Foster Care Review Office Opportunity
The Foster Care Review Office (FCRO) is currently recruiting volunteers to serve on one of our 53 Review Boards in Nebraska. Boards meet once a month, on Zoom. Some boards meet in the day and others in the evening. Looking for individuals who are interested in ensuring that the best interests of children and youth involved in the foster care system, are at the forefront of all decisions made regarding their safety, permanency and well-being. The total time commitment is about 6-8 hours once a month. Cases are reviewed on a secure SharePoint site prior to the meeting. Meetings are about 2.5-3 hrs.
The was FCRO was created in 1982 when the Nebraska Foster Care Review Act was passed and has been revised over the years giving FCRO additional responsibilities.
The FCRO is an independent State agency, separate from the judicial branch, from the Department of Health and Human Services, and from Probation so it can review, assess, report, and make recommendations without any influence from other agencies or departments regarding the child/youth’s case review.
Mission Statement: The Foster Care Review Office’s mission is to provide oversight of the child welfare and juvenile justice systems by tracking and reviewing children in out-of-home care, reporting on aggregate outcomes, and advocating on individual and systemic levels to ensure that children’s best interests and safety needs are met.
Vision: Every child involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems becomes resilient, safe, healthy, and economically secure.
The purpose of all the reviews is to assure that appropriate goals have been set for the child, that realistic time limits have been set for the accomplishment of these goals, that efforts are being made by all parties to achieve these goals, that appropriate services are being delivered to the child and/or his or her family, and that long-range planning has been done to ensure that if necessary the child is placed in a permanent home where he or she can grow and thrive. This is done by utilizing multi-disciplinary boards of trained citizen reviewers.
The FCRO is to provide information and direct reporting to the Courts, the Department of Health and Human Services, Probation and the Legislature regarding the foster care system in Nebraska; and to provide oversight of the foster care system.
Local Review Boards
The FCRO has 53 community-based local boards statewide. Each board consists of 5-7 volunteers who are diverse in terms of age, professions, race, ethnicities, gender, and economic status. Each local board member successfully completes pre-service training and receives continuing education on many relevant topics.
Members of local foster care review boards meet monthly to review the 4-5 cases consisting of 5-8 children/youth who are either in out-of-home care (abuse/neglect or probation cases) or abuse/neglect cases where a child is home for a trial home visit. The board is facilitated by a FCRO System Oversight Specialist.
The review board discusses the issues that may be present and makes recommendations for further actions regarding each case. E.g., Determine whether or not the child’s permanency plan is being met and is appropriate, whether or not appropriate services are being offered, whether or not the child is safe, and whether or not the child’s best interests are being met. The review board offers recommendations regarding next steps and services that may help the case move forward so that permanency with the parent/s can be re-established sooner, or in cases where the return to the parent is not possible, provide recommendations so that other permanency can occur.
Once a case is reviewed by the board, a formal report document is written by the FCRO System Oversight Specialist and submitted to the judge and other legal parties. FCRO may take a number of additional steps to address identified issues in order to promote and encourage stability and continuity in foster care, both at the case level and systemically.
If you are interested in learning more or want to apply, please contact Mary Furnas, 402-416-3804, or Kathy Hunter (402-310-1194). An application needs to be completed and a background check done on the DHHS Child Abuse Central Registry prior to serving. Some pre-reading work is done on line via the website prior to face to face training. The application can also be found on our website at https://fcro.nebraska.gov
The was FCRO was created in 1982 when the Nebraska Foster Care Review Act was passed and has been revised over the years giving FCRO additional responsibilities.
The FCRO is an independent State agency, separate from the judicial branch, from the Department of Health and Human Services, and from Probation so it can review, assess, report, and make recommendations without any influence from other agencies or departments regarding the child/youth’s case review.
Mission Statement: The Foster Care Review Office’s mission is to provide oversight of the child welfare and juvenile justice systems by tracking and reviewing children in out-of-home care, reporting on aggregate outcomes, and advocating on individual and systemic levels to ensure that children’s best interests and safety needs are met.
Vision: Every child involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems becomes resilient, safe, healthy, and economically secure.
The purpose of all the reviews is to assure that appropriate goals have been set for the child, that realistic time limits have been set for the accomplishment of these goals, that efforts are being made by all parties to achieve these goals, that appropriate services are being delivered to the child and/or his or her family, and that long-range planning has been done to ensure that if necessary the child is placed in a permanent home where he or she can grow and thrive. This is done by utilizing multi-disciplinary boards of trained citizen reviewers.
The FCRO is to provide information and direct reporting to the Courts, the Department of Health and Human Services, Probation and the Legislature regarding the foster care system in Nebraska; and to provide oversight of the foster care system.
Local Review Boards
The FCRO has 53 community-based local boards statewide. Each board consists of 5-7 volunteers who are diverse in terms of age, professions, race, ethnicities, gender, and economic status. Each local board member successfully completes pre-service training and receives continuing education on many relevant topics.
Members of local foster care review boards meet monthly to review the 4-5 cases consisting of 5-8 children/youth who are either in out-of-home care (abuse/neglect or probation cases) or abuse/neglect cases where a child is home for a trial home visit. The board is facilitated by a FCRO System Oversight Specialist.
The review board discusses the issues that may be present and makes recommendations for further actions regarding each case. E.g., Determine whether or not the child’s permanency plan is being met and is appropriate, whether or not appropriate services are being offered, whether or not the child is safe, and whether or not the child’s best interests are being met. The review board offers recommendations regarding next steps and services that may help the case move forward so that permanency with the parent/s can be re-established sooner, or in cases where the return to the parent is not possible, provide recommendations so that other permanency can occur.
Once a case is reviewed by the board, a formal report document is written by the FCRO System Oversight Specialist and submitted to the judge and other legal parties. FCRO may take a number of additional steps to address identified issues in order to promote and encourage stability and continuity in foster care, both at the case level and systemically.
If you are interested in learning more or want to apply, please contact Mary Furnas, 402-416-3804, or Kathy Hunter (402-310-1194). An application needs to be completed and a background check done on the DHHS Child Abuse Central Registry prior to serving. Some pre-reading work is done on line via the website prior to face to face training. The application can also be found on our website at https://fcro.nebraska.gov
New Visions United Methodist Church
1610 S 11th Street
Lincoln, NE 68502
402-474-5513
office@newvisionsumc.org
Worship - 10:00 am, Sundays
1610 S 11th Street
Lincoln, NE 68502
402-474-5513
office@newvisionsumc.org
Worship - 10:00 am, Sundays
Administrative Office
1610 S 11th Street Lincoln NE 68502 | 402-474-5513
1610 S 11th Street Lincoln NE 68502 | 402-474-5513
