1. Community Partnerships for Protecting Children (CPPC) Andy Kogerma Family Connection Partnership

2. CPPC: Philosophy Based on the idea that people and places in neighborhoods are primary resources for families in crisis Formal and informal resources need to work together Protecting children is everyone’s business

3. CPPC: Background Sponsored by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation Four initial sites (1995): Cedar Rapids, Jacksonville, Louisville, S. Louis Each site is working to achieve three broad goals...

4. CPPC: Broad Goals Change the CPS response to families, moving away from a “one size fits all”response Develop and expand neighborhood- based resources to help families keep children safe and ensure support before problems become crises Involve broad spectrum of community services

5. CPPC: Core Beliefs Child Focused: every child is valued Family focused: respect for families’ capacity/skill in caring for their children Results Accountability (define results, design/implement results-based strategies for implementation, evaluate results) Outcomes based: “What difference are we making?”

6. Core Beliefs (cont) Strengths Based: “What is right with this family?” Shared Leadership:Promotes the involvement of all parties Cultural Differences Valued/Respected

7. Taking Stock: Assessing Strengths/Needs Each community,like each family, has unique strengths and needs CPPC must build on these Community assessments must occur--for example, Cedar Rapids used “geomapping” to analyze geography of CAN/DV reports, then identified overlap areas Assets/Needs of area must be assessed

8. Community Assets Existing social structures in community: churches, neighborhood associations, interagency councils, natural leaders, etc. Accurate inventory of formal resources involved in community

9. Community Needs Limitations on residents ability/willingness to access available resources (inadequate public transportation, isolation, cultural barriers, lack of information, etc.) Circumstances/conditions which hamper families (DV, CAN, substance abuse, income issues, lack of education, mental illness, etc.)

10. CPPC in Georgia DFCS Sponsored initiative Family Connection Partnership a primary partner Other Partners include:Prevent Child Abuse Georgia, UGA-CVIOG, Casey Operates through the leadership of local FC Collaboratives with local DFCS assuming key leadership role

11. CPPC in Georgia Nine counties selected for participation: Brantley, Catoosa, Clarke, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Jenkins, Muscogee and Peach Each county receives seed money and one assigned DFCS CPPC position

12. CPPC: Four Key Strategies  #1: CPS Policy/Practice Change  #2: Use of Family Team Meetings/Individualized Courses of Action (“FTM’s”, “ICA’s”) to facilitate change  #3: Develop Network of Community Supports and Resources for families in need  #4: Shared decision making between all parties

13. Strategy #1: Individualized Courses of Action *Develop family centered, Individualized Courses of Action (“ICA’s”) for vulnerable families/children *Use strengths-based Family Team Meetings (FTMs”) to generate plan for change *Values Informal support (neighborhood, family) *Involves DFCS/Community agencies

14. Family Team Meetings Core Strategy of CPPC Involves meeting of family members, facilitators, family support, service providers... Purpose: to help family identify strengths/needs and generate a plan for change

15. Family Team Meeting Based on core conditions of respect, empathy, genuineness Uses active listening skills Strengths based: “What is right with this family?” Is solution focused

16. Family Team Meeting: Steps Welcome and Introductions Purpose Outcomes Non-negotiables/confidentiality Ground Rules Family Story Strengths to Achieve Outcomes

17. FTM: Steps (cont) Identification of Individual and Family Needs Brainstorm How to Meet Needs Develop Agreement for Plan (who will do what, when, where, etc) Assessing what can go wrong Next Steps and Closing

18. “Dual Track Response” Community Prevention based Low-risk/self- identified families “Hub” conducts FTM/facilitators may be community members Generates Family Support Plan DFCS Intervention Based Moderate-high risk families identified through DFCS Uses intensive family assessment and FTM Conducted by DFCS Generates 6 month case plan

19. Strategy #2: Community Network of Services/supports *Reflects belief that the community is best able to protect children, support families through change * Uses service/resource “hubs” *Prevention is focus of involvement *Depends on informal helpers * Parents/residents work together

20. Strategy #3: CPS Policy/Practice Change * This includes... *outstationed or geographically assigned staff *individualized responses to maltreatment reports (“differential response”) *promoting staff connections to community resources *emphasis on workload, not caseload

21. CPS and CPPC in Georgia Implementing CPPC means changes to CPS policy/practice in nine counties In-depth Family Assessment replaces Strengths/Needs Assessment Family Team Meeting basis for case planning Case Plan written during FTM: “with, not for, families” 6 Month time frame for case plan

22. CPS and CPPC: Lessons Learned from Other States All sites use “dual track” system: “investigations” for DFCS cases, “assessment” for community Outbasing/geographic assignment of workers led to CPS culture change,both internally and externally. Internal CPS change: workers cited “improved relationships with service providers,greater accessibility to services, more informed referral decisions.”

23. CPS and CPPC: Lessons Learned /Other States (cont) Some CPS staff stated that “outbasing was the reform mechanism that has affected the greatest change in their practice”. External perception change: “provided direct benefits in the relationship between CPS and community residents/clients. Community residents recognize CPS workers on sight, voluntarily providing more information on safety concerns.”

24. Quotes from CPS Workers “ICA is a helpful framework for involving the family more in what they want, not in what we think they want.” “I’ve seen it [use of FTMs] change the opinion of a lot of workers who did not come from that perspective.” “The view of the agency by others is more positive. I am hopeful now that CPS image will improve. Families can be shown that CPS can help in positive ways.”

25. CPS Quotes (cont) “Now, it’s a little different. CPS is not there just to take their kids. We also come to try and help you.” “I think families are starting to feel better about workers and workers are feeling more positive about families.” “Word is getting around. People are seeing us as more helpful, hopefully, and calling us before things really get out of hand.”

26. Strategy #4: Shared Decision Making *A commitment to shared decision making between families, community members and service providers, in which *resident voices are prominent *decisions are data driven/outcomes focused *emphasizes outreach to broad spectrum of partners

27. Shared Decision Making (cont) Two Primary Issues: What decisions will be shared? How will we share them?

28. Fulton County CPPC Located in East Washington (East Point) DFCS partnered with East Point Community Action Team Created Alpha Center Alpha Center now houses outstationed DFCS staff, alternative school suspension program, prevention resource library, GED classes, computer lab, after school sports, Boy Scouts