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C1.18 Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START)

Legal Authority

42 USC §671 State plan for foster care and adoption assistance ...

KRS 200.575 Family preservation services programs ...

Introduction

Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) is a child welfare-based intervention for families with young children affected by co-occurring parental substance misuse and child maltreatment.

Practice Guidance

Additional Context

Goals of START:

Child safety and well-being;
Preventing foster care entry;
Parental recovery;
Permanency for children;
Family stability and self-sufficiency; and
Improved capacity for addressing parental substance use and child maltreatment.

START pairs a specially trained SSW and a family mentor to share a caseload of twelve (12) to fifteen (15) families. Family mentors bring life experience to guide and coach families through both the recovery and child welfare processes. START engages families early in their child welfare case, using a rapid timeline and shared decision-making. The program provides quick access to holistic assessment and treatment services for all parents, addressing substance use, mental health, and trauma. START provides a service delivery system that involves cross-system collaboration and frequent and intense coordinated service provision. The START manual outlines and guides the START model, and the START Timeline guides the first thirty (30) working days of the START intervention.

Procedure

The SSW:

Upon receipt of the DPP-115, reviews the eligibility form to determine if the family meets START criteria;
Consults with FSOS to identify if a child is a candidate for foster care by determining:

That a safety threat and/or risk factors have been identified and the child would need out-of-home care placement immediately or in the future without intervention; and
The safety issues and risk factors can be mitigated with the selection and use of child-specific, evidence-based intervention.

Makes a referral to the START FSOS in the region through e-mail or phone call within ten (10) working days of receipt of the DPP-115;
Follows regional protocol to schedule an initial staffing/safety meeting within three (3) working days of acceptance by START;
Notifies the family of the initial staffing/safety meeting;
Attends the initial staffing/safety meeting with the family and START team to occur within three (3) working days of acceptance by START to:

Develop a plan for child safety and services;
Work with START to schedule an initial comprehensive psychosocial assessment that includes a substance use history and mental health screening to occur within two (2) working days; and
Work with START to follow minimum work guidelines.

Explains the Family First Evidence-Based Prevention Service Program Evaluation:
Provides the family with a copy of the Key Information Sheet for Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Program Evaluation Form;
Asks the family to complete and sign the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Evaluation Consent Form, advising that:

The family's information will be kept strictly confidential, stored in secure ways, and only viewed by the researchers who are conducting the evaluation;
Family participation is voluntary, and families are not required to do anything beyond what they will do to receive services as part of their ongoing case;

Uploads the completed consent form into TWIST;
Obtains signed releases of information from the family (DCBS-1 and DCBS 1A);
Completes the case plan, inviting the START service providers to the case planning conference, and documenting as a family team meeting (FTM) accordingly;
Documents the date of candidacy, candidate, prevention strategy (selected evidence-based practice (EBP)), and the date of the prevention strategy (date of referral approval);
Incorporates the EBPs into a case plan objective;
Follows START minimum work guidelines through the duration of the case; and
Flags START cases utilizing the checkbox on the case management screen in TWIST.

The FSOS:

Consults with the SSW to identify if the child is a candidate for foster care by determining:

That a safety threat and/or risk factors have been identified and the child would need out-of-home care placement immediately or in the future without intervention; and
The safety threats and risk factors can be mitigated with the selection and use of child-specific, evidence-based intervention; and

Shares the case in TWIST with the START FSOS immediately following the staffing/safety meeting;

THE START FSOS:

Completes the Prevention Services Referral Form in TWIST, identifying the candidate, the identified risk factors, and the EBP interventions to mitigate risk factors.

THE SRA: