Informational & Practice Publications, Resources, & Tools
For Child Welfare Professionals
Organizational Self Study on Parent-Child and Sibling Visits The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC) created this self-study assessment tool to assist agencies with reviewing the core principles of parent-child and sibling visiting. The tool is designed to review overall agency readiness, assess administrative policies, and identify strengths and challenges in parent-child and sibling visiting practice. This assessment tool can aid you in shaping your technical assistance needs. (May 2011)
Visiting: the Heart of Reunification
Dr. Gary Mallon, Executive Director of the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections, developed this PowerPoint presentation on the basics of Parent-Child Visiting for a Technical Assistance Visit to the Thibodaux Region of Louisiana. It may be useful to others who are considering Parent-Child Visiting Issues in their State, Tribe or Local District. (2011)
Permanency Planning Today: Visiting
This issue of Permanency Planning Today, NRCPFC’s bi-annual newsletter, explores the topic of visiting. It highlights visiting strategies and discusses how to respond to children’s questions. (Summer 2008)
Programs that Provide Services to Support Family Visiting of Children in Foster Care
To provide a resource for child welfare professionals, the NRCPFC has established a database of agencies and programs providing services that help children in foster care visit with their families. The purposes of the database are to (1) support child welfare agency staff in the identification of visiting programs that might be resources for children in care and their families, and (2) assist agencies and professionals that are interested in developing visiting services in identifying and contacting programs that provide the types of services they wish to develop, thereby supporting the further development of such services. (August 2008)
Parent-Child Visiting
This NRCPFC information packet explores visiting between parents and their children in foster care. Facts and statistics are provided, in addition to a review of relevant policies and legislation. The information packet also describes best practices and model programs for parent-child visiting, as well as listing additional resources. Written by Amber Weintraub. (April 2008)
Visiting with Family in Foster Care
This NRCPFC information packet focuses on the issue of family visiting. It provides a statistics/fact sheet, summarizes relevant policies and legislation, and identifies best practices. A listing of additional resources is also provided. Written by Laura Roemer. (April 2008)
Introduction to Parent-Child Visits
Child Welfare Information Gateway and the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC) partnered to provide this free, self-guided online training on facilitating visits between parents and children involved with the child welfare system. The training promotes safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families by providing information to help child welfare professionals maintain family connections when children are in out-of-home care. Participants will learn how parent-child visits can enhance efforts toward family reunification and improve outcomes for children and families. The training includes best practices regarding parent-child visits for child welfare workers, supervisors, and related professionals. This training is based on workshops and materials developed by Rose Marie Wentz, NRCPFC Consultant. (2010)
Teleconferences, Webinars, Webcasts & Videos
Visit Coaching: Building on Family Strengths to Meet Children’s Needs
Visits between children in foster care and their families often do not build on family strengths or help them to demonstrate that they can meet their children’s safety and developmental needs. Visits can alienate parents, children, and foster parents, and the parent’s grief, anger, and preoccupation with complying with court-ordered treatment often obscure their children’s needs. Visit coaching is an innovative approach that can replace parenting classes and office-based visits with hands-on guidance for families in meeting their children’s needs. Visit coaches, who may be caseworkers or a variety of other trained individuals, help parents to take charge of visits and demonstrate more responsiveness to each child. In this archived NRCPFC webcast, NRCPFC Assistant Director, Judy Blunt, and NRCPFC Consultant, Marty Beyer discuss how the innovative approach of Visit Coaching can build on family strengths to meet children’s needs. (April 2010)
*Many of these resources were developed previously by the
National Resource Center for
Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC).
Informational & Practice Publications, Resources, & Tools
For Child Welfare Professionals
Connecting with Siblings
This article from Fostering the Judges’ Page newsletter addresses the Fostering Connections Act and sibling issues. Authord by: Hon. Leonard Edwards (ret), Judge-in-Residence, Center for Families, Children and the Courts, California Administrative Office of the Courts. (July 2011)
For Families
Putting the Pieces of Family Visits Together: A Guide for Foster Parents
This Familyconnect guide from the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) at the University of Minnesota serves as a resource for foster parents regarding family visits. The information was collected through interviews with foster parents, social workers, children and birth parents. It covers: what to expect regarding your role in family visits; typical reactions children and parents may have before and after visits; relating effectively with birth parents; and strategies in preparing and transitioning children to and from family visits. (2012)
Rise: Making the Most of Visits
In this issue of Rise Magazine, parents show how they have made visits a special time despite the stress of supervision and the pain of saying good-bye. Parents and parent advocates also discuss how the system can further improve visiting conditions and supports so that more families can successfully reunify. Rise Magazine is written by and for parents involved in the child welfare system. (Summer 2011)
Rise - A Time to Bond: A Parent-to-Parent Guide to Making the Most of Visits with Children in Foster Care
The true stories in this workbook from Rise Magazine show how parents have succeeded in bonding with children in foster care during visits. Lessons and worksheets give child welfare professionals the tools to use the stories in a parent support group, parenting education classes, or one-on-one discussions. Parents learn from the true stories of their peers. The workbook includes 8 stories by parents who have reunified with their children; discussion guides for each story for use in parenting classes, support groups, or staff training; visit journals for each story to help parents reflect on their experiences, set goals, and keep track of their progress during visits; and, interviews with visiting experts. Two sample stories and lessons from this workbook are available for free online. (2011)
New York: Sibling Placement and Visitation
Published as part of the “Need to Know Series” for youth in care in New York, this guide from Youth in Progress, New York State Foster Care Youth Leadership Advisory Team, provides information on sibling placement and visitation. It reviews New York State’s requirements on placing siblings together in foster care, reasons to place siblings together, what prevents siblings from being placed together, and sibling visitation when placed in foster care facilities. (Rev. December 2011)
North Carolina: Parent-Child Visits: Managing the Challenges, Reaping the Rewards
This article from Fostering Perspectives, a publication sponsored by the North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Family and Children’s Resource Program, describes strategies that foster caregivers can utilize to facilitate visitation and to prepare and support children in the process. It also lists ten ways that caseworkers can support foster parents around visitation. (November 2010)
