Policy #2

Implement Data-Driven Recruitment and Retention Practices

Improving the collection and analysis of certain data elements can improve placement matching, promote placement stability, provide valuable insight into placement needs and inform recruitment and retention efforts. This include data on current foster families as well as data on which communities and neighborhoods should be targeted for recruitment efforts so that children in care remain close to home and school of origin. Information on barriers, delays and inefficiencies in the licensure and approval process can lead to a better and more timely experience for new foster families. While jurisdictions may have some of the data, it is often not being used strategically for planning and implementing foster parent recruitment, retention and support. Policy can help guide these efforts and promote consistency across counties and regions.

What the Research Says

Research has identified lack of data as a critical barrier to states’ recruitment and retention efforts. Studies and expert guidance have consistently highlighted the need to 1) utilize data on foster parent and child characteristics in order to effectively recruit families that match the needs of children in foster care, and 2) regularly collect feedback from foster parents through surveys and other means in order to inform recruitment and retention policies and practices. A research summary is available here.

Recommended Policy Approaches

  • Foster parent census

    A census is an ongoing, periodic collection of data on licensed foster parents, including those who are not currently caring for a child. A foster parent census can help agencies assess their overall capacity in terms of foster parents trained and available to care for infants (including those prenatally exposed to substances), teens, sibling groups, children with significant behavioral or mental health needs, and or special health care needs. A census can also identify foster parents who are particularly sensitive to and knowledgeable about the needs of children from diverse cultures. As such, it can help agencies determine whether their current families are being fully utilized and if there are significant gaps in agencies’ recruitment strategies. Because this information is not required for AFCARS, state and tribal policymakers may want to consider requiring and funding a periodic foster family census.

  • Market segmentation

    Data on current, successful foster families is analyzed to create statistically accurate profiles based on demographics, lifestyle choices, consumer behaviors and location, among other variables. For example, a profile could be created specifically for prospective foster parents interested in mentoring birth parents. Recruitment efforts are then targeted to reach families that fit these profiles. Market segmentation is most effective when it is based on a large number of foster families deemed to be successful. The need for a large data set, however, can be a barrier to states with relatively small populations.

  • Local/regional recruitment and retention plans

    Such plans are based on data, needs and strategies specific to a given county or region and are best developed in close consultation with local stakeholders, such as foster parents, tribal representatives, providers, youth, licensing staff, judges and guardians ad litem, among others.

Examples of Existing Policies and Programs

  • North Carolina Diligent Recruitment and Retention Plan

    North Carolina’s plan was published in June 2017 and is part of the state’s response to its Child and Family Services Review. Prior to development of the plan, the state experienced problems with data consistency across counties. The Division of Social Services (DSS) knew how many foster families it had, but was unable to drill down for more detailed information about actual capacity and actual need. DSS developed the new Diligent Recruitment and Retention (DRR) plan collaboratively with input provided at three regional stakeholder meetings attended by representatives of the provider community, the courts, foster parents, youth, county child welfare leaders, licensing staff, caseworkers, advocates and others. DSS continues to solicit input from stakeholders with quarterly peer-to-peer calls.

    One of the goals of the new DRR plan is that “the state, counties and child placing agencies have the capacity to use data to inform and monitor recruitment and retention efforts.” The plan requires each county department of social services to submit its own individualized plan annually. The state also requires each county to create, maintain, update monthly and submit to the state annually a data profile that includes the following: characteristics of children in care, characteristics of families available for placement, average length of time from initial inquiry to licensure, total number of licensed beds, total number of available beds, number of children placed out of county due to lack of available beds, and number of placement disruptions or changes. Although private agencies are not required to submit data profiles, larger agencies have that capacity and the state encourages them to do so.

    Data profiles are considered program tools rather than report cards and will be used by DSS to guide its technical assistance efforts, including informational websites, training, webinars, and publications such as “Treat Them Like Gold: A Best Practice Guide to Partnering with Resource Families”. The data are also intended to increase transparency and consistency of messaging across public and private agencies.1

Data Elements That Support Effective Recruitment and Retention

Ideally, jurisdictions would have the capacity to collect and analyze the following data elements on foster families for purposes of recruitment and retention:

  • place of residence
  • age
  • placement preferences (infants, teems, sibling groups, medically fragile children)
  • placement capacity (number of licensed beds, number of available beds)
  • placement agency or agencies with which the family works
  • ages and special needs of children fostered
  • special skills, interests and training
  • interest and skills in mentoring birth parents
  • length of service
  • licensure status
  • reasons given by former foster parents for quitting

  • Washington State Foster Care Funding Collaborative (FCFC)

    FCFC is a public/private partnership in which a consortium of foundations is funding 14 private provider agencies to work with the Washington state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to recruit, train and license 2,500 new foster families in three years, beginning in January 2019. The project is coordinated by the Washington Association for Children and Families (WACF), the state’s private agency membership organization, and consists of three components:

    • Market research and segmentation

      WACF engaged a consultant and market research firm to identify the characteristics and motivations of the 4,000 current foster families in the state, where and how similar families are likely to be found, and gaps in foster family recruitment efforts. Each private agency will tailor its recruitment efforts to reach and serve the families most likely to foster the type of children (medically fragile, sibling groups, infants, teens, etc.) in which it specializes. This approach will help connect prospective foster families to agencies that will best support them, and it will encourage agencies to collaborate and not compete with one another for foster families. The project will develop some specific messaging to emphasize the expectation that foster parents mentor birth parents and support reunification. New recruitment marketing that leverages this research is expected to begin in January 2019.

    • A centralized portal for prospective foster parents

      WACF and its partners have created a single online point of entry that will match prospective foster parents with the appropriate private agency or with DCYF based on the inquirer’s geographic location, placement preferences, strengths and other characteristics. The premise is that by making good matches between families and agencies, there will be improved satisfaction and retention of foster parents. This approach differs from common practice, in which prospective families are provided a list of available agencies and must find their own best match.

    • Data collection

      The project has created a customer experience dashboard, which tracks an applicant’s progress from initial inquiry through licensure, in order to identify barriers, obstacles and inefficiencies in the process. This information will help the private agencies and DCYF to identify points in the process at which applicants are most likely to become discouraged and drop out. WACF plans to expand data collection to reach foster families’ experiences post-licensure, including retention, placement stability and birth parent engagement. The data will help agencies identify best practice.2

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1Britt Cloudsdale, formerly with the North Carolina Division of Social Services, personal communication, August 24, 2018.

2Jill Marshall May, Executive Director, Washington Association for Children and Families, personal communication, October 26, 2018.