HL Whitman Jr DFPS Commissioner July 12 2016 The mission of the Department of Family and Protective Services is to protect children the elderly and people with disabilities from abuse neglect and exploitation by involving clients families and communities ID: 723185
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House Human Services Committee
H.L. Whitman, Jr., DFPS CommissionerJuly 12, 2016
The mission of the Department of Family and Protective Services is to protect children, the elderly, and people with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation by involving clients, families, and communities.Slide2
OverviewPrevention and Early Intervention
Kinship CareFoster CareChildren with High NeedsFoster Care RedesignAdoptionsCPS Transformation
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Prevention and Early Intervention
Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) manages community-based programs that target the
occurrence of
child abuse or
neglect. Initiatives include:
Programs that serve all families with a newborn who:
P
reviously had their parental rights terminated due to child abuse and neglect; Previously had a child die with the cause identified as child abuse or neglect; orCurrently are foster youth in care.Community Based Family Services programs that serve the parents or caregivers of children whose CPS cases were determined low risk and are being closed with parenting classes and home-visitation in eleven counties.Programs that serve families with open or previous CPS cases, including the new Military Families Program. Public education campaigns that help parents deal with the stress of parenting. This can be used by CPS staff with open cases and speaks to common vulnerabilities like infant crying and challenging teenage behavior.
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Kinship CareIf CPS staff determines it is not safe for a child to live with his or her own family, then CPS petitions the court to remove the child from the home by obtaining temporary managing conservatorship.
Kinship placements meet children’s needs for safety while preserving connections to family, community, and culture. Children in kinship placements have shorter stays in substitute care, fewer placement disruptions, and better outcomes compared to children in paid non-kinship foster care.
More than 40 percent of children and youth in DFPS conservatorship reside in kinship placements, compared with 22 percent of children in 2005.
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Benefits for Kinship Providers
Kinship Payments- Many relatives and other designated caregivers who are unlicensed caregivers are eligible to receive the following compensation:A one time payment up to $1,000 for the oldest child in a sibling group and $495 for each additional child in each initial placement
An annual payment up
to $500 per child for child-related
expenses.
Permanency Care
Assistance (PCA)
– Provides a monthly payment between $400 and $595 per child that is placed in the permanent conservatorship of a relative.5Slide6
RecommendationsContinue Permanency Care Assistance (PCA)
Currently the PCA program is set to expire in August 2017 in Texas StatuteFlexible Funds for Non-traditional ServicesAssisting kinship caregivers who pursue becoming a foster parent with the cost of background checks, child care during training classes, modifications to the home
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RecommendationsIncrease
Kinship PaymentFederal law allows for states to provide a maximum sibling rate of $1,000 per child (Texas currently pays $495 for each additional child)The annual reimbursement payment of $500 per child per year may offset some costs of caring for a child, but it does not cover all of the annual expensesExpand Post-PMC Programs for Kinship CaregiversKinship caregivers may need assistance caring for a child after a CPS case closes for therapy or behavior management, for example.
Allow
Funding for Kinship Respite
Care
Allowing kinship caregivers access to the same respite care available to foster parents would provide caregivers with additional support and promote the overall development and permanency needs for children
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Children in Foster Care with High Needs
The foster care population has shifted. A higher percentage of children in care are requiring a higher level of services. The needs of children in foster care may include: Emotional Disturbances
Primary Medical Needs
Intellectual or Developmental
Disabilities
Other special needs such as autism, bipolar disorder, diabetes and serious behavioral issues
This change in the foster care population is due to:
An increase in the use of kinship care. Children with lower level needs are more likely to be placed with relatives and fictive kin caregivers.8Slide9
Children in Foster Care with High Needs
The agency has multiple statewide and targeted efforts underway to help address some of the issues that lead to children with high acuity needs not having placements.
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Capacity Building:
Local and Statewide Capacity-Building
Starfish Staffings
Sub-Acute Inpatient Treatment Program
Rate IncreasesProgressive Contract RemediesStrategic Provider Outreach and AwarenessDiversion BedsFaith-based Outreach
Early Identification:
CANS Assessment
Common Application Revisions
Accessing Available Services:
Improve Caseworker and Caregiver Training
Reasonable Efforts to Prevent Placement Breakdown
Post Adoptions Services
Pilot to Better Serve High Needs ChildrenSlide10
Recommendations
Overall CapacityThe needs assessment being conducted will inform us of any system gaps and allow us to bring to you measures we think are necessary to filling those gaps.Accessing Available ServicesMonitor outcomes of the Service Coordination Pilot, which is in its developmental stage, and determine whether that model can be replicated or expanded.
Continue the Starfish process.
Focus on Quality of Foster Care
Continue moving forward with Foster Care Redesign
Continue moving forward
with the performance-based contracting demonstration.
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Foster
Care Redesign was created to achieve these goals:Keep children and youth closer to home and connected to their communities and siblings.
Improve the quality of care and outcomes.
Reduce the number of times children move in foster care.
Under Foster Care Redesign, a single contractor provides a full continuum of services to children and families within a designated geographic area. This contracting agency is responsible for finding foster homes or other living arrangements for children in state care and providing them services.
Foster
C
are Redesign changes the state’s approach from delivering foster care based on a single statewide model to one that allows the community the flexibility to be innovative and design a foster care model. 11
Foster Care RedesignSlide12
Foster Care Redesign
On January 1, 2014, DFPS entered into a contract with ACH Child and Family Services of Fort Worth to provide services to Tarrant and surrounding counties. In its first year of operation, ACH: Improved residential capacity, including rural capacityImproved placement proximityImproved placement stabilityLess restrictive placement settingsIn fiscal year 2016, CPS will:
Prepare for expansion to Stage 2 in ACH catchment area
Release a Request for Proposal to contact for the next SSCC in Region 2
Continue Process and Outcome Evaluation
Release a revised Statewide Implementation Plan
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Introduction to DFPS Adoptions
When the abuse and neglect suffered by a child or youth is so severe that parental rights are terminated, DFPS first pursues a forever adoptive home. Child Protective Services works with children removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect and who are in Permanent Managing Conservatorship of DFPS.
DFPS and Child Placing Agencies work together to identify, recruit, and train adoptive families
DFPS homes
FY 15 –
2,138 children
or
39% of all adoptionsChild Placing Agency homeFY 15 – 3,357 children or 61% of all adoptions13Slide14
Adoption SuccessBeginning in 1998, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began rewarding states for increasing foster care adoption as part of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.
Texas has received a total of $73 million.That total is $46.4 million more in Adoption Incentive Awards than any other state Texas
is also the only state to have received this award every year since 1998.
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Disruptions and Dissolutions
15Adoption Disruption - O
ccurs
when a child is placed in an adoptive home, but the placement
disrupts before the adoption is legally finalized
and the child is still under
DFPS
conservatorship. Adoption Dissolution - Occurs when the adoption fails after the adoption is legally consummated and the child is no longer under DFPS conservatorship. When adoption dissolutions occur, DFPS must take custody of the child and the child returns to DFPS substitute care. US Health and Human Services does not collect data on adoption dissolutions. Independent studies report disruption rates that range from 10 to 25 percent nationwide. Texas Average Disruption Rate (2 to 3.5%)Independent studies report dissolution rates range from 1 to 5 percent nationwide. Texas Average Dissolution Rate (2 to 3%)Slide16
Supporting Adoptive Families
Adoption Assistance – A program designed to help families pursue adoption. In order to qualify for adoption assistance, a child must meet the criteria of special needs.
Tuition
and Fee
Waiver
- The
Texas state tuition and fee waiver provides exemptions at state supported institutions of higher education to youth who were adopted through
DFPS.Post-Adoption Services - After consummation, services are provided through contracts to help the child and family adjust to the adoption, cope with any history of abuse of the child and avoid permanent or long-term removal of children from the adoptive family setting. 16Slide17
Efforts to Strengthen Adoptions
17Pre-Adoption Services – This includes in-home screenings, pre-placement visits, training for adoptive families, preparation of the child, and supervision.
Improvement to Post Adoptive
Services
– As part of an effort to help families and children with the transition to adoption, a consent statement was added to the Adoptive Placement Agreement to share families’ information with post-adoption contractors so that those contractors can better support permanency.
Participation
in the National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption / Guardianship Support and Preservation Project
– This is a five-year research project that aims to promote permanency.Extended Adoption Assistance - The Texas Legislature voted to extend adoption assistance for older youth that allowed adoption assistance payments and Medicaid benefits to extend until the adopted child turns 21.Slide18
CPS Transformation
What is CPS Transformation?CPS
Transformation is the process of putting into practice combined recommendations from the:
CPS Operational Review;
Sunset Advisory Commission; and
Casey Family Programs’ study of children in foster care in Harris
County
Agency’s own initiativesCPS Transformation is a field-driven effort in changing CPS into the most effective program possible. A transformed CPS will create an environment where workers look forward to coming to work and want to stay, which means: Hiring the best candidates
Providing quality training
Developing great mentors, supervisors and leaders
Streamlining processes so workers can spend more time with children and
families
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Child Safety, Permanency,
and Well-Being
New
Safety and Risk Assessment
Tools
Practice improvements
in Investigations and FBSS
Strengthening the Culture of PermanencyDevelop statewide and regionally specific permanency plansPaired a Kinship worker with a conservatorship unit to improve communications and expedite support to kinship placements Family Reunification Pilot - identified appropriate cases for early reunification. Goal of closing case in 60 days. Office of Child SafetyProvides consistent, transparent, and timely review of child fatalities, near fatalities, and serious injuries. Collects and reports on data that inform practice and policy.19Slide20
Increased Recruitment Efforts
Improved Screening and Hiring ProcessesCompleted Mentoring Pilot Program
Redesigned Basic
Training
Introduced Strengths-Based Training for management and
supervisors
New Training Model includes mentoring, revised CPS professional
development, and specialty training based more in the field:Protégé paired with Mentor on day oneDelivery was 80% classroom based; now 80% field-based by supervisor and field expertsDeveloped key worker competenciesIndividualized training planCase assignable based on development of competencies versus training completion20Professional and Stable WorkforceSlide21
Continuous Quality Improvement
Organizational changes support an integrated continuous quality improvement program that combines data, quality assurance case reads, evaluation, and predictive analytics work to support ongoing systems improvement.Regional Systems Improvement Specialists analyze data and provide a high-level overview of how the local system is performing in order to target resources towards areas that need improvement or to develop and track progress on Transformation plans and permanency strategic plans.
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