New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) - 2024
In 2024, the Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group (CWG) continues to work closely with CYFD in New Mexico to support the development, training, and implementation of a teaming model for case planning. The New Mexico model calls for an Individualized Planning Process (IPP), which features heightened family engagement and informal and formal supports being utilized to achieve improved outcomes. CWG and CYFD began this successful collaboration in 2021.
The Kevin S. Settlement Agreement (kevinssettlement.com) requires “Individualized planning meetings for each child—a process informed by Child and Family Teaming (CFT), collaborative decision-making, and High-Fidelity Wraparound models”. The model supports the belief that families are the experts who best know their strengths, challenges, and hopes for the future. The model will be a sweeping revision, as the divisions of Protective Services, Juvenile Justice, and Children’s Behavioral Health work to reduce the number of single-purpose meetings with families and use the Individualized Planning Meeting (IPM) to accomplish requirements in one setting.
CWG works onsite across the state to support training, provide coaching in real-time with families, and develop CYFD-internal capacity to ensure that the model is utilized now and in the future.
Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) – 2024
CWG is currently working with The Indiana Department of Child Services as they create their Program Improvement Plan (PIP). DCS recently completed a statewide assessment as part of their federally-required Child and Family Service Review (CFSR). Findings of that review yielded areas for focus in the PIP. CWG director and consultants support the department through priority-setting, committee work, facilitation of statewide discussions, and other assistance. CWG participates in solution-focused discussions with partners ranging from resource development to juvenile justice. Safety, permanency and well-being are foremost as standards for identification of strengths and needs, as well as strategies for improvement. The three primary goals of the review process are:
- Assess conformity with federal child welfare requirements
- Learn how children and families experience Indiana’s child welfare system
- Identify strategies for positive outcomes with children, families, and community stakeholders
CWG previously worked with DCS in 2018, and performed a sweeping assessment of the state’s child welfare system. Report includes findings and recommendations. You may review CWG’s assessment here:
Read CWG’s Indiana Assessment Documents
For more information about the CFSR national process, visit:
Illinois Department of Children and Families (DCFS) - 2024
CWG supports important initiatives in Illinois in work designed to strengthen DCFS’ internal capacity to merge their existing Administrative Case Review (ACR)– a process that utilizes both review of documentation and interviews with family, youth, caregivers, and caseworkers – with more quality and outcome-focused questions and open-ended interview questions. The format provided by CWG to accomplish this blending is the Quality Service Review© (QSR), which also complements the federally required Child and Family Service Review. Coaching, consultation and planning, and training are among the supports provided by CWG. CWG’s partnership with DCFS began in 2017. The QSR work features:
- Compliance to quality emphasis
- Emphasis on quality interviews
- Use of a quality rating scale
- Skill building of the ACR reviewers
Agency Performance Monitoring (APM) plays a critical role as DCS examines quality and outcomes for children and their families. When direct service utilizes CWG’s model for Child and Family Team Meetings (CFTM) in a frequent and quality-focused manner, practice and outcomes for safety, permanency, and well-being are featured. Agency monitoring has a positive impact on the use of CFTM and reinforces teaming as a priority. CWG serves as support for APME staff in the CFTM model, with the intent that APM will attend selected CFTM meetings with an agency worker for the purpose of supporting supervisors to coach and reinforce the need for quality CFTM’s. (CWG will work with DCFS to revise the current CFTM Model.) As in the ACR assistance, CWG provides coaching, consultation and planning meetings, and virtual training.
Support to the DCFS Regional Practice Directors is provided by CWG as those directors move forward with implementation of the CFTM model and support expansion of the practice of CFTM beyond the Pilot Sites. CWG provides technical assistance and consultation on the application of CFTM practice to Supervisory Forums and guidance relevant to curriculum modifications and strategic consultation relative to the expansion of the CFTM model to intact providers and non-immersion site permanency
Further, in 2024, CWG provides assistance with the state’s META pilot initiative, and will provide training, coaching and consultation services in order to support the six-meta model pilot programs’ achievement of the outcomes outlined in their Superseding Implementation Plan (SIP). CWG continues to address the seven interventions through the development of pilot teams’ abilities. Our integrated assessment includes focus on safety, permanency and well-being and DCFS is committed to system reform planning that includes the findings of CWG’s work there.
New Mexico State University (NMSU) - 2024
CWG and NMSU currently partner with New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) to provide Quality Service Reviews (QSR) in behavioral health to assess several components of casework, including how families experience services and what outcomes are accomplished in their case. CWG also helps with exploration of collaboration in the community, local strengths and needs, service array and organizational culture. CWG serves as team lead for the QSR, which includes participation in reviewer orientation, facilitation of debriefing activities, presentation of data after reviews are completed, preparation of formal reports for each review, including aggregate youth reports, and gathering and presenting year-end aggregate data as needed. Finally, CWG provides guidance for the ongoing utilization of QSR findings as they relate to practice, policy development, resource development, and other components of the system.
Oklahoma Department of Human Services – (DHS) - 2022
In 2022, consultation focused on support for Oklahoma’s child welfare services with DHS in its efforts to safely reduce the need for out of home care for children. Specific work included analysis and interpretation of agency outcome data as a basis for focusing practice, design of leadership approaches for implementation by the agency’s executive team, and strategies for improving rates of attaining safe and timely permanent families for children in foster care.
Residential Treatment Facility Assessment - 2020
CWG’s history and expertise include years of systems and facility evaluations. A large-scale assessment of a Residential Treatment Facility* was conducted in February – March 2020. This project included a review of policy, curriculum, and financial and regulatory reports. Interviews were conducted with youth, staff, family members, and others. Input was received from community partners and prior employees. Surveys were completed by staff and others, which resulted in helpful data collection. The Board of Directors, Administration, and other leaders received reports of findings and recommendations. In addition, findings were discussed with all staff in small – medium group meetings, during which they gave feedback about findings and made recommendations for leadership.
*For more information about this and other residential assessments, please call CWG at 334-264-8300 or email [email protected]
Miami-Dade County, FL - 2019
In 2019, CWG continued to provide Family Engagement/Motivational Interviewing workshops and trainings to newly hired workers on track to become Child Protective Investigators. The purpose of this two-day training was to support the development of the workers’ skills relative to family engagement and to demonstrate motivational interviewing techniques that strengthen the workers’ abilities to assess safety/risk, build a trust-based relationship with families, and reach safety related solutions for children and their families.
Trainees learned to identify the stages of change and assess which stage the caregiver is experiencing. The training demonstrated the advantages of motivational interviewing and taught social workers to incorporate change-talk language, decisional balance, and the working agreement into their practice so they could better engage, assess, intervene and plan with families around safety needs and solutions to meet needs.
Iowa Department of Human Services - 2019
In 2019, CWG facilitated 12 “Provider Forums” held across the state. In preparation for implementation of Family First, agency leaders were interested in the unique perspectives of the provider community, and asked CWG to conduct the meetings. Issues ranging from practice philosophy to billing structure were discussed. Importantly, Iowa used the overall CWG report and recommendations as decisions were made about Family First. The report also yielded fresh information about provider strengths, needs, and suggestions.
CWG conducted an assessment of Iowa’s Family Team Decision Making (FTDM) process in 2018, with a particular focus on their facilitation model. As long ago as 2002, CWG assisted the state as they crafted their Family Team Decision Making (FTDM) model which encourages family-focused practice and improved outcomes. CWG’s report yielded findings and recommendations about ways to strengthen the FTDM facilitator’s skills.
CWG completed a targeted review in December 2017 which focused primarily on the intake and child protection assessment functions of the Iowa Department of Human Services. The final report of the initial review may be seen here: Read the Report
Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) – 2018
In 2018, CWG continued to work with the Child Welfare Quality Assurance Division of the Alabama State Department of Human Resources toward their goal of improving the collaborative work between those state and county staff who are responsible for working directly with families and children. By observing the de-briefing discussions at the conclusion of the Quality Service Review and coaching according to the desired outcomes identified in various counties, CWG provided guidance to the Division's Practice Specialists as they partnered with counties and engaged county leaders in creating a long-term vision for their county's success. CWG has recently facilitated discussions in the Division to look toward the future, in terms of readiness to address changes in both technology and the workforce in a way that will enhance their effectiveness.
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), CA – 2018
CWG Executive Director Freida Baker conducted a congregate care review in the fall of 2018 to support assessment and monitoring of the Katie A. lawsuit. CWG founder and former director, Paul Vincent, served as chair of the Katie A. Advisory and Monitoring Panel in Los Angeles County, California. The Katie A. vs. Bonta lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County on July 18, 2002. The suit called for improved services for children and youth currently in foster care, and those at imminent risk of placement into foster care. Federal District Court Judge A. Howard Matz approved the settlement agreement, which calls for systemic improvements in case planning, mental health and supportive services, and limited use of congregate and shelter care for youth.
Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS)– 2018
In December 2018, Senior Associate Cornelius Bird presented the Keynote address and workshops at the Virginia Trauma-Informed Family Engagement Conference sponsored by the Virginia Department of Social Services. The Keynote and workshop opportunities featured an historical perspective on family engagement practice changes that have evolved in child welfare over the past 50 years.
Broward and Palm Beach Counties, Florida – ChildNet - 2017
In 2017, CWG completed a Qualitative Service Review of a sample of ChildNet cases to assist the agency in identifying opportunities to strengthen practice and improve child and family outcomes. CWG utilized the coaching process to develop staff abilities, including mentoring and modeling best practices.
Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Broward County, FL - 2017
CWG worked with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, which handles intake and assessment of reports of child abuse and neglect in the County, to direct its efforts toward more effective engagement with families in two high-referral zip code areas. This 2017 project focused on collaboration with community leaders and service providers to address the cultural needs of these locales which are largely communities of color, and to improve individual family engagement and assessment as a basis for safety planning to keep children safely at home or within their extended families.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) – 2012-2018
CWG assisted the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to implement the Qualitative Service Review Process (QSR). CWG assisted DHHS as they developed their own QSR protocol. CWG trained Michigan QA staff in its use, provided coaching to the review team and introduced the process to the initial review counties. Periodically, CWG has assisted the system with inter-rater reliability assessments and coaching.
CWG Senior Associate Cornelius Bird presented Keynote and workshops at the 2018 MITEAM CQI Conference in Lansing.
Allegheny County, PA Department of Human Services (DHS) – 2016
A new model for practice and services launched in Pennsylvania with support from the Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group. The model called for services to be streamlined and integrated to provide a more unified experience for families whose members are receiving more than one service through DHS. The model gives families greater input in the services they receive in an effort to strengthen families and maintain the family unit. This is a change from other models where children are often removed from their families because of inefficient service provision or availability.
Arkansas Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) - 2015
CWG, upon the request of the governor, conducted a review in 2015 of the Arkansas child welfare system and specifically the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). CWG provided information, a final report, and guidance to the state. The review included research into DCFS policy and procedures, agency performance and trend data, internal studies, and interviews with approximately 200 DCFS staff and external stakeholders. DCFS staff at all levels were interviewed and external stakeholders consisted of legislators, judges, other state agency representatives, other legal partners, foster and adoptive parents, service providers, former foster youth, advocates and other individuals and groups with an interest in the welfare of children. The input of those individuals was critical to the accurate analysis of the child welfare system.
Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) – 2016, 2015
The Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services requested an independent study of the Department’s strengths and challenges to inform elected officials, stakeholders and the citizens of Louisiana of the status of child welfare in the state. CWG was asked to conduct the study, which was completed in the fall of 2015. The findings of the review featured information about improved or falling outcome trends in practice, the impact of budgetary restrictions, and the workforce environment. CWG worked with DCFS in 2016 to provide training and coaching in response to some of the goals established by the state.