CWS/CMSPlacement

Central CA Training Academy559-278-5757

Terry Luna, CWS/CMS Project Coordinatorterril@csufresno.edu

1January 2018

Table of Contents

Placement Facility Search Tips 3 – 5

Placement Definitions 6

Things that can STOP you from making a Placement 7

Correcting Errors in the Placement Notebook 8

When to End a Placement Episode 9

Non – Foster Care Placement 10

Foster Care Placement 11

Ongoing Requests – Level of Care 12

Placement Program History / Interagency Placement Approval 13

End Placement / Episode 14

Notification of Relatives 15-16

Temporary Absence 17

Creating an FFA Certified Home / FFACRFH 18

Creating and Updating SOC 158A 19

Creating Eligibility Forms – FC2, MC250 & SAWS 1 20

Merge Substitute Care Provider 21

Remove A Placement 22

Process Placement Home Move 23

SILP Placement 24-25

Voluntary Re-entry to Extended FC 26

THP Plus FC Placement 27

End Placement Home 28

SOC158 Mapping 29

2

Placement Facility Search Tips

County Licensed Foster Homes / Resource Family Homes

When searching for county licensed foster homes or resource family homes, be sure to search for the home several different ways. This will make sure that if there are duplicate homes in the system, you will be able to determine the correct home.

If the Resource Family Home is in another county, be sure to select that county. County of the logged on user will automatically be checked.

3

1. Use License number if available.

Or

2. Use Zip Code if known.

Or3. Use Substitute Care Provider’s name. Be sure that Phonetic Search is checked.

You can select ‘Resource Family Home’ from this drop down menu.

Group Homes / FFA’s / STRTP’s / Other State Licensed Homes

Use this link: https://secure.dss.ca.gov/CareFacilitySearch/to find a current statewide listing of Group Homes /FFA’s / STRTP’s that includes the current license number of each that can be used to easily locate the home in CWS/CMS. The list is updated regularly.

4

1. Use License Number if available.

2. Use Wild Cards if searching by name – i.e.search for Bremer House by entering %Bremer%

Choose the type of Facility from this drop down menu.

FFA Certified Homes / FFA Certified Resource Family Homes

If you search by FFA – it will bring the list of all homes certified by that particular FFA. This will reduce your chances of missing homes.If there are duplicate homes in your search – you must pick the most correct one. Use the following criteria to determining the most correct home:

Home is associated with the correct FFA. Home is ‘licensed’. Address is correct. Payee is correct.

5

PLACEMENT DEFINITIONS

1. Be sure the county where home is located is correct and checked.

2. Search by FFA – that brings all homes certified by that agency.

3. Use the Wild Card when searching by FFA.

You can select FFACRH from this drop down menu.

TEMPORARY CUSTODYA child’s detention in CWS custody after non-voluntary removal from the home.

NON-FOSTER CAREA child’s residence outside the home or foster family home due to incarceration or placement into a medical facility. A non-foster care placement is part of a placement episode.

PLACEMENTA Placement is when a child is placed in an out of home foster care facility. These can include Foster Family Homes, FFA Certified Foster Homes, Relative Homes, Group Homes, etc.

PLACEMENT EPISODEThe time period from a child’s first removal from the home to his or her final and permanent placement, whether back in the home or otherwise. This period may include one or more placements in foster or non-foster care.

Things that can STOP you from Making a Placement in CWS/CMS

Missing or End Dated State ID for Victim

Child’s Current Placement needs to be Ended

You have not Searched for the Home

The Placement Home has been placed on “Hold” by your County6

The Placement Home is “At Capacity”

The Placement Home has not been created in the System

Correcting Errors in the Placement Notebook

Under the ACTION MENU:

Update Placement

Use this command to modify any placement that is blue. This command will open the placement back up so that corrections can be made. It will generally only open one page at a time, but each page requiring correction may be opened separately. You can only modify the fields that are normally available prior to the close of the placement. You must have the placement you want to modify ‘in focus’. The logged-on user must have the appropriate rights and authorities for the unit of the staff person with the

primary assignment to this case or referral

Insert Placement

Use this command to insert a placement into an existing gap between two previously recorded placements. You can insert placements, non-foster care placements, temporary custody, and placement episodes. If a gap does not exist, you must create one using the Update Placement command to modify existing

placements. You must have all existing placements in your current work before you can insert a placement.

Change Placement Home

7

Use this command to change the placement home of the placement specified. Only the information pertaining to the home will be changed, not the placement information. The case or referral must be in current work The new Placement Home notebook must be in current work. The logged-on user has the appropriate rights and authorities for the unit of the staff person with the primary

assignment to this case or referral.

When to End a Placement Episode

DEFINITION of a PLACEMENT EPISODE:The time period from a child’s first removal from the home to his or her final and permanent placement, whether back in the home or otherwise. This period may include one or more placements in foster or non-foster care.

The CWS/CMS application was designed based on the premise that a placement would be ended when the child was physically returned to a parent. Normally, the initial return is considered "Trial" by the Court.  Then, depending on the normal practice of the local jurisdiction, the case may come back to court in 30 or 60 days.  At that time the Court will order a placement and will either dismiss dependency or will not.  With that "placement" ordered (back to the parent), that is considered to be the appropriate time to end the placement episode.  That order to place marks the point at which a SW would have to get a new protective hold to remove the child. The same premise would apply if the child is placed for adoption, or with a legal guardian.  If you need a protective hold to remove, then you should not have a placement episode open.

Other appropriate times to end an episode include:

Child emancipated.Child turns 18 or 21, and dependency is dismissed.Legal Guardianship has been established.

8

Adoption has been finalized.

Leave episode open when:

Child is on runaway status – as the county still has jurisdiction.

9

QUICK GUIDE TO A FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT

10

QUICK GUIDE TO A NON-FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT

The Non-Foster Care section of the Placement Notebook should be used to record information about a child’s incarceration or placement into a medical facility only.

STEP 1: Review Each Child’s Client Notebook to be sure they have an Active State ID number .

TIP: All children to be placed must have an active STATE ID number.

If there is not an Active State ID number, follow your county’s procedure for obtaining and entering number

STEP 2: Create New Placement

,

Select the child you want to place in non-foster care, then the Non-Foster Care button.

Complete this page ONLY if this is the initial removal of the child.

*** If this is NOT the initial removal of the child, SKIP THIS PAGE. ***

Complete this page with information about the non-foster care placement.

SAVE TO DATABASE

ENDING A NON-FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT

STEP 1: Open the Existing Non-Foster Care Placement

,

Enter the placement change reason and the date the child is taken out of the facility.

Only use the Placement Episode Termination if the child’s involvement with Child Welfare Services is coming to an end.

SAVE TO DATABASE

Note: If you are placing multiple children in the same home, you must open each child’s case.STEP 1: Review Each Child’s Client Notebook to be sure they have an Active State ID number .

,

TIP: All children to be placed must have an active STATE ID number.

If there is not an Active State ID number, follow your county’s procedure for obtaining and entering number.

STEP 2: SEARCH for Placement Home Search for ‘Placement Facility’ and select the facility type you are looking for, i.e., foster family home, group home, etc.

Double click the row of the home you want to review to bring up the Abstract. Close Search Results.

STEP 3: Create New Placement

Select child(ren) that you wish to place in the first box, then select the home you are placing in from the bottom box and click OK.

Worker can multi select children for placement into the same home.

Complete this page ONLY if this is initial removal of the child(ren). **If this is not the initial removal, SKIP this page.**

Complete all YELLOW fields. Complete PERIWINKLE fields as applicable.Record any Foster Care payments on the Ongoing Requests page.Complete Incidental Payments page ONLY if authorized.If you are placing multiple children in the same home, you must complete these pages for each child. The system automatically opens each child’s placement notebook; you will find them under WINDOW in the title bar. SAVE TO DATABASE

STEP 4: Create Placement Documents Create the Placement Agreement document for the type of home child placed in.

SOC158A – Foster Child’s Data Record can also be created here.

APPROVAL Request Approval per your county policy for the Placement and any Payments authorized. Use the Approval command under the ACTION menu.

SAVE TO DATABASE

11

Ongoing Requests Page:

Once a basic rate has been entered, you will choose Home Based Family Care under Payment Type.

Home Based Family Care is the only value available. Once that is selected, you can choose the level of care value.

Choices are:

Basic Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

The amount entered in the basic rate field will still populate the SOC158A.

If a Specialized Care Increment has been authorized, enter a second line and choose the radio button: Additional Payment. Record the amount authorized in the additional payment box, then document the reason for the SCI.

12

ID Page – Placement Notebook

A new grid has been added to the ID page of the Placement Notebook when a child has been placed in a Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) so that the ‘Interagency Placement Committee Approval” can be recorded. User can also show if the status is Denied or Further Review needed.

If no Approval and Status Date have been entered, if Denied or Further Review recorded or if client moves to another STRTP – a reminder will be generated: IPC Follow Up Needed.

13

Dual Agency Placement Intensive Services Foster

Care Intensive Treatment Foster

Care Multidimensional Treatment

Foster Care Whole Family Foster Home

QUICK GUIDE TO ENDING A PLACEMENT or A PLACEMENT EPISODEEnd a Placement

STEP 1: Open the Placement you want to End.

Select the placement that you want to end from the list and open it.

Be sure an ‘Agreement Effective Date’ has been entered on this page. Should be the same date as the placement start date. Be sure that ‘Legal Authorization for Placement’ info has been entered.Be sure that any Incidental Payments listed on this page have an End Date.

Record a Payment Stop Date for any payment listed on this page. If Educational Transportation had been paid, you must stop the payment and include the reason why.Record the placement change reason, end date of placement and description. An automatic message will appear to remind you that the placement notebook will become read only.

SAVE TO DATABASE

End a Placement Episode – when the child goes to his/her final and permanent placement, home or otherwise.

STEP 1: Open the Placement you want to End.

Select the placement that you want to end from the list and open it.

Be sure an ‘Agreement Effective Date’ has been entered on this page. Should be the same date as the placement start date.Be sure that any Incidental Payments listed on this page have an End Date.

Record a Payment Stop Date for any payment listed on this page. If Educational Transportation had been paid, you must stop the payment and include the reason why.Record the placement episode termination reason, description, and end date of episode. This will automatically fill in the top part of the screen, and remind you that the placement notebook will become read only.SAVE TO DATABASE

14

Notification of Relatives: AB 938

AB 938, effective January 1, 2010 – requires that within 30 days of a child’s removal from the home, the county must exercise due diligence to conduct an investigation to identify and locate all grandparents, adult siblings and other adult relatives, including those suggested by the parents.

Client & Collateral Notebooks: Related Clients Page

If the relative has been created as a ‘client’ – open the child’s client notebook – and record the notification on the related clients page. Be sure to record the relative’s address on the address page of the relative’s client notebook.

If the relative has been created as a ‘collateral’ – open the collateral – and the entry on the related clients page is the same. Be sure to record the address of the relative on the address page.

Multiple responses from the relative can be recorded here:Interested in Contact No responseInterested in Permanent Placement Not interestedInterested in Placement UndecidedInterested in Supporting Case Plan

Worker can also document that notification is inappropriate for a relative due to history of family or domestic violence. Relative Notification Letter:

Once you’ve completed the Relative Notification section of the Client/Collateral Notebooks, you can create the letter to mail to each relative.

15

Be sure the ‘on behalf of’ shows the child’s name, then enter date & method of notification of that particular relative and the result when received.

You can record multiple entries here.

You can prepare a separate letter for each relative by selecting them from the recipient list.

They will have the correct address if it had been recorded previously on the address page of the Client/Collateral notebook. However, if generated in print preview mode, worker can add/update an address.

The letter can be produced in English or Spanish.

Relative Notification Report:

Under FILE/PRINT REPORT:Area of Interest: Client ReportsChoose: Relative Notification Report

The Relative Notification Report can be produced for each child separately, to show which relatives have been notified, when notified, and what their response was.

Probation Cases:When a minor is detained and the court orders foster care placement, the probation officer shall conduct the investigation to find and notify relatives within 30 days of the placement order. This relative notification process can be used in Probation cases. All oral and written contacts with relatives are to be documented in the Client or Collateral notebook.

16

Documenting a Child’s Temporary Absence from a Placement Home

When a child is temporarily absent from a placement home, but has plans to return, use this functionality to indicate where the child is and when they will return:

STEP 1: Open the Child’s Current Placement:

Record the Start Date of the child’s absence from the current facility, and the expected return date to the facility.

In the comments section, worker should record the details about where the child will be during the absence.

When the child ‘actually’ returns to the facility – document the return date and time.

Using this functionality leaves the existing placement open, but accounts for the whereabouts of the child at all times.

17

Creating An FFA Certified Home/FFA Certified Resource Family HomeThe first County that places a child in an FFA Certified home is responsible to create the home.

1. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Open the Resource Management section of CWS/CMS.

2. Open ‘Existing Placement Home’

Open the Placement Management section of Resource Management.Open the Existing Placement Home notebook, and use the Retrieve button to activate the Search screen.

SEARCH for the home first (to be sure it is not in the database already).

3. Create ‘New Placement Home’

If the certified home was not located in the database, use the plus + sign to Create the New Placement Home.

SEARCH tip:When searching the FFA that licensed the home, search by License number if you have it.

Use this page to identify the type of home you are licensing – select ‘Foster Family Agency Certified Home’ or FFACRFH as the home type. Then, you must select the FFA that the certified home is licensed by. Use the binoculars to activate the Search. Age range defaults to 0 to 18, adjust as necessary. Enter ‘adjusted capacity’ – usually the number of children home is licensed for. (No more than 6)Be sure to record the physical address of the home on this page.

Use the Plus +sign to add the substitute care provider(s). Be sure to complete all YELLOW and GREEN fields. You can use the Attach Existing Sub Care Provider command under the ACTION menu if you have the home open previously associated with this person.

Use these pages to record any children and adults living in the home. (Not children placed) Use the plus sign + to add each individual, and be sure to indicate their relationship to the substitute care provider. Record all applicable characteristics of the home on this page. This page is used to record comments about the Placement home that have been brought to the attention of a CWS staff person.

Special Projects – are defined by the county.

Record information about the payee of Foster Care payments. This should be the Foster Family Agency.

SAVE TO DATABASE

18

CREATING A SOC158A

Create New Document – Placement.

Select the SOC158A from the list.

Select the Placement that you want the SOC158A for.

The SOC158A will be generated, populated with information from various notebooks. SAVE, PRINT & CLOSE.

SAVE TO DATABASE

UPDATING A S0C158A

UPDATE INFORMATION IN THE APPROPRIATE NOTEBOOKS, AND THEN SAVE TO DATABASE.

Open the Existing Document – Placement.

Highlight the SOC158A that you want to generate with updated information.

REMOVE it.

Then, click NEW.

Select the Placement that you want to generate the updated SOC158A for.

The SOC158A will be generated, populated with the updated information from various notebooks. SAVE, PRINT & CLOSE.SAVE TO DATABASE

19

Creating Eligibility Forms

Create an FC-2 Create an MC250 Create a SAWS-1

Note: In order for the forms to be accurate, the following information needs to be entered in the following Notebooks and Pages.

Birthplace ----Client Notebook, Demog Page Immigration Status ----Client Notebook, Demog Page US Citizen ----Client Notebook, Demog Page Unemployed Parent ----Client Notebook, Demog Page Military Status ----Client Notebook, Demog Page SS# -Child ----Client Notebook, ID Page Parents Names ----Client Notebook, Related Clients Page Maiden Name ----Client Notebook, Names Page

Parents Addresses ----Client Notebook, Address Page

To Print the Forms: Use the Plus button – to Create New Document - Client

Then, select the document you want to create.

FC-2 – Facts Supporting Eligibility for AFDC-FC

Save - Print

MC250 – Medi-Cal Application

Save - Print

SAWS 1 – Application for Cash Aid

Save - Print

SAVE TO DATABASE20

Merging Duplicate Substitute Care Providers

Be sure that ‘cache’ is cleared – either Save to Database before beginning, or log back on to clear cache.Search for Duplicate Substitute Care Providers:Double Click each client to bring up the ‘SCP Abstract’ for each.

ACTION – Merge Substitute Care Provider

This dialogue box will allow you to see each client side by side before the merge. Then select a client to be Primary .Once you accept the Merge, it cannot be undone – even if you don’t Save to Database!!

21

REMOVE A PLACEMENT

Remove is not available under any one of the following conditions:

A temporary leave is in effect (Temporary Leave page). EDIT – Remove Row

An incidental payment row exists (Incidental Payment page). EDIT – Remove Row

An ongoing payment row exists (Ongoing Requests page). EDIT – Remove Row

The placement has an End Date (ID page). ACTION-Update Placement, delete end date from the End Placement Page.

The placement has an association to a Relative/NREFM assessment (Relative/NREFM Assessment page). ATTACH/DETACH Menu: Choose Detach Relative Assessment

The Placement Home notebook for the Placement Home named on the ID page is being used by the Resource Management application on your PC. Close Resource Management

You are neither the Unit Supervisor, nor do you have either Assignment/Transfer or Approval Authority for the unit of the staff person with the primary assignment to this case or referral as set up in the Resource Management application.

The selected foster care placement ends a placement episode that did not begin with a temporary custody, and contains multiple placements.

The selected foster care placement is the first such placement in a placement episode that did not begin with a temporary custody, and the next contiguous placement is a non-foster care placement.

22

Process Placement Home Move – for Address Changes (this can only be done in Resource Management and may be limited to RFA Units)

This functionality has been expanded to include ability to change addresses for: Foster Family Homes Relative Homes FFA Certified Homes Resource Family Homes FFA Certified Resource Family Homes

23

After ‘address change’ – the old home will be ‘inactivated’ and will be ‘read only’. A new home will be created with the new address and same SCP’s. Any children placed in the old home will be moved to the new home.

This field is mandatory if resulting home type is FFH or RFH. It populates to the Co License Case.

This field is mandatory if resulting home type is FFACH or FFACRFH. If THPP Facility is checked, only THPP FFAs will appear in menu.

SILP Placement (You no longer have to use ‘court specified home’ for SILP’s. New home type added: Supervised Independent Living Placement.The SILP is a new and flexible placement type for foster care that was created for NMD’s participating in Extended Foster Care. Counties have significant discretion for what can constitute a SILP placement. SILP placements can include:

Apartments (alone or with roommates) Single Room Occupancies (may have shared bathrooms and/or kitchens) Renting a room (including from a former caregiver) Dorms/University housing

Once the SILP placement has been assessed and approved, the entry into CWS/CMS can be made.

Placement Home must be created first – a new Placement Home type of “Supervised Independent Living Placement” has been added. Create the home from within the NMD’s case, SILP cannot be created in Resource Management. County should establish naming convention guidelines for naming the homes, i.e., “John Smith SILP”Work in the Youth’s Case:

Create New Placement Home:

Choose: Supervised Independent Living Placement as the type.

Complete this page with as much information as you have. Enter the ADDRESS on this page.Be sure to enter the number of beds needed in the Adj. Cap. box on the ID page of the placement home.http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp Use this link for Zip + 4 for the Placement Home address.

This page is no longer required for a SILP since the NMD is an adult. On the ID page of the SILP placement, care provider relationship defaults to “self” - but can be changed if needed.

*Some counties continue to add the NMD as SCP: refer to your county’s data entry practice.*

Complete these pages with as much information as you have regarding other people living with the NMD. Complete all YELLOW and GREEN fields.Enter payee information here, this could be the NMD, or another party named at the request of the NMD, such as a landlord.

Once this SILP (placement home) has been created, create the placement for the NMD, and then Save to Database. If the youth isn’t placed, the Placement Home will be deleted. SILP’s are not available for Search.

Review the Client Notebook to be sure an Active

24

State ID number has been recorded.

,

If there is not an Active State ID number, follow your county’s procedure for obtaining and entering number.

Create New Placement

Select the NMD, and highlight the SILP placement home you just created, click OK.

Complete the page with as much information as possible.

Legal Authorization for Placement:NMD WIC 300, 450 or 602 (choose the appropriate WIC code)

Effective date: Youth’s 18th birthday.

Care Provider Relationship is YELLOW – and will default to ‘SELF’.

SILP’s will receive the basic foster care rate, and applicable county clothing allowance. Use these pages to record the payments. SCI payments are not available for SILP placement, however, parenting NMDs can receive the infant supplement while residing in the SILP.

Create Placement Documents SOC158A – Foster Child’s Data Record can be created here.

Under the CDSS section: SOC157A – Approval and SILP Placement Agreement and SOC157B – SILP Inspection checklist can be generated.

SAVE TO DATABASE

A voluntary re-entry following dismissal of dependency is considered to be a New Placement Episode. Create the New Placement as you would for any youth.Here are the differences for NMD’s.In the Placement Notebook, the Child Removal Page must be completed.

25

26

‘Voluntary Reentry’ has been added to the list of Reasons for Removal . Use this for youth re-entering the foster care system after dependency had been dismissed previously.

Removed From field does not really apply to NMD’s re-entering – choose ‘Unable to Identify’ since this field is mandatory.

Choose appropriate Legal Authority:NMD-WIC 300 / 450 / 602. The date should be the date the NMD signed the Voluntary Reentry Agreement.

Care Provider Relationship is YELLOW – choose ‘Self’.

Checking No to Temp. Custody will disable the Removed By area.

THP-Plus-FC

This new foster care housing program is specifically for NMD’s who are in an EFC placement under the jurisdiction of the court and who are not ready for a highly independent type living situation. It will offer similar housing models and supportive services that are available in the current THP Plus Program. The living situation can be alone, with a roommate, or with a host family.

THP-Plus-FC will provide housing for NMD’s and offer more frequent and intensive services than other placement options.

THP-Plus-FC providers are not eligible for education travel reimbursement per ACL 13-03 dated 3/28/13.

Counties can use existing CWS/CMS data entry procedures in entering these placement homes as FFA-Certified Homes – with the THP Plus provider as the agency that certified the home.

SOC 152 _Placement Agency – THP-Plus-FC Provider Agreement is located in RED section – under Placement Document section: Choose CDSS section.

Work in the Youth’s Case:Step 1: Create New Placement Home:

Choose: Foster Family Agency Certified Home as the type.

Select the THP Plus Provider that licensed the home. Use the binoculars to activate the Search. Be sure to check the “THP’ checkbox, so you will bring all the licensed THP providers.

Complete this page with as much information as you have. Enter the ADDRESS on this page.Be sure to enter the number of beds needed in the Adj. Cap. box on the ID page of the placement home.http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp Use this link for Zip + 4 for the Placement Home address.

Step 2: Use the plus + sign to Create the Youth as the SCP unless they are placed with a host family. You can ‘Attach’ the SCP if they are known to the system. Complete the payee page with the THP Plus provider’s information in regards to where the payment will go.

Now that the THP Plus Placement Home is created, you can place the Youth in the home.

27

Placement Home End Date

Certain Placement Homes can now be end dated. This function can only be done in Resource Management. User must have Resource Management Placement Facility Maintenance privilege to end date a home.

This frame has been added to ‘Placement Home’ notebook.

These types of placement homes can be ended:

Court Specified Home FFA Certified Home Guardian Home Relative/NREFM Home Tribe Specified Home

Reason Type Values: Address

Change Adoption Only FFA Closure No Longer Certified/Approved Relative/NREFM No Eligible Child SCP Changed FFA Agency SCP Deceased SCP Request Other

Once a Placement Home has been ended, you will not be able to place a child in the home. However, historical placements can be made in order to correct history.

End date can be removed and the home will be open once again.

Note: If home is end dated – you will not be able to record the Special Project codes for RSO investigations as instructed in ACL 13-64, dated 10/15/2013. Remove end date, record Special Project code, then end the home once again.

28

End Date column has been added to the search results and placement history grids

and home study in Resource Management, so it will be easy to identify a

closed home.

29