Project MATCH aims to improve Kentucky's foster care system through data-driven assessment and decision-making. It will test interventions to increase the number and diversity of foster families, improve kinship care placement, and strengthen coordination between agencies. The project is a collaboration between Kentucky agencies and universities to develop evidence-based models and address barriers to recruiting and retaining quality foster parents.

2. PROJECT MATCH : M AKING A PPROPRIATE AND T IMELY C ONNECTIONS FOR CH ILDREN A collaboration among the KY Department for Community Based Services, Murray State University, University of KY and University of Louisville

3. Making Connections

4. Project MATCH Short Term Goals Goal is to yield evidence-based models which lessen the barriers to recruiting, training and retaining resource parents with the goal of increasing the safety, permanency and well-being of children in the foster care system through data-driven assessment and decision-making Increase the pool of resource parents to more accurately reflect each region’s out of home care population Increase effectiveness in locating and using appropriate kinship care Fully integrate concurrent planning into permanency planning Increase inter- and intra-agency communication among public, private and community stakeholders

5. Clustered Random Sampling Used to Identify Intervention and Comparison Regions

6. Phase I Assessment Activities Project Advisory Board Intensive literature review to identify status of the evidence base Deeper analysis of existing administrative data to identify barriers and relationships between practices and outcomes Survey and focus groups of stakeholders public/private agency staff and administrators, and public/private resource and adoptive families

7. Snapshot of Factors Contributing to Recruitment, Placement and Retention in KY Calendar Year ‘07: 3616 inquiries, 446 approvals (12.3%) [ decrease from prior year ] May 2008: 7622 children in OOHC (23% increase since ‘02), 2206 approved public agency resource homes, 1485 private agency homes Need for shared vision across public and private agencies 53% children in OOHC placed in private sector homes 30 requests for PPLA (63% from PCCs) in 1 year Inconsistent implementation of concurrent planning Children in CP average 24.21 mths in care (21.22 for non-CP) Average age at first entry: 2.7 yrs. CP; 3.6 yrs. Non-CP

8. # of Children Entering and Exiting OOHC OOHC numbers are increasing because fewer leave than enter OOHC Source: DCBS 10/08

9. Age At Entry to OOHC: Groups that are changing Source: DCBS 10/08

10. Percent of Child Population Entering OOHC: Hot Spots

11. Current Foster Home (Public + Private) Capacity Based on two children per home: Goal is to have 3 possible homes for each demographic and geographic location Source: DCBS 10/08

12. Experiences for children in OOHC (all children entering in CY 2006) Source: DCBS 10/08

13. Proposed Potential Phase II Interventions Dedicated staff time through DR Specialists (experienced resource parents, attached to regional network teams) and Program Coordinators (UK/Murray staff) working with regional staff Develop DR philosophy and Best Practice Manual Quarterly regional peer consultation groups to share best practices, use data to track progress and develop strategies to address barriers Use self-assessment tools, feedback and recognition strategies to promote evidence-based practice Establish regional training calendar and increased access to informational meetings and trainings through regional partnerships

14. Even more good ideas… Centralized intake and customer service approach to potential resource families (screening in, not screening out) Co-training of public and private agency staff and resource parents Innovative, evidence-based approach to regional diligent recruitment activities Collaboration with Division of Child Support Enforcement on identification of kinship resources Implementation of Family Finding Model of kinship recruitment Educate and collaborate with judges on kinship care and concurrent planning

15. And, finally… Utilization review regarding placement decisions Establishment of DR Advisory Board including private child-placing agency membership Practice change regarding scheduling of SWIFT meetings and referral to Special Needs Adoption Program Collaborative development of shared vision and program improvement plans with private child-placing agencies Use of data to identify barriers, track progress and practice indicators, and promotion of evidence-based decision-making All of these are only potential strategies—the official intervention to be tested must be driven by data from Phase I and approved by Children’s Bureau

16. What We are Proposing is a Philosophical Shift