Kinnect

Programs: The summit permanency collaborativethe summit permanency collaborative (2010 - 2014) took a systematic and comprehensive approach towards achieving three core goals: 1) finding permanency for the longest waiting children, 2) reducing the number of children in long-term foster care, and 3) establishing and maintaining a "culture of permanency. " a team of permanency workers provided specialized permanency services to children at all stages of foster care. Policies and procedures were developed, training and coaching was provided, and systematic partnerships were developed to support a permanency-focused approach to foster care. The following outcomes were achieved during the summit permanency collaborative implementation:-47% of children in permanent custody achieved (or were in the process of legalizing) permanency-an increase in foster care exit outcomes to relatives up from 24% to 32%-a 35% reduction in the number of children in permanent custody-40% reduction in the number of children in permanent custody who did not have a permanency plan (adoption, legal custody, or reunification plan)-development of a youth advisory board-creation of a formal family search & engagement policy and procedurein july of 2014, the waiting child fund formally transitioned the remaining program roles and responsibilities to summit county children services and brought closure to the program. By design, much of the child-focused recruitment and family search and engagement work has continued beyond the summit permanency collaborative implementation.

current and future program implementationwhile the methods and programs of the waiting child fund continue to evolve and adapt to the needs of our partners, our mission has remained the same; to find permanency for all children. To achieve this goal, we are partnering with national and statewide partners to lead a movement to increase the use of authentic strength-based family-engagement in ohio. Our collaborative strategy focuses on building upon ohio's strengths while incorporating successful models from partner sites. The following four key impact areas were identified as the result of ongoing research and needs assessment:-family search & engagement implementation - providing consulting, evaluation, training, policy & procedure development, and fundraising services to our county partners to effectively locate extended biological relatives and engage them in the permanency planning process-system collaboration - creating dialog and learning opportunities among key child welfare system partners on a national and statewide level to increase the implementation of effective permanency strategies in ohio-talent recruitment - utilizing the strategies of successful model to ensure that we are recruiting and retaining the right people with the right skills to work with our children and families-training and coaching - increase the skills of ohio's social work staff through the development of an adaptive and comprehensive set of training and coaching programs.