Arizona
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Pre-Service Training

Prospective foster parents are trained using the 30-hour Foster Parent College blended pre-service training. The training consists of five three-hour in-class meetings and 12 online classes over a four-week training cycle. Relative caregivers are required to attend 15 hours of blended training which includes three online classes as well as in-class meetings.

Prospective adoptive parents are not required to attend the Foster Parent College pre-service training, but they can participate if they request or are asked to do so during the certification process with the court. Many adoptive parents are licensed foster parents prior to adopting a child, and are not required to attend additional training during the transition from fostering to adopting. Relative caregivers are not required to be licensed in Arizona.

Services Offered Through the State’s Post-Permanency Support Program

Post-permanency services in Arizona are provided directly by the Department of Child Safety’s Post-Permanency Services (PPS) program.

Services include:

The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® is available to adoptive and guardianship families before finalization once there is an approved adoption subsidy application.

The Adoption Specialist from the Department of Child Safety can refer a family in need of support to a Behavioral Health Liaison who also works for the Department. The Behavioral Health Liaison helps support the family as they navigate behavioral health and insurance networks. They help access services from a network of qualified service providers, attend child/family team meetings or behavioral health staffings; advocate for appropriate and timely services based on need; provide information on eligible benefits and services; and periodically conduct a review of children with adoptive parent(s).

The Adoption Subsidy Specialists can sometimes attend Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings when requested by the adoptive parents. Specialists consult with adoptive parents and guardians to make written requests to the child’s school for special service evaluation and requesting review of the child’s IEP. Referrals can also be made to non-profit agencies that specialize in educational advocacy.

Respite is available for adoptive families that qualify for a subsidy in Arizona. All other available resources, such as those available from the Department of Developmental Disabilities or Behavioral Health, must be exhausted first before requesting respite through the subsidy program. However, respite through the subsidy program is often used as a bridge while families are getting respite set up. Respite must be reauthorized every year and unused hours do not carry over to the next year. Respite is paid according to the Adoption Subsidy fee schedule. Payment is made directly to the respite provider. No more than 10 hours is reimbursed per day.

Subsidy Specialists help adoptive parents and guardians locate and use supportive and preventive services in their communities. This includes researching and performing outreach to treatment facilities. Subsidy Specialists will refer parents to public, private and/or community resources, explore alternative services that maintain the child in the home, and let parents know that subsidy payments may be renegotiated or suspended.

Adoptive parents who receive a subsidy can request special services be reimbursed or paid directly to a service provider. The request has to be made before the expense is incurred and must be related to a condition on the Adoption Subsidy Agreement, be deemed necessary by a qualified professional, and demonstrate that the adoptive parent has been denied the service or that the service is not available from other potential funding sources. Requests can include respite; placement in behavioral health facility; or modifications/repairs to structures, vehicles or equipment that are related to the child’s special needs.

Since Jan 1, 2023, the PPS program has contracted with two private agencies to deliver Triple P (level 4 & 5). The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program ® is a parenting and family support system designed to help children to realize their potential by partnering with parents on every step of their journey and providing help and guidance to families when they need it. It aims to create supportive family environments, and to prevent, as well as treat, behavioral and emotional problems in children and teenagers. Services are provided in home in Maricopa County and virtually elsewhere.

In 2023, approximately 20 families received services through Triple P and 160 families received Behavioral Health Advocacy from a Behavioral Health Liaison.

Geographic Area Covered

Behavioral Health support and community-based referrals are handled the same way throughout the state. Triple P is in-home for Maricopa County only and virtual for other counties. If a family outside of Maricopa County prefers in-person services, the PPS will work with Triple P Arizona to identify a practitioner in their area.

The PPS program provides support through information and referrals to families who took placement of children from Arizona residing anywhere, not just in Arizona.

Eligible Population for the Overall Post-Permanency Program

  • All families who adopted from the state’s foster care system

  • All families who adopted from foster care in other states, territories, or tribes.

  • All families who have guardianship of a child from foster care

  • Other – Private adoption families who are receiving adoption assistance.

Variations in Eligibility for the Post-Permanency Program

Respite care and the financial supports described above are available only to adoptive families who are receiving a subsidy, not guardianship families.

Families who adopted from foster care in other states, territories, or tribes are only occasionally able to access services.

Cultural Responsiveness

In Arizona, Yearly Limited English Proficiency training is required of all staff. In addition, the Triple P scope of work requires the contracted agency be able to provide linguistically appropriate services in the top five most requested languages. To accommodate less common requested languages, the agency can bill the state for translation services. The PPS Program Manager sits on a newly formed DEIA committee and passes on information as appropriate.

Outreach and Engagement

The state shares information with families about the availability of post-permanency services through a welcome letter sent upon finalization, inquiry calls, community presentations (as requested), and yearly field permanency unit presentations. In addition, the state stays in touch with families through the distribution of the Annual Review form which is sent 45 days in advance of the finalization anniversary. The family can indicate they would like contact from their Subsidy Specialist on the Annual Review form.

How the Post-Permanency Program Is Operated

  • By specialized state post-permanency support workers

  • Other (listed below):

    Through contracts with multiple private agencies offering the same set of services statewide

Notes About Who Provides Which Service(s)

Triple P is provided by two private agencies—Jewish Child and Family Services and Family Service Aides. Both are located in Maricopa County but offer services statewide.

Adoption/Guardianship Assistance/Subsidy Review and Changes

Eligibility for adoption assistance agreements is subject to an annual review by the Arizona Department of Child Safety. A review form is sent to the adoptive parent(s) requesting that they provide specific information to confirm the child’s continued eligibility for adoption assistance. The adoptive parent(s) should respond with the requested information within 30 days of receipt. The state sends out annual review documentation 45 days in advance of the annual review date.

Permanent guardianship subsidies are subject to an annual review to determine if the family still qualifies. The term of the guardianship subsidy agreement is only for one year so failure to respond will result in the suspension of the subsidy payment until an annual review form is received

Adoptive parents can request a change in the adoption assistance agreement at any time other than the first six months after finalization. Parents should contact their adoption subsidy specialist to discuss the need for a change, and request forms they can return to their assigned subsidy specialist. Parents must provide documentation from appropriate professionals to support the request for change. Requests for changes should typically be in writing but can also be made over the phone. Requested changes cannot be reviewed until the necessary documentation is received. A Management Review must be completed and approve all changes for requests of increased subsidy rates.

Guardians cannot request changes to the subsidy agreement.

Tracking Adoption/Guardianship Discontinuity

PPS conducts internal tracking through end-of-month reports that are compiled into unit and program reports.

Post-Permanency Program Spending (FY 2023)

  • $1 million – $1,999,999 million

Funding Sources for the Post-Permanency Program (FY 2023)

  1. Adoption savings (reported on CB 496 Part 4 – Annual Adoption Savings Report)
  2. Title IV-B, Part 2 (Promoting Safe and Stable Families/PSSF)
  3. State funds

 

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