Family Preservation Services FPS Family Preservation Services Welcome to this e-learning on Family Preservation Services, or FPS. This training will cover the service components of FPS, what to expect from an FPS intervention, and what is required of you when you contract for FPS services.

Competencies SW207-02: Ability to engage collaboratively to build consensus with the family within a voluntary context SW208-01: Ability to incorporate specific safety activities and tasks, including formal and informal supports that control safety threats or substitutes diminished caregiver protective capacities SW219-03: Ability to work with parents to help them use information and skills, and resources, developed from service provision to strengthen their ability to provide safe care to their children Take a minute to read through the competencies for this training.

What Is FPS? Family Plan for Change Parenting strategies Crisis stabilization Family resources Counseling services The goal of FPS is to: establish safety or restore safety in the family home. FPS offers short-term services that are specific and family-focused: Enhancing safe parenting practices Supporting adults to make individualized and family-centered changes The families with whom Children’s Administration works are often best served as a family unit, with the children under the care of their parents. To support the family unit and help it remain intact, Workers can contract with in-home service providers, such as Family Preservation Services or FPS. FPS offers short-term services that are specific and family-focused, with the intention of enhancing safe parenting practices, while also supporting adults to make the individualized and family-centered changes necessary to ensure long-term child safety. The goal of FPS is to establish or restore safety in the family home. Establishing safety: FPS can be utilized to support placement prevention while addressing specific safety concerns. Restoring safety: When children are placed in out-of-home care, our paramount objective is to safely return children to their families. FPS can be utilized at the time of reunification to support this transition, as well as for ongoing stability and safe parenting. When you contract with an FPS provider, you can expect a service intervention plan, or “Family Plan for Change,” designed to improve child safety and family functioning, including helping families make appropriate connections to community resources. FPS intervention services will address the following four domains: Parenting strategies Crisis stabilization Family resources Counseling services FPS service delivery is culturally responsive and trauma-informed, meaning service providers meet their clients where they’re at in order to ensure family-centered and culturally-appropriate assessment, as well as to lay the foundation for mutually beneficial relationships built on strengthening resilience and protective factors. For more information on trauma-informed services, follow the link on your screen. Click here for more information on trauma-informed services.

Determine whether each statement is true of EBPs or FPS. Intervention is targeted at specific parenting and discipline strategies. Intervention is targeted at improving safety and family functioning. Capacity to support a safety plan is high. Do you know how FPS differs from Evidence-Based Practices, or EBPs? Take a stab at this question and then you can check your answer. Capacity to support a safety plan varies from low to high. Services are targeted at specific age groups. Services can meet client needs across four life domains.

Determine whether each statement is true of EBPs or FPS. Intervention is targeted at specific parenting and discipline strategies. Intervention is targeted at improving safety and family functioning. Capacity to support a safety plan is high. If you got most of these right, congratulations! If not, don’t worry! You’re about to learn a bit more about how FPS differs from EBPs. Capacity to support a safety plan varies from low to high. Services are targeted at specific age groups. Services can meet client needs across four life domains.

How Are FPS Different from EBPs? Family Plan for Change How Are FPS Different from EBPs? Helping and teaching parents and caregivers to learn and use safe parenting skills Parenting Strategies A short-term and systemic approach Crisis Stabilization Engaging parents Family Resources Consistent with cognitive behavioral treatment modalities and focused on the needs of the family Counseling Services EBP FPS Specific parenting interventions Services addressing several domains How are Family Preservation Services different from Evidence-Based Practices, or EBPs? With the exception of Homebuilders/Intensive Family Preservation Services, the services listed in the EBP directory on the Children’s Administration intranet are specific parenting interventions, designed for a targeted age-group. Some are even designed to address very specific parenting strategies. FPS, on the other hand, is a service you can utilize when you need to support children and families to maintain safety by addressing several domains. FPS providers will work with your clients to address the needs you identify in your referral with a trauma-informed approach, using effective engagement strategies, such as Motivational Interviewing, accessing additional information to best meet the cultural needs of the family, and utilizing therapeutic strategies meeting “evidence-based” or “research-based” criteria. FPS providers will develop a “Family Plan for Change” with the service elements embedded within the following four domains: Parenting strategies: Strategies focused on helping and teaching parents and caregivers to learn and use safe parenting skills. These can include, but are not limited to, developmentally-appropriate parenting and child management skills, appropriate advocacy skills for children to secure services, and household management skills. Crisis stabilization: A short-term and systemic approach to stabilizing crisis as quickly as possible to strengthen safety in the home and support implementation of the Safety Plan. Crisis stabilization will increase family members’ abilities to recognize and avoid or effectively deal with crisis situations and will incorporate the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS-F) to support the family to gain insight into the issues which resulted in crisis. For more information on the CANS-F assessment, follow the link on your screen. Family resources: In partnership with the family, the FPS provider engages parents to strengthen their parental advocacy skills, identify personal growth opportunities, increase their network of natural supports and appropriate community resources which directly support the safety of their children, and request authorization to use concrete funds if community resources for concrete goods and support services are not available. Counseling Services: The FPS provider will deliver counseling services consistent with cognitive behavioral treatment modalities and focused on the needs of the family as they directly relate to child safety. Examples of counseling services which may be utilized are: harm reduction strategies to reduce or limit safety threats resulting from drug use and/or mental health concerns; strategies which focus on interpersonal relationships such as, healthy coping, problem-solving and communication skills; identifying barriers to goal achievement; addressing concerns related to grief and loss; and reducing self-destructive or hostile behaviors. http://ca.dshs.wa.gov/intranet/ebp/index.asp Click here for more information on the CANS-F assessment.

FPS Case Flow

Quiz You have reached the quiz on Family Preservation Services. Proceed when you are ready. You have reached the quiz on Family Preservation Services. Proceed when you are ready.

Which of the following lists correctly displays the four elements of an FPS intervention? Discipline, Family Resources, Chemical Dependency Treatment, & Psychological Assessment B) Parenting Strategies, Budgeting and Nutrition, Mental Health Services, & Safety Plan Monitoring C) Parenting Strategies, Crisis Stabilization, Family Resources, & Counseling Services D) None of the above Correct. Click anywhere to continue. Incorrect. The correct answer is C. Click anywhere to continue. Submit

FPS and EBP are the same thing. True or false? Correct. Click anywhere to continue. Incorrect. The correct answer is False. Click anywhere to continue. Submit

FPS cannot begin without initial contact between the referring Social Worker and the FPS provider, and completion of the Service Confirmation Form. True or false? A) True B) False Correct. Click anywhere to continue. Incorrect. The correct answer is True. Click anywhere to continue. Submit

Reunification cases can remain open for _____ additional days after the initial 45 days of FPS. 30 B) 45 C) 60 D) 90 Correct. Click anywhere to continue. Incorrect. The correct answer is C. Click anywhere to continue. Submit

You are required to participate in the Transition Planning Meeting You are required to participate in the Transition Planning Meeting. True or false? A) True B) False Correct. Click anywhere to continue. Incorrect. The correct answer is True. Click anywhere to continue. Submit

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Questions? Please contact the In-Home Services and EBP Program Manager Resource Links Please contact the In-Home Services and EBP Program Manager at Headquarters As you are making decisions around placement prevention or reunification, you want services in place to support safety, as well as collaboration and consensus building with families. FPS can provide your clients with short-term, family-focused, in-home services to support improved safety and family functioning while addressing identified needs in the areas of: parenting strategies, crisis stabilization, family resources, and counseling services. You have now completed this training on Family Preservation Services. Please consult the document in the top right corner of your screen for resource links. If you have any questions related to FPS, please contact the In-Home Services and EBP Program Manager.