# Presentation: 374756

## Children’s Justice Initiative Alcohol and Other Drug Project

- Parent Partner Consultant Report  on Focus Groups

## Mission  

- 	To ensure that in a fair and timely manner, abused and neglected children involved in the Juvenile protection court system have safe, stable, permanent families by improving parental and family recovery from alcohol and other drug problems

**Notes:**
In September of 2004 I received a call from Dan Griffin who invited me to tell my story and family journey through the child welfare, Juvenile Court system and Alcohol and Other Drug recovery.  That same day, I received an invitation to be a member of This State Advisory Committee to discuss, outline and implement initiatives to:

## Focus Group Partners and  Locations

- Mock Group
- Made up of past consumers or providers of services (Child welfare, Juvenile Court, Alcohol and Other Drugs
- Pilot Counties
- Itasca
- Sterns
- Ramsey
- Native American communities
- Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC)
- Leech Lake Women Services
- 	--

- Father’s Group
- African American Men’s Project (AAMP)
- Mother’s Group
- RS Eden (women’s residential Tx program, Mpls based)
- Beholding and Becoming Program (women’s empowerment, St. Paul based)
- 9 groups
- Approximately 70 parents

**Notes:**
As we continued the work, it was suggested and agreed upon that incorporating additional parent voices would be instrumental in guiding the work .  Actually hearing from the customer would be a valuable compliment and collaboration to this process.

We began organizing and conducting focus groups.  Focus groups were conducted:

## Partner Supports

- Access to parents/families that had past or current involvement with child protection, juvenile courts and alcohol and other drug systems
- Provided a physical location for groups and other logistical needs.
- Provided snacks or light meals
- Some provided transportation and child care

## Parent Invitations and questions

- CJI-AOD Core Team constructed and approved invitation letters to parents
- CJI-AOD Core Team constructed and approved 10 questions related to:
- Client/Family engagement
- Father’s involvement
- Exit/Transition strategies for families
- Services to Children
- Cross System Communication
- CJI-AOD Core Team approved two additional questions related to:
- Tribal representation of ICWA families

## Parent participation incentives 

- Incentives
- An opportunity to lend their voices and become involved in a worthy initiative for families
- To share their individual experiences and to receive and offer hope
- Parents were given a $20 gift certificate for their participation in the groups
- Each host site served a light lunch/dinner

## Focus Group Construction

- Introduction to CJI-AOD Project and it’s objectives
- An introduction to the “Five Clocks”
- Viewed a 4 minute video of the Dan Jansen Story

**Notes:**
Each focus groups construction was the same in nature.  Focus Group participants received:

## Parent Expressions

**Notes:**
A common theme of each group was that each one had it’s own personality according to the participants,  here is a collective list of feelings I left each one of those groups feeling about it’s participants and our continued work with parents.

## Statement of Shared Values and Guiding Principles

- _Keeping Children Safe_:  Most parents want to keep their children safe, but sometimes circumstances or conditions interfere with their ability to do so
- _Active Involvement_:  Parents are actively involved in decision-making and need to have a voice throughout the process as well as be supported and encouraged to use their voice
- _Support_:  The parent-child relationship will be supported throughout case plan and monitoring within each system

**Notes:**
Part of the outline and scope of work of this committee, was developed The Statement of Shared Values and Guiding Principles.  

There are seven bulleted statements under the section called Partnerships.  I have  used a couple of those statements that I will use in communicating and sharing this summary with you.

## Question #1

-   During your involvement with the child protection system, do you agree your use of alcohol and other drugs affected your family and impaired your ability to parent your children?  If yes, how so?

**Notes:**
Parents concurred with that statement by their responses.  It also gave parents the opportunity to vocalize acceptance of their actions and defining that while they didn't intend to neglect their children, it happened as their alcohol and other drug use intensified.

A few quotes related directly to question #1

## “At one time I would have done anything for my kids, at the end of my addictions I would have done anything for drugs.”

**Notes:**
For the sake of time we won’t review all twelve questions, but will offer a highlight of questions and statements.

You will be issued a complete summary and ask that you take care to review it in it’s entirety.

Question one asked parents: 

## I had to prostitute to maintain my addiction.  Although I know it took years for my addiction to progress to the point of losing my family; for me it seemed that things changed in 3.2 seconds.

## I allowed drinking parties that were a potential for violent behavior and my children could have gotten hurt.  

## Question #2

-  What services and support, if any were provided by the child welfare system that worked well for you in dealing with your recovery?

**Notes:**
Because each parent answered to their personal experiences, answers to questions varied.  

This allows us the opportunity to assess the consistency of the nature of services offered to families.

## Connections to treatment programs.  Chemical Health wouldn’t pay for another treatment, so it was written into my case plan. “I had already been in treatment 25 times and kept getting kicked out.”

## Child protection services gave info for assessment and worked with me to get things done.  I had access to treatment when it was available.

## My child welfare worker was very helpful.  She offered constant support and encouragement to reunification. 

## Question #3

- What would have been helpful to you in your recovery that was not provided by the child protection system?

## Question #3

- Enforce the visitation with foster families.  I did not have a vehicle, and I was the one responsible for the visits when they were in different parts of the state.
- Spirituality.  Information about churches/faith-based treatment programs

- Information about programs that embrace the whole family.  The children and parent together.
- If child welfare workers would stop provoking bad performance from clients.  They make statements like, ***“What is wrong with you don’t you want to do better?”***

**Notes:**
When asked what would have been helpful, some responses were:

## Questions #4, 5, 6, 7, 8

- Asked for responses directly related to:
- Client/Family Engagement
- Services to Children
- Father’s Involvement
- Cross Systems Communications
- Exit/Transition Strategies For Families

## #4  Engagement

- Engagement in What?
- Do you mean engagement in cooperating with child protection?
- Do you mean engagement in the recovery process?

## Engagement

- Engage the family and not the personal agenda of the worker
- 	**“****When parents don’t see eye to eye on issues, the social ****	****worker might tend to usurp authority at the expense and relationship of the family and hinder the recovery process and timely reunification.”**
- Attention should be given to family recovery and not just dirty urine analysis.  (UA's)

## #5   Services to Children

- Involve children with treatment goals right away.
- Don’t forget that parents still need to have a part in parenting their children.
- Foster parents or child welfare should be required to bring child(ren) when parent is in treatment and involved in family group sessions.

## #6   Suggestions  to improve recovery in transitioning to another service

- Stop the revolving door!
- 	“When parents don’t make outlined goals, the process starts all over again and it may not be necessary to start all over again, but add some extra supports to help regain focus.”
- Remember that things are easier said than done for parents.  **“Requirements are difficult.”**
- Provide aftercare connections and financial resources for rent, phone and drivers license.  “Life necessities that don’t seem important but help you get back on your feet.”

## #7   Improve on involving fathers

- Through community involvement and outreach to fathers through organizations like MADD Dads, Father’s Resource Center, etc...
- Create and provide the same resources to fathers that you do for moms:  Job training, housing, therapy, transportation, etc...
- Fathers are not given support!  Fathers don’t feel like they have a voice, place or responsibility to the child when it comes to the courts and child welfare.

## #8   Improve on information sharing between 3 systems

- The three systems should do focus groups together
- Mandate education for courts/judges on addiction and recovery---Child welfare needs to understand better the process of addiction and recovery.
- All interested parties meet with parent at once.  There are so many agencies and requirements to deal with that there is not enough time for parent to concentrate on recovery and keeping family safe.  There are just too many appointments.

## Question #9

- A key goal of the Children’s Justice Initiative is to facilitate more parent involvement in the project.  What things can be done to make it easier for parents to participate?

## #9  Parent involvement

- Provide incentives such as:  Child Care, Gift Certificates, Transportation, Meals
- Schedule events/workshops at times that give working parents the ability to participate
- Provide parents training about system protocols
- Go to communities instead of asking communities to come to you

## Questions  #11 

- During your involvement with the child protection/courts/alcohol and other drugs systems, were you assigned a tribal representative?  If so, how were they helpful in assisting you?

**Notes:**
Questions 11 and 12 were added specifically to speak to the Native American communities.

In addition to services and support from the state as it relates to child protection, the courts and alcohol and other drug treatment--under ICWA families are also provided with/should have relationship with a tribal representative.

## Question #11

- Yes, it was helpful . I pretty much know all of the people at the Indian Center and they know me. Knowing people all these years helped
- Representative was helpful in getting case closed
- You’re not assigned one unless you ask

## Question  #12

- What recommendations do you have that would improve the assistance and help provided by tribal representatives for families involved in the child protection/courts/alcohol and other drug systems?

## Question   #12

- Display more professionalism on the job
-  if tribes had their own social service, courts and child protection system
- More education and training for tribal representatives
- Confidentiality is an issue in smaller communities

## Question    #10

- Based on your experiences with the child protection, courts and alcohol and other drug systems, what would you like those who work in these 3 systems to know about the process of recovery?

## Question   #10

- Everybody needs to understand recovery is a process
- 		**“****Courts and child welfare don’t seem to understand at times that it is a process when asking you to do something”**
- Everyone is different.  Individualize recovery plans based on each parent/family needs.
- Educate yourselves on recovery
**	****	****“****Just because you made bad choices in the past doesn’t mean you’re a bad person today.”**

## Other suggestions and observations from parents

- Parents suggested that it would be helpful to them in their recovery and meeting requirements child welfare if they had access to a network of other parents that had been successful in navigating through the systems
- Parents believe that they could do better at meeting requirements and obtaining reunification if they were better educated on the child welfare system and juvenile court proceedings
- Parent voiced other concerns such as domestic abuse, prostitution, low self-esteem, mental illness, sexual abuse and economic issues that are not necessarily being addressed along with child welfare interventions that could assist them in being successful
- Parents stated that more attention needed to be given as it relates to safety of children in the foster home settings.

## Thoughts to ponder

- What do we do with this information as it relates to moving forward with this initiative?
- Do we really believe that parents want to overcome their issues with alcohol and other drugs? If so, how do we support them?
- If it were your family having any of these concerns presented, what kind of interaction and supports would you appreciate?