PERMANENCY ROUNDTABLE PROGRAM

Permanency Roundtable (PRT) Program helps children and youth in foster care to either return safely home to their parents; to build forever families through adoption or permanent guardianship when reunification is not possible; or to forge a lifelong connection with a parent-like adult if legal permanency is not attained. The PRT Program typically serves children who have been in foster care for two or more years. FFCR’s Permanency Managers convene and coordinate a multi-disciplinary team for each child served. FFCR’s expert staff facilitate a structured two-hour initial roundtable session during which the youth’s PRT team carefully examines the youth’s unique situation, identifies challenges and resources and brainstorms solutions to develop the youth’s Permanency Action Plan. Team members agree to tackle specific tasks in the plan and PRT sessions are facilitated by FFCR every 30-45 days until permanency is achieved or the youth ages out of foster care. Between PRT sessions, FFCR staff and PRT team members work diligently on their assigned tasks, relentlessly pursuing healthy, enduring adult support and, ultimately, a family for every child served.

Youth-Centered Roundtable Initiative

The PRT Program’s Youth-Centered Roundtable Initiative actively engages teens in the roundtable process through individualized, youth-friendly strength identification and goal setting activities. In addition to linking them with a forever family, youth-centered roundtables build self-efficacy and a sense of community and belonging that often prevails far beyond the youth’s time in foster care.

Although adoption and reunification are considered ‘permanent’ in the eyes of the law, decades of research about the impact of trauma and neglect on child development has underscored the reality that legal permanence does not necessarily ensure long-term well-being. In fact, children who are reunified after foster care intervention, as well as children who achieve permanency through adoption or permanent guardianship, risk re-entry into the foster care system at alarming rates. Specialized assistance is often needed to help families understand and address the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and to navigate the complex issues that arise once the initial ‘family honeymoon’ phase ends. Without support, children and families previously involved in the foster care system often struggle to identify the root causes of their challenges and to access effective community resources, which is compounded by an acute fear that asking for help will trigger the child’s removal. Connecting to community resources, therapeutic services and/or financial support can often mean the difference between a family’s ability to remain intact and the need for DCF intervention.

Connect2Community Initiative

The PRT Program’s Connect2Community (C2C) Initiative fills the often-overlooked social and emotional needs of children involved in the foster care system and addresses the practical and informational needs of their families and caregivers. FFCR harnesses its extensive network of community-based organizations, corporations and volunteers to connect each child and/or family to specific services, resources, experiences and opportunities. In this way, the C2C Initiative stabilizes families, reinforces resilience and exposes children to new people, places and possibilities.