percent, the State estimates a final sample of 350 families for analysis- 175 in the experimental group and 175 in the control group. Enrollment will take place on a case-by-case basis from January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007. No participants will be enrolled in the study beyond the end of June 2007 to ensure 18 month follow-up data collection for enrolled families.

Assisted Guardianship

Under the assisted guardianship portion of the demonstration project, the State will place a minimum of twenty children in guardianship each year.

Process Studies

The State’s process evaluation will include several separate components:

Flexible Use of Funds Process Study

An overall process evaluation will be conducted during Phase II of the demonstration to examine the development, implementation, and progress of the demonstration. Data collection methods will include semi-structured telephone interviews with key State and local child welfare administrators and a review of planning, policy, and other relevant documents. Descriptive and qualitative data will be synthesized to explore the following questions:

1.To what extent did local child welfare offices engage their communities in the development and implementation of Waiver services?
2. What methods were employed by the State for monitoring, oversight, and problem resolution?
3. What were the types and duration of services provided under the Waiver?
4. What State and local factors influenced achievement of performance measurement goals?
5. What social, economic, and political factors appeared to affect the Waiver?
6. What strategies were used by waiver branches to maintain cost neutrality?

Guardianship Process Study

The following process measures will apply to the assisted guardianship portion of the demonstration:

Age, race and/or other demographic information on children who exit to guardianship, as well as to other permanent placements.
For guardianships that are established, the relationship of the guardian to the child (grandparent, other relative, unrelated foster parent, etc.).

FDM-SC Process Study

In addition to evaluating counties’ fidelity in adhering to the FDM-SC model, the following process questions will be addressed:

What factors contributed or presented challenges to collaborative development and implementation of the FDM-SC model?
How were formal supports (e.g., the child welfare agency) and informal supports (e.g., family members) involved in developing and implementing service plans within the FDM-SC model and within typical practice in the comparison branches?
Were there differences in family satisfaction with services and supports between families who received the FDM-SC model and those who received typical services in the comparison branches?
Were there differences in the types, amounts, and ways in which formal and informal community resources and supports were utilized between cases receiving the FDM-SC model and those receiving typical services in the comparison branches?

Outcome Studies

Outcome studies will be conducted separately for each component of the demonstration.

Flexible Use of Funds Outcome Study

For the Flexible Funding component, the State will measure relevant outcomes defined through the CFSR process in the areas of child safety and timely achievement of permanency. All child welfare branch agencies participating in this component of the demonstration will be required to submit proposals to the State identifying which Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) and other outcomes they plan to address through the proposed services, and how the proposed intervention is likely to affect performance on each outcome. Along with this proposal, counties will submit logic models linking specific interventions to expected outcomes.

To assist in the development of these logic models, the State and the external evaluator will consult with each child welfare branch agency to ensure that the services proposed will address targeted performance measures. To measure the progress of each county, the State will identify baseline outcome measures prior to the implementation of intervention(s). Changes along these measures will be examined across time. If feasible, where multiple counties have proposed common strategies and indicators, cross-site analyses and syntheses will be conducted.

FDM-SC Outcome Study

The evaluation of the FDM-SC model will address the safety, permanency, and child and family well-being outcomes identified by the CFSR as in need of improvement. Specifically, the State will track the following outcome measures:

Reoccurrence of substantiated maltreatment;
Time from foster care entry to reunification or other permanency option (e.g., guardianship, adoption); and
Family functioning.

Assisted Guardianship

The assisted guardianship component, the State will measure changes over time in the following outcome measures):

Of all children who exit foster care, the proportion exiting to each permanency placement option (e.g., reunification, adoption, guardianship).
For all children eligible for guardianship, the proportion that exit foster care to each form of permanency.
The time from foster care entry (or another established baseline) to foster care exit for each permanency option.
Of all children who exit to guardianship (as well as to other permanent placements), the proportion who have a subsequent substantiated report of abuse or neglect.
Of all children who exit to guardianship, the proportion in which the guardianship was displaced (i.e., child is no longer in the physical custody of the guardian, although the guardian retains guardianship) or dissolved (i.e., the guardianship was vacated).

Evaluation Findings

Findings from Phase II of the demonstration are not yet available.

Web Links

Oregon’s March 2003 Final Evaluation Report (for the project’s first five years) is available at http://www.cwp.pdx.edu/.

¹ Based on information submitted by the State as of April 2005. Back

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Oregon1

Background

Target Population

Jurisdiction

Intervention

Evaluation Design

Evaluation Findings

Web Links

Oregon¹