1. Assessing the Whole Household for Child Safety
Welcome to this discussion concerning the assessment of others in the home. This training applies to anyone who assesses safety of children in their homes or who may be returning home, so it applies to everyone working in CPS (both FAR and investigations), FVS, FRS and CFWS and FRS.
The Power of Partnership
The Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence is Washington’s first comprehensive statewide training partnership dedicated to developing professional expertise for social workers and enhancing the skills of foster parents and caregivers working with vulnerable children and families. 

2. What do we mean by the whole household?
Other adults who reside in a parent’s household
Persons responsible for monitoring safety plans
Adults with frequent unsupervised access to the child
What do we mean by “other adult”? We are referring to those who reside in a parent’s household or who will have frequent unsupervised access to the child. It is not just parents who pose safety threats and risks of harm to children, other adults in the home may also pose a risk or safety threat to a child, they may be a protective factor, provide support to the parent or they may be suitable to be a safety plan participant. 
Some examples of other adults include relatives, boyfriends, girlfriends and roommates.  
The information provided in this training is to assist you to identify who lives in the household, assessing adults in the household related to child safety and the next steps to take when risk or safety threats are identified.  

3. Assessing the whole household for child safety:
Today we will cover:
Why we assess the whole household
Criminal History checks 
FamLink and MODIS checks
Other assessment tools available to all programs
Addressing Risk and Safety Threats
Today’s session will build upon the information you learned in Regional Core Training (RCT) and specifically provide more information on the requirements for assessing households for child safety. This includes when FamLink checks and criminal history checks are needed for all people who will have frequent, unsupervised access to a child while in the care of the parent, but this is not the beginning or end of theassessment. Too often, social workers consider a background check as their only tool to assess safety.
-We will discuss how to identify and assess all persons in a home during CPS investigations/FARfamily assessments, FVS interventions and when considering reunification in a CFWS case.
-We will look at how your direct interactions and observations during interviews and visits with the child and parent.  
-We will identify how to address identified risk or safety threats posed by adults in the home.
-We will discuss how to determine if adults in the home are protective and how to utilize adults as safety plan participants when there is a safety threat.
-Why are we discussing this today?

4. Why are we discussing this?
Global assessment of child safety opposed to incident focus 
Data from prior critical incidents, Lessons Learned, inform us that children are often abused by others living in the home or visiting the home. 
When we fail to assess individuals living in the home, children can be the victim of child abuse and/or neglect that can lead to very serious consequences including serious injuries and even death
In some case reviews, and in some high profile cases, it has been determined that workers have focused on the parent when others in the household have no legal responsibility for the children.  A common omission is not to identify who lives in the home and assess other adults in the home in CPS, FVS and FRS cases, or and not comprehensively assessing other adults when the child is returned home in CFWS cases.   
Child fatalities and critical incidents in Washington inform us that it is often an adult other than the parent who is responsible for the harm to the child.  There are instances of children who are harmed by an unrelated adult such as a boyfriend or girlfriend.  Children birth to three years old are the most vulnerable.   

5. What are the legal requirements?
RCW requires DSHS to assess all individuals who will care for a child who is dependent, regardless if they are party to a dependency (Sirita’s Law)
RCW for CPS investigations
RCW sets requirements for WSP to conduct criminal background checks and authorizes release
WAC describes the responsibilities of the background check unit
PL (Adam Walsh Act) also requires background checks
As you can see from this list, there are significant legal requirements, both federal and state, requiring CA social workers to assess everyone who has caretaking responsibilities for children who have an open Intake or who are in the care custody of the department. There are also policy requirements to assess all members of a household when returning a child to a parent’s home.  That policy is based on Sirita’s law, RCW Sirita’s Law requires that all individuals in the home are assessed for safety, which includes a Famlink search using the Person tab to get all Intakes associated with that individual; a MODIS search once you identify case numbers associated with that individual; a criminal history search; and if they are not a parent, an FBI finger print check if they live in the home where the child will be living. This requirement must be completed PRIOR to returning a child to a parent’s care and at any time there is a change in the household members. If the mother has a new boyfriend…assess him. If there is a roommate moving into the home, even if it’s into the basement and claim that they will not be caring for the child, assess him or her. Remember to always ask to see a photo ID of all individuals to ensure that the name, date of birth, and other information is consistent with that individual is reporting. It also allows you to verify that they are who they say they are!  This is also a great way to find out if a parent is being honest with you about who that person is as well as the individual’s suitability and character if they are not being honest with you about who they are! 
The structure of families with whom we work can be fluid. Our bottom line is figuring out if children are safe in their living situations. The only way we can do that is to assess all individuals who reside in the household or those who have regular and/or unsupervised access to a child.

6. I’d like to talk about who’s with the kids.
Assessments
Leave him out of it.
I’d like to talk about who’s with the kids.
I’m not here often.
Again, today we are going to focus on assessment of safety in a parent’s or guardian’s home.
You can use these same ideas, though, for when placing a child with an unlicensed relative or suitable person. Those household should be assessed for their safety to children including others who are not caregivers. Staying alert to those who have contact with children receiving services from CA in any setting is important for child safety.

7. Conversation with Parent and Other Adults in the Home
Who resides in the home?
Who will have unsupervised access to the child?
Relationship with parent
Gathering Questions
Structured Decision Making Risk Assessment
Prior to making a decision about safety in a parent’s home, it is important to have a conversation with the parent and child aboutwho is in the household and their interactions with the child. This includes not onlywho resides in the home, but also who else will have unsupervised access to the child, such as family,friends, and roommates. Your assessment of the safety of the child will include information you will
find out about those individuals through interviews, collateral contacts, FamLink checks and criminal history checks.
Children will often provide honest information about who lives in the home and how they feel about that person.  Start by asking the child who lives in the home and who takes care of them.  Conversation with children can include how much time they spend with that person and what type of activities they do together to gain an impression from the child of the relationship between the adult and child.  
While the focus is on adults, it is also important to assess the safety of the child around other children and youth. You will want to find out about the behaviors of the other children in the home, if theyhave a history of aggression or sexual acting out, and what role they will play in helping with the care of the child.
Confirming with the parent who lives in the home is the next step.  Be sure to ask the parent about any persons identified by the child.  
Interview the adults identified by the child and parent when possible, to gather additional information about their role and contact with the child.  In a non-threatening way, obtain the correct spelling of their name and date of birth.  This will be essential to search background information in FamLink.    .
What are some of those questions that go to the safety of the child and risk of maltreatment?
How will they discipline the child?
What are their overall parenting practices?
What are the developmental needs and behaviors of other children/youth in the home?
How do they manage their own lives on a daily basis?
Have they used illegal drugs or used prescription drugs outside of the directions of their physician? What is their alcohol use now and historically?
Have they ever had a mental illness or mental health problems?
Have they been involved in a relationship with domestic violence?
You can use the Gathering Questions and Structured Decision Making tools to make sure you havecovered the risk factors. It can also be helpful to complete the SDM including the individual as a caregiver to check and balance your own assessment of risk.
If any concerns arise throughout your assessment, staff the concern with your supervisor and considerholding a Family Team Decision Making meeting (FTDM) or a Shared Planning Meeting (SPM) to address the concerns and form a Safety and Supervision plan if appropriate.

8. Other Assessment Tools
Collateral contacts
Does what you observe appear consistent with information you’ve been provided?
Handout: House Checklist
In addition to the conversation with the parent, child and other adults in the home, what are other things you can do to identify and assess adults in the home?
Collateral contacts can provide additional information about the safety of the child when you think you are not getting complete information from the parent or child, or when you have identified a possible safety threat or risk to the child. 
Checking with collateral resources that have information about the individual, especially their care of children, can be helpful.
Finally, use other sources and your critical thinking skills. Does anything you observe not fit with what you have been told? Are there others who know about the others and if they pose any safety threats or risks to children? Can you talk with them?

9. Infant Safety
For infants, don’t forget requirements concerning training the parent and others in the home who will care for the child on infant safety including The Period of Purple Crying and Safe Sleep material.

10. Trainer Note: The following slides contain information about background checks. You want to make sure that the participants understand the requirements for background checks but there is no need to dwell on the types of checks unless there is some confusion about them (as there frequently is). Go over the slides and assess the staff’s knowledge and then move on if there are no questions.
Another tool to assess others in the home is to complete background checks.
When assessing a household for safety, who is required to have a background check?

11. WHO requires a background check? (5512 in handout has full list)
Sirita’s Law: At the time of    reunification with a parent…EVERYONE in the  home 16 years old and older
CPS & FVS when the SW believes it’s needed to assess safety for the child(ren) residing in the home and for themselves
FamLink Checks must be completed on everyone in the home
Handout: Operations Manual 5500 Criminal History and Child Abuse and Neglect History Checks
Handout: Operations Manual 5500 Criminal History and Child Abuse and Neglect History
We must conduct background checks for children who reside in the home of a parent for the following individuals:
* All adults residing in the home with a parent prior to reunification
* All non-professional participants in a safety plan with unsupervised access to children
*   What are additional times when you would want to conduct an assessment for an individual in the household?
* All adults who move into the home after the child is reunified
* Individuals providing in-home child care for children being served by CA
* Prior to a dependent child being returned to their parent's home, the social worker mustconduct a criminal background check on all adults residing in the home even if they did notreside with the child before or have not been the subject of a CPS investigation
* Complete for safety plan participants when they have unsupervised access to children

12. WHO else? Subjects of CPS investigations
Other adults residing in the home of families involved in CPS and FVS
Other adults who have frequent, unsupervised access to the child(ren) in CPS and FVS
Criminal history checks are discretionary for CPS and FVS.  Famlink checks must be completed; however criminal history checks are completed based on the need for further information and sometimes.  If you are not sure whether a criminal history check is advised, check with your supervisor. In order to complete your assessments for child safety, and for yourself, it is also appropriate for CA staff to conduct background checks for others. 
So, who else? These individuals would include:
* Subjects of CPS investigations
* Other adults residing in the home of families involved in CPS or FVS
* Other adults who have frequent, unsupervised access to children in CPS and FVS

13. Background Check Process
Includes:
CA/N history (FamLink and other states)
Criminal History
Remember, always include a review of FamLink to determine if there has been a history of the individual in the maltreatment of children.
It may also be necessary to check other states’ histories with the individual if they have cared for children in other states and resided in Washington for less than five years.

14. WHAT kind of background check do I use?
CA has access and approvals to conduct various background checks of individuals who have access to children on an open case. Navigating these types of background checks can be confusing. Thankfully, those doing the checks are the experts and they can help you in unusual situations that are not clearly covered by policy and procedures as well as by the Operations Manual.
Let’s take a look at the different type of background checks. The first and foremost important step prior to checking an individual’s background is to ensure that you are actually getting correct information for that individual. The way to ensure this first step is to get that individual to show you their driver’s license, or some type of photo identification that verifies who they are, and take a photo of the ID for the case record. Ask that individual if they have any aliases, maiden names, etc., for cross checking purposes.
WHAT kind of background check do I use?

15. CA/N Records checks: FamLink and MODIS
Required for all persons in the household of a child in out-of-home care (section 5512 of your handout)
Can be completed on any adult/youth to help assess the safety of the child(ren) in the home during CPS involvement/FVS intervention
All persons (16+) living in the household or who will have frequent, unsupervised access to children prior to initiating unsupervised visits and before trial return home
FamLink/MODIS checks are required for all adults and 16-year-old and 17-year-old youth in the household of a child in the household of a parent prior to reunification, and for those with frequent unsupervised access to children in CA care and custody.  They are also required for individuals who are participants in safety plans who have unsupervised access to the child.
It is advised that FamLink/MODIS checks be completed on any adult or 16-year-old and 17-year-old youth to help assess the safety of the children in the home during CPS involvement or an FVS intervention.

16. NCIC
NCIC-C: Subjects or other adults related to CPS investigations only (must be completed prior to safety assessment being approved)
The federal database, NCIC, can be accessed by CPS Investigations for persons who are subjects orrelated to investigations. The purpose of this is to assess safety. If you have already had your safety assessment approved, you cannot access NCIC Purpose Code C. The policies for this can be found in your handout, section 5518.
NCIC-C checks are done at the discretion of the worker or supervisor. They can be key in assessing safety for both the child and the social worker.

17. Name and Date of Birth Checks (NDOB)
All adults residing in the home of a parent-prior to reunification
All non-professional participants of a Safety Plan
Adults in the home of a FVS family
DSHS has a unit that is able to check the Washington State Patrol data base. They conduct thesebackground checks based on forms completed by the person requiring the check. Note that ID should also be checked for any completed background check form. These are called Name and Date of Birth Checks (NDOB).
As we’ve said, background checks must include checks of child abuse and neglect history.

18. CA/N Records Check MODIS
May contain information on individuals not contained in the physical file, as well as historical information
MODIS is available through the CA Intranet Page
Some large files, especially, are difficult to check in MODIS. However, those files often includeinformation (such as psychological evaluations, school documents, no contact and dependency court orders and reports, etc.) that are not in FamLink. For some quite old cases, case notes are not in FamLink. For this reason, it is important to check in MODIS.
Check with your local office MODIS experton how to get into and use MODIS. Start by checking to see if you have the MODIS icon on your desktop.

19. Out-of-State CA/N Records Check
Individual living in the home where a child in the custody of CA has been placed if they lived out of WA State.
You may have an individual available to your office to assist with this process
Look on the CA Intranet for more information on this process
When individuals have lived in other states, the information about their criminal and child abuse and neglect history will not show up in WSP data bases or in FamLink. As such, the social service specialist can:
Request child abuse and neglect records for any individual living in the home where the child in CA custody has been placed.
Information that will be required of the state to conduct the check is the same as the information you are required to provide to our BCCU unit for a NDOB check, or as much as you can provide:
o Check the person’s id and ask about aliases, previous married/maiden names
o Provide date of birth and name that shows up on the government ID for the person
o Provide prior addresses (at least towns/counties) in which a person resided
o Provide social security number if available

20. Adults/youth who move in after initial assessment
Don’t Forget!
Adults/youth who move in after initial assessment
Parent’s partners
FamLink search
Don’t forget:
Sometimes adults and other children will move into the parent’s home after background checks are completed.
Even if a parent’s partner is new to the family but does not move into the home, it can be presumed he or she will spend time with the child and be able to have the child in an unsupervised situation, however brief. Background checks should be done on anyone who has frequent access to the child.
Following your initial involvement with families, parents sometimes get new partners. As part of your assessment whether reunification, or even unsupervised visits, are appropriate, the parent’s partner should receive a background check.
Searches for child abuse and neglect history occur in FamLink, hard copy files and MODIS. That you have completed this search should be documented on the background check form.
A few issues can happen here:
Sometimes there is confusion about who should do this search. The responsibility is on the social service specialist for the child even if your office has another procedure. Check with your supervisor about who does these checks in your office.
In FamLink, searches should be done for the person, not a case. A person may be involved in a number of cases and history on the person could be in any of those cases.
While it is very important to look at findings for abuse and neglect in FamLink, there is often history that is concerning that does not relate in a finding of child abuse or neglect. This information is also important to consider in deciding the character and suitability of the person to have unsupervised contact with the child.
In some cases, information is in the hard file but not in FamLink. Hard file document sections should be reviewed to determine if there is information in those files about the individual.

21. Background Check Results: What if there is history?
All checks completed?
All information reviewed?
Discussed concerns with placement?
Ask:
Administrative
Approval
15-367
Handout: Secretary’s List
Many individuals will have history that shows up on a background check. Not all of this history is concerning for child safety. For example, fishing without a license is not concerning for child safety.
The Secretary’s List for Disqualifying Crimes provides the list of crimes and negative actions that are disqualifying for an individual to care for children in the department’s custody other than parents. The Secretary’s List also applies to those who have unsupervised access to children through safety plan participation and for child care.
The criminal convictions that permanently disqualify people include crimes that are violent (i.e., murder, homicide, and manslaughter), that are sex crimes, that involve domestic violence, and that involve child abuse or neglect. The Secretary’s List includes crimes that disqualify an individual for five years. The List also includes a list of negative actions that are permanently disqualifying that include license revocation and findings that they have abused or neglected a child. If an individual has pending charges for any of the crimes on the Secretary’s List, they can be assumed to disqualified until those charges are resolved.
While the Secretary’s List does not apply to parents, it should be considered for the assessment of safety of the child concerning others in the home. Check with your supervisor to determine if an administrative approval is required. Regardless, full information should be requested regarding the incident that is revealed in the background check to assess the individual for safety with children.
Think:
Is this a safe place?
Do we need an FTDM?

22. What if you identify a risk or a safety threat?
Johnny is 3 yo, is developmentally delayed and functions at a 12-month level. He is not ambulatory or verbal. Mother, through FVS services, has made progress addressing the safety issues including maintaining sobriety for four months with a relapse prevention plan and she is actively involved with DDA to address Johnny’s needs. Mother has a new boyfriend who she has asked to move in with her. He has a criminal record for 2nd degree assault involving his own child and Johnny’s grandmother has described his being angry/frustrated when Johnny is unable to speak clearly or walk.
   How would you address this situation?
Find out more about the circumstances of the assault and whether any services were provided and any progress noted (FamLink and MODIS check, police records, probation/parole officer).
Find out what mother knows about her boyfriend’s history and support her in safety planning for Johnny.
Observe the boyfriend with Johnny to assess his relationship with the child and parenting ability.
Interview mother, boyfriend, and any collaterals (including the grandmother) to get more observations about his interactions with the child.
Determine if his move in with the family can be delayed in order to fully implement a safety plan (which may include his not living with the family).
Consider petitioning for removal if mother continues with her decision that he will move in with the family if it is determined he is a safety threat.
Consult with your supervisor!

23. What if you identify a risk or a safety threat?
3 yo Alicia was removed from her parents’ care due to both parents’ use of heroin contributing to their neglect of Alicia. She was in the 4th percentile for weight, 35th percentile for height, and delayed in speech and fine motor skills. Father separated from the mother, moved in with his mother, got a job and has maintained sobriety for three months with excellent reports from his treatment provider. Alicia has made significant developmental gains in foster care. Father is actively involved in her school program. He has unsupervised visits and trial return home is planned in the next three months. A background check on his mother shows that the father was removed when he was 5yo for a year while the mother entered drug treatment. A finding of neglect was made. There was also FRS involvement when father was a teen.
Handouts: Overview of Administrative Approval Process for Crimes and/or Negative Actions
What would you look for to assess the safety of Alicia with the grandmother?
Has grandmother maintained sobriety?
Were there other issues affecting her parenting (i.e., mental health, domestic violence)?
Did the grandmother receive other services during the removal?
Have there been any concerning behaviors/criminal activities in the interim?
Check with collaterals as to the grandmother’s stability (i.e., work, friends, and relatives).
Interview grandmother about what has changed.
If you determine that the grandmother does not pose a safety threat to Alicia, what would you do?
Administrative Approval to RA including documentation
Check to ensure the grandmother continues to follow a relapse prevention plan and is coping with other issues that affected her parenting

24. Background Checks: Common Mistakes
Criminal history not completed on all adults and year old youth
Everyone in home/property not checked
Criminal history not reviewed once received
Administrative approval not sought when required
Child Abuse records search not completed or history missed
In reviewing cases, there are several mistakes that are made concerning background checks that we want to bring to your attention so that you don’t fall into the same traps.
When criminal histories are not completed on all adults in the home (plus year olds), safety threats can be missed. This includes when adults move into the family home after the initial assessment for safety.
When criminal histories are received, they must be reviewed right away and, if required, action must be taken to protect children. This may include requesting an administrative approval or even moving the child.
Finally, there are a few issues with reviewing child abuse and neglect history:
Sometimes there is confusion about who should do this search. The responsibility is on the social service specialist for the child to ensure background checks are completed, even if your office has another procedure. Check with your supervisor about who does these checks in your office.
In FamLink, searches should be done for the person, not a case. A person may be involved in a number of cases and history on the person could be in any of those cases.
While it is very important to look at findings for abuse and neglect in FamLink, there is often history that is concerning that does not relate in a finding of child abuse or neglect. This information is also important to consider in deciding the character and suitability of the person to have unsupervised contact with the child.
In some cases, information is in the hard file but not in FamLink. Hard file document sections should be reviewed to determine if there is information in those files about the individual.
Remember to check with the individual and collaterals where they have lived and check records from other states if the person has not lived in Washington continuously for the last five years.

25. Any other databases you’ve used?
Non-CA Databases
ACES
Barcode
WA State Superior Court records search
Any other databases you’ve used?
So, we’ve covered background checks and other ways you can assess child safety and with safety plan participants. How about other sources of information? Here are a few data bases that can give you information. ACES has information concerning public assistance benefits as well as household membership and information about services provided, which can include substance use and mental health treatment. Through barcode, you can sometimes find psychological/psychiatric reports and other documents that may have direct bearing on your assessments. Superior court records search can give you information about child custody and no contact order proceedings.
What other data bases have you used?
(Facebook, Google)

26. Ongoing Assessments During child interviews and
Health and Safety Visits
“Tell me about who you spend time with.”
“Who takes care of you when your mom and dad have to leave?”
Just as with all families receiving services from the department, assessment of safety does not stop with the initial assessment. For age-appropriate children, ask them about the individuals in the home and what their experiences have been with them. Do they feel safe? For non-verbal children, you can also observe them with others in the home to see if they are relaxed and able to respond to that person.
Again, once a caregiver is approved, this does not mean our vigilance for child safety and well-being ends. During your interviews with children, during health and safety visits, and through collateral contacts with therapists, child care providers, safety plan participants, etc., check on the child, who they are having contact with, and how they are supervised.

27. A Final Note - Documentation!
Background check results are documented in FamLink within three days of receiving information.
Don’t forget to document the good work you are doing: Other than the results of background checks, document information gathered in assessments and/or case notes.
Of course, it is important to document your assessment of the household members. This is most often done in a case note.

28. Case Scenarios Read the case scenario provided.
What are the next steps the social service specialist should take in order to complete the suitability of the potential caregiver?
We will debrief when you are done.
Handout: Case scenario (depending on the program of the staff involved, you will give them the handout for their program)
Notes for the Coach: CPS Investigations Scenario
1. FamLink check concerning all adults and files/MODIS if history
2. NCIC check on all three adults who are suspects in the CPS investigation
3. Name and date of birth check for Marie A, fingerprints required (not an emergency placement)
4. ACES/Bar Code for all adults
5. Interviews of all three suspects (including if they have lived in Washington for 5 years)
6. Collateral contacts including Marie A
7. If placed with Marie, refer for home study and discuss her background, risk factors, expectations of placement
Notes for the Coach: CPS FAR Scenario
1. FamLink check concerning all adults (Thomas, Elaine, Bertha and Bernardo) and files/MODIS if history
2. Name and date of birth check for father, Bertha and Bernardo
3. ACES/Bar Code for all adults
4. Interviews of all adults (including if they have lived in Washington for 5 years)
5. Collateral contacts including Bertha and Bernardo and pychiatrist
6. Search for Elaine
7. If placed with Bernardo and Bertha, will need fingerprint checks and refer for home study. Even if not placed, they will likely need assessment as part of a safety plan.
Notes for the Coach: FVS Case Scenario
1. Although CPS conducted a criminal history check on Lindsay, he recently moved from Oregon. Need CPS records check in Oregon.
2. Name and date of birth check for babysitter, Camille
3. Ensure FamLink check done for Deidre
4. FamLink check for Camille
5. Interview of Camille (including if she has resided in Washington for the last 5 years)
6. Collateral including substance use evaluator and ensure information is provided the evaluator
Notes for the Coach: CFWS Case Scenario
1. Assessment of Chip including criminal background check, FamLink check, interview, and collateral contacts
2. Assessment of neighbor as part of the safety plan, including criminal and FamLink background checks and interview to ensure she knows her role.
3. Assessment of NA sponsor as part of the safety plan, including criminal and FamLink background checks and interview to ensure she knows her role.

29. Any Questions?

30. Thank you for all you do!
Thanks very much.