National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP) Services & Child Welfare Support

Core Functions of Resource Parents

Resource parents, including relatives, non-related extended family members, and foster parents, play a crucial role in the lives of children in out-of-home care (Romano & Stenason, 2022). Their responsibilities extend beyond basic care to include navigating complex systems and family dynamics (Romano & Stenason, 2022).

• Physical and Emotional Needs: Providing for the daily needs and emotional well-being of the child.
• System Navigation: Interacting with child welfare, education, mental health, and medical systems.
• Family Dynamics: Managing relationships with the child's biological family.

Supporting these resource parents is critical for promoting youth resilience, well-being, and placement stability (Romano & Stenason, 2022).

Training and Support Initiatives

Trauma-Informed Parenting Programs

• In-service training can increase resource parent satisfaction and placement stability (Romano & Stenason, 2022).
• Equipping resource parents to support the complex needs of youth in care (Romano & Stenason, 2022).

Data Sharing Initiatives

• Sharing data on a young person's strengths and needs with their resource parent (Romano & Stenason, 2022).
• Enables resource parents to better meet the young person's needs, provide support and guidance, and feel engaged and effective as caregivers (Romano & Stenason, 2022).

Addressing Challenges in Child Welfare

Placement Stability

• Finding physical permanence for young people (Romano & Stenason, 2022).
• Securing placements that provide positive and sensitive caregiver-child relationships (Romano & Stenason, 2022).

Complex Needs of Children in Care

• Mental health struggles (Romano & Stenason, 2022).
• Educational challenges (Romano & Stenason, 2022).
• Social functioning difficulties (Romano & Stenason, 2022).
• Adverse histories often related to these struggles (Romano & Stenason, 2022).

Assessment and Planning

The Assessment, Action, and Results (AAR) Tool

• Completed by the child welfare worker, resource parent, and young person (if older than ten years) (Romano & Stenason, 2022).
• A 3-way, face-to-face 'conversational interview' (Romano & Stenason, 2022).
• Used to make informed and agreed-upon plans of care (Romano & Stenason, 2022).

Domains Assessed

The AAR assesses various domains to understand the young person's developmental assets (Romano & Stenason, 2022).

Family Support Services

Assistance for Caregivers

• Providing caregivers with social capital to make the caregiving process more bearable (Ivey, 2022).
• Community support groups and professional liaisons (Ivey, 2022).
• Technical support for basic computer skills (Ivey, 2022).
• Transportation, legal help, and access to recreational clubs (Ivey, 2022).

Supportive Services

• Alleviating stress and improving health for caregivers (Ivey, 2022).
• Counseling and parenting support (Ivey, 2022).

Mental Health Services

Engaging Families

• Bridging family needs and child welfare mandates (Gopalan et al., 2014).
• Multiple family groups for urban families (Gopalan et al., 2014).

Addressing Mental Health Needs

• Mental health need and access to mental health services by youths involved with child welfare (Gopalan et al., 2014).
• Factors influencing outpatient mental health service use (Romano & Stenason, 2022).