Toward a DCFS Protective Timelinefor Strengthening
Families
Protective Factors
Quality Child Welfare Services Practice strategies for: • Reunification
• Permanency
• Child protection with intact families
• Etc.
? To Be Determined ?
Family Supportive Child Welfare Services
Prevention of childabuse & neglect
Promotion of well-being, safety, & permanency,
Social and EmotionalCompetence of Children
Concrete Supports in Times of Need
Knowledge of Parenting& Child Development
Parental Resilience
Social Connections
Healthy Parent-Child Relationship
Strategic Goals for Strengthening Families1. Embed the Protective Factors in all child welfare practices
and initiatives
2. Ensure children 3–5 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.
Common Framework: Protective Timeline
Streng
then
ing
Familie
s
Integ
rated
Asses
smen
tDCFS
/ POS C
ase
Plannin
g with
Family Ach
ieving
Perman
ency
Stre
ngth
ening
Familie
s
Early Learning
Community Approaches
Safety Planning
Serving Intact
Families
Comprehensive Front-End
Assessment
Concurrent Planning
Early Permanency
Trauma-Informed Practice
Ensuring Child Safety
Ensuring Permanency
Older Wards Aging Out
Community Follow-Up
Child P
rotec
tive
Servic
es
Levers for making the Protective Factors paradigm shift
• Tools, assessments, checklists
• Provider database• Training• Performance contracting
quality assurance tools• Performance evaluation
• Case reviews• Service planning• Courts• Communications• Funding streams• Policies
TANF
ReceivablesCollected
Children’sAccounts
AppropriationTOS Table
Age RateTable
TOSTable
Misc.Categorical
Grants
Tables
FCS
TANF/EASystem
ReceivablesRecognized
TFEDS
TANF/EAOutput
Title XIXMedicaid
DHS
FCSOutput
File
Payroll
Adjustments
DCFSRMS
POSRMS
SACWIS
ProviderBillings
Title IV-B II
ETVChafee
Title IV-B I
CCDF
WaiverSavings
Title XX
MARS CYCIS
Title IV-E45.0%
$568,900,217$285,175,740
Title XIX4.0%
$50,968,505$0
$25,484,232
TANF/EA17.1%
$215,679,922$68,800,000
$146,879,922
Title XX1.3%
$16,402,802$0
$16,402,802
Title IV-B I1.2%
$15,124,977$11,343,733
Title IV-B II1.7%
$20,981,000$15,735,750
SSI1.2%
$15,632,363$2,632,363$13,000,000
Chafee4.7%
$59,180,966$5,015,701
ETV0.2%
$2,924,154$1,719,931
CCDF1.8%
$22,407,670$0
Misc. Grants0.3%
$4,042,226$3,746,089
Unclaimed21.5%
$272,214,280
TEXT KEY
Amount Applied (Federal, State, MOE)
Federal Reimbursement to DCFS
Federal Reimbursement to GRF
DCFS Expenditures not applied to any Federal Program
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 …
Common Language
“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
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.
Goal 2:Ensure that children 3–5 years of age in the child welfare system are enrolled in early care and education settings—mandatory for wards, voluntary for intact and post-adoption families
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.
Goal 3:Ensure collaboration at the community level among Head Starts, Pre-Ks, childcare centers, families and caseworkers
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
Goal 4:Advance developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed child welfare practice
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
Goal 5: Work with public and private agencies to embed Protective Factors in child- and family-serving systems.
Goal 5: Objectives, FY 2009
1. Create incentives for SFI training / capacity building: ECE center licensing requirement
2. Create plan for engaging cities3. 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
“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