9/7/2018 DHHS | DSS |North Carolina Child Welfare Section PIP 1.1 - NC CW Manual Presentation to Children’s Services November 2017 Welcome everyone to the presentation by including in your introduction: Name Role on PIP Workgroup Your interest in this topic or why you think these changes are important Policy PIP NC CW MANUAL PILOT May – June 2017

9/7/2018 PIP Goal 1, Strategy 1: Strengthen and clarify NC's child welfare policies and practices Goal: Ensure the NC CW manual supports safety, permanency and well-being of children. REMINDER: The NC CW Manual is a tool to support you in complying with NC Statute and Administrative Rules, and to make critical decisions regarding child safety, well-being and permanence. Not every answer to every questions that you have will be addressed in the NC CW Manual.

CONSISTENT, CONCISE, and COMPREHENSIVE 9/7/2018 PIP Goal 1, Strategy 1: Strengthen and clarify NC's child welfare policies and practices Achieved through changes in the NC CW Manual Content - New and/or modified to: address GAPS to comply with OSRI & to achieve desired outcomes provide CLARITY Organization, format and terminology to be: CONSISTENT, CONCISE, and COMPREHENSIVE We are not recreating policy from scratch. We are modifying the current manual so that it provides information that is consistent, concise, and comprehensive. Some content has been added only as needed to fill in gaps or to provide clarity. Added content was identified through comparison of current policy to the OSRI and program monitoring tools to identify gaps in both protocol and guidance. The focus of the modified manual is to provide policy in a way that supports safety, permanency and well-being for children. Example: OSRI requires that during In-Home services, the child(ren) be seen separately from the parents. The modified manual now has protocol that requires that this occur.

NC PIP Policy Workgroup 9/7/2018 NC PIP Policy Workgroup Policy workgroup started in Oct. 2016 Representatives from 10 counties (5 pilot and 5 non-pilot counties) Pilot Counties: Buncombe, Craven, Cumberland, Durham, Hoke, Mecklenburg, Pitt, Scotland, Wake and Wilson Task: Complete By: 1. Review, assess, revise & publish policy & practice for pilot Sept. 2017 2. Pilot of modified policy & practice Dec. 2017 3. Statewide implementation of revised policy Sept. 2018

9/7/2018 Framework Purpose and philosophies – overriding vision and principles for North Carolina, Example: Family Centered Practice, Principles of Partnership, & System of Care Policy Protocol Guidance Instructions Formal, brief statement of requirement(s) that tie directly to federal law and NC Statute and Rules Mandatory action(s) to meet policy requirement(s); Must do requirements Practice or process guidelines, includes preferred practice and recommended practice guidance Step-by-step details for performing the specific tasks or forms

Must (in Policy and Protocol) 9/7/2018 The Terminology…. Old NEW Policy Policy and Protocol Practice Guidance Shall, must, is required Must (in Policy and Protocol) Should, recommended Should (in Guidance) This is a review of the key terminology changes.

9/7/2018 Manual Format Sections formatted to clearly differentiate between policy, protocol, and guidance Shortened sections Increased use of bullets (less narrative) especially in Protocol Links – to other sections of the manual Information that applies to more than 1 function will be in 1 place (Cross Function Topics) Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

Future Manual Organization 9/7/2018 Future Manual Organization Vision and Philosophy Principles of Partnership, Core Beliefs, Systems of Care, NC CW Administration Functional Areas Prevention Protective Services Intake Assessments In-Home Placement Adoption Licensing Cross Function Topics The future manual will organized around the primary functions provided by Child Welfare Services. With the modified manual the use of the current Chapters will be eliminated. We will no longer call Intake 1407, or refer to 1201 for Placement. The often repeated information regarding Principles of Partnership will not be included within the functional areas. What is needed to perform each function will be defined in that part of the manual. Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

What’s in the Pilot Manual? 9/7/2018 What’s in the Pilot Manual? Functional Areas Cross Function Topics Protective Services Intake Assessments In-Home Permanency Planning The over-riding and critical concepts for the provision of all Child Welfare Services are not part of the Modified Manual pilot. This information was often integrated into the functional areas of the manual. The final NC CW Manual will have a beginning section for this information (in 2018). The pilot of the modified manual will be organized by function. The functions in the 2017 modified manual are: Intake, Assessments, In-Home, and Placement. Assessments and In-Home will be provided in late June 2017; Intake and Placements will follow in Aug. 2017. Also to be provided are the cross-functions required during provision of Intake, Assessments, In-Home, and Placement. Again it is important to not forget about the core values and family-centered principles in all that we do. Safety Diligent Efforts CFTs Temporary Safety Providers & Kinship Providers Filing a Petition Preparing for Placement Domestic Violence Risk & Use of Assessment Tools Collateral Contacts Parent Engagement Identifying & Engaging Extended Family Documentation MEPA/ICWA Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

Organization & Format Changes 9/7/2018 Organization & Format Changes In-Home Manual – Contacts  PROTOCOL GUIDANCE INITIAL FAMILY/CHILD CONTACT Within seven days of case decision (Substantiation or a finding of Services Needed for any report of abuse, neglect, and/or dependency), face to face contact with the family by a county child welfare worker must occur. This contact: Begins the transition from the CPS Assessment to CPS In-Home Services; Informs the parent(s) or caretaker(s) of the reason and purpose for In-Home Services; Discusses all safety and risk concerns and the current safety plan (TSPA); and Includes discussion about the development of the In-Home Family Services Agreement within 30 days of the case decision. Documentation of the diligent efforts made and/or rationale for the delay are required if this 7-day contact does not occur. Initial Family/Child Contact The initial 7-day face-to-face contact with the family should be completed by the In-Home Services social worker and should also include the CPS assessment worker.   The 7-day contact should occur in the family home and include all members of the family. Refer to In-Home example Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

Organization & Format Changes 9/7/2018 Organization & Format Changes Cross Function Topics - Diligent Efforts PROTOCOL GUIDANCE Protocol / Standards Diligent efforts to locate must be performed to: Locate all alleged victim children; Locate parents, including a noncustodial parent; and Locate the family residence.   Diligent efforts shall include, but are not limited to: Visits to the child's or parent’s address at different times of the day and on different days; Attempts to call last known phone number(s); Searches on Accurint, ASSIST or equivalent; To locate a parent that is in prison, contact the NC Department of Corrections Records Office. Contact numbers and addresses for specific prisons can be found on the NC Division of Prisons website http://www.doc.state.nc.us/dop/index.htm. All inmates have a case manager or social worker that can assist in contacting a prisoner. Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

Manual Content Identified gaps in policy and protocol 9/7/2018 Manual Content Identified gaps in policy and protocol Eliminated redundant, repeated, & inconsistent policies in the manual Added to & clarified policy and protocol that were not well defined Incorporate Administrative Letters into NC CW manual (not part of the pilot but before statewide implementation) Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

Content to Improve Safety, Permanency & Comply with the OSRI 9/7/2018 Content to Improve Safety, Permanency & Comply with the OSRI Contact with Children Family Assessment & In-Home Services–requirement to interview child separate from caregiver Contact with children within 3 calendar days of initial placement (in addition to contact on day of placement) Home Visits Assessments-Home visit must occur the same day the victim child is seen In-Home-At least one contact per month with each child must be in the home in which he or she resides (New In-Home Services Home Visit Record developed) Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

Content to Improve Safety, Permanency & Comply with the OSRI 9/7/2018 Content to Improve Safety, Permanency & Comply with the OSRI Case Staffing & Two Tier Decision Making Staffing frequency Every other week during assessments, Twice a month the 1st 3 months of all In-Home, Twice a month the 1st year of permanency planning, Whenever there is a change in circumstance that impacts safety or risk to a child(ren) Defined case staffing vs. supervision Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

New or Modified Forms Assessments – Modified 5010 In-Home 9/7/2018 New or Modified Forms Assessments – Modified 5010 In-Home Modified Family Services Agreement In-Home Services Home Visit Record – New form Permanency Planning Streamlined PPAT, FSA & CFT forms and timeframes Visitation Form Family Time Form (family friendly form) CFTs New CFT planning form New CFT meeting form (for meetings not associated with a FSA) Diligent Efforts – New form Modified NC CW Manual May-June 2017

Location of Modified Manual 9/7/2018 Location of Modified Manual The NC CW Modified Manual is available on the NC Child Welfare Technical Assistance website, specifically on the Knowledgebase: https://nccwta.org/index.php?/Knowledgebase/List The Knowledgebase is accessible to all staff. The manual will be provided on the TA Gateway Knowledgebase site. Some of you may be familiar with the TA Gateway. The TA PIP workgroup is working specifically on modifications to the TA Gateway for re-introduction as a pilot. The TA Gateway is open for technical assistance tickets since Oct. 2017. The Knowledgebase is open to all. Overtime this site will provide resources for child welfare. The modified manual will be the first posting on this site. Use of the TA Gateway knowledgebase supports one place access for counties for these two aspects of the PIP.

Positive Feedback & Learnings 9/7/2018 Pilot Feedback Positive Feedback & Learnings Staff can easily find information Clarity between what MUST occur and what SHOULD occur Use of Cross Function Topics reduced redundancy Changes in requirements “make sense” to achieve safety and permanency but require more time Providing the manual and forms to counties prior to the presentations and implementation facilitated staff input and buy-in Implementation of the pilot allowed for manual and form improvements prior to state implementation Permanency Planning - Oct 2017

Pilot Feedback 9/7/2018 Concerns & Issues Staff capacity (time) to meet modified protocol with existing caseloads and other changes across the state Need to address integration with other statewide changes Permanency Planning - Oct 2017

Still to be Completed 9/7/2018 Remaining portions of the Manual (Adoptions, Licensing, ICPC, Jurisdiction, Administration, Funding, etc.) Conventions throughout the Manual Process to update and maintain the Manual Division is finalizing conventions for page headers, footers, headings and sub-headings, also for consistency. The sample provided does not have the new conventions applied! Permanency Planning - Oct 2017

9/7/2018 Questions? Feedback?

Thank you for your participation today. 9/7/2018 Thank you for your participation today.