Circles of Support
Intended Audience
- Child Welfare Workers
- Social Services Non-child Welfare
- Court Personnel/Legal Professionals
- Caregivers and Potential Caregivers
- Youth
Targeted Age Group(s)
- 13-17
- 18 or older
QIC-EY Engagement Model Components (i) The engagement model components were identified through the QIC-EY Environmental Scan as critical to the support of youth engagement in the attainment of permanence.
- Support Youth Empowerment
- Utilize Youth-guided Team
- Prioritize Legal, Relational and Cultural Permanence
Description
A Circle of Support is a type of meeting that connects a youth with supportive and caring adults who can help after the youth leaves substitute care.
Based on the Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) philosophy, Circles of Support are led by the youth and focus on the youth. Participants represent a broad spectrum of the youth’s support network. Circles of Support participants can be a youth’s siblings, birth-family members, foster or kinship care providers, teachers, relatives, church members, friends, mentors, etc. These participants come together to develop and to review the young person’s transition plan, including strengths; hopes and dreams; goals and needs in the areas of education, employment, physical and mental health and housing; and all components of Preparation for Adult Living (PAL).
Implementation Considerations
A site using Circles of Support must decide via a policy or a practice guide when to use a Circle of Support. A professional should oversee and monitor Circles of Support coordination and facilitation to ensure that such conferences are used when appropriate and available. A program manual is available at no cost.
Training is a must for administering this program. To administer the program, a Bachelor’s degree is necessary. Initial classroom training is structured to provide trainees with the opportunity to build awareness, knowledge, skills and abilities. Because FGDM is about changing systems to honor families in decision-making, initial classroom training needs to be provided to representatives of the child welfare, legal/court and community systems. While the extent or depth of training should tie to an individual’s or system’s role with FGDM, it is insufficient for implementers to focus training only on coordinators. While coordinators play a critical role in this process, , the intent of FGDM cannot be realized unless other system agents also understand and support it.
Each implementing community will need to determine the appropriate length of initial classroom training. Typically, this is 3-4 days for coordinators, their supervisors, referring workers and their supervisors and others who have interests and significant roles in implementation of the process. FGDM seminars that build awareness and knowledge are delivered in a community to a variety of audiences, including but not limited to community advocates; court staff and legal professionals, including guardians ad litem; parent and agency attorneys; professionals from mental health, education, domestic violence, juvenile justice and substance abuse agencies; community-based organizations; and foster care and kinship providers.
