{"id":1485,"date":"2017-06-30T10:44:16","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T02:35:48","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-06-30T12:08:07","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T17:08:07","slug":"four-oaks-and-lsi-manage-respected-areas-for-foster-and-adoptive-families","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iowafosterandadoption.org\/four-oaks-and-lsi-manage-respected-areas-for-foster-and-adoptive-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Oaks Manages Service Areas for Foster and Adoptive Families."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Human Services recently chose Four Oaks to manage its foster and adoptive children and families services. With the intent to assist children and families closer to where they live, the state drew up five services areas. As of July 1, 2023\u00a0 Four Oaks manages all service areas.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Please contact Four Oaks Family Connections for additional information.<\/p>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Email:\u00a0<a class=\"x_ContentPasted1\" href=\"mailto:foster-adopt@fouroaks.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-cke-saved-href=\"mailto:foster-adopt@fouroaks.org\" data-loopstyle=\"linkonly\" data-linkindex=\"3\">foster-adopt@fouroaks.org<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Phone: 877-364-1113<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"text-align: center;\" data-fontsize=\"22\" data-lineheight=\"33px\"><strong>Follow us on Social Media!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\">\n<p class=\"x_ContentPasted0\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Four Oaks Family Connections Facebook:\u00a0<a class=\"x_ContentPasted0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fouroaksfamilyconnections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"1\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fouroaksfamilyconnections\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fouroaksfamilyconnections<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ContentPasted0\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Instagram:\u00a0<a class=\"x_ContentPasted0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iowafosterandadoption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iowafosterandadoption\/\" data-linkindex=\"2\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iowafosterandadoption\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here is a letter from RRTS Leadership<\/p>\n<p>06\/21\/2023<\/p>\n<p>Dear Resource Families,<\/p>\n<p>Four Oaks has been chosen as the Contractor (vendor) for the statewide Recruitment, Retention, Training and Support (RRTS) of Resource Families across Iowa.\u00a0 Four Oaks will deliver these services statewide in part through sub-contract agreements with several child and family serving organizations; Lutheran Services in Iowa, Children\u2019s Square U.S.A., and Family Resources.\u00a0 This statewide contract will begin July 1, 2023.<\/p>\n<p>While many of the services you have been accustomed to as a Resource Family will remain largely unchanged, we want to make you aware of several changes that will occur as a result of moving from regional service delivery to statewide delivery.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There will be one primary central location for information and point of contact for prospective and current Resource Families to find in-service training, support groups, and adoption\/permanency support services statewide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iowafosterandadoption.org\">www.iowafosterandadoption.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">email: <a href=\"mailto:foster-adopt@fouroaks.org\">foster-adopt@fouroaks.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">phone: 877-364-1113<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">social media: @fouroaksfamilyconnections<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Four Oaks Family Connections will continue to recommend available foster homes to HHS Child Protective workers and Social Work Case Managers for children in need of temporary care, and will assist HHS Adoptions Unit by identifying and recommending potential adoptive families for children in need of a \u201cforever family.\u201d The HHS referring worker retains full decision-making authority regarding all placement decisions.<\/li>\n<li>Prospective and current Resource Families can expect to have one single primary point of contact during each phase of the Resource Family journey. While the single point of contact may change during each stage of the Resource Family journey, the transition to the next RRTS Family Connections Caseworker will be a \u201cwarm\u201d hand-off, meaning the current RRTS Family Connections team member will introduce the in-coming RRTS Family Connections Caseworker to the Resource Family.<\/li>\n<li>Effective July 1, 2023, prospective Resource Families beginning the initial home study evaluation process will receive at least one unannounced (not pre-planned) visit to the home prior to submitting the final home study evaluation and recommendation to HHS.<\/li>\n<li>Resource Families will have increased, substantive supportive contact with their RRTS Family Connections Caseworker. Resource Families with HHS or JCS (Juvenile Court Services) children placed in the home will meet with their assigned RRTS Family Connections Caseworker monthly face-to-face for no less than 45 minutes, and will have a minimum of 15 minutes of phone contact monthly in addition to the face-to-face contact.<\/li>\n<li>Resource Families without HHS or JCS placed children in the home will have face-to-face contact with their RRTS Family Connections Caseworker every other month for at least 45 minutes, and will have phone contact of at least 15 minutes during the \u201cin-between\u201d months.<\/li>\n<li>Effective July 1, 2023 there will be an increase in the supports and resources available to Resource Families who have finalized a subsidized adoption, entered into a future-needs subsidy agreement, or who have entered into a subsidized guardianship agreement.\n<ul>\n<li>The RRTS Family Connections Caseworker will provide a face-to-face introduction to the Family Connections Adoption &amp; Permanency Support Caseworker, who will explain the voluntary nature of the menu of permanency support services which the family can initiate and engage in at any time, at any level of intensity\/frequency, for any duration until the child transitions out of the home and into adulthood.<\/li>\n<li>Support groups will be held monthly in every region of the state open to adoptive and guardianship families.<\/li>\n<li>Adoption specific trainings will be offered monthly in every region of the state<\/li>\n<li>Adoption respite will increase from 5 paid days annually per family to 10 paid days annually per family<\/li>\n<li>Stability grants of $100 dollars will be available annually (start of fiscal year to end of fiscal year) to every eligible family to assist with \u201cone-time\u201d expenses or purchases which would benefit an adoptive child but aren\u2019t otherwise paid for through the subsidy agreement. Examples include but aren\u2019t limited to sensory items, equine or canine therapy, camps, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Four Oaks Family Connections will offer intensive case management services to Adoptive\/Guardianship families who appear to be approaching or actively involved in a crisis state which threatens the stability and permanency of the child who achieved permanency with the family<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Four Oaks Family Connections will design and implement a peer mentoring program, in which less experienced Resource Families are matched with more experienced Resource Families. Four Oaks Family Connections will begin recruiting and training Mentors in the autumn of 2023 with an estimated activation of the mentoring program in the winter of 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Four Oaks has played a significant role in the provision of Iowa\u2019s foster care and adoptive services since the 1980\u2019s, most recently by being the sole provider of RRTS services in 69 of Iowa\u2019s 99 counties, and eagerly looks forward to continuing our efforts to support those who dedicate their lives to serving Iowa\u2019s most vulnerable children and families.<\/p>\n<p>Sincerely,<\/p>\n<p>Four Oaks Family Connections<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Human Services recently chose Four Oaks to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - 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