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Extended Voluntary Placement: (10 counties): Policy will extend voluntary placement agreements from 180 days to 365 days to reduce court costs and conflicts with family. Evaluation involves comparison with counties which do not extend voluntary agreements. Approximately 500 children are expected to be served. Goals include: Reduce long term foster care costs; achieve permanence more rapidly; and increase/maintain levels of child safety. Kinship Permanence: (in 4 to 10 counties): Policy will obtain legal guardianship for relatives of children over 13 who receive federal foster care payments, who are in stable placements, and for whom reunification and adoption are not options. Subsidy payment will not be greater than foster care basic payment. Evaluation involves random assignment of cases to experimental and control groups at a 5:3 ratio. Approximately 1,400 children are expected in the experimental group during the first year. Goals include: promote safety/stability and reduce court and case management costs. Intensive Services: (12 counties): Counties will develop own intensive service plans and specify outcomes. Evaluation involves random assignment of cases to experimental and control groups at a 5:3 ratio. Approximately 1,665 children are expected in the experimental group during the first year. Goals include: reduce foster care placement and divert children to less restrictive placements.
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