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United for Families, Caregiver Support Program, Indian River County Children's Services Advisory Committee B . PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT (Entire Section B not to exceed one page. Box will expand as You type) a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change? b) Who has the need? c) Where do they live? d) Provide local, state, or national trend data, with reference source, that corroborates that this is an area of need. lack of support services threatens the stability of children in the foster-care system because caregivers who do not feel supported are more likely to quit or request that a child be moved to mother home. UFF strongly believes that a menu of both group and in-home support services is the est way to improve caregiver retention and reduce the number of times children move in the system. We created the Caregiver Support Program, for known as the Foster Parent Mentor Program, to address this need. The need for the program best is illustrated by recent placement disruption reports. UFF laced 175 Indian River County children in care from July 2006 to January 2007 . Of those children, 25 percent moved two or more times in a six-month period and 6 percent moved four oves were requested by caregivers , citing lack of times or more in the same time period. The m support as their primary reason. We currently license 22 foster homes in Indian River County, of which 15 actively tak children. Because only 68 percent of homes currently have beds available, 28 Indian River Coun children live in shelters while still more live in other parts of the state. This typeof placemen finders the reunification process and lowers the probability that the children will return home, (Petr and Entriken, 1995, Service System Barriers to Reunification, Families in Society, 76(9) 523 533) . Furthermore, interruptions in the continuity of a child' s caregiver are often detrimental; according to the American Academy of Pediatrics . "Repeated moves from home to home compound the adverse consequences that stress and inadequate parenting have on a child' s development and ability to cope," (American Academy of Pediatrics : Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care; Committee on Early childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care, Vol. 106, No. 5, November 2000, pp. 1145- 1150.) a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted population; b) Explain how these existing programs are under-serving the targeted population of your program. UFF contracts case management services to Children' s Home Society and Family Preservation Services . Both agencies indirectly serve foster parents through the case-management of children on their caseloads. The needs of foster parents, however, often go unaddressed in the daily struggle to deal with child-related issues . Hibiscus Children' s Center also serves foster arents through UFF recruitment and training program. These services, however, end once the foster parent is licensed. 4