RESPONDENT: Diane Savage, Permanency Manager
Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families, Permanency Services Unit
I. General Information (Background on State Service System)
County-based vs. statewide system
Rhode Island’s system of permanency services is statewide and includes adoption and guardianship.
Uniformity of services across the state
Services are uniform across the state in that there is a single standard of practice.
Children on subsidy as of June 30, 2013
2,558 children were receiving adoption subsid,y and 436 were receiving guardianship subsidy.
Are public child welfare adoption workers expected to provide post-adoption services?
Yes, but only through the permanency subsidy unit. No clinical or other services are provided directly by the state. Other services are provided as described below through a state contract with Adoption Rhode Island (ARI), a private non-profit agency.
II. Post-Adoption Services Funded by the State for Adoptive Families Information and Referral
Staff members in the permanency subsidy unit provide information and referral when requested. The majority of these services are provided through the contract with ARI.
Educational Programs or Materials
The state contracts with Adoption Rhode Island to deliver the Preserving Families Program, which is staffed by masters-level clinicians who provide direct parent education and support as well as other services. For more information: http://adoptionri.org/programs-and-services/for-parents-family.
The Rhode Island Parent Information Network—with which the state collaborates but does not fund—also offers educational programs and materials.
Support Programs
Adoption Rhode Island offers individual and group support as part of its contract with the state.
Therapeutic Interventions
Individual and family services are available through community mental health services at the Medicaid rate. The state offers no adoption-specific therapeutic services. Adoption Rhode Island provides in-home clinical support to families as needed through its Preserving Families Program. If a family’s situation becomes serious and they have been unable to access adequate services for their child, they can seek Voluntary Placement by initiating the intake process through DCYF.
Advocacy
No services available directly through the state. Adoption Rhode Island testifies at legislative hearings on behalf of services for families and children and may offer individual advocacy as needed. The Rhode Island Parent Information Network’s primary purpose is advocacy.
Rhode Island
Donaldson Adoption Institute 179
Respite
Respite services are provided only in those cases where they are included in the subsidy. Daycare services are available as part of this.
Residential Treatment
Does the state pay for residential treatment for children adopted from foster care? What is the process for obtaining this?
The adoption subsidy will attempt to facilitate the availability of these services in a timely manner; however, they are not under the control of the permanency unit and are authorized through mental health services. The availability of these services is limited and not guaranteed for adopted children.
If yes, what is required to obtain this?
The family calls DCYF to initiate the intake process for Voluntary Placement and an assessment is done to determine the need.
Does the child have to re-enter state custody?
Yes, in this case.
Search Services
Rhode Island maintains a passive Adoption Reunion Registry, and permanency subsidy unit staff can review the case record and report non-identifying information upon request. New legislation allows adult adoptees to request their original birth certificates through the Department of Health. Family court has a search office that will respond to requests for identifying information.
III. Qualifications for Post-Adoption Services
A. What are the eligibility criteria for receiving services?
These services are offered to children receiving federal or state adoption or guardianship subsidy.
B. Under what circumstances, if any, are these services provided to children who were not adopted through the state system?
Rarely – when a private sector adoption involves a subsidy agreement. Adoption Rhode Island provides services to families who have adopted privately and internationally as well as through the public agency. Residential services and/or other high intensity mental health services accessed through Voluntary Placement are open to any family in Rhode Island.
IV. Support for Post-Adoption Services
A. What is the total annual budget for post-adoption services (excluding Adoption Assistance)?
The subsidy budget (Adoption Assistance) is approximately $16 million. There is no significant post- permanency budget beyond that.
B. What are the primary sources of funding for post-adoption services? (Please order from 1=top funding source to the source that the lowest amount of funds is used.)
Rhode Island was not able to provide information on the sources of funding for their post- adoption services.
C. Which, if any, of these services is legally stipulated in state law? If any post-adoption services are included in state law, please describe:
Rhode Island
D. Have there been significant cutbacks in post-adoption services or adoption subsidies in the state in the past 10 years? If so, please describe:
No, in fact the subsidy rates have increased; there have been significant reductions to the child welfare budget over the past five years, resulting in fewer community-based supports and fewer options for residential treatment services for Rhode Island children. Some agencies have stopped providing direct services to foster and adopted children and their families. A new post-adoption family preservation program was funded last year, and funding is for the 2013-2014; no ongoing funding stream has yet been identified.
V. In your state, are there noteworthy practice models or research reports related to adoption support and preservation that you could share with us?
A. Please describe practice models:
Both currently funded post-adoption support programs provide trauma-informed clinical and case- management and intensive home-based individual, family, and group services to increase family cohesion and reduce the risk of disruption. Also, the state has partnered with Adoption Rhode Island and the Child Welfare Institute at Rhode Island College to promote adoption-informed clinical practice by creating the Adoption & Foster Care Practice Certification.
B. Significant findings of program evaluations or other post-adoption studies conducted in the State in the past 10 years:
In collaboration with Adoption Rhode Island and family court, Rhode Island DCYF has recently initiated a study of post-adoption instability to determine the primary causes and inform practice to increase family stability. This study has just begun and is ongoing.
C. Contact persons who could give us more information about noteworthy practice models or research and their phone number:
Darlene Allen, Director of Adoption Rhode Island, at 401-865-6000.
VI. Please share any strategies that you have used to successfully advocate for post-adoption services in your state.
DCYF raises the issues in every venue possible. They provide opportunities for families to advocate with state and legislative leaders. In addition to the advocacy that occurs on an individual level in the course of the director and staff’s daily work, the department has played a significant role in upgrading post-permanency practice by partnering in the Adoption & Foster Care Practice Certification, initiating the study of post-adoption instability, and regularly participating in information meetings with Adoption Rhode Island. They try to never give up.
VII. Research on tracking post-adoption instability: Does your state track adoption dissolutions and/or adoption disruptions?
Because children placed with pre-adoptive homes are categorized as foster families in the SACWIS system, many adoption disruptions are captured as foster placement disruptions, therefore the information is not robust in the area of disruption and dissolution statistics.