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A. THE FAMILY SERVICES AGREEMENT
C. THE DISCUSSION AND DOCUMENTATION OF THE IN-HOME FAMILY SERVICES AGREEMENT
The In-Home Family Services Agreement is completed for all cases assigned in which the family is receiving CPS In-Home Services after substantiation or a finding of services needed case decision is made. The agreement will also be used to document a plan of voluntary services to families.
The purpose of the In-Home Family Services Agreement is to specify a plan to respond to the conditions or needs that threaten a child’s safety and place him or her at risk of future harm while identifying and building on the family’s strengths. The conditions and needs of the family, as well as family strengths, are identified through the results of the Safety Assessment, Risk Assessment, and the Family Assessment of the Strengths and Needs. They are reflected in the documentation of the Case Decision Summary as part of the Family Assessment of Strengths and Needs Summary which will serve as the Initial Case Plan.
The In-Home Family Services Agreement (DSS-5239) addresses the needs of the family identified in the Family Assessment of Strengths and Needs, safety issues and the future risk of harm to the child. It also outlines a plan to meet those needs contingent upon the actions and activities of the family and the social worker. Although priority needs will be addressed first, the family needs to be aware of all of the needs that must be addressed with target dates based on the appropriate priority level. Other needs may also be addressed in the agreement when the family requests voluntary services. Additionally, the In-Home Family Services Agreement must identify the child and family well-being issues and include a plan for how the social worker and family will ensure these issues are addressed (DSS-5239ins) However, failure to resolve the well-being issues will not result in continuation of involuntary services.
The Family Services Agreement shall be developed with the family, to provide a basis for providing services to the family. .
It shall:
Both custodial and noncustodial parents should participate in the development of the agreement. Data collected by the Urban Institute indicated that although paternity is known for more than 80 percent of foster children, just 54 percent of these foster children had contact with their fathers in the past year.1 Involving a noncustodial parent and or their relative supports in the planning for a child could possibly prevent future maltreatment, placement, and lengthy stays for children in foster care. Even if a parent is incarcerated, (in-state or out-of-state), they should be contacted to determine if they can assist in identifying any strengths or needs of the family, receive their input on the In-Home Family Services Agreement, determine if there are any possible relatives that may be a resource in supporting the child, and determine what level of involvement they can maintain particularly around the planning for and contact with their child. To locate a parent that is in prison, contact the NC Department of Corrections Records Office at 919-716-3200. Contact numbers and addresses for specific prisons can be found on the NC Division of Prisons website http://www.doc.state.nc.us/dop/index.htm. All inmates have a case manager or social worker that can assist in contacting a prisoner.
If a noncustodial parent is not involved in the planning, it may be beneficial to ask what it would take them to become involved as well as if they have any relatives that may be a resource in supporting the child.
Documentation should reflect this discussion. An example of this would be a noncustodial parent who has expressed a desire not to be involved in the child’s life, who has never been involvement in the child’s life, who refuses any contact with the child, provides no possible relative supports and refuses to cooperate with the social worker in the development of an agreement
Prior to completing the In-Home Family Services Agreement, a North Carolina Family Assessment of Strengths and Needs should be completed with an involved noncustodial parent.
For CPS In-Home Services, the In-Home Family Services Agreement shall be:
All county DSS should use the Child and Family Team meetings to develop the Family Services Agreement or update it if circumstances warrant changes (please see Chapter VII - Child and Family Team Meetings). If the Agreement is not completed within 30 days, documentation shall reflect diligent efforts made or rationale for extra time to develop the plan. If the Agreement is not updated, documentation shall reflect diligent efforts to engage the family or rationale for continuing the previous plan.
With cases involving domestic violence, because the safety of children is closely linked to the safety of the non-offending parent/adult victim, a situation involving domestic violence also requires a secondary focus that includes the safety of the adult victim. The responsibility of the perpetrator of domestic violence to stop abusive behavior and the capacity and willingness of the non-offending parent/adult victim to take appropriate actions to protect the child are issues that must be addressed during the provision of In-Home Services.
During the provision of CPS In-Home Services, at no time is the non-offending parent/adult victim to be placed in danger by having to be interviewed, develop service agreements, or meet with the perpetrator of violence against them. The children will also not be interviewed with, or required to be in the presence of the violent adult. Separate Family Services Agreements should be completed with the non-offending parent/adult victim and the perpetrator of domestic violence.
The perpetrator of domestic violence should not have access to the non-offending parent/adult victim’s Family Services Agreement. For further policy and enhanced practice resources on providing CPS In-Home Services to cases involving domestic violence, please refer to Chapter VIII; Section 1409 - Domestic Violence.
The Family Services Agreement developed with the family should be the result of formal and informal assessments with the family as well as taking into consideration what they see as important to them. Below is a discussion of the various aspects of the agreement that should be included in the documentation and discussion with the family.
1. Identify needs from the Family Assessment of Strengths and Needs that affect the child’s present safety or places the child at future risk of harm. The greatest need should be addressed first in the In-Home Family Services Agreement. Only one need per page should be addressed. In identifying needs of the family, please be sure that the safety and risk assessment concerns of the family are incorporated into the service agreement.
If needs from an involved noncustodial parent are identified, their needs should also be addressed within the In-Home Family Services Agreement either on the same one or on a separate agreement.
2. Specify the conditions/behaviors affecting the child’s present safety or that put the child at risk of future harm as identified in the Family Assessment of Strengths and Needs and the Initial Case Plan of the Case Decision Summary. Having participated in the completion of the FASN the family should have helped to identify areas of need, therefore this should not be a surprise to the family.
3. When developing objectives, describe specifically what the desired behavior/condition or expected changes will look like when the need is met so the caregiver and the social worker are clear about what is expected and when it has been accomplished. The family should be involved in the development of these outcome statements.
4. List the activities that are planned to correct the identified need/behavior and the date the activity should be completed (or begun, as appropriate). Activities should state what will be done, where it will be done, who will do it and when it will be begun/completed.
5. The caregiver should also have input into decisions concerning who will be service providers, as needed. Also listed here should be the specific activities the social worker agrees to do to assist the family in successfully completing the agreement as well as activities that both formal and informal supports agree to do. This allows the family to see clearly that this is a team effort and they are not alone.
6. The family may request voluntary services in addition to the services addressed in the agreement to address identified needs. The family’s objectives or voluntary services accepted by the family should be documented.
One example may be to collaborate with Work First in order to develop a plan together with a caregiver to discuss their employment situation. When there is a case decision of services recommended, the voluntary services form may also be used to document voluntary services (not code 215 services) that are being provided to the family at their request.
Another example is to collaborate with a Family Resource Center or a Community Based, centralized source for the family that provides information and referral. Examples that are often incorporated in a Family Resource Center program can include parent education, after school programs, and an array of other services unique to the community.
7. Specific effective services should be evaluated and updated at least every six months for each child. Revisions may be done every three months when the In-Home Family Services Agreement is updated for quarterly reviews. The child is only eligible for IV-E funded in-home services if agency services are critical to prevent removal from the home.
8. Specify what action will be taken if the safety and future risk of harm to the child becomes unacceptable, up to and including, the possibility of the agency filing a petition for custody or removal of the child from the home, if necessary. The social worker should explain that the primary goal is to maintain the child safely in the home of the parent/caregiver, but if the child’s safety is compromised, the agency will take steps to ensure the safety of the child, which may include filing a petition.
A discussion should be held with the family regarding issues of behavior change or lack of that could impact the safety and future risk of harm of the children. When discussing issues of behavior change it is important to discuss the behaviors of the parent/caretaker that are continuing to create risk, not just that they have not completed an activity of the service agreement. Although we value the decisions of the family in the development of the In-Home Services agreement, safety and repeat maltreatment concerns must be addressed. Clearly defined goals and involvement of the family in their development will help alleviate confusion or resistance. Consequences of behavior change should also be clearly stated so that the alternative process is outlined.
CPS In-Home Services social workers need to identify extended family members early and assess them for their capacity and willingness to care for the child. These support persons can be accessed to support the child and family while the child is in the home. Knowing which family members can best meet the child’s needs becomes particularly important when the child must be removed.
9. Allowing the family to be involved in placement decision making when out-of-home care of the child is needed reflects a family-centered approach. It emphasizes the importance of parental involvement and facilitates the development of the casework relationship.
Parents who are involved in out-of-home placement planning are usually less likely to disrupt, sabotage, or interrupt the placement. The plan for out-of-home placement should include the family’s ideas on options for care if the child should be removed from the home. It then becomes the social worker’s responsibility to assess any placement resource/safety resource, if out-of-home placement appears imminent, to ensure that it is a safe and nurturing environment for the child.
10. The family should be reminded that completion of the In-Home Services Agreement might mean case closure. Whenever the desired outcome of the agreement is achieved, the child is safe and the risk to the child is reduced to an acceptable level, the case will be closed for services. The agency shall terminate CPS In-Home Services when:
a. Parents or caregivers are willing to provide a safe home and demonstrate their ability to do so; or
b. The agency receives legal custody and/or placement responsibility.
11. The signatures of the parent/caregiver, the child if cognitively and emotionally able to participate, the social worker and the supervisor are all required on the In-Home Family Services Agreement. If the child was able to participate but did not sign the agreement, the social worker should include an explanation of why the child did not sign. By signing the agreement, the family, the social worker, the child(ren) and any others who were involved with the development of the plan agree to work toward meeting the identified needs. Other signatures may include service providers, community representatives, or family members and friends who have a role with the parent or child and support the plan. These signatures are optional and not required.
If a caregiver refuses to sign the In-Home Family Services Agreement, the social worker should try to address the caregiver’s concerns and stress the need for working together to prevent the removal of the child from the home. The caregiver may verbally agree even if they refuse to sign the agreement.
The social worker must note that the caregiver has agreed to each need and activity if he or she refuses to sign the agreement. If the caregiver refuses to sign the agreement and verbally refuses to agree to its provisions, the agency has the responsibility to ensure that the child is safe whether the child is in their own home or in another type of placement.
The social worker may petition for court involvement ordering the family to work in compliance toward case goals, without petitioning for custody of the child. The court hearing that results from the petition can bring the court’s authority on the parent and the court order can then contain the plan for the family. This gives immediate authority to the agency if the situation deteriorates to the point of removal and petitioning for custody.
The date the signature was received must be documented on the form and there is room for signatures for three reviews. A copy of the agreement must be given to all parties involved in the completion of the agreement and the date the copy was provided must be recorded on the In-Home Family Services Agreement.
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For questions or clarification on any of the policy contained in these manuals, please contact your local county office.
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1 Malm, Karin. “Getting Noncustodial Dads Involved in the Lives of Foster Children.” Caring for Children: Facts and Perspectives Brief No. 3 November 2003.