Houston County
Minnesota Child and Family Service Review
Program Improvement Plan

The supervisor will review the above referenced report with workers and identify barriers to monthly contact.

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The agency will develop action steps to address identified barriers.

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The agency will return to having a designated intake worker effective June 6, 2001 as opposed to having intake rotated daily throughout all the social workers as it had been since April 2010. The intake worker assigned was the designated intake worker prior to April 2010. She is familiar and knowledgeable about the needed information in an intake to make adequate decisions in assessing risk and safety issues of children. The Intake Screening Team meets daily at 8:30 AM to assess the previous day’s intakes that were not immediately responded to. The Intake Screening Team consists of Supervisor, Intake Worker, and rotation of social workers.

Completed: The return to a designated intake worker has eliminated the need identified during the review for additional training for all workers covering intake.

The agency will identify and access additional training for social workers related to the purpose and applicability of the SDM tools.

The request for training will be made through the MN Child Welfare Training System SIR website.

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Review of OHP cases with the Juvenile Screening Team and Children’s Meeting to assess and address barriers to individual placement stability. Work together as a team to make the most appropriate placement for a particular child that will address his/her individual needs.

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At initial licensing and at every renewal the “Agreement Between Foster Parents and Placement Agency” (DHS-0139) will be gone over and signed. The agreement states what Houston County Human Services expects of foster parent and what the foster parents can expect from the agency.

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The OHPP will be reviewed with the foster parents and their role in reunification and permanency.

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Foster parents will submit the monthly progress report on each child and a follow-up phone call from social workers/case aides with be made to monitor progress and placement stability.

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For children who are not returning to their parents’ home the agency will look at all permanency options including adoption regardless of child’s age. The Juvenile Screening Team will review cases at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months to review progress and discuss permanency options.

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The agency will use Long Term Foster care only after all other permanency options have been fully explored and ruled out. The Juvenile Screening and CJI Teams will be involved in giving input and making decisions involving permanency.

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Include a review of relative search efforts in the Juvenile Screening Team.

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Agency staff will attend “Permanency Planning and the Adoption Process” training on Oct. 4-5, 2011.

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At the EPC hearing the Court will order parents to complete and cooperate with the relative search process. CJI Permanency Action Plan

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The agency staff follow the recommendations contained in the DHS bulletin “Relative Search Best Practice Guide”

and make diligent efforts to identify and locate both parents of any child who is the subject of CHIPS, TPR, or permanency proceedings. Diligent efforts include: asking the custodial or known parent to identify any nonresident parent of the child and provide information that can be used to verify the nonresident parent's identity, obtaining information that will identify and locate the nonresident parent from the county and state of Minnesota child support enforcement information system, using any other reasonable means to identify and locate the nonresident parent. CJI Permanency Action Plan

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At the first hearing regarding the petition, and at any subsequent hearings as appropriate, the court will make inquires of the parties whether the identities and whereabouts of both parents of the child are known and correctly reflected in the petition filed with the court. (CJI Permanency Action Plan)

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The Judge will order genetic testing to identify father when appropriate.

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The Juvenile Screening Team will review cases on a routine basis to assist in permanency planning, including reviewing efforts to engage non-resident parents.

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Staff will review DHS publication “Working with Fathers: A Program Improvement Resource”.

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The supervisor will review the report with workers and identify barriers to monthly contact.

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The agency will develop action steps to address identified barriers.

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Court Administration sends foster parents copy of Scheduling Order and Notice of Hearing. The agency will send the foster parent a copy of the court order to further promote communication of what happened in court.

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Foster parents will receive information on notices and their right to be heard in court in their initial packet.

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