Our Day at Firestation #2
~ By Connie
Early this summer our team at Integrated Research Services spent a very interesting and informative afternoon at our local fire station. “Why,” you might ask, “would we choose to do something like this?” Well, this all came about as the result of our director, Dr. Steven Ungerleider, claiming the winning bid at a silent auction sponsored by Birth to Three, a local non-profit organization which helps families throughout our community. The auction item was for a party at the Eugene Fire Fighter Training Station donated by the City of Eugene. Our afternoon included lunch and a tour of all the on-site facilities for Station #2 (also known as the Whiteaker Station). This station also houses the EMS Paramedics (Emergency Medical Systems), a large field training facility, and Life Flight (one of several air/ground critical care transport services in the Pacific Northwest).
Besides the wonderful lunch they cooked and served us, these dedicated individuals spent a great deal of their time showing us around the station, the training facilities that are on site, and the call center and administration building. We were able to see the equipment that they use with the fire engines and trucks, which they proudly maintain every single day. We even took some great photos of Dr. Ungerleider riding in one of the trucks with the firemen in a short trip around the station. Even better was his trip up the fire ladder, 100 feet in the air to simulate what it’s like going up several stories high to rescue people in a burning building. Then we were taken over to the burn house they use to train recruits in live fire situations. The house is specially designed to be used for these training purposes and can withstand the multiple times it is set on fire and put out.
It would take too long to mention everything we saw and experienced on this warm and breezy afternoon, but here are a few of the comments from our team members, their thoughts of the day and what they learned from their experience.
“I was impressed with their training grounds, the number of buildings, cars, and contraptions they use to train.”
“It was really nice of them to give us a full tour of their house, sleeping areas, awesome gym and they made us a great lunch!”
“What I learned most was about how much care they take of their fire engines!! They wash them each morning, then more thoroughly once a week where they take all the tools off and make sure everything is working properly, AND then they do an even MORE thorough washing once a month. Their engines look brand new and it only shows their sense of pride in their vehicles. I was also very impressed with HOW MANY tools they could load on that engine. I mean, I knew that fire engines were large but I had no clue how many storage areas were on those, they had all kinds of saws, axes, hand tools you name it they had it.”
“They were an obviously dedicated, humble, close-knit group. You could tell there was an ease among the group and that we were definitely entering their home-away-from-home. They all seemed to love what they do and had answers to all of our questions.”
“This is a great group of people who love their work and care about the people they serve. They were all so gracious and hospitable and went out of their way to help us understand what they do and how they do it. I came away with an even greater respect and admiration for them after spending an afternoon there.”
“I left definitely feeling like I was safe in their hands, and had a better understanding of just what takes for them to fulfill the roles they fill.”
This was certainly an afternoon well spent, learning about some of our city’s finest public safety services and the wonderful dedicated personnel who serve us so well. It will be a day we will always fondly remember.
Youth Workers Gathering and Accessing Information
~ By Wil
In May we conducted a survey on the availability of research and information related to adolescent behavioral health, and how dissemination platforms may or may not be meeting needs. We looked specifically at how technology is changing the way information is accessed and used, and how important various distribution platforms are to meeting youth worker’s goals.
I would personally like to thank everyone who contributed and took the time to provide feedback. In all, we received a fair amount of responses which I believe will definitely provide a better understanding of the current climate, with the end result being (hopefully) that it helps us create better products and services for the youth-serving community.
The survey consists of 3 parts: gathering and accessing information; research and resource usage; and technology needs. The results are very intriguing and will take some time to fully delve into. So today, for the sake of brevity and blogging, I am just going to give a brief overview of the survey and cover just a few of the results from the first section: Gathering and Accessing Information.
It is our plan that this post is the first in a series wherein we can have an open discussion and share ideas on what these results mean to the youth-serving community.
Outline of the survey:
The survey was comprised of 25 questions related to how different types and platforms of research and information are used. Sample size was about 12,000, including both online and offline sources.
Online sources include a link to the survey from our Web site’s home page, a link sent via our own email newsletter, and a link from our organization’s Facebook page. Additionally we mailed 10,000 printed copies to six industry-related lists.
Completed responses received: 46 from online sources, 771 returned via USPS.
A brief introduction of the data:
A third of the respondents (34%) were 55 years of age or older, 26% were in the 45-54 age range, 21% were 35-44, and 19% were age 34 or younger.
Those with master’s degrees were most prevalent, topping the scale at 64%, which is very consistent with the industry. Bachelors and doctorate degrees come in a distant second at 16.2% and 15.2% respectively. The remaining 5% were high school graduates or had some college experience.
Two-thirds (62%) of the respondents worked for an organization with 50 or greater employees, nearly 19% worked for a smaller organization with less than 10 employees, with the remaining respondents fairly evenly dispersed in organizations of 11-20, 21-30, and 31-50 employees.
Job titles included a wide spectrum of responses and ranged from therapist to public health nurse and from principal to research manager. The majority worked in a school or school district, a non-profit , or a state or county agency.
Getting into the results:
When asked how often new research and information is actively sought out, most people responded that they seek resources weekly – with a majority searching more than once a week.
We then asked specifically how often the Internet was used in searching for new research and information. The graph below is nearly identical to the one above with less than .5% difference in those searching weekly.
As indicated above and confirmed below: when scouting for new resources, a large majority of respondents rely on the Internet as the primary tool to locate new research and information. However, journals, magazines and actual printed materials are a close second.
When searching the Internet, webpages (such as SAMHSA) are still the most visited for research and information. Though newer technology including social media, blogs, and podcasts are all being utilized and considered.
When it comes to actually purchasing research and information, only 18% purchase resources once a month or more.
More so, 44% of people surveyed never purchase these types of materials online.
First impressions:
While I am not surprised by the responses, it is interesting to see some of the overall results. From my own experience and conversations with peers and colleagues, I know that the Internet is heavily used to research and locate resources. However, I am struck that over 40% of people never buy materials online, not even once. I will concede there are still some security issues as well as organizational systems in place that restrict online purchases to some degree – it just seems like it would be second nature.
What is your opinion on purchasing materials online? Do you regularly make purchases online, or do you prefer to research online and then make the purchase at a brick and mortar? Or, by phone so you know you are talking with a live person?
Leave a comment »Pregnant & Parenting Foster Youth: The Need for Prevention & Life Skills
~ By Jasmine Rose
During Foster Care Month, I wrote a blog post about my experiences working in a group foster care home. Afterwards, my colleague shared a new report that had just come out – The Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Ages 23 and 24 . This report is based on the largest, most recent, longitudinal study of young people aging out of foster care and transitioning to adulthood. With approximately 29,500 foster youth aging out of foster care a year, this report highlights the many obstacles they come across at this juncture. A large proportion of the young people in this study (nearly 40%) find themselves homeless or couch surfing, and those that are working (fewer than half) are not earning a living wage.
As I read this report, I was baffled by the number of foster care youth that had not received family planning services in the last year (only 9% of females and 3% of males had received this type of instruction). Considering that by age 23 or 24 more than three-quarters of the young women in this study had been pregnant (two-thirds of those having were an unplanned pregnancy), and almost half of the young men had at least one child, this seems like an obvious problem. At the same time, despite the fact that all these young people had been removed from their homes and placed in foster care, the participants were still most likely to identify their biological mom as a source of information about parenting and as someone who taught them how to be a good parent (Courtney, Dworsky, Lee, & Rapp, 2010).
I was most grateful to get the opportunity to interview Amy Dworsky, who was one of the authors of this report. Amy is a senior researcher at Chapin Hall and an author for The Prevention Researcher. Her research includes youth aging out of foster care, the educational trajectories of homeless youth, pregnant and parenting foster youth, and the service needs of low-income families in Chicago.
Q: Amy, when I read your recent report, I was struck by the fact that so many foster youth were not receiving any family planning services or instruction, despite the fact that such a large percentage of foster youth became parents during your longitudinal study. Are there programs out there that are addressing this need as part of the independent living skills instruction (along with budgeting, employment, and housing)?
Unfortunately, most state child welfare agencies don’t have a formal strategy to prevent teenage pregnancy among youth in foster care. In fact, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, the most recent major federal child welfare legislation, includes several provisions related to older foster youth but says nothing about pregnancy or parenthood among teens in foster care.
That said, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has been working to raise awareness about the high rate of teenage pregnancy among youth in foster care and to promote pregnancy prevention efforts by state child welfare agencies and other organizations. In April 2009, The National Campaign convened a roundtable with representatives from eight states (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Virginia) to share ideas about preventing youth in foster care from becoming pregnant. Each of the participating states developed a strategic plan which they will implement with technical assistance from The National Campaign. The National Campaign has also produced a video (A Crucial Connection) and other educational materials (e.g., Our Story, Our Words: Youth Speak Out on Sex, Love, and Teen Pregnancy and 10 Tips for Foster Parents to Help Their Foster Youth Avoid Teen Pregnancy) for foster youth, caregivers, and child welfare professionals. Here in Illinois, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) formed a Pregnancy Prevention Workgroup, of which I am a member. This group began meeting in August 2009 and includes DCFS administrative staff, as well as representatives from Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, CASA of Cook County, Jane Addams Juvenile Court Foundation, the Uhlich Children’s Action Network (UCAN) Foster Care Pregnancy Prevention Taskforce, Cook County Court Child Protection Division and the Illinois Department of Public Health. We have developed a set of policy and practice recommendations aimed at reducing teenage pregnancy among youth in the Department’s care.
I should also note that only one pregnancy prevention curriculum has been developed specifically for youth in foster care―Power Through Choices (PTC). PTC is designed to help foster youth make healthy choices related to sexual behavior, contraception and risk reduction; develop communication skills; and use local resources to prevent pregnancy, HIV and other STIs. PTC’s impact on foster youth behavior has yet to be evaluated, and the curriculum is currently being revised by the University of Oklahoma’s National Resource Center for Youth Services (NRCYS).
Q: In your report, some of the participants said they wished some of the independent living skills would have been taught, or started at a younger age. What do you think would be an appropriate age to start independent living skills? Do you agree that family planning needs to be part of those skills that are reviewed?
Amy: The simple answer is the sooner, the better. It is never too early to start teaching youth life skills. Parents do it all the time, albeit on informal basis. Family planning should certainly be part of any life skills training, although I would frame it a bit differently. Foster youth ages 12 and older should be educated about sexual health, which is broadly defined to include information about preventing pregnancy, STIs and HIV/AIDS. They should also be given access to reproductive health care services, birth control and condoms, and confidential screenings. Group homes, residential treatment facilities, and transitional or independent living programs should be required to implement age-appropriate pregnancy prevention curriculum. Equally important, child welfare agencies should require foster parents and caseworkers to complete pregnancy prevention training.
Q: Are former foster youth more likely to have children that also end up in the foster care system?
Amy: We know that early childbearing is associated with a number of adverse consequences for both teen mothers and their children. Children whose mothers were teens when their first child was born are at increased risk of being neglected or abused. This risk may be even higher among children of teenage parents who are or were in foster care. In Fiscal Year 2009, the Teenage Parenting Services Network (TPSN), which works exclusively with pregnant and parenting foster youth in the Chicago metropolitan area, provided services to a total of 783 parenting foster youth as well as 116 of their children who had also been become wards. This is consistent with what I found when I analyzed the TPSN administrative data. Twenty-two percent of young mothers served by TPSN over an 8 year period were investigated for child abuse or neglect and 44 percent of the young mothers who were investigated had at least one indicated report. Equally troubling, approximately 10 percent of the young mothers’ children become state wards. Although some of the children’s placements were very short-term, others had not achieved permanency even after 2 years.
Q: I was very glad to read that you have the opportunity to follow these young people from your report for another two years. What other types of things do you hope to look at with this additional data?
Amy: We will continue to look at many of the same outcomes we have been tracking since these young people were in their late teens, such as employment, educational attainment, and housing stability. We will also continue to study their experiences with parenthood and have added a series of questions related to the development and well-being of their children.
I’d like to thank Amy Dworsky, who took the time to answer these questions about foster care youth, and for her continued research on this topic that touches the lives of so many.
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