	Foster Care Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

FC 3: Service Planning and Monitoring

Families participate in the development and ongoing review of service plans that are the basis for delivery of appropriate services and support.

Interpretation: When the case involves an Indian child, resources available through the tribe or local Indian organizations should be considered when developing the service plan.

FC 3.01

A service plan is developed with the full participation of the child, the family, and the foster parents.

Interpretation: Generally children age six and older are to be included in service planning, unless there is clinical justification for not doing so. Service planning procedures are adapted as needed in cases involving domestic violence to promote safe, healthy, and active participation of all family members. For example, in some instances, the organization may determine that meetings involving both the perpetrator and the survivor would pose a safety risk or would limit the participation of the survivor and would not be appropriate.

Interpretation: Service planning is conducted so that family members retain as much personal responsibility and self-determination as possible and desired.

Research Note: Some studies on foster parent retention suggest that foster parents believe information they have about the needs of the child in their care is undervalued and underutilized. Involving foster parents in service planning and decision making has been identified as one practice that can improve foster parent retention.

FC 3.02

Extended family members and significant others, as appropriate, and with the consent of the family, are advised of ongoing progress, and participate in service planning.

Interpretation: The organization can facilitate participation by, for example, helping arrange transportation or including family members in scheduling decisions.

Research Note: While the efficacy of involving people who can play an effective informal support role has not been established formally, an approach known as family group conferencing is sometimes used to positive effect in child welfare programs.

FC 3.03

During service planning the organization and the family explore:

available options;
how the organization can support the achievement of desired outcomes;
benefits, cultural relevance, and alternatives of planned services; and
consequences for non-participation in services.

FC 3.04

The service plan is based on the assessment and includes:

service goals, desired outcomes, and timeframes for achieving them;
services and supports to be provided, and by whom; and
the signature of the parents and, when appropriate, the child or youth.

Interpretation: The organization should recognize the value of incorporating culturally-grounded interventions into the service plan, and include traditional practices or customs of the child’s culture, tribe, or faith-based community to the greatest extent possible and appropriate.

FC 3.05

The service plan addresses, as appropriate:

unmet service and support needs that impact safety, permanency, and well-being;
maintaining and strengthening relationships; and
the need for culturally responsive services and the support of the family’s informal social network.

FC 3.06

The service plan is developed in a timely manner, and expedited service planning is available when crisis or urgent need is identified.

FC 3.07

The foster care worker and a supervisor, or a clinical, service, or peer team review the case quarterly to assess:

service plan implementation;
progress toward achieving service goals and desired outcomes; and
the continuing appropriateness of the agreed upon service goals.

Interpretation: Experienced workers may conduct reviews of their own cases. In such cases, the worker's supervisor reviews a sample of the worker's evaluations as per the requirements of the standard.

Interpretation: Timeframes for reviews should be adjusted depending upon issues and needs of persons receiving services, and the frequency and intensity of services provided.

Interpretation: When the case involves an Indian child, a representative from the tribe or a local Indian organization should receive timely notification of case reviews, be given an opportunity to participate, and be informed of any changes made to the plan. The case review should include an assessment for compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act.

FC 3.08

The foster care worker and the family regularly review progress toward achievement of agreed upon goals and sign revisions to service goals and plans.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Children and youth who receive Foster Care Services live in a stable home, remain safe and healthy, and achieve permanency and well-being.

RELATED FILES


	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.


	SERVICE PLAN A written plan of action based on the assessment of consumer needs and strengths that identifies problems, sets goals, and describes a strategy for achieving those goals and engaging in joint problem solving with the consumer. Also known as a "treatment plan".


	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.


	INDIAN CHILD As defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), "Any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe." For purposes of compliance with ICWA, the definition provided in the Act shall apply. For purposes of access to services and resources, other more inclusive definitions may apply (e.g. Indian Education Act, tribal definitions, etc.).


	INDIAN ORGANIZATION As defined in ICWA, "Any group, association, partnership, cooperation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by Indians, or a majority of whose members are Indians."


	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."


	FOSTER PARENTS State- or county-licensed adults who provide a temporary home for children whose birth parents are unable to care for them. Foster parents are not considered employees or personnel and are specifically referenced in all relevant standards.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	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.


	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.


	SERVICE GOALS Broad, issue-oriented statements that reflect the realistic achievements to be accomplished in the short or long term. Goals are achieved through the accomplishment of specific quantifiable objectives.


	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.


	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.


	CLINICAL The study, assessment, and diagnosis of the client situation followed by direct treatment to help the client achieve prescribed goals.


	APPROPRIATENESS The degree to which a particular service, placement, treatment, intervention, or activity is: best suited to an individual's needs; not excessive, unduly intrusive, or restrictive; anticipated to be effective in achieving the desired and specified outcomes; and adequate or sufficient in quantity to address the problem.


	SAMPLE A portion or representative percentage of a greater whole.


	EVALUATION The review and assessment of organizational operations, programs and services.


	CASE REVIEW A regular and periodic examination of a consumer's service needs, service delivery goals and objectives, intervention plans, prognoses, and the timelines required to achieve them. The direct service provider and supervisor frequently conduct the case review, but it may also involve others, as in an interdisciplinary or inter-organizational case conference. The client, or the parent or legal guardian in the case of a minor, are included in his/her periodic case review by the team.