Child and Family Services Review
Background
The Child and Family Services Review is a national review of every state's performance in relation to outcomes related to safety, permanency and well being as set forth by the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. The United States Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with State child welfare agency representatives and other experts in the field, developed outcomes which reflect widely accepted performance objectives for child welfare practice. The outcomes are:
- Reduce the recurrence of child abuse and/or neglect
- Reduce the incidence of child abuse and/or neglect in foster care
- Increase permanency for children in foster care
- Reduce time in foster care to reunification without increasing re-entry
- Reduce time in foster care to adoption
- Increase placement stability
- Reduce placements of young children in group homes or institutions
All states will be reviewed based on performance outcomes related to these objectives. The review process is a multi-year project and all states have not yet been reviewed. To date, no state has been found to be in substantial conformity with all the outcomes, and it is not anticipated that any state will be found to be in substantial conformity with all of the outcomes.
The child and family service reviews, administered by the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are designed to promote practice principles believed to support improved outcomes for children and families.
The Review process is a major undertaking and includes a Statewide Self Assessment, which was completed and submitted prior to the on-site review conducted by federal and state reviewers. We underwent the on-site portion of the review the week of May 6th this year. This portion of the Review involves an analysis of a random sample of cases as well as interviews with persons associated with those case such as biological parents and their children, foster parents and service providers in addition to persons involved with the Child Welfare System at both the state and local levels. In West Virginia there were interviews with Circuit Judges, Prosecuting Attorneys, representatives of agencies providing services, the President of the Foster Parent Association, a representative of the Court Improvement Oversight Board and other persons with an interest in child Welfare.
Any state found to be out of substantial conformity with any of the federal outcomes must submit a Program Improvement Plan to the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, within ninety days of receipt of the final report. This Program Improvement Plan must be accepted by the Administration for Children and Families, along with negotiated levels for improvement for those outcomes not in substantial compliance.
Review Results
The results of our Review were mixed. While we were not in substantial conformity with any of the outcomes for safety, permanency and well being we were in substantial conformity with most of the systemic factors. Areas indicated as strengths were:
- The statewide information system (FACTS) is a certified SACWIS system and submits AFCARS and NCANDS data without error or penalty
- TPR petitions are being filed on a timely basis in a majority of cases
- Regulations and policy in CPS, youth services and foster care include changes in law, federal regulations and best practice standards
- There is an identifiable quality assurance system and a developed methodology for evaluating program improvements
- Training programs supports the goals and objectives in the statewide plans for IV-E and IV-B
- There is a mandatory training program for all prospective foster/adoptive parents
- There is, in place, an array of services, statewide and piloted which promote in-home safety and permanency
- The agency is viewed as being responsive to the community
- The state has implemented standards for foster family homes and child care institutions
In addition, our performance in regard to the outcomes for safety, permanency and well being were mixed. In some cases we were very close to being in substantial conformity and the Report notes a number of areas within the outcomes which were rated as strengths.
Program Improvement Initiatives
We have already initiated plans for necessary changes. We have begun a Bureau-wide reorganization which provides us with a more unified structure and philosophy.
A Program Improvement Plan Steering Committee is in place. Work groups have been assigned to review the report and make recommendations to be included on the Program Improvement Plan. Meetings which include stakeholder involvement will also be an integral part of our Plan. The accreditation process through Council Of Accreditation will provide us with the guidance and impetus to improve our overall performance in Child Welfare.
In addition, we are developing a plan for technical assistance from the National Resource Center on Information Technology in Child Welfare. We intend to improve our case management information practices in order to insure that our electronic case records accurately reflect the work that staff have done. For example: in some instances there were verbal reports that staff had addressed issues such as the health and educational needs of children placed in foster care but the case records did not reflect those efforts.
We also intend to develop more sophisticated methods of data analysis so that we can develop county profiles of our casework practices. These data profiles should enable us to address the unique nature of each county as practices and resources vary from locale to locale.
This is an opportunity for us to make the necessary changes to improve services to vulnerable families and children. We have a dedicated, hardworking staff that care deeply about the families and children we serve and communities who are dedicated to support the needs of children within the context of their families. We intend to use the information in the Report to capitalize on our strengths in making improvements in services to our customers.
