Methodology:

This survey (see http://www.childwelfare.net/cfsreview/surveys/placement_survey.html for a copy of the survey form) was sent to 45 Guardian ad Litems (GALs), 31 Special Assistant Attorneys General (SAAGs), 63 Juvenile Court Judges (JJudges) and 132 Division of Family and Children Services personnel, mostly county and regional directors (DFCSDir). An introductory email with individual access codes was sent to the 271 participants on March 24, 2001. The survey was closed on April 6 with only 69 respondents.

Eleven people who received the original survey were ineligible to respond or had broken email addresses, leaving 260 eligible respondents. Thus the overall response rate to the survey was 69 out of 260, or 27%. Though this compares favorably with many paper surveys, with this poor response rate, these results have little or no statistical significance. However, we must consider that for many respondents this was their first online survey, and that for many of them this was the first web-based form they had completed. Also, considering the cost of administering this survey ($0.00), we will likely be doing much more of this in the future. As the survey respondents become more comfortable with this medium, response rates will only increase.

Results:

Results are shown below for those who received email notifications or their surrogates. Those who completed the survey anonymously are not included in this result. See http://www.childwelfare.net/cfsreview/surveys/results/placement_results.html for overall results, including anonymous responders.

In the tables below, the results from each of the 4 response groups (Juvenile Judges, SAAGs, GALs, and DFCS personnel) is listed individually. The right column on each table shows the overall results for all response groups combined.

1. How often do you feel children are placed in the most appropriate placement setting?

   Response	JJudges	SAAGs	GALs	DFCSDir	Overall
   Almost Always	1 (7%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	4 (10%)	5 (7%)
   Often	4 (27%)	3 (60%)	0 (0%)	5 (12%)	12 (17%)
   Sometimes	10 (67%)	2 (40%)	7 (100%)	32 (76%)	51 (74%)
   Seldom or Never	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (2%)	1 (1%)
   Total	15 (100%)	5 (100%)	7 (100%)	42 (100%)	69 (100%)

   There is general agreement that appropriate placements are made most of the time, but not all of the time.

2. Does your county have access to appropriate emergency placements for children entering foster care and/or when placement disruptions occur?

   Response	JJudges	SAAGs	GALs	DFCSDir	Overall
   Almost Always	1 (7%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (2%)	2 (3%)
   Often	1 (7%)	2 (40%)	0 (0%)	2 (5%)	5 (7%)
   Sometimes	8 (53%)	2 (40%)	6 (86%)	17 (40%)	33 (48%)
   Seldom or Never	5 (33%)	1 (20%)	1 (14%)	22 (52%)	29 (42%)
   Total	15 (100%)	5 (100%)	7 (100%)	42 (100%)	69 (100%)

   A strong result: 52% of DFCS respondents feel that they do not have access to appropriate emergency placements. This is in general agreement with the opinion of the other respondent groups, though judges feel that they might have more appropriate placements. All agree that it is not often that they have appropriate emergency placements.

3. In your geographic area, which placement types are most needed? (rank the priorities on a 1 to 5, LOW to HIGH scale)

   NOTE: The numbers in this table are mean ranks on the 1 to 5 scale. The responses are sorted from highest mean rank to lowest.

   Response	JJudges	SAAGs	GALs	DFCSDir	Overall
   Homes for teens	4.6	4.2	4.57	4.79	4.68
   Emergency Shelter Foster Home	4.29	4	4.29	4.56	4.43
   Family Foster Care (non-relative)	4.13	3.8	4	4.29	4.19
   Group Home (6-8 children)	4.14	3.2	4	3.98	3.95
   Homes for medically fragile children	3.13	3.6	4.14	3.48	3.48
   Institution	3.13	2.8	3.14	3.6	3.39
   Family Foster Care (relative)	3.57	3	4.57	3.05	3.31

   All of the respondent groups are basically in agreement on the top 3 most needed placements. For the other placements types the groups are mixed on their rankings. The GALs are most different from the other groups.

4. To meet national standards and improve permanency outcomes, children with a plan of reunification must be discharged from foster care within 12 months from the latest removal episode. For children who are reunified with a parent or caretaker, national standards require that 78% or more of those children are reunified in less than 12 months. In 1999, Georgia reunified only 63% of these children in less than 12 months, 15% below the national standard. (Georgia's CFS Profile)

   In your geographic area, which of the following issues have the most impact on timely reunification within a 12 month period? (rank the impact on a 1 to 5, LOW to HIGH scale)

   NOTE: The numbers in this table are mean ranks on the 1 to 5 scale. The responses are sorted from highest mean rank to lowest.

   Response	JJudges	SAAGs	GALs	DFCSDir	Overall
   Staff resources	4.2	4.4	4.14	4.2	4.21
   Services to birth families	3.8	3.4	4.43	3.66	3.75
   Placement resources for children	3.33	3	3.57	3.64	3.52
   Availability of substance abuse treatment	3.33	2.8	2.86	3.55	3.38
   Lack of automated case management, decision making, and collaboration tools	3.27	3.8	3	3.02	3.13
   Legal impediments (judicial/legal representation/interpretation)	2.87	2.8	2.29	3.31	3.07

   All of the respondent groups basically agree, with the following exceptions: the SAAGs felt that automated tools have a great impact, GALs felt that service to birth families should be the top priority, and DFCS personnel would have rated legal impediments higher than the other groups.

5. State and federal laws and policies require termination of parental rights (TPR) for children who have been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months or documentation of a compelling reason why such action is not in the best interest of the child. For children who exit foster care to finalized adoption, national standards require that 36% or more exit within 24 months from the time of the latest removal from the home. In 1999, Georgia finalized adoptions on only 23% of these children in less than 24 months, 12% below the national standard. (Georgia's CFS Profile)

   In your geographic area, which of the following issues have the most impact on timely termination of parental rights? (rank the impact on a 1 to 5, LOW to HIGH scale)

   NOTE: The numbers in this table are mean ranks on the 1 to 5 scale. The responses are sorted from highest mean rank to lowest.

   Response	JJudges	SAAGs	GALs	DFCSDir	Overall
   Staff resources	4.27	4.2	4.43	4.05	4.15
   Placement resources for children	3.5	3.4	4	3.69	3.66
   Legal impediments (judicial/legal representation)	3	2.8	3.29	3.8	3.5
   Services to birth families	3	3.2	4	3.29	3.3
   Availability of substance abuse treatment	2.71	2.4	2.43	3.46	3.12
   Lack of automated case management, decision making, and collaboration tools	3.33	3	3.33	2.9	3.04

   The respondents agree that TPR is most impacted by staff resources. DFCS personnel differ from the other respondents in feeling that legal impediments have a larger impact than placement resources.

6. In 1999, the median time to finalized adoption in Georgia was 37 months. (Georgia's CFS Profile)

   In your geographic area, which of the following issues have the most impact on the timely discharge of children to finalized adoption within a 24 month period? (rank the impact on a 1 to 5, LOW to HIGH scale)

   NOTE: The numbers in this table are mean ranks on the 1 to 5 scale. The responses are sorted from highest mean rank to lowest.

   Response	JJudges	SAAGs	GALs	DFCSDir	Overall
   Staff resources	4.33	4.4	4.29	3.93	4.09
   Placement resources for children	3.93	3.4	4.14	3.93	3.91
   Services for adoptive/foster parents, relatives, and birth families	3.67	2.8	4.14	3.49	3.54
   Legal impediments (judicial/legal representation/interpretation)	2.93	2.4	3.57	3.81	3.49
   Lack of automated case management, decision making, and collaboration tools	3.13	3	3.5	2.9	3.01
   Inability to access available services (e.g. transportation)	2.73	2.6	3.33	2.95	2.91

   The four groups of respondents largely agree on the ranking of these issues. Staff resources and placement resources are consistent priorities throughout, though DFCS personnel give them equal weight, while the other groups expressed a preference for staff resources.

7. To meet national standards for the stability of placements, 89% of the children in foster care for 12 months or less must have had no more than 2 placements. In 1999, 92% of children in foster care in Georgia had no more than 2 placements. That is 3% better stability than the national standard. Still, this number may underestimate placements, and we need to learn from our successes. (Georgia's CFS Profile)

   In your geographic area, which of the following resources have the most impact on the stability of children in foster care and the prevention of multiple placements? (rank the impact on a 1 to 5, LOW to HIGH scale)

   NOTE: The numbers in this table are mean ranks on the 1 to 5 scale. The responses are sorted from highest mean rank to lowest.

   Response	JJudges	SAAGs	GALs	DFCSDir	Overall
   Sufficient staff to meet Child Welfare League of America caseload standard of one worker to every 15 children	4.5	4.4	4.57	4.41	4.45
   Appropriate placement resources for children	4.13	4	4.43	4.4	4.32
   Funding for increased per-diems and respite for foster families	4.33	4	3.86	4.38	4.29
   On-going recruitment development skills	3.8	3.4	3.43	3.69	3.67
   Staff training on community partnerships to protect and serve children in the child welfare system	3.36	3	4.14	3.36	3.41
   Funding to develop recruitment materials (supplies)	3	2.8	3.14	3.33	3.21

   Staffing levels are clearly a top priority for all groups. There is general agreement on the other priorities, with the possible exception of GALs who feel that community partnership training should be a high priority.