Quality Parenting Milwaukee

Milwaukee County Child Protective Services (MCPS)

Vision:

Quality Parenting Milwaukee ensures every child receives the loving and supportive parenting needed to thrive.

Video courtesy of QPM.

Quality Parenting Milwaukee (QPM) ensures our parents receive respect, support, and education to enhance their ability to be innovators. We will promote empathetic and equal partnerships between all who love and support children and youth into adulthood.

Brand Statement

Children need healthy families and nurturing parenting. We have a shared responsibility for our community’s children.

Foster and kinship parents are valued, skilled and respected partners on a dedicated team charged with the protection, growth, and development of children.

Foster and kinship parents encourage and partner with families of origin, support the children’s culture, and nurture connections to important relationships in their lives.

Foster and kinship parents show love to children in their care. They nurture and advocate in order to positively influence children’s future and support their path to lifelong family.

Created February 12, 2015

Overview

QPM focuses on the best interest of the child.
Caregivers are seen as one of the experts on the team caring for the child.
Caregivers will be seen as an equal member of a child's team.
Caregivers feedback will be valued regarding care of the child, interactions with the birth family and at what level they are able to participate in visits.

Current Actions

Visitation/Family Interactions plans will be developed and scheduled by the child’s team which includes the foster parent.
When safe and appropriate and reasonable, the foster parent will be involved in the family interactions, which could include transportation and supervision of family interactions dependent on multiple factors as each case is unique.
Staff support and encourage a positive relationship between the foster parents and the birth parents in order to help the child that is experiencing this very stressful and traumatic life experience.
When foster parents are not able to participate in family interactions due to safety reasons, scheduling conflicts, best interest of other children in the home, etc., “Communication sheets” will be used to provide consistent updates on what occurred during the family interaction.
Pilot of “Icebreaker meeting” – Facilitated by an agency staff, this is a specific time where the birth parent and the foster parent meet to discuss the care of the child solely. It is a strategy designed to get the parents focused on how to best provide shared parenting. Additionally, it is an opportunity to facilitate engagement between the parents.

Collaboration Agencies

Wellpoint Care Network · Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Community Services · Professional Services Group · Care4Kids · UW-Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership · Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services · Wisconsin State Public Defender's Office · Connecting Bridges · Foster Parent Association of Greater Milwaukee · Milwaukee County Judges, Children's Court Division · Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee · Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office · Wisconsin Department of Children and Families · Coalition for Children, Youth, and Families · Kids Matter, Inc. · Fresh Start Milwaukee · Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin

For more information or questions please email: MCWP@uwm.edu

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