14.6 Recruitment and Retention

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Child Welfare Policy Manual

Chapter:

(14) Resource Development

Policy Title:

Recruitment and Retention

Policy Number:

14.6

Previous Policy Number(s):

N/A

Effective Date:

May 2024

Manual Transmittal:

2024-03

Codes/References

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act Section 471(a)(18)(A) & (B)
45 CFR Part 1355.38 (a)(2) & (5)
Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 as amended by the Interethnic Placement Act of 1996 (MEPA-IEPA)

Requirements

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) will:

  1. Adhere to the requirements of the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 as amended by the Interethnic Placement Act of 1996 (MEPA-IEPA) and shall not:

    1. Deny to any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster parent on the basis of race, color, or national origin of the person or of the child involved;

    2. Delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care on the basis of the race, color or national origin of the adoptive or foster parent or the child involved; or

    3. Maintain any statute, regulation, policy, procedure or practice that, on its face, is a violation as defined in sections 471 (a)(18)(A) and (B).

    Compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 shall not constitute a violation of section 471 (a)(18).

  2. Direct recruitment activities toward a broad cross-section of the community and develop recruitment plans that provide for the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families who reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed, in accordance with the MEPA-IEPA.

  3. Meet MEPA-IEPA’s diligent efforts requirements by ensuring each DFCS County Office develops a comprehensive recruitment plan that addresses the following:

    1. A description of the characteristics of waiting children.

    2. Specific strategies to reach all parts of the community.

    3. Diverse methods of disseminating both general and child-specific information.

    4. Strategies for assuring that all prospective substitute caregivers have timely access to pre-service preparation and training, including convenient locations and hours of service.

    5. Strategies for training staff to work with diverse cultural, racial, and economic communities.

    6. Strategies for dealing with linguistic barriers.

    7. Non-discriminatory fee structures (i.e., cost of drug screens, medical evaluations, fingerprints, residential modifications, etc.).

Procedures

Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit

  1. Provide monthly monitoring plans of regional recruitment and retention activities.

  2. Present a quarterly report focused on five major issues (recruitment indicators, retention indicators, closures, foster parent support, and statewide initiatives) during the Statewide Recruitment and Retention Meeting.

Practice Guidance

The recruitment and retention of caregivers is critical to the overall success of the foster care and adoption programs in Georgia. An effective recruitment and retention program is necessary to ensure the availability of appropriate resources for children who enter the foster care system. Recruitment and retention efforts must be designed to provide the community with information about the characteristics and needs of the children (and their families) requiring foster or adoptive homes, as well as the basic requirements and minimum standards. In addition to presenting information, it involves providing feedback and consultation. Effective recruitment strategies build public interest and awareness of the need for foster and adoptive parents for children. Recruitment efforts must not focus solely on developing a certain number of families, but on developing the most appropriate families to meet the needs of children in foster care.

MEPA-IEPA and Recruitment

Experience demonstrates that minority communities respond when given information about the need for homes and when they are treated with respect. Recruitment strategies must not systematically discourage or deter the interest of prospective caregivers in trans-racial or interethnic placements. In addition, placement of a child in an appropriate household must not be delayed by the search for a same race placement. Moreover, DFCS must avoid the arbitrary use of race-neutral recruitment factors (e.g., income, age, educational level, family structure, home ownership status, etc.) that have the effect of excluding groups of people based on race, color, or national origin.

General Recruitment Strategies

Examples of general recruitment strategies include, but are not limited to:

  1. Posting information about foster care and adoption on bulletin boards in various places of business within the community.

  2. Hosting an information table at farmers markets, fairs, and community festivals.

  3. Partnering with pizza places and other local restaurants to have them attach small flyers to pizza boxes or use tray liners that encourage people to considering becoming foster or adoptive parents.

  4. Utilizing existing caregivers to share their firsthand knowledge of the needs of children in care and their experience working with DFCS to help meet those needs.

  5. Partnering with faith-based communities to inform the public about the needs of children in foster care.

  6. Engaging the medical community by providing information regarding the special medical needs of children in foster care.

Targeted Recruitment Strategies

Targeted recruitment strategies target a specific population in need of foster or adoptive home resources (e.g., teens). One strategy might include developing community-based recruitment teams to build a resource pool for specific populations of children in care. Recruitment activities should provide potential foster and adoptive parents with information about the characteristics and needs of the target population. Recruitment efforts should focus on identifying an adult or groups of adults (e.g., church group, nurses, teachers, etc.) that potentially meet the needs of the target population. Targeted recruitment efforts may also focus on a particular area (i.e., zip code or school zone) in which there is a high removal rate.

Child Specific Recruitment Strategies

Child specific recruitment strategies help to identify caregivers for specific children in foster care. These strategies begin with a comprehensive child assessment and preparation process. Examples of child specific recruitment strategies include:

  1. Conducting intensive case file mining, including talking with older youth to explore past connections and important relationships with supportive adults who might be able to provide permanency at this time, even if they were unable in the past;

  2. Featuring children in photo listing services (i.e., It’s My Turn Now Georgia and Adopt Us Kids);

  3. Using local media partnerships such as Wednesday’s Child for featuring a child, youth, or sibling group;

  4. Developing a Heart Gallery – a traveling exhibit of high quality, compelling photographs capturing the unique personalities of children in care; and

  5. Creating presentations with youth using technology (e.g., PowerPoint and iMovie) that can bring the personalities and stories of youth to life in their own words, pictures, and graphics.

Retention Variables

In order to maintain an adequate pool of caregivers to meet the needs of children in foster care, special attention must be made to the support that is offered. Homes are closed for a variety of reasons. Some home closures are related to positive events, such as a child being adopted by their foster parent. On the other hand, some caregivers request closure of their home due to negative experiences related to retention variables such as the following:

  1. Satisfaction with DFCS Staff – This includes customer service, response to phone calls, or any other interaction with DFCS staff or providers.

  2. Confidence in Ability to Meet the Needs of Children – This includes how confident the caregiver feels about being able to manage the demands of being a partnership or resource parent.

  3. The ability to express concerns without fear of retaliation from DFCS.

Retention Plans

County retention plans must address local issues affecting foster parent retention and may include activities such as the following:

  1. Customer service training for DFCS staff - Webinars and on-site presentations may help address general customer service issues, such as how to best respond to visits and phone calls from foster parents.

  2. AFPAG/Foster Parent Partnership Meetings – These may serve as a forum for foster parents to offer wisdom and expertise on ways to recruit, retain, and support foster homes.

  3. Regular email, phone or web-based survey of foster parents - Surveys may help the county determine what is working and what needs improvement to ensure that foster parents are provided with ongoing support.

  4. Exit interviews with families leaving the program - Brief interviews with foster parents leaving the program should be conducted by staff not known to the families. Results of interviews should be used to assess current practices and make improvements.

  5. Clearly communicated Foster Parent Grievance Procedure – The County Director should use this opportunity to assess what event(s) occurred that caused the foster parent to file a grievance. Recommendations and “lessons learned” from the staffing and/or case review should be employed across program areas to improve practices as it relates to supporting caregivers.

  6. Respite care partnerships- Develop respite partnerships with parent support groups to ensure the availability of such resources when caregivers need temporary relief from their caregiver responsibilities.

  7. Procedures for placement disruptions- Establishing procedures for placement disruptions in advance helps reduce stress on caregivers and DFCS staff. Moreover, all parties will know what is expected of them to facilitate a smoother transition for the child(ren) involved.

Forms and Tools

NA