Children's Bureau Website - Iowa - Assisted Guardianship

Iowa

Demonstration Type:	Assisted Guardianship¹
Approval Date:	March 31, 2006
Implementation Date:	February 1, 2007
Expected Completion Date:	January 31, 2012
Interim Evaluation Report Expected:	September 31, 2009
Final Evaluation Report Expected:	July 31, 2012

Target Population

Iowa's demonstration, known as the Subsidized Guardianship Program, targets title IV-E-eligible and non-IV-E-eligible children in the legal custody of the State who meet the following eligibility criteria:

A determination has been made that reunification and adoption are not viable permanency options for the child;
The child has a permanency goal of long-term foster care, guardianship, or Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA);
The child has been in licensed foster care for at least six of the past 12 months;
If older than age 14, the child consents to the guardianship;
The child is 12 years of age or older or, if under 12 years of age, is part of a sibling group with a child aged 12 or older; and
The child has been in continuous placement with the prospective guardian for the past six months.

Under limited circumstances, the State may make exceptions to the requirement of six months in continuous placement with the prospective guardian if the prospective guardian is a relative of the child, has a close bond with the child, and an expedited move to permanency is deemed to be in the child's best interests.

Both relatives and non-relatives caring for children in out-of-home placement may participate in Iowa's guardianship demonstration and must meet the following criteria:

The prospective guardian has a significant relationship with the child and demonstrates a willingness to make a long-term commitment to the child's care;
Any safety factors that prompted the child's involvement with Child Protective Services have been resolved and the placement does not require continued oversight from a child welfare agency; and
An assessment of the prospective guardian and of the guardian's home yields positive results that support the decision to place the child in the legal custody of the guardian.

Jurisdiction

Iowa's subsidized guardianship demonstration is being implemented statewide.

Intervention

Iowa's demonstration provides a financial subsidy to relative and non-relative foster caregivers who assume permanent guardianship of children in the legal custody of the State. Specific components of the Subsidized Guardianship Program include the following:

Guardianship Subsidy Payment: Caregivers awarded guardianship under the demonstration receive a monthly subsidy no greater than the child's monthly foster care maintenance payment in effect at the time guardianship is awarded. The guardianship subsidy is based on a flat daily foster care rate adjusted according to the needs of the child and the circumstances of the family.
Payment for Non-Recurring Expenses: Guardians may receive a one-time payment equal to that allowed under the State's adoption subsidy program for miscellaneous costs and legal fees associated with establishing the guardianship.
Pre- and Post-Permanency Supports and Services: The State makes available to eligible children and caregivers services and supports that parallel those offered to adoptive families. Services available prior to guardianship include preliminary screenings to determine the possible appropriateness of guardianship; Family Team Meetings; assessment of the home and of the prospective guardian's relationship with the child; and assistance in applying for subsidized guardianship. Services available following the establishment of guardianship include referrals to community services and assistance with the adoption application process, should a guardian subsequently seek to adopt the child.
Education and Training Vouchers: Children who enter subsidized guardianship after the age of 16 are eligible to receive education and training vouchers funded through the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. The State may place priority on providing education and training vouchers to youth in foster care in the event that the number of eligible youth exceeds available funding for vouchers.

The guardianship casework process in Iowa involves several distinct steps:

Family Team Meeting and Assessment: Upon notification of a child's eligibility for the program and as appropriate to the circumstances of the case, the child's caseworker convenes a Family Team Meeting to review the details and responsibilities of adoption and guardianship. If adoption is ruled out and there is interest in guardianship, the caseworker completes a full assessment of the appropriateness of subsidized guardianship for the child and the potential guardian. Once the assessment is completed, the caseworker assists the potential guardian in completing a Subsidized Guardianship Agreement.
Finalization of Guardianship: The signed Subsidized Guardianship Agreement is presented to the Probate or Juvenile Court for approval and is finalized based on a review of the Guardianship Agreement and a judicial determination that guardianship is in the best interests of the child.
Annual Guardianship Review: After the guardianship is finalized, the Court completes annual reviews of the guardianship arrangement. The guardianship review includes (1) an assessment of whether the subsidy is adequate or is still needed (i.e., by determining whether the child is still living in the home of the guardian); and (2) and assessment of whether the child, guardian, and guardian's family are receiving supplementary services and supports necessary for the successful maintenance of the guardianship arrangement.

Evaluation Design

The State's evaluation includes process and outcome components and incorporates an experimental research design with random assignment to experimental and control groups. In addition, the evaluation includes a separate cost analysis.

Sample Size

Children in the eligible target population are assigned to the experimental and control groups at a 2:1 ratio. At the inception of the demonstration on February 1, 2007, the State identified 962 children currently in out-of-home placement who were eligible to participate in the subsidized guardianship program. Of these, 671 children were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 291 children were assigned to the control group. Over the five-year course of the demonstration, the State estimates that 2,925 children will be included in the research sample, with 1,950 children assigned to the experimental group and 975 children assigned to the control group.

Process Evaluation

Iowa's evaluation includes a process analysis that describes how demonstration services are implemented for experimental group cases and how these services differ from services provided to children in the control group. As part of this analysis, the State is tracking the following subsidized guardianship process measures:

The proportion of cases eligible for guardianship;
The proportion of eligible caregivers offered guardianship;
The proportion of eligible caregivers who accept or reject guardianship;
Caregivers' reasons for accepting or declining guardianship;
Of caregivers who decline guardianship, the proportion of children that are adopted, reunified, or remain in foster care;
Of caregivers who accept a guardianship offer, the proportion who are awarded guardianship;
The average length of time between acceptance and establishment of guardianship; and
Barriers to the establishment of guardianship.

Outcome Evaluation

Iowa's outcome evaluation compares the experimental and control groups for significant differences in child safety, permanency, and placement stability. Specifically, the State's outcome evaluation assesses the experimental and control groups for statistically significant differences in the following outcome measures:

Mean/median length of time in out-of-home placement;
Number and proportion of children who achieve permanency through adoption, guardianship, or reunification;
Number and proportion of children who age out of foster care;
Number and proportion of guardianship placements that are disrupted and the reasons for any disruptions;
Number and proportion of children with a subsequent alleged and/or substantiated maltreatment report;
Number and proportion of children who re-enter out-of-home placement; and
Number and proportion of guardianships that are dissolved and the reasons for any dissolutions.

In addition, Iowa's evaluation is tracking these outcome measures in relation to gender, age, and race.

Cost Study

Iowa's cost analysis examines the costs of key elements of services received by children in the experimental group and compares these costs with those of usual services received by children in the control group. The cost analysis includes an examination of the use of key funding sources, including Federal sources such as titles IV-A, IV-B, IV-E, and XIX of the Social Security Act, as well as State and local funds. In addition, Iowa is conducting a cost-effectiveness analysis where feasible to identify costs per successful outcome for the experimental and control groups. This analysis may be conducted using one or more key outcome measures for which statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups are identified.

Evaluation Findings

Process Evaluation

As of February 1, 2008, 1,531 children have been assigned to the demonstration, with 1,065 children assigned to the experimental group and 466 children assigned to the control group.

Outcome Evaluation

As of February 2008, eight children in the experimental group have exited to subsidized guardianship. In addition, interviews conducted through February 19, 2008 with the case managers of 455 experimental group children indicate that 13 children (2.9 percent) were in the process of having guardianships established; 27 children (5.9 percent) were being considered for guardianship; and 16 children (3.5 percent) had already been adopted or exited to private guardianship or were in the process of exiting to these permanency options at the time of random assignment.

Additional evaluation findings will become available as implementation of Iowa's subsidized guardianship demonstration continues.

¹ Based on information submitted by the State as of February 2008. Back

Back to Table of Contents