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Delivered within the framework of System of Care, the definition of family reunification leads to the following principles, which form an important foundation for the development of sound policies, programs, and practices:
1. With its emphasis on ensuring continuity of relationships and care for children, family reunification is an integral part of the philosophy of permanency planning;
2. Children are best reared in families, preferably their own; most families can care for their own children if properly assisted;
3. Family reunification practice must be guided by an ecologically-oriented, System of Care family-centered competence perspective that emphasizes:
• Promoting family empowerment;
• Engaging in advocacy and social action;
• Reaching for – and building on – family strengths;
• Involving any and all whom the child considers family as partners;
• Providing needed services and supports;
4. Teamwork among the many parties involved in family reunification is critical;
5. All forms of human diversity—ethnic, racial, cultural, religious, life-style, physical and mental challenges—must be respected;
6. A commitment to early and consistent child-family visiting is an essential ingredient in preparing for and maintaining reunification;
7. The family, foster parents, and child-care workers must be involved as members of the service delivery team. In keeping with System of Care principle of Inter-agency Collaboration, the local DSS agency should share the same information with Family Reunification workers about the child and family that is shared with other service providers and include them in Child and Family Team meetings. Many families will have continuing service needs in multiple areas, even after case closure. Services to meet these needs must be provided to assist children and families with reunification efforts. Appropriate linkages and referrals to other community agencies will also be required in order to continue supporting reunification as cases are completed;
8. Agencies must empower their staff members by providing adequate training and supervision and by using a team approach in making case decisions.
Time-limited Family Reunification Services are provided for children have been removed from his/her home and to the parents or primary caregivers from which the children were removed . Reunification is conducted in a safe, appropriate, and timely manner for a maximum of 12 months within the 15-month period that begins on the date that the child, pursuant to SEC. 475 [42 U.S.C. 675] and SEC. 431 [42 U.S.C. 629a], is considered to have entered foster care.
The eligible services and activities, pursuant to SEC. 431 [42 U.S.C. 629a] (7) (B), are:
1. Individual, group, and family counseling;
2. Inpatient, residential, or outpatient substance abuse treatment services;
3. Mental health services;
4. Assistance to address domestic violence;
5. Services to provide temporary child care and therapeutic services for families, including crisis nurseries;
6. Transportation to or from any of the services and activities listed above.
Beyond these six required services, it is expected that the local Reunification Programs will provide or help families obtain a broad range of therapeutic, supportive and/or concrete services to address the particular objectives in the families’ own treatment plans. Examples of appropriate Reunification Services are:
• Assisting visitation
• Education, i.e. Parenting Skills
• Child Development
• Budgeting
• Housing
• Child Care
• Employment Readiness
Local programs may budget from Reunification allocations received through the NC Department of Health and Human Services to provide monetary assistance to families when needed and not available from public assistance or other community services
1. Primary Caregiver
A parent, including adoptive parent or long-term foster parent who is acting in loco parentis (has assumed the status and obligation of a parent) in relation to the children, or legal guardian.
2. Legal Guardianship
“A judicially created relationship between child and caretaker which is intended to be permanent and self-sustaining as evidenced by the transfer to the caretaker of the following parental rights with respect to the child: protection, education, care and control of the person, custody of the person, and decision-making. The term ‘legal guardian’ means the caretaker in such a relationship." (SEC. 475 [42 U.S.C. 675]).
3. Foster Care
Foster care placement is temporary substitute care provided to a child who must be separated from his or her own parents or caretakers when the parents or caretakers are unable or unwilling to provide adequate protection and care
4. DSS Custody
Situations in which county Departments of Social Services have legal custody and/or placement responsibility.
5. Collaborative Partnerships
The concept and mechanism derived from and developed by diverse community stakeholders, to include the family, shaping their holistic approach to serving children and families.
6. Family Reunification
Services and activities described in Section I. B. “…that are provided to a child that is removed from the child's home and placed in a foster family home or a child care institution and to the parents or primary caregiver of such a child (from which the children were removed), in order to facilitate the reunification of the child safely and appropriately within a timely fashion, but only during the 15-month period that begins on the date that the child, pursuant to section 475(5)(F), is considered to have entered foster care of such a child." {SEC. 431 [42 U.S.C. 629a] Part (7) (A) and (B)}.
7. Foster Family Home:
Means a place of residence of a family, person or persons licensed to provide full time foster care services to children under the supervision of a county department of social services or a licensed private child placing agency, and which meets the regulations regarding family foster home capacity set forth in Rule .0602. (NC DSS Family Support and Child Welfare Manual, Chapter IV, Section 1213.)
8. Child Caring Institution
“A residential child-care facility utilizing permanent buildings, located on one site for ten or more foster children. Exception can be made when no more than two group homes located on the site and licensed as meeting licensure regulations for group homes are operated by a county department of social services or by a private program licensed to provide child care or child placement services.” Note: Section 1416 is deleted
9. Child Placement
• strengthen, preserve and/or reunite families after children have come into agency custody or placement responsibility by helping families improve the conditions in the home that caused agency intervention;
• ensure a single, stable, safe, nurturing, and appropriate temporary living arrangement for children removed from their homes;
• achieve an alternative safe, permanent home for all children in agency custody or placement responsibility who cannot return home.
10. Substantiation of Abuse, Neglect, or Dependency or a Finding of In Need of Services
Determined by the local Department of Social Services.
11. Substance Abuse
"The continued use of psychoactive substances despite experiencing social, occupational, psychological, or physical problems; recurrent use in situations in which use is physically hazardous, such as driving while intoxicated; and a minimal duration of disturbance of at least 1 month.” (Clinical Work with Substance-Abusing Clients, Straussner, pg. 4; For further information, see DSM IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.)
12. Visitation
“Visits with their children is a right retained by parents, unless the court has ordered that, for compelling reasons, there will be none. Visits are not a reward to be given for good behavior but a fundamental right of the child and parent to continue their relationship. The importance of visitation to implementation of a plan for reunification has been documented. (Fanshel, 1975)” (A Handbook of Child Welfare, Laird and Hartman, 1985, pg. 608). The Reunification Worker is able to provide this service, with training, direction and guidance from the assigned local DSS Social Worker.
1. Services are time-limited for a maximum of 12 months within the first 15 months from the date of DSS custody or placement authority.
2. Referrals should be made and services should begin as soon as is practical after the child(ren) come(s) into care according to best practice. It is strongly recommended that referrals be made and services initiate within 90 days of the child coming into care, however, referrals cannot be made and services cannot be initiated if there are fewer than 90 days remaining in the 15 month eligibility window.
3. Services are provided utilizing a System of Care approach through the use of collaborative partnerships between the Reunification program and many community collaborators including:
• Parents
• Other immediate and extended family members
• Foster Care families and other caregivers
• DSS child placement social worker
• Guardian ad Litem
• Court administrative personnel (court counselors)
• The therapeutic community (e.g. substance abuse counselors, parents therapist, child’s therapist, etc.)
• Other collateral service providers
Once established, these partnerships must be managed. The Reunification Worker assists the family in coordinating assignments and meeting the many appointments, deadlines, and other obligations facing them as they move towards reunification. As long as these collaborative partnerships continue to be effective in providing services and support to the families and children, there is no mandated requirement on the minimum number or nature of these partnerships. {See Section E. Criteria for Continued Funding, #3 and #6 below for more information on recommendations for collaborative partnerships}.
4. Services are home-based: at least one-half (1/2) of a caseworker’s time spent providing reunification services is spent in face to face contact with the family in their home and community.
5. At a minimum, face to face contract with the family is required once every two weeks.
6. Services focus on promoting family competence and stability--building on strengths and the family’s own resources;
7. Services are provided in a culturally competent manner, with understanding of and respect for cultural and ethnic diversity;
8. The services provided are both therapeutic and concrete;
9. All reunification services families have access to crisis/emergency services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
10. Caseloads range from four (4) to ten (10) families at a time, based on the intensity and duration of services and the severity of the problems, as recommended by case worker and approved by supervisor
11. Reunification caseworkers have specialized training and support to provide this service (to include visitation).
For continued funding in subsequent fiscal years, programs are required to fulfill at a minimum the following criteria:
1. Employ staff members who demonstrate the skills and competencies required to provide or supervise program services. The staff must complete the state sponsored Family Centered/Family Preservation Services Training prior to any case assignment;
2. Demonstrate appropriate linkages with community agencies and organizations to enable it to help clients obtain and use services and resources, and to make effective referrals for follow-up at the end of program services.
3. Show need for the service in the county / region. (This information needs to be obtained and on file each year in order to show service need in the county / region). Relevant data should include, by ethnic background:
• Number of child protective services reports to Department of Social Services and number of substantiated or In Need of Services reports;
• Number of children placed in Department of Social Services custody;
• Number of children admitted to training school and detention facilities;
• Number of children placed in residential treatment in mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse facilities;
• Other data that indicates trends or increases in out-of-home placement that could be impacted by program services
4. Submit an interagency agreement among, at a minimum, all the County Departments of Social Services within the service area. (It is recommended that the area MH/DD/SAS program and the Court Counselor staff serving the proposed service area also be included in Interagency agreements.) This agreement should specifically address referrals and follow-up services after termination of services. Each year, programs that seek renewal of funding will be strengthened by letters of support from community-based service organizations that will work with families served by the program (e.g., local housing authority, health departments, family preservation, family support and family resource center programs). {See also #3 above};
5. Should have Internet access and be willing to provide data by participating in the state program evaluation activities as requested by the Department of Health and Human Services. Timely manner of provision of data is defined by the Community Based Programs Team as the no later than the 10th of each month.
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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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