Foster VC Kids of Ventura County to Host Statewide Quality Parent Initiative Conference

Ventura County Selected to Host QPI Conference for its Utilization of Quality Foster Care Training for Families

The Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) statewide conference on Friday, Sept. 25, will bring their unique perspective concerning the development for high quality care, partnership and support for children in foster care and the caregivers, families and Child Welfare staff walking alongside them. Eighteen participating counties across California will be in attendance. The event entails keynote addresses from Executive Director of Youth Law Center (YLC) and former foster youth – Jennifer Rodriguez. In addition, the conference will be featuring foster youth/family panels and group discussions on topics relevant to quality care and partnership.

In 2004, when Florida foster care was at a critical point with children sleeping in conference rooms and moving in and out of homes in a 24 hour timeframe, the department of Children & Families and Youth Law Center created a unique solution that improved the practices supporting quality foster parenting. Soon after, QPI was born and implemented in 2009. QPI strives on reunification of children with their birth families whenever possible, and clearly defines the responsibilities of caregivers and Child Welfare partners in their work together and helps them to align Child Welfare policies and practices with excellence in foster care.

Foster VC Kids, a division of Ventura County’s Children & Family Services, launched in 2014, includes the Homes with Heart campaign which is working to recruit more loving homes for over 1,000 foster youth in the Ventura County foster care system. Foster VC Kids and its work with QPI has received statewide recognition as an outreach, recruitment and training model to follow. The event will take place at the Crowne Plaza in Ventura.

Friday, Sept. 25 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach, 450 E Harbor Blvd., Ventura, Calif. 93001

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Foster VC Kids is a division of Children and Family Services, Ventura County Human Services Agency (VCHSA). The agency strengthens families, supports self-sufficiency and promotes safety, health, and well-being. All of their service areas operate and perform at the highest level to meet the needs of individuals, families, and the community by providing assistance, aid, and protection for foster youth and beyond. VCHSA demonstrates the ability to work in multicultural environments and ensures that policies, programs, and actions communicate respect for the dignity of all people. Visit www.fostervckids.org for more information.

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QPI:The Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) is an approach to strengthening and improving children’s experience in foster care, by refocusing on excellence in parenting for all children in the child welfare system. QPI is an effort to rebrand foster care, not simply by changing a logo or an advertisement, but by changing the expectations of and support for foster parents and other caregivers. The key elements of the process are defining the expectations of caregivers, clearly articulating these expectations (the brand statement) and then aligning the system so that those goals can become a reality. When these changes are accomplished, the new brand becomes the basis for developing communication materials and designing integrated recruitment, training and retention systems. To learn more visit, http://www.qpi4kids.org/ & http://www.qpicalifornia.org/.

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