An approach to child abuse and neglect prevention that was:

1
Toward a DCFS Protective Timeline for
Strengthening Families
2
Family Supportive Child Welfare Services
Protective Factors
Parental Resilience

• Quality Child Welfare Services
• Practice strategies for
• Reunification
• Permanency
• Child protection with intact families
• Etc.
• ? To Be Determined ?

• Prevention of childabuse neglect
• Promotion of well-being, safety, permanency,

Social Connections
Knowledge of Parenting Child Development
Concrete Supports in Times of Need
Social and Emotional Competence of Children
Healthy Parent- Child Relationship
3
Strategic Goals for Strengthening Families

• 1. Embed the Protective Factors in all child
  welfare practices and initiatives
• 2. Ensure children 35 in child welfare system
  are enrolled in quality early care and education
• 3. Ensure collaboration at the community level
  among early childhood programs and agencies
• Advance developmentally appropriate and
  trauma-informed child welfare practice
• Work with public and private agencies to embed
  Protective Factors in child- and family-serving
  systems.

4
Common Framework Protective Timeline
DCFS / POS Case Planning with Family
Strengthening Families
Child Protective Services
Integrated Assessment
Strengthening Families
Achieving Permanency
Community Follow-Up
Safety Planning Serving Intact Families
Early Learning Community Approaches
Comprehensive Front-End Assessment
Ensuring Child Safety Ensuring Permanency Older
Wards Aging Out
Concurrent Planning Early Permanency Trauma-Infor
med Practice
5
Levers for making the Protective Factors paradigm
shift

• Case reviews
• Service planning
• Courts
• Communications
• Funding streams
• Policies

• Tools, assessments, checklists
• Provider database
• Training
• Performance contracting quality assurance tools
• Performance evaluation

6
ETV
Appropriation TOS Table
Age Rate Table
Chafee
Misc. Categorical Grants
Title IV-B I
Title IV-B II
Receivables Collected
FCS Output File
FCS
TANF
TOS Table
TANF/EA System
TANF/EA Output
Receivables Recognized
MARS CYCIS
Childrens Accounts
Payroll
TFEDS
Tables
Adjustments
Title XX
Title XIX Medicaid
Waiver Savings
DCFS RMS
POS RMS
Provider Billings
DHS
CCDF
SACWIS
7
       
  TEXT KEY TEXT KEY  
       
    Amount Applied (Federal, State, MOE)  
    Federal Reimbursement to DCFS  
    Federal Reimbursement to GRF  
    DCFS Expenditures not applied to any Federal Program  
       
8

• Goal 1
• Embed protective factors across all child welfare
  practice and initiatives
• In assessment tools like
• Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS)
• Parental Readiness for Permanency and
  Reunification Worksheet
• Through training

9
Common Language
10
We Know You Love Your Kids
Protective Factor Common Language
Parental Resilience Be strong and flexible
Social Connections Parents need friends
Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development Being a great parent is part natural and part learned
Concrete Support in Times of Need We all need help sometimes
Social and Emotional Competence of Children Parents need to help their children communicate
Healthy Parent-Child Relationship Give your children the love and respect they need
11
Goal 1 Why embed the Protective Factors across
all DCFS domains?
DCFS should not be in the business of raising
children, it should be in the business of
strengthening families.
12
Goal 2 Ensure that children 35 years of age in
the child welfare system are enrolled in early
care and education settingsmandatory for wards,
voluntary for intact and post-adoption families
13
Goal 2 What has been done to enroll DCFS kids in
early childhood education?
Rule 314 and POS contracts have been changed to
require enrollment in early learning, and
training, materials, and research are taking
place to ensure implementation and follow-up.
14
Goal 3 Ensure collaboration at the community
level among Head Starts, Pre-Ks, childcare
centers, families and caseworkers
15
Goal 3 What has been done to ensure
collaboration at the community level?

• School Minder Rotational intake
• Statewide provider database
• Collaborative agreements with Head Start grantee
  agencies
• SFI Learning Networks statewide where DCFS
  caseworkers and ECE providers plan services for
  wards together
• Early childhood / child welfare liaisons 7 new
  staff positions
• Partnership with child welfare agencies that also
  run child care centers

16
Goal 4 Advance developmentally appropriate and
trauma-informed child welfare practice
17
Goal 4 What has been done to advance
developmentally appropriate trauma-informed
child welfare practice?
Integrated Assessment (plans to extend to intact
family cases) Trauma curriculum training for
caseworkers and caregivers Trauma treatment with
developmentally appropriate, evidence-based
clinical interventions Moving trauma-based
treatment approaches to all children in
traditional or relative foster care
18
Goal 5 Work with public and private agencies to
embed Protective Factors in child- and
family-serving systems.
19
Goal 5 Objectives, FY 2009

1. Create incentives for SFI training / capacity
   building ECE center licensing requirement
2. Create plan for engaging cities
3. Embed Strengthening Families ideas and practices
   in Preschool for All (DCFS representation on all
   committees co-chair Special Populations
   Committee)
4. Collaborative work with ISBE and DHS

20
Primary responsibility for the development and
well-being of children lies within the family,
and all segments of society must support families
as they rear their children. --Family
Resource Coalition, 1996