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Permanency planning options for children informal kinship care
Testa, M. F., Shook, K. L., Cohen, L. S., & Woods, M. G. (1996). Permanency planning options for children informal kinship care. Child Welfare, 75(5), 451-470. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45399253
This article describes efforts under way in Illinois to improve permanency outcomes for children in formal kinship care. Between June 1986 and June 1995, the number of children in the state's home-of-relative program increased sevenfold. Administrative and judicial changes in the 1990s contributed to a permanency planning crisis, as reflected in declining discharge rates. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) developed a special permanency planning status—Delegated Relative Authority (DRA)—for children in secure and stable family foster care with relatives. This article presents findings from 1,116 assessments of children in formal kinship care that tested the feasibility of the DRA option.
