1. R EINVIGORATING L INKAGES : Using Communication (and other) Strategies Effectively

2. P ANEL I NTRODUCTIONS Shasta County Rod Delfer, Linkages Coordinator, Foster Care Eligibility Supervisor, CWS Robin Bostain, CalWORKs Employment & Training Specialist and Family Stabilization Supervisor, CalWORKs Tracy Thomas, Linkages Employment & Training Social Worker, CalWORKs Janet Stortz, Social Work Supervisor, CWS 2

3. P ANEL I NTRODUCTIONS ( CONT.) Tulare County Debbie Benavente, Linkages Coordinator, CWS Tessa Houston, Linkages Coordinator, CalWORKs Orange County Ericka Danczak, Linkages Coordinator, CalWORKs Prashant Kamboya, Linkages Coordinator, CalWORKs Michael Meyers, Linkages Coordinator, CWS 3

4. S HASTA C OUNTY – F ACTS & F IGURES Population: 178,980 (2013) Unemployment Rate: 8.9% (Feb 2015) Children’s Services Cases: 550 CalWORKS Cases: 2800 Active Welfare-to-Work Cases: 1029 Sanction Cases: 542 Exempt Cases: 517 4

5. S HASTA C OUNTY L INKAGES T REND Decline in Linkages cases over last 2 years Slowing fell from average of 25 to 15 What’s Changed? Not identifying all potential families? Not following practices & protocols? How can we do better? 5

6. U NDERSTANDING THE T REND Which cases needed follow-up services? Were some cases in need of coordinated case plan updates? How well was the Behavioral Health Team involved? Were workers feeling overwhelmed by additional requirements? 6 CalWORKs Linkages Coordinator & Welfare-to-Work Supervisor conducted Linkages case reviews

7. W HAT D ID S HASTA D O ? Improve sharing of information Timely identification of potential Linkages clients Rapid follow-up on Linkages requirements Taking improvements one step at a time; guided by monthly team meetings 7 Developed our Linkages Work Plan around Communication

8. W HAT D ID S HASTA D O ? Aligned Linkages with Family Stabilization Program Greater agency commitment to collaboration Social Workers like how FS helped families Stronger network of support for families with teaming among: Employment & Training Worker Behavioral Health Team Social Worker Follow-up services following reunification Better engagement between workers & parents when benefits are clear visible 8

9. W HAT ’ S N EXT FOR S HASTA ? Continue to use work plan to guide our efforts Improving processes and practices Encouraging better communication Strengthen connections with supportive services Promote joint training Encourage staff to get to know each other Learn each other’s ‘languages’ Create a teamwork philosophy to better serve our families 9

10. S HASTA S UCCESS S TORY 10 Single mom with new baby on the way; challenged by drug abuse, lack of resources & potential homelessness Coordination across systems and services Housing assistance provided through Family Stabilization Case plan goals achieved within 6 months Cash assistance granted during 3 rd trimester Housing secured preventing newborn from being placed in foster care; supporting over-night visits with older child in care.

11. Q UESTIONS ?? Rod Delfer, CWS rdelfer@co.shasta.ca.us Robin Bostain, CalWORKs rbostain@co.shasta.ca.us Tracy Thomas, CalWORKs rdelfer@co.shasta.ca.us Janet Stortz, CWS Janet.Stortz@CWS.state.ca.us 11

12. T ULARE C OUNTY Demographics Population 451,977 in 2012 Census Land Area 4,824 sq miles Median Household Income $43,550 55 cities & 123 townships Child Welfare Services Practice Team Decision Making Family Engagement Differential Response Family Transitional Supportive Services Children Out of home care = 1080 960 within Tulare County TulareWORKs CalWORKs & Welfare-to-Work Family Stabilization 12

13. T HE T ULARE C OUNTY L INKAGE T EAM Coordinators Debbie Benavente, CWS Tessa Houston, TW Karen Whited, CWS CWS Units (Teams) Screening Emergency Response Court Report Writing Voluntary Family Maintenance Family Maintenance Family Reunification Team Decision Making (Coordinator) TulareWORKs Office 1 Liaison & 1 Back Up Dinuba - DDO Lindsay - LDO Porterville - PDO Tulare - TDO Visalia – VDO (CWS & TW are not co-located) 13

14. W AYS TO R EINVIGORATE T ULARE C OUNTY L INKAGES Communication Mutual Policy Coordinated Case Plan Meetings Monthly Exchange Monthly Team Meetings Training CWS Overview TulareWORKs Overview State Evaluation Dr D’Andrade & Tulare County Evaluation Team Practice Protocol Evaluation Evaluation Work Plan Data collection & comparison Communication 14

15. T HE U NIVERSAL T RACKING L OG Novel Filr – Shared Drive User Access Levels (Administrator, read only, etc) Multiple Users Universal Tracking Log CalWORKs Staff / Title IV-E Interns Pilot (future program collaboratives) Purpose Screening Unit = ______ (Mo Count)Emergency Response UnitTulareWORKs Mother's Name Case Number Code Imm 10-Day Assign ER/IR Office Zip Code Assigned ER/IR Worker Assigned Date Eligibility Verification Date TW LiaisonTDM Date Service Compone nt Special Project Code added CalWORKs Case# 1P/2P # of Children District Office First Name, Last Name12345610 Day Portervill e93277 First Name, Last Name5/1/151/2/2014 First Name, Last Name5/10/15 FMY1B00002P4VDO 15

16. S USAN ’ S S TORY Thank you Debbie Benavente CWS Staff Services Analyst III Tulare County Linkages Coordinator DBenavente@tularehhsa.org (559) 624-7482 16

17. O RANGE C OUNTY F ACTS Demographics Population 3,113,991 in 2010 Census (updated with errata data by Dept. of Finance in 2014) Land/Water Area 948 sq. miles Median Family Income $84,100 34 cities Children & Family Services (CFS) Practice Team Decision Making Family Engagement Differential Response Children Out of home care = 2126 1017 with relatives 422 outside of OC Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) CalWORKs & Welfare-to-Work Family Stabilization 17

18. T HE O RANGE C OUNTY L INKAGES T EAM Coordinators Ericka Danczak, FSS Prashant Kamboya, FSS Michael Meyers, CFS CFS Units (Teams) Child Abuse Registry Court Services Emergency Response (I & II) Family Maintenance Collaborative Services Integrated Continuing Services Specialized Family Services FSS: Liaison at each office Laguna Hills Cypress Santa Ana Anaheim (CFS & FSS are not co-located) 18

19. R EINVIGORATING L INKAGES B Y : Reaffirming our agency commitment Training Mutual Client Identification Communication 19

20. O RANGE C OUNTY - T RAINING Linkages training module is currently used for all new and newly promoted CalWORKs and Child Welfare staff. Collaborate with training department on developing an e-learn refresher training for existing staff at all levels. Cross-training CalWORKs and Child Welfare staff on computer systems. Identify Linkages liaisons at each regional office to serve as a point of contact, as well as champion the Linkages model for others. 20

21. O RANGE C OUNTY – M UTUAL C LIENT I DENTIFICATION What are the numbers? There are approximately 800 mutual clients in Orange County. Connect with agency Research department and I.T. to validate reports for mutual client reports. Special indicators are used to track mutual clients as they move through the CalWORKs and Child Welfare systems. Incorporated protocols for mutual client identification in updated policies and operational procedures. Mutual Client monthly report is posted on a central portal that can be accessed by all staff. Client identification is everyone’s responsibility, and it is verified every time a case moves (between programs and workers). 21

22. O RANGE C OUNTY - C OMMUNICATION Reconvene our Linkages Steering Committee to: Stay current with all Linkages activities Discuss new resources and programs Focus on work plan deliverables Case Reviews – successes and challenges Updated policies and operational procedures include: Examples of coordinated case planning Mutual Client Liaison list Information sharing: Linkages newsletter Webinars and conference calls Key legislative changes impacting mutual clients, i.e. drug felons 22

23. Q UESTIONS ?? Prashant Kamboya, Linkages Coordinator, FSS Prashant.Kamboya@ssa.ocgov.com Erika Danczak, Linkages Coordinator, FSS Ericka.Danczak@ssa.ocgov.com Michael Meyers, Linkages Coordinator, CFS Michael.Meyers@ssa.ocgov.com 23