	Family Preservation and Stabilization Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-FPS 4: Service Planning and Monitoring

Each family participates in the development and ongoing review of a service plan that is the basis for delivery of appropriate services and support.

Interpretation: Generally children age six or over are to be included in service planning, unless there are clinical justifications for not doing so.

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.

PA-FPS 4.01

A family-centered service plan is developed within a timeframe that is responsive to family needs, with the full participation of family members.

Interpretation: Service planning is to be conducted so that family members retain as much personal responsibility and self-determination as possible and desired. Individuals with limited ability in making independent choices can receive help with making or learning to make decisions.

PA-FPS 4.02

The service plan is based on the assessment and includes:

agreed upon goals, desired outcomes, and timeframes for achieving them;
services and supports to be provided, and by whom; and
a parent or legal guardian’s signature.

Interpretation: The agency 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.

PA-FPS 4.03

During service planning the agency explains:

available options;
how the agency can support the achievement of desired outcomes;
the benefits, cultural relevance, and alternatives to planned services for all family members;
what information will be shared with the agency that made the initial referral for family preservation and stabilization services, if applicable; and
expectations and potential consequences of non compliance with the service plan.

PA-FPS 4.04

Families are informed about:

any time limits associated with service provision;
any limitations on subsequent service or follow-up upon case closure; and
the role the agency will play in helping them identify resources that meet ongoing needs.

PA-FPS 4.05

Extended family members and significant others, as appropriate and with the consent of the family, are advised of ongoing progress and invited to participate in case conferences.

Interpretation: The agency can facilitate the participation of extended family and significant others by, for example, helping arrange transportation or including them in scheduling decisions.

PA-FPS 4.06

The provider and family regularly review progress toward achievement of agreed upon goals and sign revisions to service goals and plans.

PA-FPS 4.07

The provider and a supervisor, or a clinical, service, or peer team, regularly review the case to assess:

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

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

Agencies providing intensive services should review cases monthly, and agencies providing less intensive services should review cases at least quarterly. Timeframes for service plan review 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.

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	PURPOSE: Family Preservation and Stabilization Services improve family functioning, increase child well-being, ensure child safety, reduce the need for placement in out-of-home care, and enable children in out-of-home care to return safely to their families.

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.


	OUT-OF-HOME CARE Services for persons living in environments outside of their usual households. Foster Care Services are considered to serve persons in out-of-home care.


	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".


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


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


	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."


	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.


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


	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.


	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.


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.


	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.