Tracking #2007-00576
FA/P 7/13/07, eff. 9/1/07

I:/07033001.rtf
[I:/07033001.doc]

(12 CCR 2509-1)

[Instructions: Insert the following before line 1035602.]
Revisions to Sections 7.202.62, 7.301.1-7.301.21, 7.301.231, 7.500.2, 7.500.315, 7.710.3, 7.710.33, and 7.710.36 were final adoption following publication at the 7/13/2007 State Board meeting, with an effective date of 9/1/2007 (Rule-making#s 07-3-30-1 and 07-4-17-1). Statement of Basis and Purpose and specific statutory authority for these revisions were incorporated by reference into the rule. These materials are available for review by the public during normal working hours at the Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Performance Improvement, Boards and Commissions Division, State Board Administration.

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(12 CCR 2509-3)

[Instructions:  Replace lines 1208004 through 1035180.] 
7.202.62  Provision of Ongoing Child Protection Services  [Rev. eff. 9/1/07]
A.  If a safety plan exists, the assigned caseworker and supervisor shall review it as the first step in ongoing services planning. 
B.  Ongoing child protection services shall be based on the safety and risk issues identified in the safety assessment and plan, risk assessment, North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS)/North Carolina Family Assessment Scale-Reunification (NCFAS-R), and in the family social history and assessment summary in the Family Services Plan. Services shall be provided to protect the child(ren) from further abuse or neglect through building parental capabilities and increasing parental involvement. This shall be accomplished in a manner that preserves the family when this can safely be done. When the family from whom the child(ren) were removed cannot safely be preserved, services shall be provided that preserve the child(ren)'s continuity within the extended family and/or home community when feasible. When the child(ren) cannot safely return to the family from whom they were removed, services shall be provided to achieve an alternative permanent plan that provides for a child(ren)'s safety and well-being in a timely manner. 
C.  At the point of case transfer, county departments shall assure that pertinent information regarding child safety, permanency, and well-being are translated to the new assigned caseworker. This shall be accomplished through any of the following methods, in a descending order of preference, based on the nature of the case and the workload ability of the county department: 
1.  Decision-making meeting involving caseworkers and/or supervisors, family and community providers. 
2.  Staffing between caseworkers and/or supervisors.
3.  Written transfer summary.
D.  The county department shall complete the safety assessment consistent with requirements outlined in Section 7.202.53. 
E.  The county department shall complete the Colorado Family Risk Assessment prior to case closure, all Program Area 5 cases for which remaining at home or reunification was the permanency goal identified in the automated case management system. The Colorado Family Risk Assessment shall address the following factors: 
1.  Type of allegation; 
2.  Previous child welfare investigations, services, and placement; 
3.  Number of children in the household; 
4.  Age of youngest child in the household; 
5.  Primary caregiver’s provision of physical; 
6.  Caregiver(s) use of alcohol and controlled substances;
7.  Characteristics of children in the household; 
8.  Recent or historical domestic violence in the household; 
9.  Caregiver(s) history of homelessness and mental health treatment;
10.  Primary caregiver’s history of abuse or neglect as a child;
11.  Caregiver (s) use of excessive/appropriate discipline; and, 
12.  Caregiver (s) involvement in disruptive/volatile adult relationships. 
All of the information from the risk assessment shall be used to assess the degree to which parental capacities have been enhanced, risks reduced, and links to the community have been established in order to support case closure. The NCFAS/NCFAS-R shall be used to measure the degree of change in the identified risk areas. 
F.  Monthly Contact

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(12 CCR 2509-4)

[Instructions:  Replace lines 1208038 through 1187820.] 
7.301.1  ASSESSMENT  [Rev. eff. 9/1/07]
A.  The Colorado Assessment Continuum (CAC) will be utilized throughout the case. A case may be open in either the "Assessment" or "Case".  The CAC includes the: 
1.  Safety assessment and plan (see Section 7.202.53).
2.  Risk assessment (see Section 7.202.52, H and 7.202.62, D).
3.  Needs assessment in the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS)/North Carolina Family Assessment Scale-Reunification (NCFAS-R); see Section 7.301.1, D). The CAC will be utilized throughout "Assessment" and "Case", as specified in each section listed above. 
B.  Safety assessment, risk assessment, and needs assessment are ongoing processes throughout the life of the case. Safety, risk and needs assessments, as defined in this manual, shall be completed for each Program Area 5 case accepted by the county department and shall be the basis for case planning. Each of these assessments shall be entered into the automated case management system in accordance with the timeframes referenced in Section 7.301.1, A, 1-3. The reunification domains in the NCFAS-R shall be completed in hardcopy until these domains are available in the automated case management system. 
1.  The family shall be involved in all phases of assessment and case planning.
2.  Assessment tools or resources available through community agencies shall be incorporated in the assessment, based on the culture, ethnicity and other needs of the family.
3.  As a result of this assessment/evaluation, the caseworker and family shall identify the family's current safety, risk and needs, to include level of functioning, areas of strengths and weaknesses, specific problems to be addressed, and changes that must occur to remedy the problems that brought the family to the agency. The following information shall be included in the assessment documented in the Family Services Plan: 
a.  Reason for intervention and/or conditions giving rise to the abuse/neglect or the parent/child conflict, and effects on the child(ren), family, or community.
b.  Safety needs of the child(ren), family, and/or community.
c.  Family's perception of the problem, including its understanding of why Child Welfare is involved, and the family's view of what needs to change.
d.  Family strengths.
e.  Family social support system.
f.  Child(ren)'s history, including children's role(s) in family, age(s), emotional, physical, social, developmental history and milestones.
g.  Family environment and overall functioning, including physical environment of the housing/neighborhood, family composition, stability, stresses, parenting skills, discipline methods and relationships.
h.  Education and employment of child(ren)/youth(s) and/or parent(s)/other relevant family members.
i.   Culture/religion/ethnicity and how these affect the needs of the child(ren).
j.   History of abuse/neglect and domestic violence.
k.   Medical/mental health needs and history of treatment of child(ren) and parent(s), including medications, hospitalizations/placements, immunizations and current functioning.
l.   Substance abuse history by any family member.
m.   History of court involvement with child(ren) and/or parent(s).
n.   Additional information, including plans for obtaining any further evaluations needed.
C.  The North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS)/North Carolina Family Assessment Scale-Reunification (NCFAS-R) shall constitute the needs assessment, which is one of the Colorado Assessment Continuum instruments. The purposes of the NCFAS/NCFAS-R are: 
1.  To assist with effective Family Services planning by identifying the most needed types of services based on the assessed needs.
2.  To measure where change in child and family functioning has occurred as a result of services delivered.
3.  To measure to the child welfare outcomes of safety, permanency, and well-being.
D.  The first five domains of the NCFAS-R (the NCFAS) shall be completed and entered into the automated case management system for all Program Area 5 cases accepted by the county department for ongoing services for which the permanency goal is reunification or maintenance of the child in his/her own home and where the department or its agent is working with the family system. It shall be optional for Program Area 4 and 6 cases.
E.  The sixth and seventh domains of the NCFAS-R shall be used to assist with predicting when reunification will be successful in cases that involve out-of-home placement and shall be completed and entered into the automated case management system, when available, for all program area cases that involve out-of-home placement.
F.  The NCFAS/NCFAS-R will be used at least twice during the lifetime of the case and shall be completed by the caseworker providing direct services who best knows the family. It shall be completed: 
1.  When a decision has been made that services will continue beyond the investigation/assessment. It shall be completed within 60 calendar days of the date the investigation/assessment was assigned, by the caseworker or the department's agent responsible for developing the family's case plan and serve as a basis for the Family Services Plan.
2.  In the case management phase, as a part of the decision-making process at the point at which the case is to be closed.
G.  The areas rated as the highest strengths shall be considered in developing the Family Service Plan.
H.  Those factors rated as –2 or –3, the factors reflecting the greatest needs, on the NCFAS/NCFAS-R at the time of the first assessment shall be considered for incorporating into the objectives and action steps identified in the Family Services Plan.
I.  The same worker shall complete the initial and final NCFAS/NCFAS-R if possible. If this is not possible, and multiple workers have competed the NCFAS/NCFAS-R, a staffing shall occur between all relevant workers to discuss the ratings if possible.
7.301.2  FAMILY SERVICES PLAN REQUIREMENTS  [Rev. eff. 9/1/07]
The county department shall complete the Family Services Plan document for each child receiving services to assure that the child's needs for safety, permanency, and well-being are met. The Family Services Plan shall incorporate the following principles: 
A.  A child’s safety is paramount;
B.  Children belong in families;
C.  Families need the support of communities; and,
D.  Community partners are key to achieving strong outcomes for children and families.
7.301.21  Family Services Plan Timing Requirements  [Rev. eff. 9/1/07]
The Family Service Plan document must be completed: 
A.  Within sixty (60) calendar days of opening an assessment in the automated case management system for children in their own homes, including Core Services program cases in which the children are not in out-of-home placement. There may be one Family Services Plan for the family in these cases.
B.  Within 60 calendar days of opening an assessment in the automated case management system for children in out-of-home placement, including those cases in which the children are receiving Core Services. There may be one Family Services Plan for the family; however, discrete sections in the treatment plan and in the placement information are required for each child in placement. 
C.  For children age 16 and over in out-of-home placement, the plan for transition to independent living/emancipation shall be completed within 60 calendar days of the child's 16th birthday or of case opening.
7.301.22  Family Service Plan Participants  [Rev. eff. 12/1/99]
The county shall assure that the following parties participate in the development of the Family Services Plan:
-  Caseworker
-  Parent(s) or legal guardians
-  Child
-  Immediate and extended family members as appropriate to the family and child's service needs
-  Service providers, including kin caregivers and other out-of-home caregivers.
All parties shall sign the plan and the caseworker's supervisor shall approve and sign the plan. The caseworker shall provide all parties with a copy of the signed plan. The reasons for any absence of signatures shall be documented on the plan. If the caseworker is unable to involve both parents, child, or provider, the efforts to do so and the reasons for the inability to do so shall be documented on the plan. 
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[Instructions:  Insert before line 1010669. 
7.301.231  Integration of Safety and Risk Requirements  [Eff. 9/1/07]
Integration of safety and risk requirements into the case plan in the family services plan shall be accomplished in the following ways: 
A.  Safety and risk assessments completed in the assessment portion of the automated case management system shall automatically become a part of the case, when a case is opened. This allows for reference to previously completed risk and safety assessments.
B.  Safety concerns identified on the safety assessment will be included in Part 3A, as a drop down box. These concerns will be used as a basis for developing treatment plan objectives. Safety concerns shall be identified by an “S” designating a safety issue.
C.  Risk concerns identified on the assessment will be included in Part 3A, as a drop down box. These concerns shall be used in developing treatment plans. Risk factors shall be identified with an "R" designating a risk issue.
D.  Items checked in the risk and safety assessments shall populate automatically at the top of FSP Part 2. This allows for reference to previously completed risk and safety assessments when developing FSP Part 2. 
E.  The safety plan from "assessment" shall populate to the Part 3A. 
F.  Items checked in safety and risk assessments shall populate to Part 3A, as well as any NCFAS/NCFAS-R item rated at a “-2” or less. This information is documented on the first page of Part 3A and shall be a reference page to use when developing Part 3A.
G.  In Part 5A, changes in the following areas shall be documented: 
1.  Child functioning;
2.  Adult functioning;
3.  General parenting practices; or,
4.  Disciplinary parenting practices.
At the end of this narrative, the following question shall appear in Part 5A and shall be addressed with a yes or no response: “Based on the information presented above, is there present or impending danger that must still be managed?”