September/October, 1998

Let's Review . . .
The Purpose of Zone Reviews

Amy entered foster care at age seven as a result of the abuse and neglect she experienced in her birth family. At age 10 she became legally free for adoption and was placed with relatives who agreed to adopt her. At 15, she was removed from the relative's home due to neglect and placed with another foster family who eventually agreed to adopt. When Amy was 16, her adoption worker noticed that her father's rights had been incorrectly terminated and the adoption was put on hold until the local court could correct the error. Now 17 years old, all that stands between Amy's adoption and adulthood without a permanent family is her foster care worker's latest updated service plan and a $100 filing fee to the court.

Amy's case is representative of approximately 500 cases that are reviewed by Family Independence Agency (FIA) Zone Managers every quarter. These cases are comprised of adoption eligible children with permanent custody dates greater than six months for whom no documentation has been sent to the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE), and those children who have an identified adoptive family but who have been waiting for completion of the adoption for over one year.

Why Reviews Started

The FIA Adoption Division established "Zone Reviews" in mid-1996 in response to a growing number of children in the foster care system who had identified adoptive families but who were not being adopted in a timely fashion. A zone office is the administrative link between FIA central office (in Lansing) to local FIA county offices. As part of the FIA structure for assuring implementation of established policies and corrective action plans, the various zone offices were asked to review cases in care with FIA that were deemed "out of compliance" with agency-established timelines for adoptive placement. In 1997, zone offices also began reviewing purchase of service cases that were out of compliance.

Zone Reviews currently take place every quarter and consist of those cases which receive one of the following two messages on the monthly MARE tracking report:

How it Works

Armed with a list of "out of compliance" cases and pre-printed report forms for each case, zone managers contact the county offices where the child was made a permanent ward (note: this is sometimes different from the county where the adoption is being completed). In cases where no documentation has been submitted to MARE, documentation is to be attached to the review form and returned to the zone office. In turn, the zone office reviews and signs off on the case, then sends the review form and accompanying documentation to MARE. For cases where a hold period has expired, the agency is to explain why the adoption has not yet occurred. Documentation to be sent to MARE may include: specific information about why the identified family has not adopted, a photolisting registration if there in no longer an interested family, an updated "hold form" if a new family has been identified, a 5S form indicating a change in goal for the child, or an OTR if the adoption has been completed. Once again, the review form and accompanying documentation must first be sent to the zone office for review! The zone office will then review the documentation and send it to MARE where the case will be updated in the MARE tracking system.

Extensions May Only be Given Through the Zone Review Process

For expired hold cases, a completed zone review with the appropriate required documentation will extend the next due date by six months. Zone managers may elect to review a case sooner than that, and a shorter extension period can be given if requested. When a review is sent to MARE without the appropriate supporting documentation, or if the review is not completed at all, no extension is given and the case will need to be reviewed again the following quarter. Extensions can only be given to a case through this zone review process. Once the "Hold Expired" message appears on the MARE tracking list, only a completed review will allow the message to be eliminated and a new due date to appear.

After zone reviews are completed, three separate cumulative reports are produced by MARE regarding FIA and purchase of service cases.

What the Reports Tell Us

The first report focuses on cases with the message "No Documentation Received." Approximately 100 children fall into this category each quarter. Zone reviews act as a catalyst for documentation to be sent to MARE for these particular cases. This has been a positive result of the review process. Most of these cases are registered "on hold" with the foster family or a relative as the identified family. In many other cases, the child has already been adopted or has had their federal goal changed to something other than adoption.

The second report highlights cases that are "expired holds." This report captures the current status of a child on hold including: was the child adopted; does the foster family or relative still plan on adopting; has the goal been changed; or has the case been updated with either a new family or photolisting registration.

The third report examines cases in which the original family still plans to adopt and identifies the reason(s) for the delay of the pending adoption. These reasons generally fall into several standard categories:

Zone reviews have consistently shown that incomplete documentation is the primary reason adoptions are delayed in cases where the hold extends longer than one year. Family issues are the second most cited reason for delay.

Although many agencies complain about the zone review process, the number of OTR's, goal changes, photolisting registrations, and updated hold registrations increases significantly during the weeks that reviews are in progress. That is one of the goals of the zone review process - to make sure that children who need recruitment are photolisted, and to close out cases where the adoption has completed or where adoption is no longer the goal. Additionally, the review process serves to document delays to adoption and allows FIA to monitor cases where there may be cause for concern.

The FIA adoption division, various zone offices, and MARE have worked together diligently over the past year to make the review process easier and more meaningful. Pre-printed sheets have been created for each case and now include the child's permanent custody date and the number of times the case has been previously reviewed. For the upcoming review period, individual case notes from past reviews will be attached to all cases that have been reviewed two or more times. Future changes in the process may include: suggested dates for the next review based on the reason for the delay of adoption, and involvement by the MCI office.

It is interesting to note that while the MARE photolisting book is composed of older children waiting for adoption, the number of children age 10 and under who are involved with the zone review process consistently stays at about 75%. Stated another way, approximately 400 out of the average 500 cases reviewed each quarter by the zone office is between infancy and 10 years of age. Like Amy, many of these children have waited several years for adoption. The zone reviews aim to shorten that wait.

Recruitment Narratives:
What to Leave In, What to Leave Out

The descriptions of the children listed in the MARE book are based upon information we receive from the child's adoption worker. It can be a fine line between printing enough information to help families make an initial decision to request more information about a child, vs. protecting the child's privacy and self-esteem.

With that in mind, it may be helpful for our readers to know what kinds of things are appropriate to include in a "waiting child" narrative. A recent article published by the National Adoption Exchange (NAE) for their members in NAE ONLINE offers some helpful guidelines to use when writing child narratives for recruitment purposes. Here at MARE, we take a similar approach when writing descriptions of waiting children. The following is a re-print of that article.

Do you ever wonder sometimes whether certain information should be included in a child's narrative? Should you state whether a child has been sexually abused? Should you say how many foster homes the child has lived in? Here are some helpful hints when writing child narratives:

  • Name: only use the child's first name.
  • Placement History: Infor-mation regarding placement history should be general. Statements such as "has had numerous placements" or something similar are appropriate.
  • Abuse: Information on abuse, neglect or deprivation should be included in a general way. Do not include specific details of abuse.
  • Physical Description: Descrip-tive phrases can help bring a child to life. (i.e. "expressive eyes," "friendly smile.") Avoid statements about race, complexion or skin coloring. In a severely physically impaired child, it is especially helpful to describe any physical characteristics that an adoptive family might find appealing.
  • Personality: Describe personality characteristics, i.e., quiet, alert, verbal, outgoing, etc., whenever possible. Try to balance any negative characteristics with something positive or appealing about the child.
  • Disabilities: State known disabilities and how they are affecting the child's ability to function. Is the child verbal, ambulatory, socially responsive? Also try to address the level of life skills or self-help skills, particularly for a mentally impaired child.
  • Medical Information: For children with medical problems, give information, when available, as to whether the condition is correctable, progressive, controlled with medication, etc. Include the kinds of services the child is currently receiving and those that may be needed in the future.
  • Behavioral Problems: If a child is receiving psychological counseling and making progress, it is important to note that fact. Be honest about a child's behavioral or emotional problems and how they affect functioning without going into great detail.
  • Developmental or Educational Performance: Avoid labeling a child. If a child is functioning at some level of mental retardation, it is important to use phrases such as "currently tests in the moderate range of mental retardation," testing shows him to be functioning at a mildly mentally retarded level," etc. Mention what the child has achieved rather than what the child cannot do.
  • Type of Family: If there is a preference, include whether the agency is looking for a two-parent and/or single parent family. Also mention if a childless family or family with other children is desired.
  • Miscellaneous: Include the child's hobbies, skills, or special interests. For an older child, include the child's statement about the kind of family s/he hopes to join. Try to end a child's narrative on a positive note.