Child & Family Services Review: North Carolina’s Program Improvement Plan PIP effective January 1, 2017 & runs through December 31, 2018 Completed 2 quarters worth of work to date Where are we? August 9, 2017

10 OSRI Counties aka 10 Pilot Counties Buncombe Craven Cumberland Durham Hoke Mecklenburg Pitt Scotland Wake Wilson 10 OSRI Counties aka 10 Pilot Counties Thank you to these 10 counties your for continued partnership in this process. They are helping us pave the way & learn lessons before many activities move to state implementation in 2018. I also want to thank the many counties who have representatives serving on the various workgroups. Your input is valuable to this work.

Goal 1: Strategy 1 Revise Policy & Practices Review, assess, and revise the current policies and practices including, but not limited to, frequency, consistency, quality and documentation of: timely initiations risk assessments that inform safety plans and services concerted efforts to: assess the needs of children, parents, and foster parents identify necessary services to adequately address issues relevant to agency’s involvement identify necessary services to achieve case goals secure and provide appropriate services (i.e.--educational, physical, dental and mental health services) meaningful engagement of children, parents, and foster parents in: the development and ongoing implementation of case plans the development of timely and appropriate permanency goals promote and support positive relationships between children and parent to achieve permanency goals and promote placement stability child, family, siblings and caseworker visits that reinforce the continuity and connections of family relationships case decision making including case closures Given this scope of work, attention has been paid to CPS Intake, CPS Assessments, CPS In-Home Services, & Child Placement Services initially. The plan is to revise the rest of the policy manual prior to statewide implementation in late 2018. On Schedule

Goal 1: Strategy 1 Revise Policy & Practices Assess and develop capacity for implementation of the revised policies and practices in the 10 OSRI counties Accomplished via Readiness Survey to the directors of the 10 county child welfare agencies Conducting pre & post implementation surveys with child welfare staff Ahead of schedule

Goal 1: Strategy 1 Revise Policy & Practices Publish the revised manuals governing child welfare policies and practices Implement the revised policies, practices and training in the 10 OSRI counties CPS Assessments & CPS In-Home Services began July 1, 2017 CPS Intake & Child Placement Services are slated to begin August 31, 2017 Both are ahead of schedule Can be found on the TA Gateway Knowledgebase https://nccwta.org/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/2/12/nc-cw-modified-manual-for-nc-cw-pilot Manuals can be found on TA Gateway Knowledgebase https://nccwta.org/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/2/12/nc-cw-modified-manual-for-nc-cw-pilot

Goal 1: Strategy 2 Training Systems Identify key competencies for the revised policies & practices Compare key competencies for initial & ongoing training Revise the training curricula & delivery methodology to ensure staff have the basic skills necessary to do their work On Schedule

Goal 1: Strategy 2 Training Systems Develop a series of “in-service” trainings to be used by county supervisors and training divisions to reinforce consistent implementation of the revised policies and practices Becoming known as Do It Yourself or DIYs Examples include scripted PowerPoints, webinars, role play scenarios, videos, etc. Those developed to date include: Incarcerated Parents Heroin and Opioids Using the Safety Threshold Concept to Enhance Decision Making Considerations when Removing a Child from the Home Medical Decisions in Foster Care Face-to-face contacts Collateral contacts Diligent efforts to locate and engage Making Appropriate Case Decisions in Family Assessments Conflict of Interest Cases 4 of the upcoming DIYs will cover CPS Intake, CPS Assessment, CPS In-Home Services, & Child Placement Services

Goal 1: Strategy 3 Supervisor Academy Identify the supervisor competencies necessary to support the consistent implementation of the revised policies and practices Develop the supervisor academy based on identified competencies Ahead of schedule Thanks to the hard work of NC’s Child Welfare Supervision Advisory Council and strong partnerships with Methodist University & UNC-Chapel Hill.

Nuts and Bolts, Child Welfare Supervision practical skill-building exercises policy-based practice opportunities move supervisors beyond the basics of supervision Using Data to Improve Agency Practice and Performance improving practice and performance using data within a county child welfare agency understand how to use the six-step CQI with teams Using Data to Improve Practice and Performance-Community Partnerships improving practice and performance through data sharing with community partners identify a community partner(s) that is essential for improving outcomes with children and families understand how to use the six-step CQI process to facilitate collaborative meetings with community partners   Supervisor Academy   Supervisor Academy encompasses all supervisor trainings offered through ncswLearn.com and will be divided into three tiers of training, which will include the current trainings for supervisors, along with three newly developed courses. The courses will build on the competencies of other courses.

Goal 1: Strategy 3 Supervisor Academy Randomly select supervisors from the 10 OSRI counties to participate Must have completed the prerequisite course “Introduction to Supervision” NC is required to have 80 supervisors complete the Academy so actually pulled a sample size of 92 sups so as to account for attrition. Ahead of schedule

Goal 1: Strategy 3 Supervisor Academy Implement the supervisor academy beginning with the first cohort of supervisors from the 10 OSRI counties To hit the mark of 80 sups, each class must have approximately 20 students. Each cohort is slated to have 23 sups. First class started August 1, 2017

Goal 1: Strategy 4 Technical Assistance Assess Revise Document Assess the current model to support the consistent implementation of the revised policies and practices Revise the model to counties based on the assessment Document the revised North Carolina technical assistance to counties model On schedule

Goal 1: Strategy 4 Technical Assistance Implement the revised technical assistance model beginning in the 10 OSRI counties Begins October 1, 2017 On schedule

Goal 2: Strategy 1 Quality Assurance Statewide communication regarding Quality Assurance On-demand course is now available Ongoing case reviews First communication was a Dear County Director Letter that came out July 17th detailing the on-demand course that lives on ncswLearn.org. You can expect future communications regarding various aspects of quality assurance in the coming months. On schedule

Goal 4: Strategy 2 Diligent Recruitment & Retention Develop a more strategic state-level diligent recruitment plan that can be utilized at both the state and local level Communicate the improved diligent recruitment plan to all county departments of social services and private child placing agencies DRR Plan was sent via Dear County Director Letter on June 15, 2017 DRR plan was on schedule & communication about it happened ahead of schedule

Goal 4: Strategy 2 Diligent Recruitment & Retention Identify or develop tools that support ongoing data analysis related to diligent recruitment planning, implementation, and monitoring (at state and county levels and for private agency partners) State staff will: implement key strategies in the improved diligent recruitment plan provide technical assistance to counties to recruit families who reflect the diversity of children served by the foster care program and who can meet their physical, mental and behavioral needs Ongoing & on schedule

1. Timeliness of initiating reports Case Review Data Safety Outcome 1: Children are first & foremost protected from abuse and neglect. Item Rating 1. Timeliness of initiating reports 73% Relatively small sample size of about 31 cases, give or take depending on the item When NC had its CFSR in 2015, the benchmark was 95%. As NC looks to see improvement in all areas, our federal partners will not need to see us get to that mark. The improvement mark they will want to see is being established based on the cases that are currently being reviewed. For Item 1: n=11

3. Risk & Safety Assessment and Management Case Review Data Safety Outcome 2: Children are safely maintained in their homes whenever possible & appropriate. Item Rating 2. Services to family to protect children in the home or prevent re-entry into foster care 47% 3. Risk & Safety Assessment and Management 45% Item 2: n=17 Item 3: n=31

4. Stability of placement Case Review Data Permanency Outcome 1: Children have permanency & stability in their living situations. Item Rating 4. Stability of placement 71% 5. Permanency goal 41% 6. Achieving reunification, guardianship, adoption, or another planned permanent living arrangement 24% Items 4, 5, & 6: n=17

Case Review Data Permanency Outcome 2: The continuity of family relationships & connections is preserved for children. Item Rating 7. Placement with siblings 92% 8. Visiting with parents & siblings in foster care 33% 9. Preserving connections 76% 10. Relative placement 47% 11. Relationship of child in care with parents 55% For items 7-8: n=12 For items 9-10: n=17 For item 11: n=11

Case Review Data Well-Being Outcome 1: Families have enhanced capacity to provide for their children’s needs. Item Rating 12. Needs & services of child, parent, & foster parents 48% 12a. Needs assessment & services to children 77% 12b. Needs assessment & services to parents 42% 12c. Needs assessment & services to foster parents 87% 13. Child & family involvement in case planning 43% 14. Caseworker visits with child 58% 15. Caseworker visits with parents 46% Item 12: n=31 Item 12a: n=31 Item 12b: n=26 Item 12c: n=15 Item 13: n=30 Item 14: n=31 Item 15: n=26

16. Educational needs of the child Case Review Data Well-Being Outcome 2: Children receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs. Item Rating 16. Educational needs of the child 86% Item 16: n=21

Case Review Data Well-Being Outcome 3: Children receive adequate services to meet their physical and mental health needs. Item Rating 17. Physical health of the child 77% 18. Mental/behavioral health of the child 80% Item 17: n=22 Item 18: n=25

Questions?

For more information, contact: Arlette Lambert, MSW CFSR Coordinator (919) 527-6345 arlette.lambert@dhhs.nc.gov