CFS Behavior Analysts Help Create Positive Change For Foster Children and Their Caretakers

Recently, Behavior Analyst Bryon Neff received a call for help from a 16-year-old teen mother in foster care who has spent much of her adolescence on the run. Now, she says she’s tired of all the running - running from her new baby, running from her last foster care placement, running from choices that have made her life of tough breaks even more difficult.

Now she just wants to run away from the drugs.

"I look in the mirror and I don’t recognize that person anymore,” she told Neff. At that point, she was hoping a drug rehab center would have space available so that she could begin to get her life together.

Hopefully the future will be better for her and other dependent children in Florida, particularly those children who display behaviors that are harmful or life threatening to themselves or others. A statewide program is providing supports for these children, who according to statistics obtained from the Department of Children and Families (DCF), display serious behavior problems more often, and at a younger age, are subjected to frequent moves in foster care, are frequently prescribed psychotropic medications, and placed in residential treatment programs.

In his position as Coordinator of the Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP), Neff works with many foster children and parents to promote positive and effective interactions between caregivers and child victims of abuse, neglect, or abandonment.

"The behavior of these children present continuous challenges for caregivers,” said Neff. “However, for most of the children who receive our services, behavior problems and restrictive treatments have been significantly reduced.”

"Caregiver skills are the foundation for improved child behavior since they spend the most time with them. We try very hard to get people to shift their focus away from the undesirable behaviors and more towards what the child is doing right. A proactive versus reactive approach allows the caregiver to regain control of the situation,” added Neff. Catch phrases such as “Don’t be mean, be nice” and “Catch ‘em being good” are embedded throughout the caregiver trainings.

In 2000, following a successful pilot program in the Tampa area, the Florida Legislature established the statewide Family Safety Behavior Analysis Services Program, which provides specialized behavior management training and support to caregivers of foster children. Certified Behavior Analysts provide services to foster families, adoptive and biological parents, relatives/non-relatives, DCF/Community Based Care (CBC) employees and agency staff. They provide ongoing consultation to individual therapeutic foster homes and community providers. They also work to facilitate placements for children returning from being on the run.

Neff and nearly 30 other staff located within the USF Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute provide services to all DCF districts in the southern half of the state of Florida, while staff at the University of Florida work with the northern districts. More than 60 behavior analysts are now at work, providing roughly 200 classes and 30,000 training hours to over 2000 caregivers per year. Both USF and UF recruit, hire and supervise Board Certified Behavior Analysts for each district. The BASP is funded by DCF and statewide coordination is conducted by a Program Specialist in Tallahassee.

Training is provided as an option for foster parents, however judges are often requiring the class in reunification plans for parents of children in state custody.

Courses are based on positive, proactive techniques that focus on defining and building safe and healthy behavior, not punishing what is perceived as “inappropriate” behavior. Based on the science of behavior analysis and Glenn Latham’s book “The Power of Positive Parenting,” objectives of the program are to improve caregiver competence and confidence, increase placement stability for children, and reduce the need for restrictive placements.

One of the most important aspects of the training is the in-home component, which allows techniques to be tailored for each child, and provides hands-on experience with immediate corrective feedback.

When asked to provide a training success story, Neff described a foster home in Sarasota, a short-term placement setting where children are assessed before being placed in a more permanent setting. Most children in the home are under the age of 8 and have a number of behavioral issues. One 3-year-old child, who had bounced through 6 foster care placements in just a few months, would communicate only through crying and screaming.

"I didn’t even know if he could talk,” said Neff, after his initial visit. “At my next visit three weeks later, it was amazing how quickly he had turned around. His behavior was just like any other child his age. He was laughing, talking, playing (and sharing) with the other children in the home. While foster care isn’t the answer, if we can at least provide caregivers with the tools to improve and maintain socially significant behavior, we can make a positive difference in the care of many dependent children.”

For additional information, contact Bryon Neff at bneff@fmhi.usf.edu or 813-974-6279.