Pages.indd

56 FOSTERING FAMILIES TODAY I MAY/JUNE 2010 I WWW.FOSTERINGFAMILIESTODAY.COM

feature

BY SARAH GERSTENZANG, MSW

husband, Michael, called

me at work. “How was it?”

I asked. “Awful,” he replied,

“she seemed on the verge of a nervous

breakdown.” He was referring to Merli, who

had gone to court on her 21st birthday to

plead unsuccessfully with the judge to extend

her time in foster care or help in some way.

She then went to empty her subsidized

independent living program apartment and

arrived at our house to store her things in

our basement. She would spend the next five

months living with her boyfriend and his

extended family and when things got too

tense there, at our house for several weeks.

I met Merli while I was doing an internship

as a graduate student. After the internship,

I lost contact with her. But five years later, I

saw a story she wrote in Represent and sent

a note to her at the magazine. She was 18 and

in foster care. We had lunch every now and

then. A few months before her 21st birthday,

she began calling me more, sounding

increasingly anxious. She had no place to

go after she aged out of care. Although I

had already been a foster parent and had

experience with the system, I really couldn’t

believe that this could happen. I asked all

the obvious questions: Isn’t your caseworker

helping you? Have you looked for apartments

yourself? Do you have a friend you could live

with? Eventually, I began searching myself

— no easy task in New York City. A colleague

finally helped with a referral to a subsidized

program with studio apartments for youth

who are aging out of care. It took months to

organize but that is where Merli ended up

— with Michael and I and Merli’s boyfriend

moving her in.

Although I was saddened by Merli’s mother’s

early death from sickle cell anemia, I was also

intrigued by Merli, her quiet determination

and her parents’ brave immigration from

Haiti. I believe that she came to rely on

Michael and I because we were the only

people who told her she wasn’t going to live

on the streets, and were actually willing

to take the time to do something about it.

I would burn with anger over the coming

years when we would see agency staff or

the guardian ad litem and they would make

grandiose comments about Merli’s future,

while none of them had secured for her

someone who could meet her basic need for

emotional security.

Ours is a relatively recent story and it

is a good illustration of why the federal

government no longer allows independent

living as a permanency goal. When a child is

removed from his or her family and comes

into foster care and it isn’t safe to return

home, it is the legal and moral obligation

of the caseworker, as a government agent,

to make sure that the child leaves care

connected to a responsible adult. Federal

law — the Adoption and Safe Families Act

of 1997 — has set a list of options to be

considered and pursued in order of most to

least secure: adoption; legal guardianship;

placement with a fit and willing relative;

or Another Planned Permanent Living

Arrangement.

APPLA can only be used if there are

compelling reasons that termination of

parental rights and the three preferred

options are not being pursued. Three

compelling reasons, according to the

2005 “Child Welfare for the 21st Center:

A Handbook of Practices, Policies and

Programs,” are listed in the regulations: (1)

an older teen who specifically requests that

emancipation be established as his or her

permanency plan [note: this is contradictory

as emancipation is not a plan for permanency.

The intention, however, seems to be that

an older teen has specified that he or she

does not want to be placed with a family for

adoption or guardianship and doesn’t have

a relative able to care for him or her.]; (2) a

parent and youth who have a significant bond

but the parent is unable to care for the youth

because of an emotional or physical disability

and the youth’s foster parents have committed

to raising the youth to the age of majority

and to facilitate visitation with the disabled

parent; or (3) an American Indian tribe has

identified another planned permanent living

arrangement for youth.

To summarize, APPLA can and should be

used if the three preferred alternatives are

not an option, whether or not parental rights

have been terminated. And this is true even

if a youth is living in an institutional setting

Mama S

& Papa M

Making APPLAs Work for Youth

FOSTERING FAMILIES TODAY I MAY/JUNE 2010 I WWW.FOSTERINGFAMILIESTODAY.COM 57

feature

BY SARAH GERSTENZANG, MSW

— as long as a caring, committed adult is

involved in planning for and with the youth.

Before this legislation and since, outside the

child welfare system, adults support youth

in care or who are leaving care. In addition

to it now being mandatory to have, at a

minimum, a caring, committed adult for each

child, best practice also dictates inviting the

adults from the shadows to the table so that

relationships between the adults and youth

are strengthened.

It is also important to improve

communication between the youth, the

caring, committed adult and the agency.

For example, Michael and I could have been

more active earlier in supporting Merli and

spared her much emotional distress if we had

known how large the gaps were in her care.

And five years later, as we support Merli in

adopting her 17-year-old sister, the agency

continues to work around us rather than

invite us to the table. Child welfare and legal

professionals need to embrace all the options

available to connect youth to adults for life in

a concurrent approach.

How can child welfare professionals support

this form of permanency for youth?

• Explore all options upfront for all youth.

ASFA permits and commonsense dictates

having a concurrent or back up plan if a

child can’t return home. Sit with youth,

Former foster youth Merli celebrates her college graduation from SUNY

Purchase. Above, Merli shares the special day with her younger sister,

Marie, and Michael and Sarah Gerstenzang, who have stepped up to help

Merli after she emancipated from foster care.

58 FOSTERING FAMILIES TODAY I MAY/JUNE 2010 I WWW.FOSTERINGFAMILIESTODAY.COM

feature

BY SARAH GERSTENZANG, MSW

speak with parents and foster parents and

review the case file to come up with a list

of possible adults who can provide support

to the youth. Have the youth prioritize the

list and contact the adults in the order

requested. Invite the adults to a meeting to

discuss permanency options. If compelling

reasons listed above are met or no adult

steps forward for preferred permanency

options, pursue APPLA. The law requires

re-evaluating the appropriateness of the

APPLA goal at each permanency hearing

— essentially to ask, is this the best we can

do for this child?

• Discuss how the proposed arrangement

will be more stable and secure than

ordinary foster care, according to “Making It

Permanent : Reasonable Efforts to Finalize

Permanency Plans for Foster Children.”

Write an agreement between the caring,

committed adult, the agency and the youth

so that roles are clear.

• Once caring, committed adults are

identified, they should be depended upon

by the child welfare and legal professionals.

Much too often, caseworkers and legal

guardians play the temporary parent role

— and abandon the youth when they leave

their jobs or the youth leave care. Unless

these professionals are stepping up to be the

caring, committed adult, they should focus

on their legal and moral responsibility:

getting kids out of foster care, not buying

birthday gifts, or other impermanent

items. And when youth come to them with

problems, they should ask them, “What does

your caring, committed adult think?” All

opportunities should be taken to secure the

relationship.

• Invite caring, committed adults to all

planning meetings for the youth — so they

will know what services youth are receiving

and what is missing. Adults who are part

of the team are going to be much more

committed — otherwise they might assume

someone else is taking care of a need —

and the recognition will help reinforce

their commitment. In addition, in a review

of the effectiveness of classes that teach

independent living skills such as money

management, the authors of “The Central

Role of Permanence in Improving Outcomes

for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care” note that

research suggests that youth are more likely

to learn skills when they also have enduring,

supportive relationships.

• Plan for the youth’s exit from care. A good

APPLA plan will minimize stress for the

youth.

What do caring, committed adults need to

know about fulfilling an APPLA?

• Commitment is everything. Adults have to

prove their commitment to youth. These

kids have been disappointed and adults

have to tell them in words and deeds that

you are there to stay. This doesn’t mean

you can re-parent a youth who is 17 or 20

years old. And it doesn’t mean that you have

to spend every waking moment together.

It means that for each child, you have to

evaluate where he or she is currently in

relation to the skills that he or she will need

to be independent and help him or her move

toward being happy and productive. In his

book, “Parenting Adopted Adolescents,” Greg

Keck gives excellent advice to focus on the

emotional connection with the youth first

and school achievement later. Nurturing

through providing food and doing laundry

for youth can be helpful in developing an

emotional connection. In short, the goal is to

train the youth to trust and accept help from

the caring, committed adult.

• Guidelines for what is expected of them.

Youth need an invitation to celebrate the

holidays and their birthday; advice; help

with school; support and guidance in

seeking a job and a place to live. If an adult

is not in a position to provide financial

support for education or training, they can

use their time to track resources to enable

the child to obtain the highest degree

of education or training that the child

is capable of receiving. Most youth who

have spent time in care are educationally

Deﬁ nition Legal Physical Duties Duration Stipend

Custody Custody Foster

Foster Temporary Caretaker No Yes All care of child and From a few days Yes

Parent bi-weekly visit with to a few years

birth family

Guardian Caretaker but no TPR Yes Yes All care Until Child is 18/21 Varies

Mentor Provide guidance No No Take child to cultural Varies No

for child & educational

activities

Adoptive Permanent caretaker yes Yes All care Life Varies

Parent for child (as if biological)

APPLA Provide guidance and No No, but may Make sure child has Life No

live w/ you emotional, physical

& ﬁ nancial security

FOSTERING FAMILIES TODAY I MAY/JUNE 2010 I WWW.FOSTERINGFAMILIESTODAY.COM 59

feature

BY SARAH GERSTENZANG, MSW

Justin, 13, is a friendly, outgoing, helpful guy who likes to entertain and is funny. Playing

games is a favorite pastime, but watch out for his tricky moves in checkers, he’ll win every

time. Star Wars video games and action games are always fun, and he enjoys expressing

his creative side through drawing. Swimming is great for exercise or just having some

fun. Catfish, Dr. Pepper and CiCi’s pizza are three foods of choice to keep up this guy’s

energy.

In sixth grade, Justin benefits from speech therapy, as well as counseling, which will

need to continue following placement. He thrives on consistency and routine, and wants

a forever family who will help him excel at life. Justin has siblings with whom he hopes

to remain in contact. His caseworker prefers a family who is willing to participate in

a transitional plan prior to placement; however, all family types will be considered.

Financial assistance may be available for adoption-related services.

For Oklahoma children, both homestudied and non-homestudied Oklahoma families

are encouraged to inquire; only homestudied families from other states should do so. For

more information, contact The Adoption Exchange at (800) 451-5246. ID 8596

[ kids in waiting ]

disadvantaged and need time and support

to catch up.

• A significant level of support will be

necessary until a youth reaches about the

age of 26 — the age that many researchers

feel that represents emotional and

intellectual independence. The level of

support, of course, depends on the youth’s

circumstances. In our situation, Merli

eventually connected us to her brother

and sister so supporting them became

part of our role. Youth will determine the

relationship depending on their needs —

academic, emotional and physical — and

the other supports that already exist in their

worlds.

• APPLA is a compromise — adoption is

not only more secure for kids but for adults

as well. A caring, committed adult should

consider how they might feel if someone else

steps forward to adopt and they are left as

second best. In many ways, the relationship

of the caring, committed adult is similar to

that of a stepparent coming into a family

with older youth.

• Attachments take time on both ends. Older

youth come with histories and relationships

as do caring, committed adults. It takes time

— years — to blend these relationships

and adults shouldn’t expect to replace prior

relationships.

Merli’s reaction to the above: “I was used

to handling a lot on my own but if I had an

APPLA goal, I would have known who my ‘go

to’ person would be. I injured my ankle once

— it was after 5 p.m. and I had no one to

call at the agency. And now, almost five years

out of care, I have almost no contact with

any of the casework or legal staff. I welcome

the guidance and advice I get because I feel

like I need an advocate. When things used

to get overwhelming, I would just stop going

to school but once I felt supported, I could

weather the stress and excel.

Where they are now: Merli graduated in May

2009 with a four-year degree from SUNY

Purchase, is self-supporting and in the

process of adopting Marie. Merli’s brother,

Yves, went from sleeping on the floor at his

friend’s house, working for a year with a tutor

to pass his GED to Tallahassee Community

College where he attends school and works.

His goal is to join the police or the military

after he finishes his degree. Marie spends two

nights a week with us and five nights with

her sister. She is a junior in high school. It has

been a joy to see these three improve their

relationships with each other and become

happier, more confident people. ❁

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sarah Gerstenzang

is the executive director of the New York

State Citizens’ Coalition for Children. She

was formerly associate project director of

the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids and a

senior policy analyst at Children’s Rights.

Gerstenzang earned a master’s degree in

social work from Columbia University. Her

child welfare policy and practice experience

includes research and publication on a range

of foster care and adoption issues as well as

presentations at national and international

conferences. Her most recent book is “Another

Mother: Co-parenting with the foster care

system.” Gerstenzang has experience as a

foster, kinship and adoptive parent.