	Child and Family Development and Support Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

CFD 15: Personnel

Personnel are capable of helping children and families consider options, improve their functioning, and achieve their goals.

CFD 15.01

Personnel have the competencies needed to:

engage, establish trust, develop relationships, and collaborate effectively with individuals and families from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives;
provide services in a culturally competent manner;
promote respect and encourage independence;
use appropriate methods of support and establish professional boundaries with families;
observe and understand child, individual, and family functioning;
educate families about child development, child rearing, and positive personal development;
identify and build on strengths;
assess needs, risks, and safety;
recognize and address problems related to substance use, mental health, domestic violence, and child abuse and neglect;
collaborate with community providers; and
link families with needed services offered by other community providers.

Interpretation: Competency can be demonstrated through a combination of education, training, and experience.

NA The organization provides only parent education groups.

CFD 15.02

Personnel providing early intervention services have the additional competencies needed to:

administer early intervention techniques;
understand issues of particular relevance to the families of children with developmental delays or disabilities; and
help families learn how to support and promote their children’s healthy development.

Interpretation: Competency can be demonstrated through a combination of education, training, and experience.

NA The organization does not provide an early intervention program.

CFD 15.03

Personnel providing parent education services in a group setting have the competencies needed to:

engage and motivate group members;
understand group dynamics;
lead discussions;
facilitate group activities;
collaborate effectively with individuals and families from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives;
provide services in a culturally competent manner;
promote respect and encourage independence;
educate individuals and families about child development, child rearing, and positive personal development; and
recognize family needs and collaborate with community providers.

Interpretation: Competency can be demonstrated through a combination of education, training, and experience.

NA The organization does not provide parent education groups.

CFD 15.04

Supervisors are qualified by:

an advanced degree in a health or human service field; or
a bachelor’s degree in a health or human service field and two years’ experience working with children and families.

Interpretation: When supervisors are qualified by element (b), prior experience with supervision is desirable.

CFD 15.05

Supervisors provide:

regular support and supervision to all direct service personnel; and
additional support and supervision to personnel who are new or developing competencies or qualifications.

CFD 15.06

Employee workloads support the achievement of positive outcomes for families, are regularly reviewed, and are based on an assessment of the following:

the qualifications, competencies, and experience of the provider, including the level of supervision needed;
case complexity and status;
the work and time required to accomplish assigned tasks, including those associated with individual caseloads and other job responsibilities;
whether services are provided by multiple professionals or team members; and
service volume, accounting for assessed level of needs of new and current families and referrals.

Interpretation: Case complexity can take into account: the intensity of child and family needs, the size of the family, travel time, and the goal of the case.

When services are provided through a home visiting model, caseloads generally range from 15 – 25 families, depending upon the frequency and intensity of services provided.

NA The organization provides only parent education groups.

CFD 15.07

When multiple providers are involved, a team approach is used to ensure a comprehensive, integrated approach to service delivery.

Interpretation: Mechanisms should be in place to facilitate communication and coordination.

NA The organization does not involve multiple providers in service delivery.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Families participating in Child and Family Development and Support Services delivered through strong community partnerships gain new competencies, improve child health and well-being, improve family functioning, and make family-community connections.

RELATED FILES


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	ADMINISTER The act of giving a single dose of a prescribed drug to a client by an authorized person in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations governing such acts. The complete act entails removing an individual dose from a previously dispensed, properly labeled container (including a unit dose container), verifying it with a physician's order, giving the individual dose to the proper client, and recording the time and dose given.


	DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY A condition in which a child has an ongoing, major delay in the achievement of one or more developmental milestones in the areas of language, cognitive, motor, and/or and social skills. A doctor usually diagnoses a developmental delay based on strict guidelines.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	ADVANCED DEGREE A degree at the Master's level or beyond from an institution of higher education. An advanced degree does not include a Bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, or an educational certificate.


	SUPERVISION Assumption of responsibility for directly overseeing and evaluating the work or work products of personnel within an organization. Also includes inspecting the act or process of accomplishing a function or activity.


	WORKLOAD The amount of work assigned to or expected from a person within a specified period of time. See also CASELOAD.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	CASELOAD The aggregate number of clients and/or consumers of service (including individuals, families, and groups) for whom a given employee is responsible. See also WORKLOAD


	EMPLOYEE Paid member of an organization. Foster parents are not considered employees and are specifically referenced in relevant standards.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	REFERRALS Resource suggestions provided to consumers to address problems or needs that are beyond the scope of the organization's mission.