►
From YouTube: COVID-19 and Child Welfare: A Series of Virtual Meetings
Description
Foster families are in short supply during the best of times. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, the shortage is particularly acute, and for those who have opened their homes and their hearts to children in the system, the challenges can be great. Join NCSL as we discuss ways states can promote kinship care, build a sufficient supply of foster families, and provide caregivers with training and protective equipment so they can safely coordinate children’s medical, education and other needs while navigating stay-at-home restrictions.
A
A
I
am
a
program
director
at
ncsl's
children
and
children
and
families
program
and
I'll,
be
your
host
for
today,
and
I'm
also
joined
by
my
colleague,
nina
zimbang,
who
is
a
senior
fellow
at
ncsl's
children
and
families
program,
and,
as
I
mentioned
in
the
first
session,
children
and
families
of
color
experience,
disparate
outcomes
when
they're,
navigating
through
the
child
welfare
system
and
the
pandemic.
The
subsequent
economic
downturn
and
the
national
race
relations
crisis
has
further
shed
light
on
these
disparities.
A
A
These
statements
offer
guidance
and
insight
into
what
legislative
leaders
are
thinking
on
how
they
are
reflecting
on
issues,
and
many
policy
makers
believe
issues
that
need
to
be
addressed.
So
this
also
will
be
included
in
the
resources
that
we'll
send
out
at
the
end
of
this
session
before
we
get
started.
I
just
want
to
thank
both
casey
family
programs
and
the
nae
foundation
for
their
support
of
this
project
and
before
we
get
started,
I
want
to
just
do
a
little
bit
of
housekeeping
at
any
time
during
this
presentation.
A
If
you
need
help,
we
ask
that
you
refer
to
the
zoom
cheat
sheet
for
tips.
We
sent
that
out
before
the
pain
and
if,
by
chance
you
inadvertently
get
yourself
disconnected
and
you
need
to
get
back
on,
simply
use
the
link
that
you
sign
on
in
the
first
place,
if
you
know,
is
that
we
are
documenting
today's
proceedings
and
we're
recording
this
meeting
and
those
this
recording
will
be
available
on
ncsl's
covet
19
and
child
welfare
page
at
the
conclusion
of
this
meeting.
A
There
is
a
chat
box
feature
and
we
do
want
to
hear
from
you
throughout
the
day,
and
so
we
ask
you
to.
Please
use
the
chat
box
to
ask
questions
about
today's
presentation
or,
if
you
have
other
questions
that
you'd
like
in
csl
to
answer.
Please
do
that
during
this
series
and
we
will
be
sure
to
answer
those
questions
as
we
can
and
anything
that
we
can't
get
to
today.
A
Sorry
siri's
trying
to
get
in
on
this
conversation
you
all
I
apologize
for
that.
We
also
want
to
make
sure
that
we
hear
from
you
all
during
the
meeting.
So
what
you
can
expect
to
learn
are
some
critical
issues
that
are
facing
foster
families
and
kinship
caregivers
during
the
this
coronavirus
pandemic,
and
we
want
you
all
to
hear
from
several
state
efforts
to
ensure
that
foster
families
are
safely
continuing
their
work
in
caring
for
and
nurturing
children
in
their
care.
A
So
we
were
hoping
today
to
do
something
a
little
different
for
you
and
allow
you
the
opportunity
to
hear
from
a
foster
parent
directly
about
what
they've
experienced,
but
unfortunately
darlene
bell,
who
was
going
to
be
our
foster
parent
representative,
who
has
fostered
more
than
30
children
in
her
time
that
she
and
her
husband
have
been
fostering.
She
had
a
medical
emergency,
and
let
us
know
this
morning
that
she's
unable
to
to
join
us.
So
we
are
sending
her
our
well
wishes
and
we
are
definitely
going
to
miss
her
presence
today.
A
But
just
you
know
keep
her
in
your
thoughts.
Who
you
will
hear
from,
however,
are
two
state
legislators.
You
will
hear
from
indiana
senator
ron
grooms.
He
is
the
chair
of
the
indiana
indiana
senate
family
and
children's
services
committee
and
you're
also
here
from
minnesota
representative
rena,
moran
moran,
I'm
sorry
she
is
the
chair
of
the
minnesota
house,
health
and
human
services
policy
committee
and
you'll
also
hear
from
jennifer
rodriguez
from
the
youth
law
center.
A
Our
structure
today
will
begin
with
jennifer,
giving
us
an
overview
of
issues
affecting
foster
and
kinship
parents
during
the
covet
19
pandemic
and
she's
going
to
do
all
that
before
joining
our
panelists.
In
a
brief
discussion,
we'll
also
conduct
a
short
poll
and
take
several
questions
from
our
audience
and
end
with
a
wrap
up,
including
a
two-minute
evaluation
from
you
all.
So
if
you
could
just
take
a
few
minutes
before
you
leave
to
fill
that
out,
we
would
greatly
appreciate
that.
A
You
know
acutely
aware
to
us
and
foster
parents
who
have
traditionally
opened
their
homes
and
their
hearts
to
children
in
the
system
have
been
faced
with
some
additional
challenges
and
that's
what
we're
going
to
discuss
today.
So
we're
asking
you
just
to
join
ncsl
as
we
hear
about
these
issues
and
challenges
that
these
families
have
have
faced,
as
they
continue
to
try
to
provide
care
for
children
in
in
the
midst
of
having
a
shortage
of
protective
equipment
as
they
have.
A
You
know,
try
to
coordinate
safety
and
and
well-being
for
these
children
and
provide
for
educational
needs
as
well.
All
while
you
know
trying
to
stay
at
home-
and
you
know,
follow
the
mandates
on
stay-at-home
restrictions,
so
I
want
to
give
you
a
little
bit
of
data.
This
is
avcar's
data
from
2018,
and
you
know.
A
As
of
that
point
in
time
there
were
over
437
children
in
foster
care
and
of
those
kids
100
and
more
than
125
000
of
those
children
were
waiting
to
be
adopted
and
the
average
length
of
stay
and
care
was
just
under
20
months,
and
we
also
know
that
23
of
those
children
in
care
were
black
children.
Although
black
kids
only
make
up
14
of
the
population-
and
I
know
folks
have
also
asked
about
well
what
about
you
know:
hispanic
kids
and
hispanic
kids?
A
They
are
25
of
the
population,
yet
they
make
up
21
of
the
population
in
foster
care,
so
they
are
in
the
system,
but
they're
not
over
represented.
As
you
see,
black
children
are
and
then
lastly,
68
of
the
children
in
care
are
in
non-relative
placements
and
and
that's
really
significant,
and
so,
as
we
talked
today
about
you,
know
the
issues
that
are
facing
both
can
and
foster
parents.
A
We
want
you
just
to
keep
those
numbers
in
mind,
so
I
am
going
to
pause
and
turn
things
over
to
jennifer
rodriguez,
so
she
can
provide
us
with
a
brief
overview
and,
as
I
mentioned
before,
if
questions
come
up
for
you
all,
while
jennifer
is
speaking,
please
by
all
means
put
those
in
the
chat
box,
because
we
want
to
respond
to
those
during
our
time
today.
Jennifer
it's
all
yours.
B
Internship
caregivers
are
the
single
most
important
resource
that
we
have
to
ensure
that
children
and
youth
have
their
needs,
met
in
foster
care
and
that
they're
both
protected
from
harm,
but
also
that
they're
receiving
all
of
the
supports
that
they
need
to
thrive.
And,
despite
the
fact
that
I
believe,
they're
the
single
most
important
resource,
we
have,
we
frequently
leave
them
out
of
policy
discussions
when
we're
talking
about
what's
necessary
for
reform.
B
So
I'm
really
bummed
that
darlene
is
not
able
to
be
with
us
today,
but
I'm
going
to
try
to
do
her
justice
by
raising
a
couple
of
the
points
that
I
know
she
would
want
to
share.
But
I
would
say,
more
importantly,
even
than
those
two
roles.
I
come
to
the
position
that
foster
parents
and
our
kinship
caregivers-
that
they're
really
the
key
intervention
in
our
system,
because
I
grew
up
in
foster
care
myself.
B
As
a
child-
and
so
I
know
what
makes
or
breaks
your
experience
and
what's
going
to
be
a
meaningful
way
to
reform
the
system
where
you
live,
is
the
single
most
important
thing,
and
most
specifically,
who
cares
for
you
where
you
live?
Who
loves
you?
Who
advocates
for
you
who
takes
care
of
you
when
you're
sick
who's
there?
For
you
when
the
world
turns
upside
down?
B
And
I
would
say
this
pandemic
has
been
a
perfect
example
of
the
universe
testing,
all
of
our
limits
on
what
it
means
for
the
world
to
actually
turn
upside
down.
When
you
really
think
about
prioritizing
and
take
action
to
prioritize
the
needs
of
our
foster
parents
and
kinship
caregivers,
so
that
they
can
provide
children
and
youth
the
excellent
parenting
that
they
need.
It's
the
single
most
important
way
that
you
can
plan
for
any
crisis
for
any
unrest
for
any
challenge
or
difficulty
that
a
child
or
youth
may
face
in
their
life.
B
Who
really
had
no
reason
to
love
me,
but
did
anyway
and
that's
what
our
foster
parents
are
doing
every
single
day
and
on
the
flip.
What
has
made
the
best
days
of
my
life?
The
best
were
the
people
that
showed
up
as
family
to
me,
who
showed
me
how
to
parent
my
own
children,
how
to
accept
friendship
and
love,
how
to
properly
celebrate
milestones
and
accomplishments.
B
For
our
youth,
who
are
in
foster
care,
there
are
going
to
be
many
of
the
best
days
and
worst
days
of
their
life.
I
think
this
is
just
the
beauty
and
heartache
of
life,
but
by
doing
this
work
of
making
sure
that
the
people
who
care
for
our
children
and
hold
our
children
are
cared
for
themselves
and
they
have
their
needs,
met,
we're
preparing
for
all
of
those
days
and
every
day
in
between.
So
I
want
to
be
really
clear.
B
I
will
start
by
saying
that
most
of
the
coveted
issues
that
have
had
the
greatest
impact
on
children,
youth,
birth
families,
foster
families,
kinship
caregivers
and
child
welfare,
they're,
not
actually
new
issues,
all
of
them
are
were
pre-existing
cracks
and
fault
lines,
sometimes
canyons
that
have
now
been
amplified
for
everyone
to
see
them.
I
think
what
the
world
has
learned,
or
at
least
what
our
systems
have
learned.
B
I
don't
know
if
it's
spread
really
beyond
our
child
welfare
agencies
is
that
our
ability
to
ensure
that
children
and
youth
have
their
mental
and
physical
well-being
met
that
they're
able
to
make
educational
progress
that
they
are
able
to
keep
their
relationships
with
their
families
of
origin,
including
their
birth
families,
their
siblings.
Their
extended
families
during
the
pandemic
relied
almost
completely
on
our
foster
parents
and
kinship
caregivers,
because
everything
else
stopped.
B
During
this
virus
they
suddenly
realized
that,
and
so
they
learned
what
is
always
true
from
the
perspective
of
children
and
youth,
which
is
that
the
quality
of
parenting
and
whether
foster
parents
have
what
they
need
to
provide
that
high
quality
parenting,
that
that
impacts
every
single
element
of
their
life
and
case
plan.
So
that
has
become
completely
clear.
B
We
have
done
in
qpi
to
use
technology
and
pilot
with
a
few
systems,
ways
of
getting
both
individual
information
and
aggregate
information
from
families
to
identify
what
are
the
most
oppressing
needs.
Do
families
have
financial
needs
as
most
pressing?
Are
they
most
in
need
of
food
delivery?
Do
they
most
need
tutoring
and
support
for
their
children
who
are
in
school?
Are
they
struggling
to
be
able
to
help
children
visit
with
their
families
and
navigate
the
court
closures?
That
kind
of
thing
that's
one
issue.
B
They
had
never
had
exposure
to
this
kind
of
information
or
support
previously
that
this
would
be
something
that
would
typically
be
reserved
for
the
professionals
in
the
system,
so
giving
foster
parents
the
information
that
they
need
to
do
this
work,
really
empowering
them
with
the
tools
is
critical.
The
third
area
that
I
want
to
highlight,
for
you
all
is
that
relationships
ensuring
that
your
system
has
policies
and
practices
in
place
that
support
relationships
between
birth
families
and
foster
families
is
critical
during
the
pandemic.
B
A
A
Thank
you
so
much.
You
gave
us
lots
of
information.
I
I
really
appreciate
hearing
the
fact
that
you
are
a
former
foster
youth,
and
so
you
have
some
personal
knowledge
and
experience
around
this
this
issue.
Thank
you.
So
much
and
we're
gonna
come
back
to
you.
I
have
tons
of
questions
I've
written
down
and
we
also
have
some
in
our.
A
You
know
that
we've
already
pre-populated
for
you,
so
I
I'm
gonna,
I'm
gonna
inter
introduce
not
me
introduced,
but
I'm
going
to
invite
both
senator
grooms
and
representative
moran
to
unmute
themselves,
and
perhaps
we
could
just
start
with
senator
grooms,
and
he
can
tell
us
briefly
if
you
could
just
introduce
yourself
briefly
and
share
your
connection
to
the
topic
that
we're
discussing
today.
So
both
of
you
could
just
do
that
for
me
quickly.
Then
I'll
have
a
series
of
questions
for
you
all
and
just
to
let
the
audience
know
we're
doing
something
different.
A
C
D
C
My
name
is
ron
grooms
I
serve
in
the
indiana
state
senate.
This
is
I'm
completing
my
10th
year
in
the
state
senate.
I
serve
as
chairperson
of
the
family
and
children's
services
committee
in
the
senate,
and
I
also
serve
on
policy
committee,
intergovernment
relations,
elections
and
commerce
and
economic
development.
C
Those
are
some
of
the
things
I
serve
on
the
state
of
indiana.
Since
march,
the
6th
has
been
under
a
primarily
responding
to
the
covet
virus
issue
with
the
executive
orders
by
the
governor
holcomb
on
march,
the
11th.
I
believe
it
was
we
adjourn
for
the
year,
so
we're
not
in
session
right
now
and
will
not
be
in
session
until
about
the
first
wednesday
of
january
of
2021,
there
has
been
no
legislation,
obviously
passed
since
we
were
not
have
not
been
in
session.
C
C
The
commissioner
of
the
department
of
health,
the
indiana
department,
state
department,
health,
has
been
charged
with
carrying
out
the
emergency
plan
and
the
reaction
for
the
state
to
the
covert
virus
issue.
They
are
being
assisted
by
the
workforce
development
program,
the
secretary
of
state
fssa,
which
is
family
and
social
services,
administration,
the
department
of
child
services.
We
call
dcs
the
commissioner
of
the
state
police
budget
director,
education,
chairperson
and
others-
have
formed
a
advisory
committee
that
advises
the
governor
on
executive
orders
and
other
businesses
that
the
state
has
done.
C
C
The
bill
ran
into
a
little
bit
of
a
stumbling
block
and
did
not
pass
because
of
one
of
this
regulations
regarding
out-of-state
background
checks.
I
think
we've
worked
that
out
and
we'll
probably
be
able
to
pass
that
bill
next
year.
Indiana's
annual
budget
is
about
16
billion
dollars,
we're
going
to
get
about
2
billion
5.
I
believe
it
is
2
billion
442
000
in
direct
relief
from
the
federal
government
for
the
cova
virus
relief
fund.
400
million
of
that
will
go
directly
to
children
in
fssa
and
foster
care.
C
So
we
do
have
money
set
aside
to
pay
for
many
of
the
expenses,
including,
as
you
know,
the
ppe
and
the
other
expenses
that
have
been
incurred.
I
had
a
phone
conversation,
and
this
is
the
heart
of
probably
I
want
to
relay
today
yesterday
or
day
before,
with
the
director
of
a
provider
provides
foster
care,
adoption,
services
etc
and
his
when
asked
upon
his
mate.
His
answer
to
my
major
my
question
was
the
major
issue
with
covet
has
been
what
and
he
said,
emotional
anxiety
in
the
workforce
and
the
parents
and
the
children.
C
As
you
know,
the
workforce
is
pretty
much
24
7
the
workforce
for
child
care
and
foster
care
never
ends
their
particular
business
or
provider
did
not
have
has
had
no
quarantines.
Yet
the
esu
also
is
complicated
this
year
because
indiana
basically
canceled
school
about
march
the
15th,
but
we
have
had
lots
of
e-learning
or
video
lessons
that
teachers
have
been
responsible
for
so
this
has
been
quite
a
disruption
to
the
typical
foster
care
family.
All
of
a
sudden,
the
kids
are
home.
C
My
the
mother
or
father
are
no
longer
working,
so
you
have
this
environment
that
you
normally
don't
have
and
that's
created.
As
you
know,
a
lot
of
stress
the
ppe
course
increase
in
wages
most
of
the
work
that's
being
done,
that
was
in
person
and
door-to-door
and
in
the
home,
is
now
being
done
by
video
conferencing
and
zoom
and
other
technology
sources.
So
that's
a
real,
quick
overview.
I'd
be
glad
to
go
into
some
of
the
other
issues
that
we're
facing.
C
But
one
is
the
anxiety
level,
the
the
confusion,
the
fear
and
then,
of
course,
making
sure
that
the
healthcare
workers
are
taken
care
of
and
and
making
sure
that
one
number
one
safety
of
course,
is
always
the
biggest
issue
when
you're
dealing
with
disease
such
as
this.
My
background
is
a
pharmacist.
I
had
a
pharmacy
owner
and
over
almost
40
years
as
a
pharmacist
pharmacy
owner.
So
I
have
some
background
in
health
care
arena
which
helps
with
this
issue
a
lot
sure
having
been
through
the
20,
2008
and
9
flu
season.
D
Well
good
afternoon,
everyone-
and
I
will
do
a
short
introduction,
just
want
to
say
jennifer.
Thank
you
for
that
great
introduction
and
your
sharing
of
being
a
product
of
the
of
the
foster
care
system.
So
again
my
name
is
serena
moran,
I'm
a
state
representative.
I
have
been
in
the
house
of
representative.
I
am
completing
my
10th
year
in
the
house
of
representative
I
for
the
last
10
years.
D
I
am
very
engaged
in
trauma-informed
policies
and
practice
and
a
partial
training
of
aces,
which
is
ivory,
shallow
experiences,
recognizing
that
we're
all
a
product
of
our
childhood,
and
so
the
work
that
I
am
doing
around
the
the
child
welfare
system
foster
care.
Auto
home
displacement
really
felt
me.
I
didn't
find
it.
D
So
a
lot
of
my
work
that
I
do
and
that
we
have
moved
to
do
in
the
state
of
minnesota,
is
looking
at
the
removal
of
kids
through
the
lands
of
first
priority
is
about
reunification.
It's
not
all
possible
and
helping
parents
to
navigate
a
huge
system
that
is
kind
of
like
innately
impossible
to
navigate
by
themselves.
So
when
they
also
invested
dollars
in
resources
to
help
families
navigate
the
court
system
to
navigate
their
responsibilities
and
what
they
need
to
do
in
order
to
get
reunified.
D
A
Stop
there,
I'm
gonna,
ask
the
question:
I
mean
you
guys
are
giving
so
much
information.
I
don't
feel
like
my
job
as
the
talk
show
host
here,
but
this
has
been
great.
I
guess
the
first
thing
that
I
want
to
ask
you
all
you
know
and
I'm
trying
to
be
cognizant
of
the
time,
and
you
know
all
these
questions
and
information
that
we
want
to
get
from
you
all.
Is
you
all
hit
on
a
couple
different
things
I
mean.
A
The
first
thing
is
that
I
know
is
that
there
is
no
national
data
that
really
gives
us
an
accurate
count
of
the
the
number
of
foster
parents
that
we
have
in
our
system
and
what
their
needs
are.
So
that's
the
first
thing
I
just
want
to
highlight,
but
I'm
curious:
if,
if
the
the
legislators
can
particularly
tell
us,
has
covet
19
or
how
has
covet
19
impacted
your
ability
to
recruit
or
maintain
the
current
foster
homes
that
you
have
yeah.
C
C
It's
his
comment
was
that
they
seem
in
indiana.
It
seems
like
when,
when
the
situations
like
this
arise,
we
have
a
dedicated
group
of
health
care
professionals
that
actually
want
to
get
more
involved
in
child
care
in
helping,
whereas
they
may
go
on
to
another
job,
just
simply
for
maybe
a
dollar
or
50
cents
an
hour.
But
but
his
response
was
that
the
the
workforce
is
there
if
they're,
if
they're
made
comfortable,
if
they
feel
safe,
if
they
feel
like
they're
being
bad,
it
would
be
compensated.
C
A
D
So
first
I
just
want
to
say
even
before
corbett
19
we
were
struggling
with
foster
care
in
2014
we
moved
some
legislation
that
really
began
to
remove
kids
at
higher
numbers
from
their
home,
and
so
what
we
found
was
that
foster
parents,
we,
you
know
foster
parents
were
overburdened
with
just
just
this
influx
of
kids
into
a
system
right
where
they
weren't
quite
prepared
for
because
also
with
the
system
with
foster
parents,
the
kids
come
with
special
needs
and
special
various.
You
know
issues
and
concerns
that
they
know
nothing
about.
D
D
D
A
And-
and
I
guess
that
the
question
before
we
go
on
to
the
next
segment
of
of
our
program-
is
I'm
curious
and
jennifer?
If
you
have
some
insight
on
this,
please
feel
free
to
jump
in,
but
what
effective
strategies
have
you
seen
your
states
you
know
implement
in
order
to
support
fostering
kinship
caregivers
during
covet
19.
D
Well,
I
start
so
it's
been
a
really
hectic
for
me
as
a
legislator
right,
so
let
me
just
be
transparent
to
say
that
I
have
not
had
the
the
luxury
of
having
like
really
good
conversation
with
foster
parents,
so
I
had
to
make
a
phone
a
couple
of
phone
calls
to
talk
to
those
who
are
directly
engaged
with
families
in
the
foster
care
system,
and
so
what
I
hear
from
them
is
that
it
is
it's
been
really
hard.
It's
been
really
challenging.
D
You
know
everything
you
know
foster
parents
doesn't
don't
really
feel
comfortable
like
having
birth
parents,
although
visitation
take
place
in
their
homes,
it's
been
a
challenge
to
find
a
neutral
space
where
they
can
go
and
also
meet
with
the
foster
with
the
birth
parents
of
the
birth
parent
visitation
with
their
child,
because
we
know
that
we
still
have
to
social
distance,
and
so
that
is
just
a
concern.
It's
like
a
it's
a
fear
and
it's
just
a
reality
of
where
we
are
in
the
mystical
at
19..
D
D
A
C
C
B
So
if
I
could
just
add
a
few
things
that
I
think
california
has
done
well
have
been
one
to
put
out
state
agency
policy
that
requires
stability
and
gave
guidance
to
foster
parents
around
what
to
do
if
there
was
a
coveted
exposure
or
positive
in
their
home,
and
so
the
state
policy
basically
made
it
very,
very
clear
that
children
were
not
to
be
removed.
That
stability
was
the
priority
and
that
families
were
instructed
to
follow
the
same
cdc
guidance
that
all
families
are
following.
B
If
either
a
relative
caregiver
or
a
foster
parent
or
a
child
were
either
exposed
or
positive,
and
this
was
critical,
because
the
first
instinct
of
the
system,
when
this
started
was
to
remove
a
child
if
either
a
family
or
child
was
positive
and
it
was
creating
a
lot
of
disruption
and
also
starting
to
move
the
system
towards
putting
children
in
congregate,
care
facilities,
which
I
know
you
will
hear
about
in
your
next
session.
But
we
had
counties
across
california
who
were
starting
to
want
to
use
wings
of
shelters
to
create
sort
of
makeshift.
There
was.
B
There
is
now
use
of
trailers
to
house
children,
so
people
panicked,
I
mean
that's
the
bottom
line
so
having
the
state
agency
immediately
respond
by
issuing
that
guidance
was
one
thing
that
was
important.
We
also
had
executive
orders
that
allowed
for
some
additional
funds
and
resources
like
an
additional
food
payment
to
be
accessed
by
both
foster
parents
and
birth
parents,
which
was
key.
B
We
also
had
guidance
that
went
out
on
the
on
testing,
which
I
also
think
was
important,
because
there
was
also
an
initial
sort
of
flurry
of
should
we
subject
every
single
child
in
foster
care
to
testing
and
their
birth
parents,
where
we
know
that's
a
really
it's
an
invasive
test.
It's
not!
You
have
to
wait
a
while
for
the
results.
B
It's
only
accurate
at
that
minute
in
time,
so
having
somebody
in
it
needed
to
be
our
state
administrative
agency
because
of
needing
to
expedite
it,
but
part
of
what
we've
been
trying
to
talk
with
the
legislature
in
california
about.
Is
it's
really
important
that
we
get
some
procedures
in
place
right
now
that
don't
rely
on
the
administrative
agency
needing
to
act
but
are
actually
in
policy?
Because
now
we
have
learned
a
lot
from
from
this
experience
that
we
could
actually
enact
so
that
we're
ready
to
go
if
something
like
this
happens
again.
Yeah.
A
E
Great,
I'm
sorry,
I'm
muted,
we
have
a
poll.
As
you
can
see,
I
will
read
the
polling
question.
What
has
been
the
biggest
challenge
for
foster
and
kinship
caregivers
in
your
states
during
the
pandemic?
Please
select
one.
I
will
read
them:
managing
visitation
between
children,
biological
families
and
caseworkers
handling,
homeschooling
training
to
address
needs
and
concerns
related
to
covet
19
safely.
Coordinating
children's
medical
needs
addressing
caregivers,
that's
the
foster
parent
and
the
kinship
caregiver
their
health
and
other
needs.
A
E
Sure,
thank
you
so
much
donna
and
this
question
again
is
for
both
senator
grooms
and
representative
moran.
You've
answered
this
a
little
bit.
Can
you
talk
to
us
about
policy
reforms
that
your
states
have
implemented
to
support,
foster
and
kinship
parents
in
general
and
during
the
pandemic,
or
anything
that
you
think
has
recently
been
enacted?
That
has
been
particularly
helpful
so
far
during
the
pandemic.
D
D
and,
quite
honestly,
in
regards
to
foster
care.
We
did
not
or
have
not,
that
I
know
of,
and
I
have
not
heard
at
the
state
county
level.
This
is
really
where
it
impacts.
You
know
counties
and
I
try
to
do
a
lot
to
focus
around
the
county
that
I
represent
in
the
legislature,
and
so
what
I
do
know
is
that
the
focus
has
been
really
on
trying
to
maintain
or
create
those
spaces
where
we
can
have
those
meaningful.
D
If
you
have
two
or
three
or
four
different
kids,
you
know
in
your
home
and
now
you
have
to
do
homeschooling
it
and
and
through
distant
learning,
that
is
just
taking
you
to
a
whole
different
arena.
It
has
been
very,
very
challenging
for
our,
whether
they're
kinship
providers
or
foster
care
providers.
Those
are
the
things
that
I've
been
hearing
from
my
state
and
from
my
county.
C
E
Well,
yeah,
that
could
be
it.
The
question
dealt
with
what
kind
of
you
know
what
kind
of
recent
reforms
to
support,
foster
parents
and
kinship
caregivers?
Perhaps
the
state
has
already
enacted
that
has
been
particularly
helpful
during
coveted
19
or
anything
that
you
know
you've
been
able
to
get
in
place
or
work
on.
You
know
during
the
session,
or
you
know,
session.
C
C
So
we
haven't
had
the
crunch
yet
from
as
a
result
of
the
code,
from
a
massive
increase
in
the
number
of
thought
in
out
of
home
placement.
So
the
issue
of
course,
is
now
you
have
mom
or
dad
at
home.
They're
laid
off
the
child
is
not
in
school.
The
child
is
learning
at
home.
You
have
to
figure
out
how
to
make
that
home
safe.
You
have
to
figure
out
so
that
the
care
workers
are
not
afraid
to
go
in
just
all
kinds
of
challenges
in
that
area.
C
Safety
is
the
big
issue
and
the
cost
of
the
residential
providers
to
provide
a
secure
environment
for
family
to
come
and
visit
a
child
where
you
have
to
you,
have
the
social
distancing
you
have
to
washing
the
hands.
You
have
separate
room,
often
for
just
that
visitation
and
that's
become
a
burden
for
the
for
the,
and
then
the
state
has
relaxed
a
lot
of
those
rules,
I'm
told
so
that
it
as
long
as
they're
safe.
That's
fine,
we'll
worry
about
the
rest
of
the
of
the
five
feet
versus
six
feet
later.
A
A
So
I
just
want
to
pose
one
one
of
the
questions
that
we've
had
come
through
from
our
audience,
which
is
has
the
absence
of
face-to-face
meetings
due
to
covet
19
increase
the
risk
of
agency
workers
not
being
able
to
pick
up
on
signs
a
foster
child
may
be
in
distress
for
reasons
such
as
not
being
treated
or
being
abused,
and
so
you
know
jennifer,
I
know
you
haven't.
You
haven't
had
much
air
time.
B
We're
advocating
for
much
more
frequent
contact
with
children
so,
rather
than
once
a
month
visitation
we're
asking
workers
to
be
checking
in
a
couple
times
a
week
now
that
they
don't
have
the
additional
travel
and
to
really
be
asking
one
of
the
things
that
you'll
see
the
policy
investments
that
california
made
was
ensuring
that
all
families
and
children
and
youth
and
care
had
access
to
technology
to
allow
them
to
do
the
virtual
visits.
So
you
know
being
really
creative
and
saying:
can
you
show
me
around
the
room?
B
Can
you
take
your
phone
outside
and
and
talk,
and
I
want
to
mention
the
same
thing
is
true
around
the
frequency
of
visitation
between
birth
families
and
their
children.
So
we've
also
been
working
with
courts
to
say:
look
a
good
court
order
now
for
visitation
involves
being
able
to
ask
foster
parents
to
be
doing
daily
virtual
contacts
between
the
birth
family
and
the
child
to
include
them
and
raise
put
the
ipad
at
the
dinner
table
so
that
mom
can
have
dinner
with
the
family
and
with
her
child
there.
B
When,
when
the
young
person
is
playing,
video
games
set
up
the
phone
on
the
side
of
the
room
so
that
dad
can
hang
out
and
be
a
part
of
what's
going
on
in
the
household.
This
is
an
example
of
something
that
I
hope
that
we
will
keep
as
we
transition
back
to
in-person
visitation.
I
hope
we
still
keep
the
regular
and
frequent
virtual
contacts
as
well
and
and
that's
true
for
social
workers
too.
The
more
contact
the
better
I
mean.
A
Yeah
yeah,
thank
you
for
that.
I'm
going
to
turn
it
over
to
nina
just
to
make
sure
that
we
do
have
time
to
do
do
justice.
I
will
encourage
our
our
audience
if
you
have
additional
questions
that
you
weren't
able
to
ask
to
any
of
our
panelists
or
you
know
anything
specific
from
ncso,
please
send
that
to
us
and
we
will
make
sure
that
we
circle
back
with
you
all
so
nina
I'm
going
to
turn
it
over
to
you.
E
E
Other
resources
outside
of
ncsl
are
here
as
well:
grandfamilies.org
has
a
covet
19
resource
page
generations,
united,
which
works
with
grandparent.
Caregivers
also
has
a
covet
19
resource
page
and
the
federal
children's
bureau.
We
refer
to
data
from
their
adoption
and
foster
care
analysis,
reporting
system
or
avcars
and
2018
is
the
latest
data
and
there's
a
link
that
you
see
here
again.
E
E
This
isn't.
Quite
yes,
go
ahead.
I
was
just
going
to
say
this
has
just
been
quite
helpful
and
just
reiterated
to
us
the
fact
that
visitation,
availability
of
supplies
and
homeschooling
are
some
of
the
top
issues,
definitely
facing
foster
and
kinship
caregivers.
So
it's
been
really
helpful
to
hear
how
this
is
playing
out
in
a
couple
of
different
jurisdictions.
E
A
Thank
you
to
each
of
the
panelists
and
again,
if
you
all,
could
just
take
a
few
moments
to
fill
out
the
the
evaluation
before
you
leave.
It's
live,
you
can
do
it
in
real
time.
10
short
questions.
We
really
appreciate
your
feedback.
Thank
you
all
for
for
joining
us
this
afternoon
and
representative
moran
senator
grooms
jennifer
rodriguez.
Thank
you
all
so
very
much.
We
are
very
appreciative
of
your
time
and
your
information
that
you
shared.