The Medically Fragile Foster Child - Improving Health Status Through Educational and Community Linkages

Project Overview

4th Funding Cycle Development Award
     Project Start Date: 7/1/2008
     Project End Date: 6/30/2009

Project Goal Statement: This project will identify gaps in knowledge, communication, and system navigation among medical providers, families and child welfare workers serving medically fragile foster children, toward creation of a curriculum to improve skills and cross system collaboration.

Original Award Amount: $50,000
Adjusted Award Amount: $45,848*

Community Partners:
Primary Community Partner: Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership for Professional Development
Additional community partner organization names:

• Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare
• Department of Health and Family Services
• Helen Bader School of Social Welfare
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Academic Partners:
Primary Academic Partner: Elizabeth Moberg-Wolff, MD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Additional Academic Partners:

• Maria Ocasio-Silva, MD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Lisa Zetley, MD, Department of Pediatrics

Project Progress Summary Reports:
     Project Progress Report Summary 7/1/2008 - 4/30/2009
     Project Final Report Summary   

Affiliated Web Pages:
    Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare
    Department of Health and Family Services
    Helen Bader School of Social Welfare
    Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership for Professional Development  
    University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Project Dissemination Efforts (as reported by project partners)

• Abstracts
  • Abstract of the research won first place in the Section on Adoption and Foster Care research competition at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting
• Outreach Materials / Events
  • Shared final project results with the project Advisory Board and at numerous small group meetings with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Children’s Court in Milwaukee and Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare leadership
  • Sponsored a citywide conference to share project results
• Posters / Presentations
  • Presented project results through posters and presentations at American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the National Association of Social Workers Wisconsin Chapter meeting

*In 2009 award amounts, based on the remaining budget, were adjusted to reflect the decline in endowment asset value due to the downturn in the economy.