Court Services looking for safe, short-term housing for children
By KATE SCHOTT
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kschott@daily-chronicle.com
SYCAMORE – DeKalb County Juvenile Court Services is looking for some partners.
Partner Parents, that is.
The county is looking for local parents who would be willing to open their homes to children in the court system who need temporary housing, said Alice Elliott, DeKalb County Court Services juvenile supervisor.
Elliott said area agencies that work with youth have been trying for the last few years to develop a housing system for youth. A Long-term Alternative Placement, or LAP, Task Force was created to discuss the needs and start finding solutions, said Elliott, co-chairwoman of the task force.
A needs assessment found the county lacked short-term housing for children who needed a safe place to stay temporarily.
“That was a surprise,” Elliott said of the finding. “I thought it would be long-term housing.”
One of the team’s efforts is the Safe and Reliable Alternative Home, or SARAH, program, which is intended to provide housing for youth who need assistance, but don’t meet the criteria for foster homes run by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Ahna Young, the crisis intervention coordinator at the DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau and co-chairwoman of the LAP Task Force, said the acronym of SARAH was devised because it had a “warmer feeling” for those who might be using one of the homes, noting they could just say they were going to “Sarah’s house” and not have to say they were in a temporary housing situation.
Partner Parents need to provide a safe place for the youth, she said, providing a situation where both children and parents can be surrounded by social services and get assistance they need. The task force hopes to get one SARAH house in every municipality in the county, Elliott said.
“The whole goal is to get the kids back in their home, get the family treatment, get the kids treatment,” Young said. “Reunification is always the goal.”
Partner Parents are appointed through the 16th Judicial Court of DeKalb County to be SARAH homes for youth ages 12 and older.
There are three levels of homes, Elliott said, since there are different needs of youth. All three provide housing for children, but each level steps up the responsibilities of the Partner Parents. The first level provides housing during the stay, while the second level requires the volunteers to be part of a resource team for the child and the third level provides housing for youth with mental health concerns or specialized populations.
In terms of physical needs, Partner Parents will have to provide, among other things, a bed in a room that has windows and a door and three meals a day, Elliott said. Partner Parents will receive a per diem for each day the child is in the house. Clothing, medical care and educational needs are provided by the child’s parents.
Get Involved
There are three levels in the SARAH, or Safe and Reliable Alternative Home program, and volunteers are needed in all levels. Contact Alice Elliott at 815-895-7194 for more information.
• SARAH Home Level A – Short term: Partner Parent provides housing for court-involved youth from one day to six months at a time. Depending on the length of stay, the Partner Parent’s involvement in the youth’s case or follow up once the youth leaves their home is minimal. There is little to no interaction with the natural parents.
• SARAH Home Level B – Short term to long term: Partner Parent provides housing for court-involved youth from one day to two years. All stays are assumed to be approximately six months in duration but the Partner Parent may indicate to the coordinator their willingness to take on youth needing longer term stays. Children place din long-term alternative care are able to reside in the community with minimal supportive services. The Partner Parent is part of the Resource Team established for each youth and may serve as a mentor to the natural parents when youth returns to their home.
• SARAH Home Level C – Specialized Alternative Care: Partner Parent provides housing for youth with significant mental health concerns or specialized populations. These children require careful inter agency planning, observation, and nurturing. Specialized Partner Parents may have a great deal of experience, hold college degrees or be trained in psychotherapy. In addition, they receive special training and are required to complete ongoing training and workshops.
