SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY Department of Social Services Local Efforts to Achieve the Vision

Vision: A responsible and caring community: Safe, Resilient & Healthy Mission: We partner with the community to enhance self-sufficiency while ensuring that safety and basic human needs are met for the people of San Luis Obispo County. CWS Goal: To provide for the safety and stability of children who are at risk of abuse or neglect. San Luis Obispo County Dept. of Social Services

Children & Families Family Centered Team-Driven Community

Family-Focused, Team Driven Principles of Best Practice Family Centered Strength Based Needs Driven Solution Oriented Community Based

Utilizing Strategies to Achieve AB636 Outcomes

Children & Families Family Well-Being Child Safety Child Well-Being Child Permanency DSS Linkages Family to Family AB636/ C-CFSR Community CWSOIP

Key Strategy: Linkages “The CalWORKs & Child Welfare Partnership” A strong partnership between CalWORKs and Child Welfare will ensure that DSS staff work together with families to prevent poverty, and enhance child safety and family well-being. Staff effectively assess needs and link families to community-based resources early on so that families can be safe and strong.

Linkages: Why Should We Do This?  Children from families with annual incomes below $15,000 (as compared to children from families with annual incomes above $30,000) were over 22 times more likely to experience some form of maltreatment.  In 2004, nearly half (42%) of all substantiated reports were due to neglect; of these 53% consisted of children 5 years old or younger

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services CWS and Linkages Quarterly Report WELL BEING & SELF-SUFFICIENCY Welfare to Work Participation Rates The Welfare-to-Work participation rate for San Luis Obispo County remains significantly higher than the Federal/State standard. (Note: There is a delay of 2 months in data reporting. Atascadero Services Area determined by CDS worker number.) Linkages Outcome #2: WTW participation rates will increase. Page 28 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New ) Source Linkages Outcomes Report (data from CDS/GIS Download)

Key Strategy: Family to Family “Rebuilding Our Foster Care System” 9 Outcomes: 1)Fewer children placed in foster care However, if foster care placement is necessary: 2)More children placed in their own neighborhoods & communities 3)Fewer children placed in institutional care; shift resources to kinship care, family foster care & family-centered services.

Key Strategy: Family to Family 9 Outcomes (continued): 4)Shorter stays in placement 5)More children reunified with their birth families 6)Fewer children re-entering placement 7)Fewer moves when in placement 8)More siblings placed together 9)Reduce disparities associated with race/ethnicity, gender, or age in these outcomes

Family to Family: Key Components to Meet the Outcomes Team Decision-Making Meetings (TDM’s) Recruitment & Retention of Foster/ Resource Parents Self-Evaluation/Data Analysis Building Community Partnerships

Family to Family: Why Should We Do This?  In January 2005, there were 373 children in foster care (SLO)  Between January 2004 and December 2004, 5% of children in foster care experienced 3 or more moves (SLO)  Most children in foster care (77%) were removed from their homes for neglect- related reasons i.e., not abuse (Calif.)

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services Children in Foster Care CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE AS OF 11/30/2005

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services Children in Foster Care San Luis Obispo County’s goal is to transition children out of foster care and into safe and stable families sooner than in the past. LENGTH OF TIME IN FOSTER CARE FOR CHILDREN IN CARE AS OF 11/30/2005

PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN WITHIN THEIR HOME COMMUNITY FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE AS OF 11/30/2005 San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services Children in Foster Care Family-to-Family Outcome: More children placed in their own community. Ideal Placement Codes are based on Service Area as opposed to individual cities. All cities in the county are included in one of the six service areas. For instance, children from Grover Beach, Pismo Beach and Oceano are included in the Arroyo Grande Service Area. Note: Ideal Placement Codes are not appropriate in all cases.

Key Strategy: CWS Outcome Improvement Project California’s plan to “Build Upon the Best, Reinvent the Rest”  San Luis Obispo County is one of 11 counties chosen by the State as an “Early Implementer” county  Began January 2004  5 years to implement key components  Requires county & community leadership

CWSOIP: Key Components to Meet the Outcomes  Youth Permanency and Transition  Standardized Assessments  Structured Decision-Making (SDM)  Differential Response

What is Differential Response?  An important component of the CWS Outcomes Improvement Project  A new intake & response structure that allows CWS and/or community responders to assess referrals of suspected child abuse or neglect  DR assesses the needs, resources and circumstances of each unique family and focuses on engaging and assessing families by utilizing 3 initial “response paths”.

SLO County Department of Social Services Intake & Differential Response Structure Reporting Party Calls in (805) 781-KIDS Reporting Party Calls in (805) 781-KIDS CWS Intake RED Team  Review  Evaluate  Determine Intake decides first face-to-face Response Path CWS Intake RED Team  Review  Evaluate  Determine Intake decides first face-to-face Response Path Path 3 CWS Only High to Very High Safety Risk Path 3 CWS Only High to Very High Safety Risk Path 2 CWS & Community High to Moderate Safety Risk Path 2 CWS & Community High to Moderate Safety Risk Path 1 Community Only NO known safety issues Low Risk Path 1 Community Only NO known safety issues Low Risk Subsequent Referrals (Assessed by assigned CWS Social Worker) Written feedback to Mandated Reporters only.

CWSOIP-Differential Response Why Should We Do This?  Every year in Calif., approx 650,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect are received. 92% are closed after initial contact and do not receive any support or services.  CWS Intake has become a revolving door where CWS SW’s respond to repeat referrals. About 1/3 of all referrals represent re-referrals.

DR/Path 1 A Positive Affect on Outcomes Before DR/Path 1 10/1/03- 3/31/04 (6 month period) 894 Children in referrals e’d out 288 Re-referred within 6 months 32% Continued CWS involvement After DR/Path 1 3/1/05- 8/31/05 (6 month period) 1,036 Children in referrals e’d out 251 Re-referred within 6 months 24% Continued CWS involvement

Improved Outcomes: Reports Investigated Year #of Reports Investigated Children in Foster Care Percentage % % % % % % %

New Referrals and Re-Referrals San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services CWS and Linkages Quarterly Report SAFETY Linkages Outcome #6: CWS re-referrals will decrease. Breakthrough Series Outcome #1: Decrease in the number & percentage of CPS re-referrals. In the current quarter, the rates for 6-month and 12-month re-referrals did not change significantly. It is possible that the high rate of 6-month re-referrals in the Atascadero/Linkages services area is due to increased child safety awareness on the part of ERS and community partner staff. This increase awareness (due to the Linkages project) could be causing more hotline reports of abuse or neglect. Ultimately we would expect the number of re-referrals to drop as we provide more after-care services to families. Page 8 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New ) Source Business Objects Report

SAFETY San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services CWS and Linkages Quarterly Report Recurrence of Maltreatment SIP Goal: DSS to intervene as early as possible and to work longer with families to prevent recurrence of maltreatment. SIP Goal: Staff will engage the family in strength-based assessments, while maintaining priority of evaluating safety of children. SIP Goal: Remove barriers to ensure children/families receive appropriate priority for services across county systems. The most recent quarter’s recurrence of maltreatment rate increased, however it should be noted that this rate is still 6.9% lower than our rate in June San Luis Obispo County’s maltreatment rates are directly related to our high rate of referrals per 1,000 children in the population and our high rate of substantiations. In 2004 the state overall received 51.4 referrals per 1,000 children in the population, while San Luis Obispo County received 81.3 referrals per 1,000. During the same time period, the number of substantiated referrals per 1,000 children in the population was 11.5 for the state overall and 24.0 for SLO County. Page 9 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New ) Source State AB636 Report Baseline June 2003 SLO: 22.5% State: 9.7% Fed: 6.1%

Standardized Assessments Structured Decision Making (SDM)  Intake  Safety  Family Strengths and Needs  Reunification  CalWORKs

OUTCOMES  First and foremost, children are protected from abuse & neglect  Children are safely maintained in their own homes whenever possible and appropriate  Children have permanency and stability in their living situations  The continuity of family relationships and connections is preserved for children  Families have enhanced capacity to provide for their children’s needs  Children receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs  Children receive adequate services to meet their physical and mental health needs  Youth emancipating from foster care are prepared to transition to adulthood DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSE  SDM-Structured Decision Making  Path response assessed at Intake  Response made to all families  Path 1 – Community Response (No known safety issues)  Path 2 – Child Welfare & Community Response (Moderate to high risk)  Path 3 – Child Welfare Response (High to very high risk) FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS  Network of neighborhood-based, co- located resources  Wide array of no/low-cost services  Community and family driven  Prevention focused  SAFE system of care U Understanding standardized assessments (The CalWORKs & Child Welfare partnership)  CalWORKs assesses for potential risk  Child Welfare assesses for self-sufficiency  Coordinated case plans  Aftercare plans  Reduction of child maltreatment Best practice Principles  Family centered  Team driven  Strengths based  Needs driven  Solution oriented  Community based FAMILY ENGAGEMENT  Sharing results of SDM  Family team meetings  Family advocates  Youth and parent involvement  Utilizing the wisdom of families and the people they trust in assessment, safety and case planning processes PERMANENCY  Achieving permanence (through strong family supports, reunification, adoption, guardianship) as quickly as possible for children and youth who have been separated from their families.  Using TDM’s (Team Decision-making Meetings) to reduce the number of placements into foster care.  Court Stakeholders/ Improvement Child safety, permanency & Well-being LINKAGESLINKAGES

Permanency California Permanency for Youth Project (CPYP) technical assistance Permanency case managers Local California Youth Connection (CYC) chapter Youth teaching foster/resource parents and social workers

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services CWS and Linkages Quarterly Report PERMANENCY AND STABILITY FR Cases Exceeding Time Limits The percentage of family reunification cases in San Luis Obispo County which have exceeded the mandated time limits has consistently been under the 10% threshold required for compliance since March The county has been focusing on terminating parental rights within 12 to 18 months, as required by the Adoption & Safe Families Act. This has directly contributed to the high number of FR cases that have met the established FR time limits. Page 23 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New ) Source CWS/CMS FC1561-PMFRXDUR & CWS Monthly Summary (data from Business Objects)

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services CWS and Linkages Quarterly Report AGE DISPARITY Children in Placement Family-to-Family Outcome # 9: Reduce disparities associated with race/ethnicity or age. San Luis Obispo County is working on decreasing the length of time teens spend in foster care and is focusing on supporting teens as they transition to adulthood. Over the most recent quarter the age of children in placement has remained relatively stable. Note: Actual Number of Children shown in Red Page 39 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New ) Source Business Objects Report

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services CWS and Linkages Quarterly Report PERMANENCY AND STABILITY Placement of Children by Facility Type San Luis Obispo County’s percentage of children in relative placements significantly exceeds the State average of 37%, while the percentage of children in group home placements is significantly below the average of 8%. The fact that our Foster Family Agency placement rate is lower than the State average of 34.5% is particularly impressive since our rate includes placements made into our FFA-contracted emergency shelter homes. These figures validate the success of the Family-to-Family project in our county. Family-to-Family Outcome # 3: Fewer children in institutional and group care. Page 12 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New ) Source Business Objects Report

Achieving the Vision What Will Success Look Like? Children are safer Families are stronger Youth are supported Services are more responsive Results are more fair and equitable Children experience greater stability Communities share responsibility for child welfare Families realize their potential Outcomes are being met

Children & Families Family Well-Being Child Safety Child Well-Being Child Permanency DSS Family to Family CWSOIP Linkages Schools Drug & Alcohol AB636/ C-CFSR Community This way to the Vision Mental Health Public Health EOC Family Resource Centers SAFE CASA,etc