DFCS Practice Policy Protocol DFCS Practice

DFCS Practice
Practice, Policy,
Policy Protocol
& Recent Initiatives
Presenters: Kathy Herren, Acting Deputy DFCS Division Director &
Sharon Hill
Hill, Director of Federal Regulations & Data
Presentation to: Georgia CASA Conference 2012
Date: March 10, 2012
Georgia Department of Human Services
Vision, Mission and Core Values
Vision
Stronger Families for a Stronger Georgia.
Mi i
Mission
Strengthen Georgia by providing Individuals and Families access to services
that promote self-sufficiency, independence, and protect Georgia's
vulnerable children and adults.
Core Values
•
•
•
•
Provide access to resources that offer support and empower Georgians and
their families.
families
Deliver services professionally and treat all clients with dignity and respect.
Manage business operations effectively and efficiently by aligning resources
across the agency.
P
Promote
t accountability,
t bilit transparency
t
andd quality
lit in
i allll services
i
we deliver
d li
and programs we administer.
Develop our employees at all levels of the agency.
Agenda for Today

DFCS Regional Realignment

Current Trends in Child Welfare

Extended Youth Supportive Services & National
(
)
Youth in Transition Database (NYTD)

CPS After Hours-Call Center

DFCS Safety Response Framework

Personal Responsibility Education Program

Educational Programming, Assessment, & Consultation
3
New DFCS Regional Alignment
Effective, December 1, 2011
DFCS is now divided into
15 geographical regions
with a regional director for
each.
Ron
o Scroggy,
Sc oggy, Acting
ct g Division
v s o Director
ecto
Kathy Herren, Acting Deputy Division
Director
D id Kelley,
David
K ll
Field
Fi ld O
Operations
ti
Di
Director
t
4
DFCS Regional Directors (Effective December 1, 2011)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Region 1: Jeffrey Lukich
(706) 781-2351
Region 2: Marilyn Dixon
(770) 535-5479
Region 3: Ross Collins
(706) 295-6193
Region 4: Lon Roberts
(770) 254-7555
Region 5: Mary Havick
(706) 552-4400
Region 6: Bob Brown
(478) 757-5457
Region 7: Carol Christopher
(478) 982-1517
982 1517
Region 8: Margaretha Morris
(229) 931-2512
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Region 9: Stacey Barfield
(229) 365-2165
Region 10: Sherry Bailey
(229) 227-2530
Region 11: Vicki Townsend
(229) 386-3089
Region 12: Vickie Riggins
(912) 280-6856
Region 13: Cathy Ratti
(770) 473-2317
Region 14: Glenda McMillan
(404) 206-5642
Region 15: Keith Bostick
(678) 518-5685
518 5685
David Kelley, Field Operations Director: (706) 552-4400
Increasing Demand for DFCS Services
In 2005
2005, there
were 400,000
households
receiving Food
Stamps as
compared to
866,542 in
January 2012.
Number of Reports Made to Child Protective Services (SFY11)
( 63,5 )
(N=63,547)
*Accepted For Services
Note: Accepted for services reflect those reports that
were assigned for an investigation. In SFY 2011,
31,840 children were involved in a CPS investigation.
Seventy-six
percent more
investigations
were conducted
in November
2011 than in
November 2010
with consistent
increases since
July 2011 (62%).
These increases
have an impact
on the number of
children in foster
care.
care
Chart reflects the number of children in the legal custody of DFCS during each
month (does not reflect the end of month number), 8,089 children were in the legal
custody of DFCS at some point during January 2012.
There were, 7,565 children in DFCS custody on January 31, 2012; 550 children entered
care while 352 exited care. January 2012, more children entered care than left; opposite
of January 2011 when more children left than entered.
Rate of Children in Out-of-Home Care across the Nation
Georgia,
Virginia and
New Hampshire
have the lowest
rate of children
in foster care.
Rate of Rate
of
Children in Care by y
County in Georgia
The 35 zip codes
with highest number
of children entering
foster care between
January 1, 2011 and
January 31, 2012.
Region
1
3
10
10
4
3
4
3
15
3
14
14
6
14
3
3
11
10
13
1
3
13
10
14
4
12
4
15
10
10
14
14
15
12
COUNTY
Gordon
Floyd
Dekalb
Dekalb
Upson
Bartow
Coweta
Cherokee
Cobb
Douglas
Fulton
Fulton
Bibb
Fulton
Floyd
Polk
Tift
Dekalb
Rockdale
Whitfi ld
Whitfield
Cherokee
Clayton
Dekalb
Fulton
Butts
Glynn
Carroll
Cobb
Colquitt
Dekalb
Fulton
Fulton
Cobb
Glynn
Zip Code of Removal
30701
30161
30032
30083
30286
30120
30263
30114
30060
30134
30331
30318
31206
30311
30165
30125
31794
30058
30012
30721
30102
30236
30035
30315
30233
31520
30117
30008
31768
30038
30310
30349
30067
31525
Number of Children Entering Care
110
97
95
74
59
58
54
52
52
52
51
50
48
48
47
47
47
46
45
45
43
43
43
42
41
41
38
38
38
38
38
38
36
36
Placement Types
yp for Children in Care (N=7,565)
(
,
)
P
Parent, 2.0%
t 2 0%
Adoptive Home, 4.1%
Other, 8.3%
DFCS Foster Home, 32.6%
Relative , 15.1%
CCI, 14.5%
CPA Foster Home, 23.4%
Other includes
children who are on
runaway,
YDC/RYDC,
Hospital and ICPC.
Note: Chart represents children and youth in care on January 31, 2012.
Average & Median Age of Children in Care by
Placement Type
yp (January
(
y 31,, 2012))
Average Age Median Age
All Children in Care
12
10
6
4
6
6
Relatives
7
6
CPA Foster Home
9
9
Child Caring Institution
15
16
The youngest children
reside in DFCS foster
DFCS Foster Home
homes, adoptive homes
Adoptive Home
and with relatives.
Permanency Goal & Number of Placements for Children in
Foster Care
Permanency Goal
Reunification (48.3%)
•Reunification
•Adoption (19.8%)
•Relative/Guardianship (9.5%)
•Long-Term Foster Care (5.3%)
•Emancipation
E
i ti (1
(1.7%)
7%)
Number of
Placements
Percent of
Children
One
37.8%
Two
23.2%
Three
12.8%
Four
8.3%
Five or More
17.9%
Caseworker Visits with Children in Foster Care: Monitoring Tool/
ECEM (Every Child Every Month)
DFCS managers receive an email alert daily indicating the number of children in foster care who have
had a visit during the month by their case manager.
Discharge Reasons for Children who Exited Foster Care
(N=55,692)
692)
(N
Emancipation
10%
Chart reflects
discharge reasons
for children who left
foster care in SFY
2011 (July 1, 2010
through June 30
30,
2011)
Guardianship
6%
Other
3%
Reunification
43%
Relatives
19%
Adoption
9%
19%
Other includes transfer to another agency
(e.g. RYDC), death of child or runaway.
Extended Youth Supportive Services
((Remaining
e a
g In Ca
Care)
e)
• The Division of Familyy and Children ((DFCS)) will advise
all youth ages 16 in over in agency custody, verbally and
in writing, of their ability to request extended youth
supportive services (EYSS) after their 18th birthday
birthday.
• DFCS will allow yyouth to request
q
to receive EYSS upon
p
turning age 18 or within 6 months of emancipating from
foster care.
For more information, please contact Kristin Sanchez at
kasanchez@dhr.state.ga.us
19
Extended Youth Services: Placement Type for
Youth Aged
18-21 ((N=493))
g
DFCS Family Foster
Home, 9.4%
Other Resources,
28.9%
CPA Family Foster
Home, 24.0%
Child Care
Institution 37.7%
Institution,
37 7%
Note: Chart based on data on January 31, 2012.
National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD)
•
Public Law 106-169 established the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) at section 477
of the Social Security Act, providing States with flexible funding to carry out programs that assist youth in making
the transition from foster care to self-sufficiency.
•
The law also requires the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to develop a data collection system to
track the independent living services States provide to youth and develop outcome measures that may be used
to assess States' performance in operating their independent living programs.
•
To meet the law's mandate, ACF published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on July 14, 2006 and a final
rule on February 26, 2008. The regulation establishes the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) and
requires that States engage in two data collection activities.
activities
- States are to collect information on each youth who receives independent living services paid for or provided
by the State agency that administers the CFCIP.
- States are to collect demographic and outcome information on certain youth in foster care whom the State will
follow over time to collect additional outcome information. This information will allow ACF to track which
independent living services States provide and assess the collective outcomes of youth.
National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD)
States must:
• report to Administration for Children & Family (ACF) the independent living services and
supports
pp
theyy pprovide to all yyouth.
• report financial assistance they provide, including assistance for education, room and board and
other aid.
• survey youth regarding six outcomes: financial self-sufficiency, experience with homelessness,
educational attainment, positive connections with adults, high-risk behavior, and access to
health insurance.
• collect outcomes information by conducting a survey of youth in foster care on or around their
17th birthday,
birthday also referred to as the baseline population.
population States will track these youth as they
age and conduct a new outcome survey on or around the youth's 19th birthday; and again on or
around the youth's 21st birthday.
• collect outcomes information on these youth at regardless of their foster care status or whether
they are still receiving independent living services from the State.
• collect and report outcome information on a new baseline population cohort every three years.
Statewide Youth Served in ILP
There have been 1,970 or 87% of the possible 2,269 youth served during the reporting period
(October 2010- March 2011); the average age of the participants served is 16.43 years and average
time in care is 39.88 months.
Types of Services Received by Youth via ILP
CPS After-Hours Call Center
•
WHY?
– To simplify and unify the reporting of child abuse and/or neglect during after-hours on
weekdays weekends,
weekdays,
weekends holidays and during furlough
– To create immediate access (24/7) to DFCS and to standardize our practice across Georgia
– To fully utilize the SHINES system as it is currently designed
– To g
gather reliable data in support
pp of a future-state centralized intake operation
p
across Georgia
g
(Fiscal Note: HB633 – Statewide Reporting System for Child Abuse and Suspected Child Abuse)
•
HOW?
– IInitial
i i l callll volumes,
l
types, andd trends
d projected
j
d by
b using
i existing
i i after-hours
f h
data
d in
i SHINES
– Staffing and cost estimates determined by SHINES data using standard call center staffing
methodologies and calculations
– Utilized existing
g resources
(location/facilities, call center technology platform, and computer equipment)
25
CPS After-Hours Call Center (September 26, 2011 – February 29, 2012)
•
Overview of Calls Received
– A total of 4,450 calls were received by the After-Hours Intake Center between
9/26/11 and 2/29/12
– 26 counties account for 62% of all referrals taken byy the After-Hours Center ((topp
counties were Cobb, Richmond, Henry, Clayton, Hall, Chatham, Gwinnett,
Cherokee, Douglas and Muscogee)
– After-Hours Center intake reports
p
account for 14% of statewide intakes received
during this period
– 55% of Center intakes were received on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays – with
the largest
g ppercentage
g on Fridays
y ((20.5%))
– 65% of the intakes were assigned for an investigation
26
CPS After-Hours Call Center (September 26, 2011 – February 29, 2012)
Reporter Type
Law Enforcement
Medical Personnel
Family Member
Anonymous
Education/School Personnel
Counselor/Social Worker
Friend/Neighbor
Case Manager-Non
Manager Non DHS
Mental Health Prof/Therapist
Other
DHR/DFCS Staff
Community Agency/Service Provider
Legal/Judicial/CASA
Percent by Reporter Type
29.8%
18 1%
18.1%
14.8%
7.9%
7 6%
7.6%
6.6%
4.8%
2.5%
2.3%
1.9%
1.7%
1.4%
<1%
27
CPS After - Hours Call Center
•
Positive Impact for DFCS
– Created a one-door after-hours vehicle for reporting abuse/neglect
– Established consistent statewide after
after-hours
hours screening processes
– 24-hour DFCS availability to the community and counties
(removing barriers associated with after-hours reporting)
– Excellent support
pp resource for field staff
•
Next Steps
1
1.
After-Hours
After
Hours Foster Care Support
2. Differential Response
3.
Peer Support for Independent Living
4
4.
24 H Centralized
24-Hour
C t li d Intake
I t k
28
DFCS Safety Response System: Assessing Safety
• Threat of Danger
Vocabulary
V
b l
Of
Assessment
• Vulnerable Child
• Protective Capacities
• “Safe Child”
Effective April 1, 2012
Present Danger, Impending Danger & Safety Threat
•
Present Danger: the likelihood of immediate, serious harm to a vulnerable child
precipitated by one or more safety threats and/or missing or insufficient protective
capacities.
iti
•
Impending Danger: family behaviors, attitudes, motives, emotions and/or situations
that pose a serious threat to child safety.
•
p
, or capacity
p y
Safetyy Threat: a familyy situation,, behavior,, emotion,, motive,, pperception
that is out of control. Out of control refers to family conditions that can directly affect a
child and are unrestrained; unmanaged; without limits or monitoring.
Safety threats are acts or conditions that have the capacity to
seriously harm the child.
Effective April 1, 2012
Safety Threshold
Risk within a family crosses the safety threshold
(or risk becomes a safety threat) when all of
the following factors are present:
• Severe
•
Vulnerable
•
Out of Control
•
Imminence
•
Observable
Effective April 1, 2012
CPS Intake
Decision
Tree
(Effective April 1,
2012)
Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP)
Federally funded program to educate youth on both abstinence and contraception
for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV/AIDS and 4 adulthood preparation subjects (healthy relationships,
relationships healthy
life skills, career success, and financial literacy)
PREP targets
t
t youth
th populations
l ti
(10-19)
(10 19) th
thatt are hi
high-risk
h i k or vulnerable
l
bl ffor
pregnancies and STI’s or otherwise have special circumstances including:
• Youth in foster care
• Pregnant and parenting youth
• Culturally underrepresented youth populations including Hispanic, African
American, and LGBTQ youth
10 Targeted PREP Counties & Number of Sites










Fulton (3 )
DeKalb (7)
Clayton (3)
Cobb (1)
( )
Gwinnett (1)
Bibb (2)
Muscogee (2)
Dougherty (2)
Richmond (2)
Chatham (1)
Selection of the 10 Counties
Teen Birth Rate (15-19)
National Average= 41
Georgia = 52
STI Infection Rate (15-19)
The rates are per 1,000 children in the population.
10 Targeted PREP Coun
nties
Teen Mothers in Foster Care (January 2011 – January 2012)
Richmond
Muscogee
G i tt
Gwinnett
Fulton
Dougherty
Dekalb
Cobb
Clayton
Chatham
Bibb
From January 2011
through January
2012 there were 171
2012,
pregnant and
parenting teens in
foster care.
0
5
10
15
20
25
Number of Teen Parents
30
For more information, contact Felicia Tuggle, LMSW at
fetuggle@dhr.state.ga.us
Educational Programming, Assessment, and Consultation
(EPAC)
•
E.P.A.C. (formerly Education 2010) provides intensive educational support services to
children and youth in foster care .
•
E.P.A.C. works collaboratively with other state agencies and DFCS county offices to ensure
that the educational needs of children and youth are being met and appropriate goal setting
is in pplace for older yyouth to support
pp independent
p
and thrivingg futures.
•
*Education & Children in Foster Care
– 13 – 15 yyear olds had the ggreatest number of schools changes
g duringg the yyear
– Half of children were below grade level
– Academic performance below that of other students
– Half did not meet CRCT standards in Science and Social Studies
– Highest performance outcomes in Reading
Note: Based on information received from Georgia Department of Education
Educational Programming, Assessment, and Consultation
•
Services provided by E.P.A.C.
– Diagnostic educational
assessment
– Educational advocacyy
– Educational case consultation to
case managers and DFCS
leadershipp
– Educational service monitoring of
Child Caring Institutions (CCIs)
– Resource coordination
– Tutorial services (administered
by certified GA educators)
•
The E.P.A.C. Unit is comprised of:
– Unit Manager
– Data Accountability Manager
– Education Quality Monitor
– (8) Education Support Monitors
•
Contact Lamar Smith at
lwsmith@dhr state ga us for more
lwsmith@dhr.state.ga.us
information