Methodology:

This survey (see http://www.childwelfare.net/cfsreview/surveys/providers_survey.html for a copy of the survey form) was sent to 144 private sector vendors who care for children in the custody of Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). An introductory email with individual access codes was sent to the 144 providers on March 21, 2001. A followup email (suggesting that per diems might be impacted if the response rate did not improve ...) was sent out on March 28, 2001 setting an April 4, 2001 deadline for responses. The survey was closed on April 4 with only 30 respondents.

Twenty-two people who received the original survey were ineligible to respond, leaving 112 eligible respondents. Thus the overall response rate to the survey was 30 out of 112, or 27%. Though this compares favorably with many paper surveys, with this poor response rate, these results have little or no statistical significance. However, we must consider that for many respondents this was their first online survey, and that for many of them this was the first web-based form they had completed. Also, considering the cost of administering this survey ($0.00), we will likely be doing much more of this in the future. As the survey respondents become more comfortable with this medium, response rates will only increase.

Results:

Results are shown below for those who received email notifications or their surrogates. Those who completed the survey anonymously are not included in this result. See http://www.childwelfare.net/cfsreview/surveys/results/providers_results.html for overall results, including anonymous responders.

In the tables below, tallies from subsequent answers are broken down by the type of placement setting selected in the first question. The left-most column in each table presents overall numbers for all types of placements.

1. Describe your most common placement settings for the DFCS children you serve:

   Response	Overall
   Family Foster Home	2 (7%)
   Group Homes and Emergency Shelters	19 (63%)
   Therapeutic Foster Care and Group Homes	7 (23%)
   Other	2 (7%)
   Total	30 (100%)

   The respondents were almost entirely from group homes, emergency shelters, or therapeutic settings.

   This first question was an attempt to stratify the costs that the providers incur, so that later responses could be compared to like costs. No providers chose the "Medically Fragile" or "Psychiatric Hospitals" responses, though there were 8 anonymous responses from the "Psychiatric Hospitals" category. Results of subsequent questions are stratified by this "placement type" response.

2. For the majority of DFCS children in your care, how much does it cost your agency per child per day to appropriately provide foster care services to those children:

   Response	Fam.Foster	Group/Emerg.	Therap.	Other	Overall
   $36-$47	1 (50%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (3%)
   $48-$59	0 (0%)	2 (11%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2 (7%)
   $60 or more	1 (50%)	17 (89%)	7 (100%)	2 (100%)	27 (90%)

   Ninety percent of these respondents expend more than $60 per day to care for DFCS children. The therapeutic placements all cost over $60 per day.

3. Approximately what percentage of the per diem from DFCS actually goes toward meeting the needs of our children?

   Response	Fam.Foster	Group/Emerg.	Therap.	Other	Overall
   25%	0 (0%)	1 (5%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (3%)
   50%	0 (0%)	2 (11%)	1 (14%)	0 (0%)	3 (10%)
   75%	1 (50%)	1 (5%)	1 (14%)	0 (0%)	3 (10%)
   100%	1 (50%)	15 (79%)	5 (71%)	2 (100%)	23 (77%)

   This question generated much confusion about what was meant by "needs of our children". Many interpreted this as a question about their administrative overhead. For many respondents, the DFCS per diems do not completely meet the child's needs, so they answered that 100% of the per diem goes to the child's needs. The responses appear uniform with type of placement.

4. For the majority of DFCS children in your care, what range of the per diem would your agency need to serve and meet the needs of those children?

   Response	Fam.Foster	Group/Emerg.	Therap.	Other	Overall
   $48-$59	0 (0%)	2 (11%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2 (7%)
   $60 or more	2 (100%)	17 (89%)	7 (100%)	2 (100%)	28 (93%)

   Some comments from respondents indicated that the range of per diems provided for this question should have been higher (e.g. $60-$69, $70-$79, $80 or more). Since the audience was expected to include many lower-priced settings, these choices were the same as those in question 2. Clearly, the range should have been higher for this audience, since 93% of respondents need more than $60 per day.

5. With the additional resources you indicated above, how many more children would your agency be able to serve?

   Response	Fam.Foster	Group/Emerg.	Therap.	Other	Overall
   0-19	1 (50%)	14 (74%)	6 (86%)	2 (100%)	23 (77%)
   20-39	1 (50%)	3 (16%)	1 (14%)	0 (0%)	5 (17%)
   60 or more	0 (0%)	2 (11%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2 (7%)

   It appears that most providers could not serve more than an additional 20 children. The weighted average of all the responses, using the midpoints of the ranges, indicates that the average respondent could serve an additional 17 children. The therapeutic settings can serve fewer.

6. What supportive services do you feel are most important to foster parent providers? (rank the priorities on a 1 to 5, LOW to HIGH scale)

   NOTE: The numbers in this table are mean ranks on the 1 to 5 scale.

   Response	Fam.Foster	Group/Emerg.	Therap.	Other	Overall
   behavioral management and mental health services	4.5	5	4.53	5	4.66
   per diem based on the level of parenting required	4	4.86	4.42	5	4.52
   respite care	4.5	4.71	3.94	5	4.23
   recognition of services and accomplishments	5	4.71	3.89	5	4.21
   in-service training	4.5	4.43	3.84	5	4.07
   day care/supplemental supervision	5	3.57	3.5	5	3.68
   transportation	4	3	3.35	5	3.37

   The responses above are sorted from highest mean rank to lowest. The group home and therapeutic providers are largely in agreement, though they differ by nearly a point on the importance of respite care and recognition. All agree that mental health services and increased per diems are paramount, while transportation is least important. Keep in mind that the number of respondents from the family foster care and "Other" placement types is very low (only 2 respondents in each).