The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Foster Care Redesign program has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of: Family Stabilization, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given a Scientific Rating.

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Children of all ages, especially minority populations and those with diverse ethnicities, who are at risk of entering the child welfare system.

Foster Care Redesign (Redesign), initiated in 2006, was designed to change the culture of removal within the child welfare system to a culture of safe services for children and their families. This paradigm shift necessitated both programmatic and organizational changes to redirect the system from a dependence on immediately placing children in foster care to first focusing efforts on family preservation via family-centered services. By providing effective, intense, family-centered services to children and families in their own homes, the program’s agency experienced a 56 percent reduction in children entering out-of-home care without increasing the number of children who are re-referred for child abuse or neglect. Moreover, the smaller number of children taken from homes deemed unsuitable are more quickly reunited with parents or adopted. This comprehensive Redesign strategy has evolved and been maintained through consistent effort, committed leadership, and the flexibility to meet unexpected challenges for the children the program serves.

The goals of Foster Care Redesign are to:

• Do everything possible to safely reduce the number of children in foster care by changing the culture of removal to a culture of safe services.
• Expedite permanency and reduce time in care by identifying where existing services and protocols can be augmented or changed.
• Keep children safely in their homes with their families whenever possible.
• Reduce lengths of stay in out-of-home care for those children who must be removed.
• Expedite permanency for all children without a permanent family.