The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. Neighbor to Family Sibling Foster Care Model has been rated by the CEBC in the areas of: Placement Stabilization and Resource Parent Recruitment and Training.

The Neighbor To Family Sibling Foster Care Model was developed by Gordon Johnson as the Neighbor To Neighbor model while he was President & CEO of The Jane Addams Hull House Association. The unique child-centered, family-focused foster care model is designed to keep sibling groups, including large sibling groups, together in stable foster care placements while working intensively on reunification or permanency plans that keep the siblings together. Neighbor To Neighbor began in 1994 serving targeted communities in Chicago where the majority of children came into foster care. The program uses a community-based, team-oriented approach, including foster caregivers and birth parents as part of the treatment team. Trained and supported foster caregivers are key to the model's success. Neighbor To Neighbor professionalized this key role by placing these trained foster caregivers on the payroll with salaries and benefits. Foster families, birth families, and children receive comprehensive and intensive services including individualized case management, advocacy, and clinical services on a weekly basis. Mr. Johnson incorporated the Neighbor To Neighbor model in 2000 as the Neighbor To Family Sibling Foster Care Model, retaining Neighbor To Neighbor’s essential components and expanding its operating model and geographic presence beyond Illinois.

Target Population: Sibling groups of 2 or more children from infancy through seventeen years of age who are in the custody of the state. Youth who are older than 14 may be accepted if they are part of a sibling group. The program is targeted to serve children and families who are newly involved in the foster care system. If the siblings are at risk for separation and the program can meet their needs, the program will serve sibling groups of 2 or more who have re-entered the foster care system due to disrupted adoptions or who are transferred from another agency.

For children/adolescents ages: 0 – 17

For parents/caregivers of children ages: 0 – 17

• Uses licensing representatives who are responsible for recruiting and developing potential professional foster parents.
• Uses highly trained (minimum 50 hours training annually) foster caregivers who receive a monetary enhancement to their state’s standard room and board rate.
• Is community-based.
• Uses a strength-based team (foster caregiver, birth parent, and association employee) approach.
• Assigns one case manager and advocate per family.
• Places one sibling group per foster family.
• Provides foster family & birth family case management services.
• Provides comprehensive in-house clinical services, including evaluations and medication management by a contracted pediatric psychiatrist and services by a substance abuse treatment provider who understands and supports Neighbor To Family’s philosophy and goals.
• Utilizes a Phases of Sibling Foster Care approach that provides a clear description of interventions utilized from intake through aftercare.
• Family engagement with 24 hours of intake.
• Employs Family Team Meetings to engage birth parents, staff and other stakeholders and when appropriate, children to develop a team approach to setting goals and holding participants accountable for the success of the permanency plan.
• Provides 24-hour staff availability and support.
• Offers respite care for foster caregivers.
• Emphasizes reunification and alternate permanency planning for sibling groups.
• Provides aftercare for up to one year following reunification.
• Uses outside clinical consultants for parenting capacity assessments, consultation for treatment planning or critical decision-making.
• Provides an education liaison to be the resident expert on special education laws and advocacy within the school system since many of the children treated require special education services; the education liaison supports staff and foster parents.

Neighbor to Family Sibling Foster Care Model was designed with a child/adolescent component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms for children/adolescents ages 0 – 17:

• Complex trauma, mental health challenges, developmental delays, cognitive deficits, attachment issues, grief and loss issues, behavioral problems, educational challenges, and pre-natal exposure to substances.

Neighbor to Family Sibling Foster Care Model was designed with a parent/caregiver component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms for parents/caregivers of children ages 0 – 17:

• Substance or alcohol abuse, mental health challenges, domestic violence, unemployment, parent-child relational and interaction issues, anger management, deficits in parenting skills or child management, and adult survivors of childhood abuse and neglect.

Neighbor to Family Sibling Foster Care Model was not designed to be conducted in a group setting, and has not been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended Intensity:

Weekly foster home visits for at least one hour.

Recommended Duration:

As long as it takes for reunification to occur occur with an emphasis on achieving permanency with 12 months and two placement moves or less. If reunification is not an option and the foster parent(s) become potential adoptive parents or guardians, the number or visits usually decrease per month. The amount of times visits occur is then determined on a family-by-family basis. However, at minimum foster home visits must occur once every 30 days until the family case is closed with the state agency and the juvenile court.

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Birth Family Home
• Community Agency
• Foster Home

This program does not include a homework component.

Neighbor to Family Sibling Foster Care Model has materials available in languages other than English:

Creole, Spanish

For information on which materials are available in these languages, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

Staff:

• Foster Caregivers
• Case managers
• Therapists
• Family advocates
• Licensing representatives
• Educational liaison
• Supervisors
• Director(s)

Contractors and/or Community Partners:

• Psychiatrist
• Substance abuse treatment provider
• Clinical consultants

Equipment:

• Computers
• Assessment tools
• Therapeutic games
• Educational toys
• Books
• Video tapes, DVDs, CDs, VCR
• DVD player
• Video camera
• Digital camera
• Art supplies
• Writing material

Facilities:

• Staff offices
• Family visiting rooms
• Therapy rooms
• Conference rooms

Case Managers:
At least a Bachelor's degree in social work or human service related field, Master's degree in human service related field preferred.

Case Manager Supervisors:
Master's degree in human service related field.

Therapists:
Master's level degree with licensure or license-eligible.

Clinical Supervisor:
Master's level degree with licensure or license-eligible.

There is a manual that describes how to implement this program, and there is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Gordon Johnson
  gjohnson@ntf.org

Training is obtained:

Consultation is available on-site and by phone.

Number of days/hours:

Consultation provided. Timeframe determined on an individual basis.

This program is rated a "3 - Promising Research Evidence" on the Scientific Rating Scale based on the published, peer-reviewed research available. The practice must have at least one study utilizing some form of control (e.g., untreated group, placebo group, matched wait list study) establishing the practice's benefit over the placebo, or found it to be comparable to or better than an appropriate comparison practice. Please see the Scientific Rating Scale for more information.

Child Welfare Outcome: Permanency