The Service Array in Child Welfare: A Process for Assessment and Resource Development

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The Service Array inChild WelfareA Process for
Assessment and Resource Development

• Training Facilitators and Reporters
• National Child Welfare Resource Center for
  Organizational Improvement
• A Service of the Childrens Bureau, U.S.H.H.S.
• June 27, 2006

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Rationale for the Process

• To improve outcomes for children and families in
  child welfare, a range of services and supports
  are needed, from preventive to remedial.
• Services and supports must be available,
  accessible, and of good quality or reasonable
  efforts have not been made.
• Another equally important agenda creating a
  viable, continuing community stakeholder group
  for the jurisdiction.

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States/Jurisdictions Who Have/Are/Will Use(d)
This Process

• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Mississippi
• Nebraska
• Utah
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

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The CFSR and the Service Array

• Services are required to help children safely
  return to their families from which they have
  been removed.
• Pre-placement preventive services are required to
  help children at risk of placement remain safely
  with their families.
• Services are required to help children who cannot
  return home achieve permanence.
• These services must be accessible on a statewide
  basis.
• Services must be individualized based on needs of
  the child and the family.

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The Continuum of Child Welfare Services

• Community/Neighborhood Prevention/Early
  Intervention Services (1-27).
• Investigative/Assessment Services (28-36).
• Home-Based Interventions/Services (37-55).
• Out-of-Home Interventions/Services (56-82).
• Child Welfare System Exit Services (83-96).

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Purposes of the Processfrom simple to complex

• Could use to create a Service Directory for the
  jurisdiction.
• To prepare for the CFSR, the Statewide
  Assessment, and/or in developing a PIP around the
  Service Array.
• Meet the CAPTA grant requirement to conduct an
  annual inventory of services.
• This process could be used to help define the
  array of services needed in a system of care when
  a specific population has been targeted.

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Purposes of the Processfrom simple to complex
(continued)

• Can be used by a tribe, state, region, county,
  city, etc. to improve the service array.
• Can lead to better collaboration between service
  providers and a functioning community
  stakeholders collaborative.

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Flexibility of the Process

• This process has been used now in multiple
  states/jurisdictions.
• Each state/jurisdiction has modified the process
  to meet its own needs.
• No two jurisdictions has done the process the
  same way.
• Some very creative applications

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A Six-Step Process (generic model)

• Creating a community stakeholder group or
  building on an existing one.
• Developing and sharing with the stakeholder group
  a data profile on children and families in the
  child welfare system in the jurisdiction.
• Completing the Service Array Instrument with the
  stakeholder group.
• Reporting on the results of using the Instrument.
• Preparing a Resource Development Plan.
• Monitoring the effectiveness of Plan
  implementation.

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Forming/Convening the Community Stakeholders
Collaborative

• An existing group or creating a new one.
• Size of the group.
• Ideally, the collaborative has some authority and
  legitimization to change or influence the service
  array in the jurisdiction.
• Participants need to understand the time and work
  commitment involved.

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Rationale for theCommunity Stakeholder Group

• No one individual knows all the services and
  supports in a jurisdiction collective pooling of
  knowledge.
• No one agency by itself can ensure child safety,
  permanency, and well-being.
• Creating a constituency for child welfare.
• Creating more effective community partnerships so
  services can be coordinated and integrated.

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Kinds of People Needed

• Public and private sector providers of child
  welfare services.
• Mental health, substance abuse, and domestic
  violence service providers.
• Educators, health care providers, home visiting
  program staff.
• Court, legal, and law enforcement officials,
  including CASA volunteers.

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Kinds of People Needed (contd)

• Consumersclients, former clients, foster
  parents, birth parents, kids who grew up in the
  system.
• Other key providers (e.g., housing, food
  resources, transportation).
• Elected officials.
• Representatives of the business, faith, and labor
  communities.

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Roles in the Process

• Community Stakeholders Collaborative (possibly
  with a Steering Committeee.g., Pulaski County,
  VA).
• A community organizer.
• A facilitator.
• A recorder.
• A report writer.

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Preparing for the First Meeting

• Letter to the community stakeholders (but so much
  more! Community organization).
• Preparation of the child and family data profile.
• Recruit and prepare a good recorder.
• A set of transparencies and an overhead
  projector.
• Handouts needed for the participants
• The Technical Services Sheet, Service Array.
• Copy of the Continuum and sample completed
  service sheet.
• Instructions for completing the five questions.

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Preparing the Data Profile

• Data sources can include current child welfare
  outcomes, pertinent information and data from the
  last CFSR/PIP, a small case read, key stakeholder
  interviews, and consumer focus groups.
• The Data Profile Report should include
• Child and family demographics.
• Whats bringing these children and families into
  the child welfare system (underlying causes and
  pertinent service needs).
• Current outcomes.

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The First MeetingSharing and Discussing the
Data Profile

• Welcome, purpose, importance, time and work
  commitment.
• Sharing and discussing the data profile.
• Instruction we now need your qualitative
  knowledge of the service array as community
  stakeholders to determine what these families
  need.

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The First MeetingAdministering the Instrument

• Approximately one day to complete (different
  jurisdictions have done this differentlye.g.,
  Nebraska).
• Review instructions for completing the five
  questions.
• Aim for a consensus for the groups answers.
• Make sure recorder captures in detail location of
  services and comments.
• Service definitions.
• Preparing the the next meeting.

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Writing the Reports Report 1

• Report 1 is simply a transcription of the
  information captured by the recorder.
• Can become the basis of a service directory for
  the jurisdiction.

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Report 2 Drawing Conclusions in Each of the
Five Service Categories

• Strong Services
• Needed Community Ed.
• Not Meeting Enough Need
• Advocacy/Service Barriers
• Service Duplication/ Shifting Resources
• Non-Existing Services
• Staff/Volunteer Issues

• Funding Issues
• Better Coordination/ Collaboration with Other
  Stakeholders
• Quality Improvement Needed
• More Diversified Services
• Law/Policy Change
• Other _________

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Report 3

• A one page matrix.
• Easy to use in preparing the Resource Development
  Plan.

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The Second and Subsequent MeetingsPreparing and
Implementing Plan

• May take several meetings to complete the
  Resource Development Plan.
• Handouts needed Reports 1-3, Work Sheets
  Preparing a Resource Development Plan.
• Review the three reports and their purposes.
• Divide into five groups and give instructions.
• Provide assistance to subgroups if they need it.
• Prepare for the next meeting.

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The Third and Subsequent MeetingsFinalizing,
Implementing, Monitoring

• Finalizing Plan may take several meetings.
• When complete, each subgroup presents to the
  whole group for discussion, critique, changes.
• Next, focus on implementing the Plan
• Collaborative has the influence, authority,
  legitimacy to make the plan happen?
• If not, how to access decision makers to make the
  plan happen?
• Assignments who will do what, by when?

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Monitoring the Effectivenessof Plan
Implementation

• Important to keep meeting around implementation
  issues.
• Implementation will not just happen.
• Participants report back on progress, brainstorm
  on challenges and barriers.
• Could be an annual process to assess progress and
  to modify the plan as needed.

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Developing a Regional Plan

• If the Region has just a few counties, can
  complete the process in each county.
• If multiple counties, other options sub-regions,
  natural clusters 2-3 representative counties.
• Each region develop a plan, timetable, personnel
  involved, etc.

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Materials Needed forTrain the Trainers

• Technical Services sheet, Service Array.
• Continuum sheet, with sample completed service
  sheet.
• Instructions for rating the services.
• The Service Array in Child Welfare (May, 2003).
• Service Sheets transparencies.
• Blank Reports 1-3.
• Preparing a Resource Development Plan (Work
  Sheets).
• Train the Trainers Power Point Presentation.