	Family Preservation and Stabilization Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-FPS 10: Aftercare and Follow-Up

The family and provider work together to develop an aftercare plan to help the family solidify gains made during the provision of services, and follow-up occurs when possible and appropriate.

Interpretation: While the decision to develop an aftercare plan is based on the wishes of the service recipient, unless aftercare is mandated, the agency is expected to be strongly proactive with respect to aftercare planning.

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

Research Note: Although services reviewed under this section are traditionally short-term and time-limited, research suggests that some of the benefits associated with service delivery may diminish several months after interventions conclude. Accordingly, some literature emphasizes the importance of promoting the use of follow-up services and supports, as referenced in the Research Note to PA-FPS 6.06.

PA-FPS 10.01

An aftercare plan is developed sufficiently in advance of case closing to ensure an orderly transition.

PA-FPS 10.02

The family and provider work together to create a culturally-responsive aftercare plan that:

addresses short-term and long-term needs and goals;
arranges for the initiation or continuation of all needed community services, including, where appropriate, a less intensive family counseling or support program; and
helps the family identify sources of informal and social support.

PA-FPS 10.03

To increase the likelihood that needed supports and services will be accessed, the agency:

helps families transition to new services; and
advocates with service providers on behalf of families.

Interpretation: The agency should take the initiative to explore suitable resources and contact service providers when appropriate, and with the permission of the family.

PA-FPS 10.04

The agency follows up with families at specified intervals after case closing.

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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.


	AFTERCARE Additional services provided beyond the period of primary care that offer continuity and supportive follow-up.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


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


	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."


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	CASE CLOSING A voluntary or involuntary process which occurs when an organization no longer assumes responsibility for providing services to a particular individual, group, or family. Also known as "termination" or "discharge."


	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.


	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.