	Child and Family Development and Support Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-CFD 14: Case Closing and Aftercare

Case closing is a planned, orderly process, and the agency helps the family develop a plan for obtaining follow-up services.

NA The agency provides only parent education groups.

PA-CFD 14.01

Planning for case closing:

is a clearly defined process that includes assignment of staff responsibility;
begins at intake; and
involves the provider, family members, and others, as appropriate.

PA-CFD 14.02

Upon case closing, the agency notifies any collaborating service providers, including the courts, as appropriate.

PA-CFD 14.03

When a family’s third-party benefits or payments end, the agency determines its responsibility to provide services until appropriate arrangements are made, and if service ends due to non-payment the agency works with the family to identify service options.

Interpretation: The agency must determine on a case-by-case basis its responsibility to continue providing services to families whose third-party benefits have ended and who are in critical situations.

NA The agency does not receive third-party benefits or payments for service.

PA-CFD 14.04

If a family is asked to leave the program, the agency makes every effort to link family members with appropriate services.

PA-CFD 14.05

Families and providers work together to develop aftercare plans that:

are developed sufficiently in advance of case closing to ensure an orderly transition;
identify services needed or desired by family members; and
specify steps for obtaining these services.

Interpretation: While the decision to develop an aftercare plan should be based on the wishes of the family, unless aftercare is mandated, the agency is expected to be strongly proactive with respect to aftercare planning. To increase the likelihood that needed supports and services will be accessed after case closing, the agency should take the initiative to explore suitable resources, contact service providers, and follow up on the aftercare plan, as appropriate, when possible, and with the permission of the family.

Research Note: Due to funding constraints, programs providing early intervention under Part C of IDEA can generally only serve children under age three. Accordingly, literature emphasizes the importance of helping children and families enrolled in these programs facilitate a smooth, successful transition into child care, school, or an alternate intervention program.

NA The agency has an interagency agreement that does not include aftercare planning and follow-up.

PA-CFD 14.06

The agency that has an interagency agreement that does not include aftercare planning or follow-up:

conducts a formal case closing evaluation and assessment of unmet needs; and
informs the collaborating body of the findings, in writing, as appropriate to the agreement and with the permission of the family.

NA The agency does not have a relevant agreement.

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.


	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."


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


	INTAKE The client's entry point for services at which eligibility is assessed against established criteria and a preliminary evaluation of the presenting problem occurs.


	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.


	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.


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


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


	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.