Caseload Compliance Plan

1
Caseload Compliance Plan

• Braam Oversight Panel Meeting
• October 6-7, 2008

2
Progress

• FY2005-2007 110 new staff to implement child
  welfare reform 71 staff to implement child
  neglect legislation
• FY2006-2008 284 new staff to implement monthly
  visits
• Even though caseloads increased 14.2, the
  average caseload has dropped from 24.2 to 20.1
  cases in the last three years.

3
Recent Progress in Reducing Workload

• Workload Study
• Funding for Relative Support Staff
• Twenty-six chemical dependency specialists
• Educational advocates
• Most recently, funding for sibling visits

4
Recent Progress to Increase Effectiveness

• Introduced a Practice Model that has been shown
  in Kentucky to effectively engage families in
  treatment.
• Expanded family-to-family to all offices
• Introduced Evidenced Based Programs that have
  been shown to effectively achieve outcomes for
  children and families.

5
We can reduce caseloads by increasing engagement
of clients in case planning.
Logic Model
so that

• Successful engagement results in better outcomes
  for children and their families and enables
  closing cases without re-entry or re-occurrence.
• Cases are successfully closed and chances of
  re-entry are reduced.
• The length of stay is reduced for children in
  out-of-home placement.

so that
Better outcomes result in a long-term reduction
of cases Children are moved out of care and
remain out of care, which means one less
case. Children can live safely in their own
homes.
so that
A reduction in cases results social workers
workload and caseloads being reduced.
6
Efforts to Increase Efficiencies

• Regional workgroups have convened in every
  region to determine methods to increase
  efficiencies. Solutions have included partnering
  with local courts to reduce waiting time,
  removing disclosure and discovery duties from
  social workers, and appointing payment
  specialists.

7
Union-Management Efforts

• Childrens Administration and the Washington
  Federation of State Employees are meeting to
  determine how workload can be reduced. The
  Legislature also required these meetings and
  asked for a report due November 2008 to identify
  priority tasks and methods to reduce workload for
  social workers.

8
Strategies to Reduce Caseloads

• Reduce barriers to permanency and case closure by
  providing resources to
• conduct home studies and complete disclosure
  requirements to finalize adoptions
• enter parenting plans to change custody between
  parents
• enter third party custody agreements
• (more long-term) file petitions to terminate
  parental rights in a timely manner to ensure
  permanency for children

9
Long-Term Plans

• The Childrens Administration continues to
  request additional resources with a focus on
• Social workers
• FTDM coordinators
• CA will submit another plan to the Panel by
  December 31, 2008.

10
Data Issues

• CA intends to begin reporting on caseload sizes
  in CAMIS
• When FamLink goes live there may be changes in
  the data.
• We are working to have consistency in the way we
  report consistent with the compliance plan rather
  than monthly caseload averages.

11
Special Needs Definition

• We appreciate the Panel accepting the caseload
  weighting formula proposed by the department.
• The definition of special needs remains under
  discussion. We have responded to the Panels
  request for additional information (see letter in
  your folder).