Child Protective Services Handbook Revision December 2007
This revision of the Child Protective Services Handbook was published on December 3, 2007. Summaries of new revised items are posted below, followed by the edited versions with significant changes noted in red. Not displayed are minor copyediting and formatting changes.
Family Group Decision-Making Philosophy
Clients With Communication Disabilities
Withholding and Withdrawing Life Sustaining Treatment
Documentation of Contact Details Related to Targeted Case Management Activities
Family Group Decision-Making Philosophy (PATS 1822)
Child Protective Services (CPS) uses the Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) philosophy as the basis for involving family and youth as partners in service planning and decision-making. Using the FGDM philosophy, CPS invites the family and youth to participate in a collaborative approach to make decisions to enhance safety, permanency, and well-being for children. This philosophy was communicated to staff with the release of PSA 08-025, dated October 12, 2007. See:
1120 Guiding Principles of the CPS Program
1121 Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) (new item)
1122 1121 Focus on Resources and Outcomes
The following items are renumbered to reflect the addition of new item 1121, but are otherwise unchanged:
1123 1122 Stages of Service
1124 1123 Definition of Stages of Service
Clients With Communication Disabilities (PATS 1583)
To comply with The Americans with Disabilities Act, the following sections have been revised:
· CPS Item 1517 Clients with Communication Disabilities (revised)
· CPS Item Appendix 3213-A: Americans With Disabilities Act Reasonable Accommodations in Service Planning (revised)
Section 1517 refers to the requirement for ensuring that communications with clients who have communication disabilities are as effective as communications with others persons, and that clients understand all significant CPS actions as fully as possible at each stage of service. Appendix 3213-A is updated to reflect examples of service modifications and local resources. See:
1517 Clients With Communication Disabilities
1517.1 Requirements for Auxiliary Aids and Services
1517.2 Sign Language Interpreter Requirements During CPS Interventions
Appendix 3213-A: Reasonable Accommodations in Service Planning
Family Team Meetings (PATS 1747)
The Family Team Meeting (FTM) concept is in effect for the CPS investigation stage as of October 1, 2007, with the release of PSA 08-011 on September 28, 2007. FTM’s were introduced in PSI 08-002, September 18, 2007.
The Family Team Meeting is a part of the CPS Family Focus Initiative to enhance safety, permanency and well-being for children. It is designed as a method to achieve positive outcomes for children in the earliest stages of DFPS interactions with a family. The 79th Legislature specified, in Senate Bill 6, that DFPS may implement family group conferencing as a strategy to promote family preservation and permanency for children. The 80th Legislature continued its support by providing resources to expand this service into the investigation stage of service.
The following new items are added:
2237 Family Team Meetings
2237.1 Family Team Meeting Referral Criteria
2237.2 Scheduling and Coordinating FTMs
2237.3 Family Team Meeting Participants
2237.4 Caseworker and Supervisor Roles at Family Team Meetings
2237.5 Documentation of Family Team Meetings
2237.6 Dispute Resolution
Withholding and Withdrawing Life Sustaining Treatment (PATS 1392)
This item on do not resuscitate orders is replaced in its entirety. New policy is included regarding procedures for Non-DFPS medical consenters. All other changes are clarifications of existing policy. This policy became effective with the release to CPS staff of PSA 06-087 on May 18, 2006. See:
6522 Withholding and Withdrawing Life Sustaining Treatment
Documentation of Contact Details Related to Targeted Case Management Activities (PATS 1847)
The following items are revised to clarify when DFPS can show Contact Details with purposes related to TCM activities in contracted adoptive placements. See:
6844 Making Adoptive Placements in Other Regions and With Private Adoption Agencies
6931.2 Monthly Targeted Case Management (TCM) Activity
1120 Guiding Principles of the CPS Program Service Model
1121 Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM)
CPS December 2007 (NEW ITEM)
Child Protective Services (CPS) uses the Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) philosophy as the basis for involving family and youth in service planning and decision-making. Using the FGDM philosophy, CPS invites the family and youth to participate in a collaborative approach to make decisions to enhance safety, permanency, and well-being for children.
The goal for families is to increase family participation in this collaborative approach with CPS in making decision about their service plans and to engage the extended family and family support system in this process. Collaboration strengthens the extended family and family support system’s ability to provide safe and permanent living arrangements within their kinship structure.
The goal for older youth is to increase the youth’s involvement with CPS in making decisions about service and transition plans as the youth ages out of care. This approach also helps the youth re-affirm or identify caring family and adult relationships and support systems.
Family Group Decision-Making Philosophy
The FGDM philosophy:
· emphasizes partnerships between families and outside agencies, including DFPS, that may be required to participate, so that service planning and decision-making become a collaborative process;
· respects families and youth and helps them decide what services they need, based on their strengths and resources, to achieve their goals to meet the child’s needs and to ensure safety;
· recognizes that families possess the information needed to make well-informed decisions, and that families have a responsibility for their children’s security and sense of belonging;
· emphasizes the family's responsibility to care for and to provide a sense of identity for their children;
· encourages families to connect with their communities and provides an avenue for communities to support families;
· encourages voluntary participation in a meeting that is family-centered, culturally relevant, community-based, and oriented to family strengths; and
· provides a supportive environment in which families can discuss needs and concerns.
CPS Models of Service Planning
CPS uses the FGDM philosophy to guide its various models of service planning. The models use varying degrees of FGDM strategies as appropriate.
Family Team Meeting (FTM)
Family Team Meetings are held generally before a child is removed from the home. FTMs are a rapid response to child safety and placement concerns and are used to achieve positive outcomes for children in the earliest stages of CPS and family interaction. See 2237 Family Team Meetings.
Family Group Conference (FGC)
The Family Group Conference generally is used after a child is removed. The FGC model is a process in which families join with relatives, friends, and the community to develop a plan that ensures children are cared for and protected from future harm. This conference gathers information from providers, community support providers, and CPS supervisors and caseworkers in a unique partnership that supports the plan that the family group develops, provided that the plan adequately addresses the identified areas of concern. See 6437.31 Family Group Conferences.
Circle of Support (COS)
A Circle of Support is a youth-focused meeting held after a child is removed from the home and reaches age 16. The primary purpose a COS is to develop a transition plan for older youth moving from foster care to adulthood, though it may be used for other purposes as well. It includes broad participation by members of the youth’s support network. See 6437.41 Circle of Support.
Transition Plan Meeting (TPM)
A Transition Plan Meeting is held after a youth who has been removed from the home reaches age 16. This tends to be a shorter and more agency-driven conference with fewer participants than a Circle of Support. A TPM is used as an alternative to the COS when youth do not desire a COS, or a COS cannot be convened. See 6437.42 Transition Plan Meeting.
Permanency Conference (PC)
A Permanency Conference is organized when DFPS has managing conservatorship of a child who has been removed from the home. A PC is convened to develop or to review the permanency plan for children and youth, or to resolve barriers to achieving permanency. Family involvement processes are used, to the extent possible and appropriate to the situation. The PC model is used when it is not possible or appropriate to hold a Family Group Conference. (See 6437.32 Permanency Conferences.
Family Group Decision-Making Strategies
These service planning models also include the use of some or all of the following FGDM strategies:
· Trained facilitators skilled in FGDM philosophy and strategies conduct meetings in all of the models of service planning. Some models use co-facilitators.
· Independent facilitators coordinate and facilitate FGDM meetings. Their objectivity helps to ensure a fair process, gain a family's willingness to participate in the process, and enhance the family's ability to trust a system that they may view with suspicion.
· Meetings are composed of families, their support systems, and relevant community members.
· For older youth, meetings are composed of adults and others with whom they identify as their family. These meetings are also an opportunity to introduce the youth to people who may provide support in the future.
· The family’s or older youth’s needs are considered when planning the timing and location of the meetings and the inclusion of extended family.
· Cultural uniqueness is acknowledged.
· Service planning models and FGDM strategies are selected as appropriate to the situation.
When these service planning models use FGDM philosophy and strategies, the meetings can also be referred to as FGDM conferences used by the department.
1122 1121 Focus on Resources and Outcomes
CPS 96-8 December 2007
Management Policy
CPS seeks to ensure the safety of children and to promote the integrity and stability of families. To maintain this focus, CPS applies a model of service delivery that concentrates on resources and outcomes. Under this model, throughout the delivery of services to clients, CPS identifies and matches three key elements:
· Desired Outcomes: The specific changes in client circumstances and behaviors that will best protect the child and strengthen the family.
· Critical Success Factors: The CPS activities that, if done well, are most likely to achieve these changes.
· Resources: The staff and material needed to carry out these activities.
Desired outcomes, critical success factors, and necessary resources vary according to the needs of clients, and the needs of clients change over the course of receiving services. To address the changing needs of different clients over time, CPS correlates resources, activities, and outcomes by stages of service.
1517 Clients With Communication Disabilities
CPS December 8, 2003 December 2007
The content of item 1517 has been rearranged and divided into three items. Content was revised for clarity and to provide current resources. These changes are not displayed in revision mode.
Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities Prohibited
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits state and local government entities from discriminating against people with disabilities. An individual with a disability cannot be denied benefits or excluded from participation in a public entity’s services, programs, or activities. Therefore, CPS, as a state entity, may not discriminate on the basis of a disability when providing services, programs, or activities.
American With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Definition of a Person With a Disability
Under the ADA a person with a disability is an individual who:
· has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the individual’s major life activities;
· has a record of such impairment; or
· is regarded as having such an impairment.
For information on eligibility for CPS services, see 1510 General Eligibility Criteria.
For information on effective communication with clients for whom English is not the primary language, see 1516 Limited English Proficiency.
1517.1 Requirements for Auxiliary Aids and Services
CPS December 2007 (new item, originally a subheading of 1517)
Auxiliary aids and services are those devices or services that facilitate communication and access to services. CPS staff must furnish auxiliary aids or services as necessary to ensure effective communication for clients with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities who are being served or investigated.
CPS staff must ensure that communications with clients who have communication disabilities are as effective as communications with other clients, and that clients understand all significant CPS actions as fully as possible at each stage of service.
When emergency action must be taken to protect a child, CPS staff must provide auxiliary aids or services at the earliest possible opportunity to ensure that the client with a communication disability understands as fully as possible all actions taken by CPS.
Exception
When emergency circumstances require immediate action to protect a child from harm or risk of harm, CPS staff must not hesitate to protect the child while attempting to communicate with clients who have hearing, vision, or speech disabilities.
Efforts to provide the preferred method of communication must not delay or interfere with any actions necessary to protect a child from harm or risk of harm, or to comply with legal requirements.
Definition of Clients
Clients include children, biological parents, foster caregivers, adoptive parents, or other persons deemed responsible for the care, custody, or welfare of the child.
Which Auxiliary Aid or Service to Use
In determining which auxiliary aid or service to use, CPS staff must use the type and method of communication that is preferred or requested by the client, unless another equally effective means of communication is available.
Clients With Vision Disabilities
For clients with vision disabilities, examples of the types of aids or services that should be provided include, but are not limited to, the following:
· Readers
· Audio tapes
· Braille
· Large print
Clients Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
For clients who are deaf or hard of hearing, examples of the types of aids or services that should be provided include, but are not limited to, the following:
· Sign language interpreters
· Note takers
· Transcription services
· Written or printed materials
· Telephone handset amplifiers
· Assistive listening devices
Clients With Speech Disabilities
For clients with speech disabilities, examples of the types of aids or services that should be provided include, but are not limited to, the following:
· Speech-to-Speech Relay
· Text-to-Voice Software
1517.2 Sign Language Interpreter Requirements During CPS Interventions
CPS December 2007 (new item, originally a subheading of 1517)
Prohibition Against Using Family Members, Friends, or Child Victims as Sign Language Interpreters
CPS does not use family members or friends to interpret, sign, or read for clients with a disability, except at the client’s specific request, and then only when ADA requirements are being satisfied.
Child victims may not be used as interpreters except for brief interaction to ascertain the client’s request and arrange requested interpreter services.
Victims, their family members, or friends rarely meet the impartiality requirements of a qualified interpreter as defined by the ADA.
Obtaining Qualified Interpreters
The ADA defines a qualified interpreter as one who is “able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.”
When possible, CPS staff arranges to use an interpreter at the highest appropriate level available certified by:
· the Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI); or
· the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID).
BEI recommends that CPS provide clients who are deaf or hard of hearing with interpreters certified at Level III, IV, or V. Using one of the recommended levels of interpreter services helps to ensure that the ADA definition of a qualified interpreter is met.
CPS staff may contact one of the DHHS program specialists listed on the DHHS Specialists page of the DARS Web site to request a referral to appropriately certified interpreters. When a client requests an interpreter or other auxiliary aid or service, CPS staff must document the request clearly and conspicuously in IMPACT and the client’s case record and include the need in any service plan throughout the life of the case.
Instances requiring interpreter services include, but are not limited to the following:
· Interviews
· Supervised visitation
· Permanent Planning Team meetings and other staffings
· Family Group Conferences
· Trainings and meetings involving adults who are deaf and are interested in becoming foster parents
Certified Interpreters Required for Court Hearings
Courts are required to provide interpreter services for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing during court hearings and other court proceedings.
The interpreter must hold:
· a Court Interpreter Certification (CIC) from BEI; or
· RID’s Specialty Certificate: Legal (SC:L).
Texas Government Code, Chapter 57
Contact information for current holders of the CIC is located on the BEI Interpreter Search page of the DARS Web site.
Prompting the Court to Provide an Interpreter
Although the requirement to provide an interpreter applies to the court and not to CPS, if the court has not indicated plans to provide an interpreter with the required certification CPS must request that the district attorney’s office notify the court of the requirement.
Appendix 3213-A: Reasonable Accommodations in Service Planning
CPS 98-3 December 2007
This appendix has been revised for clarity and to provide current resources. Clarification changes are not displayed in revision mode.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits CPS from discriminating against people with disabilities in its programs and activities. See 1517 Clients With Communication Disabilities.
CPS staff are required to comply with the following policies to provide clients with disabilities reasonable accommodations through service planning:
· Staff provide reasonable service modifications to parents with disabilities so that the services are as effective as those provided to persons without disabilities in every stage of client services delivery.
· Staff use the risk assessment and family assessment instruments to identify needs that may require modified services for clients with disabilities to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect.
· Service plans developed jointly by staff and clients address any modification in services to support parents with disabilities in preventing the removal of children from the home whenever possible, and to ensure the earliest possible return home for children from court-ordered placements when reasonable safety for the children can be ensured.
· Staff make reasonable efforts to coordinate with all public and private agencies that provide treatment or support services to parents with disabilities.
· Staff make reasonable efforts to obtain suggestions from providers offering services to clients with disabilities.
· Before considering termination of parental rights, DFPS provides modified services to parents with disabilities to accommodate their disabilities in order to give them the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to provide for the physical, emotional, and mental needs of their children.
· Staff request that an attorney ad litem be appointed for parents with a mental disability in all cases that require court intervention.
· Staff may use the local Community Resource Coordination Group (CRCG) to obtain modified services for parents with disabilities.
· Staff collaborate with local agencies that provide services to persons with disabilities to provide training for staff and for families with disabilities.
· Staff may develop a safety plan that involves using an advance directive executed by the parent to identify a caretaker for his or her children if the parent’s situation deteriorates to the extent that the parent can no longer assure the safety of the child. Staff must agree that the selected caretaker has the ability to provide a safe, healthy environment for the child. See 3172 Voluntary Placements Initiated by the Family.
Modifications to Services
In the event reasonable service modifications have been provided but the child’s safety cannot be ensured, DFPS staff discuss with parents the placement options that will enable the parent to remain as involved as possible with the child, such as a voluntary placement agreement with a private provider.
Examples of modifications to services include:
· increasing the frequency with which the service is provided;
· extending the length of time the service is provided;
· modifying staff counseling and client parenting skills training to provide more concrete, hands-on instruction in a natural environment;
· providing in-home parent modeling;
· increasing the repetition of information and training over an extended period of time;
· providing reminders for appointments or services on a more frequent and intensive basis;
· providing clients with a calendar in which appointments are clearly identified;
· arranging for or directly providing transportation arrangements;
· providing more extensive and thorough follow-up services;
· moving a service from an upper-level floor to the first floor of a building;
· relocating a service to an accessible facility;
· providing an aide or personal assistant;
· providing benefits or services at an individual’s home or alternative accessible site;
· providing program information in large print, audio tape, Braille, and so on;
· linking a parent with a parenting mentor;
· arranging for interpreter services and other communication access services or devices;
· exploring supported housing for parents with disabilities through local MHMR community centers;
· arranging for specialized parenting education specifically tailored to the parent with mental health issues;
· providing protective day care services; and
· referring parents to local resources, such as:
· Americorps;
· The ARC, a support group for developmental disabilities;
· Advocacy, Inc.;
· United Cerebral Palsy;
· Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS);
· Rehabilitative Services;
· Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services;
· Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired;
· Early Childhood Intervention Services;
· Disability Determination Services;
· Educational Resource Center on Deafness at Texas School for the Deaf (ERCOD);
· Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS);
· Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC);
· Texas Rehabilitation Commission;
· Texas Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired;
· Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired;
· Early Childhood Intervention;
· Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR) community centers;
· Department of Human Services (DHS);
· Community Care for the Aged and Disabled (CCAD);
· Social Security Administration for Social Security;
· Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
· Community Resource Coordination Group (CRCG);
· Department of State Health Services (DSHS); and
· Children’s Mental Health Plan.
6522 Withholding and Withdrawing Life Sustaining Treatment Withdrawal of Life Support
CPS 96-8 December 2007
Clarification changes are not displayed in revision mode.
The term do not resuscitate (DNR) is often used by healthcare professionals to include an order to:
· withhold life-sustaining treatment (meaning to refrain from applying life support); or
· withdraw life-sustaining treatment (meaning to disconnect life support previously applied).
The Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 166, refers to the process of issuing a DNR order as executing an advance directive.
Procedure for Non-DFPS Medical Consenters
If a medical consenter for a child in DFPS conservatorship is not a DFPS employee, the consenter may not consent to, execute, or sign a DNR order for the child.
See:
6521 Medical Consent
Texas Health and Safety Code §§166.035, 166.031(2)
Procedure for DFPS Employees
To consent to a DNR order for a child in DFPS conservatorship, the caseworker and supervisor:
· obtain a written statement from the attending physician certifying that the child has a terminal or irreversible condition and that the physician recommends withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment; For definitions, see Texas Health and Safety Code §§166.002 (3),(9),(10),(13);
· discuss the recommendation with the program director, regional director, regional attorney, attorney representing DFPS, and the child’s attorney ad litem; and
· follow the procedures outlined in the table, below, depending on whether parental rights have been terminated:
When Parents Retain Their Rights |
When Parents Lose Their Rights or Are Deceased |
||
If parental rights have not been terminated, the parents decide whether to consent to a do not resuscitate (DNR) order for the child. DFPS staff does not have the legal authority to consent to the DNR order. The caseworker and supervisor: · inform the parents that the attending physician is recommending that a DNR order be executed for the child; · arrange for the parents to discuss the recommendation for a DNR order with the attending physician directly (by phone or in person), according to the following procedures: · Inform the attorney representing DFPS, the child’s attorney ad litem and the regional attorney of the decision of the parents and whether a DNR has been executed. |
If parental rights have been terminated or the parents are deceased, the caseworker and supervisor: · arrange for a review by committee, if the healthcare facility has an infant-care review committee or an ethics committee; · arrange for the examination to be conducted, if a second medical opinion is necessary to ensure objectivity; · notify the local court, according to the following procedures: |
||
If the parents … |
then … |
If the court … |
then the worker … |
consent to the DNR … |
the parents must execute the order and sign the documents. DFPS staff may not do so. |
wishes to be involved in the decision … |
· presents the child’s situation to the court; · involves the attorney ad litem (if there is no attorney ad litem, the worker recommends that the court appoint one); and · complies with the court’s directive. |
refuse to consent … |
the caseworker and supervisor take no further action. |
does not wish to be involved in the decision … |
notifies the court of the final decision. |
cannot be located … |
the caseworker and supervisor notify the: · CPS regional chain of command; · regional attorney; · child’s attorney ad litem; and · attorney representing DFPS. The attorney representing DFPS may request that the court appoint a guardian ad litem to explore the best interests of the child. |
|
|
Once the parents or guardian make a decision, the worker and supervisor inform the attorney representing DFPS, the child’s attorney ad litem, and the regional attorney and about whether a DNR has been executed. |
|||
6844 Making Adoptive Placements in Other Regions and With Private Adoption Agencies
CPS September 2007 December 2007
Clarification changes are not displayed in revision mode.
When DFPS Places a Child Outside the Region
- When a DFPS worker places a child in an adoptive home that is outside of the region that has conservatorship, the caseworker or supervisor follows the procedures in 6512 Making Placements Across Regional or Unit Lines.
When a Family Moves
When an adoptive family, a foster family that is adopting, or a legal-risk adoptive family moves across regional lines, the worker must transfer the case and all responsibilities to the region where the family is moving.
- Under no circumstances may a region retain responsibility for an adoptive home that has moved to another region.
When DFPS Places a Child With a Private Agency for Adoption
When a child is placed with a private child-placing agency for adoption, DFPS’s contract with the private agency addresses supervision.
The private child-placing agency makes the monthly face-to-face contacts with the child for DFPS.
- The CPS worker continues to make quarterly face-to-face contacts with the child.
Monthly Face-to-Face Contacts
The CPS worker must ensure that staff from the private child-placing agency make monthly face-to-face visits with the child in adoptive placement and that the visits are made at the child’s residence in a majority of the months of the year, according to the standards noted in:
6511 Contact with the Child
6851 Supporting the Adoptive Placement
Documenting Contacts in IMPACT
To meet federal reporting requirements, CPS staff must document monthly face-to-face contacts, including the location of the contacts, upon receiving the information from the contract provider.
- The CPS staff document the information on the Contact Detail page in the IMPACT system.
However, CPS staff may claim Targeted Case Management (TCM) in IMPACT only for those contacts and activities performed directly by CPS staff.
If a private child-placing agency makes the contact, CPS staff must not select a Purpose indicating a Targeted Case Management (TCM) activity.
If a CPS worker makes the contact and the contact includes TCM activity, the worker selects TCM in the drop menu for the Purpose.
See 6931.2 Monthly Targeted Case Management (TCM) Activity.
Closing Adoption Cases That Cross Regional Lines
When a child has been placed in an adoptive home across regional lines and it is appropriate to close the case, the worker receiving the child for placement and the worker sending the child for placement take the following steps:
· The receiving worker provides the sending worker with copies of any external documents in the adoptive family's record that the sending worker does not already possess.
· The sending worker attaches the adoptive family's external record to the child's external record and closes the child's case. See 1476 Retention of Consummated Adoption Case Records.
· The sending worker follows the procedures for closing a case in the ADO stage in IMPACT.
· The sending worker documents the location of the adoptive family's original external record in the ADO stage.
· The sending worker follows procedures for closing a case in the FAD stage in IMPACT.
· The receiving worker documents the location of the child's original external record in the FAD stage.
6931.2 Monthly Targeted Case Management (TCM) Activity
CPS September 2007 December 2007
It is especially critical that DFPS caseworkers document routine casework as TCM activity when the casework meets the TCM criteria; however DFPS staff may claim TCM in IMPACT only for those contact activities performed directly by DFPS staff.
TCM generally includes activities needed to aid children in accessing medical, social, education, and other services. See also 6511.1 Targeted Case Management.
Types of TCM Activities
The four specific types of TCM activities correspond to the Purpose categories on the Contact Detail page in IMPACT.
1. Assessment
Assessment includes activities that focus on identifying needs, such as evaluating a child to determine the need for medical, education, social, and other services.
For CPS this includes contact with child and consultation with professionals, the caregivers, and other parties to evaluate needs.
2. Case Planning
Case planning includes collaborating with all parties to develop a focused plan to meet the assessed needs of the child. The case plan contains goals and identifies a course of action to respond to the assessed medical, social, educational, and other needs.
The CPS child’s service plan serves as the case plan for TCM purposes.
3. Referral and Linkage (Service Coordination)
Referral and Linkage includes activities that help connect children with medical, social, and educational providers, and other programs or services that can meet the child’s needs. It also includes activities and contacts that are necessary to ensure that the service plan is effectively implemented and is adequately addressing the needs of the child.
For CPS, such activities can include telephone, electronic, and face-to-face contacts to ensure timely resolution of problems and to monitor the progress of service providers.
4. Monitoring and Follow-up (Case Plan Reassessment)
Monitoring and follow-up includes making adjustments to the service plan and service arrangements with providers, as needed.
For CPS, activities may include telephone, electronic, and face-to-face contacts with all involved parties to reevaluate case planning (case staffing).
See Medicaid TCM policy.
Preference in Selection
The first choice for a TCM contact is a monthly face-to-face contact with the child at the child’s residence, as long as it includes at least one of the four qualifying TCM activities listed above.
Other types of contact also meet TCM requirements. The alternative options, in order of priority, are:
1. face-to-face contact with the child at any location that accomplishes one of the four required TCM activities;
2. any contact with the child that accomplishes one of the four required TCM activities; and
3. any contact with the caregiver or a professional that accomplishes one of the four required TCM activities regarding the child.