In 2017, the Metropolitan
Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA) collaborated with RALIANCE via
an impact grant to provide therapy for youth with problematic sexual behaviors
(YPSB). Despite research showing this at-risk population benefits from
counseling (Amand, Bard & Silovsky, 2008), far too often families,
caregivers, and service providers lack information and access to help – this
includes foster families.
According to the National Center on
the Sexual Behavior of Youth, significant risk factors for youth to exhibit
sexual behavior problems include many of the experiences foster youth know all
too well—parental loss, disruptions or inconsistent care, unsafe environments,
witnessing violence, neglect and abuse. Traumatic events are found to be one
cause of sexual behavior problems in children (NCTSN,
2009). While little research exists on the percentage of foster children
exhibiting sexual behavior problems, foster children experience high levels of
trauma, a significant risk factor for sexual behavior problems in children (NCTSN,
2009).
MOCSA’s project
appealed to 4,000 case managers, social workers, and caregivers who support nearly
1700 foster care youth in Kansas City, with an open invitation to attend either
an in-person workshop or webinar on YSBPs. These trainings resulted in numerous
referrals to MOCSA, families who might not have otherwise received effective,
evidence-based counseling free of charge. As a result, twenty-five foster
families participated in MOCSA’s program for YPSB. Ninety-six percent of youth participating
in this program reported an increased knowledge in making good choices about
sexual behavior, and 100% of caregivers in treatment via the program increased
knowledge in responding to sexual behaviors of children. Ninety five percent of
caregivers reported a significant decrease in difficulties experienced in the
school setting and increased academic achievement.
While this met the needs and the stipulations
of the initial project design, MOCSA and RALIANCE worked together to design a
new direction for the project.
Lesson 1:
Listening to caregivers
MOCSA’s Youth with Sexual Behavior Problems Program is well established. Formally initiated in 2006 and enhanced in 2014 through a federal grant from the Office on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, this nationally recognized program provides children and caregivers 12 to 27 weeks of counseling, with each session lasting 60 to 90 minutes.
At the same time, MOCSA also emphasized
the importance of listening to the
unique needs of caregivers living with and helping foster youth manage their
behavior effectively—recognizing these foster parents as the experts on practical
methods to work with these specific youth.
A series of four one minute videos was
developed to support and empower caregivers. The material for these videos was
gleaned from recording a structured conversation of focus groups with foster
parents as well as case managers. The following themes emerged: understanding
the issue, first reactions, building a network of support, and the resiliency
powered by the difference they are making. Between Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
and LinkedIn, these
videos achieved 254,952 impressions and 718 clicks.
Lesson 2:
Kids in the system
MOCSA also worked with partner
agencies that were experiencing high demand for services for this population
but who lacked knowledge on how to address these issues for system-involved
youth. MOCSA conducted additional trainings and produced two six-page Resource
Guides — one for foster
families and one for professionals.
Additionally, the focus group
generated two critical insights about the barriers caregivers face when
deciding when/how to reach out for help: 1) foster caregivers are hesitant to
seek services for PSBs out of fear of losing their licenses as foster parents,
and 2) It is difficult to locate mental health professionals who are trained to
provide high quality treatment to these youth and their families. Both these
insights have shaped how MOCSA conducts outreach to parents in the system as
well as therapy for clients and their families.
Overall, the additional outreach,
training, and collaborative efforts allowed MOCSA to reach vastly more people
than originally intended. But it also availed the opportunity to develop the
internal resources and tools—as well as the research—to expand our outreach and
improve clinical practices with children and their caregivers. Along the way,
the support of RALIANCE was crucial. As a partner invested not just in the
stewardship of funding but in the lives of people “on the ground,” RALIANCE
offered a rare collaboration that aligned with the ambition MOCSA embodies for
those we serve. This project was a
testament to the success of going further, and the difference MOCSA and other
agencies can have in healing children and families when we work together.
RALIANCE’s
impact grant program seeks to advance three core strategies to end sexual
violence in one generation: Improve the response to victims of sexual violence;
reduce the likelihood of perpetration of sexual violence; and strengthen
communities’ capacity to create safe environments. This project succeeded on
all fronts. To learn more about the project and resources produced, visit
us online.
References
St.
Amand, A., Bard, D.E & Silovsky, J.F. (2008). Meta-Analysis of Treatment for Child Sexual Behavior Problems: Practice
Elements and Outcomes, Child
Maltreatment
(13)
145-166. DOI:
10.1177/1077559508315353
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