DFPS Reform Update

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DFPS Reform Update Texans Care for
Children November 8, 2005 Presented by Sue
Milam, Deputy Commissioner
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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• DFPS Renewal
• Keys to Success
• Quality Services - Our primary goal in renewal is
  to find new and better ways to protect vulnerable
  children and adults and to deliver quality
  services without bureaucratic barriers. To
  accomplish this goal we must build a team that
  extends beyond the boundaries of this agency.
• Focus on the Client Remain focused on the
  mission of protecting the unprotected. By
  focusing on our clients we will be making the
  right decisions and will truly improve and renew
  our services.
• Can Do Attitude and Open to Change Staff are
  encouraged to embrace challenges and look for
  opportunities throughout this effort to shift the
  culture of the agency and how things have always
  been done.
• Teamwork and Community Partnerships - No one
  person, program or division can make DFPS Renewal
  a success. Every area of the agency is involved
  and has a role to play.

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Progress and Results
• Challenges
• DFPS Renewal Organization
• Children and Families
• CPS Investigations
• Kinship Care
• Disproportionality
• Outsourcing
• Medical Care Delivery System
• Residential Child Care Licensing Minimum
  Standards
• Transitional Living
• Preventative Services
• DFPS Renewal Keys to Success

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Progress and Results
• SB 6 is total agency reform
• Major Accomplishments to date
• Resource allocation completed
• Outsourcing Transition Plan and RFI published
• Medical Care Delivery System RFI published
• RCCL Minimum Standards revision underway
• CPS Senior Investigators hired
• Created the Child Placement Resources Form
• Draft Prevention RFP published
• Hired CPS and APS trainers
• Basic Skills Development training extended from 5
  to 12 weeks

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Challenges
• Total agency reform will take time
• Challenges are being addressed
• Hiring 2,500 new employees will take place in
  stages
• Increase in reports of abuse and neglect to
  hotline
• Caseloads will increase before a reduction is
  evident
• Outsourcing is a complex and multi-faced
  organizational change
• Policy changes take time
• More than 125 policy changes are required
• Various interpretations of policy
• Cultural change must be adopted by every employee

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
CHILDREN FAMILIES
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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• CPS Investigations
• Forensic investigation support
• Training in forensics is being developed
• Director of Investigations
• Hired Summer 2005
• Work with law enforcement
• To implement the Drug-endangered child initiative
• To clarify law enforcement and CPS roles in
  investigations
• On training for joint investigations

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• Kinship Care
• Facilitate relative or other designated caregiver
  placement
• Created a Caregiver Assistance Program
• A rule has been adopted to expand kinship support
  statewide and increase the number of children
  placed with relatives/kin
• The rules manual for the financial component has
  been drafted
• Create a child placement resources form
• The Child Placement Resources form to identify
  relatives/kin for placement has been created and
  distributed
• The information manual has been finalized

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• Disproportionality
• Provide cultural competency training for staff
• Casey Family Program curriculum titled Knowing
  Who You AreHelping Youth in Care Develop their
  Racial and Ethnic Identity
• Increase foster and adoptive parent recruitment
• Targeting recruitment efforts to ensure diversity
• Develop collaborative community partnerships to
  provide culturally competent services
• CPS formed two regional Community Advisory
  Committees on Disproportionality one in Houston
  and one Arlington
• The committees provide representation from
  various segments of the community, including
  birth parents and CPS alumni.

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• Outsourcing
• Outsource case management and substitute care
  services
• The Statewide Plan for the Development of the
  Transition Plan is in place
• Request for Information (RFI) has been published
• Responses accepted through November 18, 2005
• Stakeholder meetings being held around the state
• Outsourcing timeline has been posted
• Request for Proposal (RFP) posted early 2006
• First region contract for Independent
  Administrator (IA) Sept 30, 2006
• Independent Evaluation/Quality Assurance is a
  priority
• DFPS will monitor the quality of service provided
  by contractors
• A multidisciplinary team will evaluate
  Independent Administrators performance on
  achievement of client and system outcomes and
  contract compliance
• DFPS will ensure that services are provided in
  accordance with state and federal laws and rules

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• Medical Care Delivery System
• Design a comprehensive, cost-effective medical
  services delivery model.
• The goal is to create a medical home for each
  child in foster care that provides coordinated,
  comprehensive, and continuous healthcare
  services.
• Components of the model
• Medical home for each foster child with a primary
  care provider team.
• Management system to coordinate physical,
  behavioral, and possibly long-term care services.
• Review system to monitor the quality of services
  being delivered to foster care children.
• Status
• HHSC issued a RFI on September 2, 2005.
• Comments were due to HHSC no later than October
  7, 2005.
• This will be followed later in the year by a
  draft RFP.
• The tentative implementation date for the model
  is January 1, 2007.

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• Residential Child Care Licensing (RCCL) Minimum
  Standards
• Regulate child care facilities
• Increased requirements for providers
• Stronger regulatory enforcement tools
• Stakeholder Involvement
• Held two public hearings
• Solicited public comment on the early draft
• Conducted a fiscal impact survey
• Created an email box for providers to email
  questions and comments pertaining to the revision
  of minimum standards
• Revised minimum standards timeline
• Rules proposed to DFPS Council January 2006
• Public comment period March 17-April 17, 2006
• Rules adopted July 2006
• Rules effective January 2007

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• Transitional Living
• Address the challenges faced by foster children
  transitioning to independent living
• The Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) is
  expanding and improving
• The Transitional Living Services Workgroup is
  working on the following
• Improving discharge planning services to help
  smooth the transition for youth leaving foster
  care
• Expanding support services for youth who are
  leaving foster care
• Caseworker training on discharge planning and
  resources for older youth in care

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• Preventive Services
• Develop a plan to pool funding from other
  agencies for prevention services
• Working with Interagency Coordinating Council for
  Building Healthy Families (HB 1685) to inventory
  prevention services
• Fund evidence-based programs designed to prevent
  child abuse and neglect
• Draft RFP for evidence-based programs offered by
  community-based organizations has been released

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

• Key SB 6 Directives
• Community Engagement
• Strong and effective partnerships with clients,
  communities and state leadership are critical to
  meeting our goals, and building these
  relationships and partnerships is an integral
  part of our everyday work.
• To advance this goal of increased community
  involvement, DFPS leadership and staff
• Hired regional Resource and External Relations
  Specialists and Community Initiative Specialists
  were hired in the spring of 2005
• Regions developed Community Action Plans in the
  summer of 2005
• Developed public awareness campaign in May of
  2005
• Will reach out to service and professional
  stakeholders (service provider, law enforcement,
  and the judicial/legal communities) to build
  strong collaborations
• Increase involvement of faith-based community,
  senior citizens, local leadership, and volunteers
  in providing solutions for the vulnerable in our
  communities

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Questions?