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C5.13 Structured Decision Making (SDM™) Reunification and Risk Re-Assessments

Legal Authority

Introduction

SDM™ Risk Assessment

The SDM™ Risk Reassessment aims to help assess whether risk has been reduced sufficiently to allow a case to be closed or whether the risk level remains high and services should continue. This is accomplished by evaluating whether the family's behaviors and actions have changed as a result of the case plan.

The family risk reassessment combines items from the original risk assessment with additional items that evaluate a family’s progress toward case plan goals.

SDM™ Reunification Assessment

The purpose of the SDM™ Reunification Assessment is to:

Evaluate safety, case plan progress, and parent/child interactions; and
Help guide decisions regarding reunification.

The reunification assessment is used when the child is removed from the home of origin and placed with a relative or fictive kin, or when the youth is placed in out-of-home care (OOHC). The reunification tool is not to be used to assess potential relative placement or other potential permanent placements. The results of the reunification assessment will help guide decisions regarding reunification.

When parents live separately, and each has case plan tasks, a separate reunification assessment or reassessment is required for each parent.

Practice Guidance

The SDM® Risk Reassessment process should be used in the following instances:

All child protective services (CPS) cases that fall under the following categories:

All cases that were opened following an SDM ™ assessment;
All open cases in which children remained in the home; and
All open cases in which all children have been returned home following a removal.

The family risk reassessment combines items from the original risk assessment completed during the investigation phase, with the addition of items that evaluate a family’s progress toward their case plan goals.

The risk reassessment uses a single overall score to indicate the likelihood that someone will have future involvement with the child protection system. This contrasts with the original risk assessment, which separates scores into two (2): one (1) for safety and one (1) for risk.

These assessments should be completed with no more than thirty (30) working days before completing each case plan or recommendation for case closure.

The risk reassessment should be completed sooner if new circumstances or information impact the risk to the children.

The risk reassessment helps guide the SSW in the decision to either:

Keep the case open; or
Close the case.

The SDM™ Reunification assessment process should be used in the following instances:

All cases where a child is removed from the home of origin (i.e., relative custody, fictive kin, or OOHC).

No later than six (6) months from the removal date from the home of origin and every six (6) months after that,
Prior to a permanency consultation,
And at any time, a child is considered for a trial home visit or return home.

The SSW may complete the SDM™ Reunification Assessment prior to any court hearing, and the permanency goal and progress towards case plan goals must be reviewed.

Only caretaker	The only caretaker	None
Two or more caretakers with differing caretaking roles.	The caretaker who provides the most care (emotional and physical) for the child.	The caretaker who provides the next most care.
Two or more caretakers with equal caretaking roles, but only one is the legal caretaker.	The only legal caretaker.	The other caretaker.
Two or more caretakers with equal caretaking roles and equal legal status.	The caretaker named as the person causing harm.	The other caretaker.
Two or more caretakers with equal caretaking roles, equal legal status, and equal contribution to harming child.	The caretaker whose harm has had the greatest impact on the child.	The other caretaker

Procedure

The following steps outline the appropriate procedure to complete the SDM™ Risk Reassessment:

The SSW will:

Familiarize themselves with all risk reassessment items and definitions prior to the completion of the risk reassessment, to ensure accurate scoring;
Use information from recent contact with household members, collateral contacts, case records, and other reliable sources to understand progress and behavioral change;
Distinguish the difference between objective characteristics (e.g., prior history, child’s age) and those requiring professional judgement based on the SSW’s assessment of the family;
Follow the guidance for scoring the risk items as follows:

Risk items R1-R4: The first four (4) items on the risk reassessment are generally scored the same as the first four items on the initial risk assessment completed during the investigation, unless new information has become available. To ensure accuracy, SSW will review the initial risk assessment to determine the scores and consider all available information.
Risk items R5-R11: These items are scored based only on observations since the most recent assessment or reassessment.
When all items are scored, the total score is utilized to determine the risk level. There will be one overall score, one score for risk items R1-R4, and one score for items R5-R11.

Scoring for risk items R1-R4 is based on conditions present at the time of the referral, i.e., “static risk items.”
Scoring for risk items R5-R11 is based on parent actions since the last assessment/reassessment, i.e. “dynamic risk items.”

Complete a safety review before determining case actions.

Reviewing safety plans and utilizing observations and family engagement strategies, consider how safety threats previously present have been resolved.
The safety review section of the risk reassessment is not meant to be used as a safety assessment or to replace documentation of a safety plan.
If there are unresolved safety threats, document how they are being addressed.

Select a final action recommendation based on the risk items' scores. Recommendations include the following:

Continue ongoing services;
Continue ongoing services due to court action;
Close ongoing services. Family is moving out of state;
Close ongoing services due to the family declining services, and there is no legal standing to require ongoing services;
Close ongoing services; or
Other

This will require further rationale from SSW with details of the plan to continue services or close the case.

The following steps outline the appropriate procedure to complete the SDM™ Reunification Assessment:

The SSW:

Will, during the completion of the reunification assessment, assess if there are any factors that influence child vulnerability, including safety threats:

If there are no current safety threats, the worker will describe how the parents have demonstrated protective actions and mitigated the safety threats that led to the children being removed from the home.
If at least one (1) safety threat is currently identified that would pose a risk for the children’s safety if returned to the home, the worker will need to identify if there are any safety interventions that can or will be incorporated into the case plan to mitigate the safety threats identified.

Will make a safety decision based on assessing all safety threats, safety interventions, and other information about the case, and select one of the following decisions only:

Safe. No current safety threats have been identified at this time. If a child(ren) were to return home today, there would be no current safety threats, and any safety threats that were previously identified would have been addressed through parents demonstrating protective actions.
Safe with interventions. If a child(ren) were to return home today, one or more current safety threats would be present; however, parents are demonstrating protective actions or interventions that address safety threats. The family is progressing toward safety, and interventions to address safety threats must be included in the modifications to the case plan.
Unsafe. If a child(ren) were to return home today, one (1) or more safety threats would be present, and no parent would demonstrate protective actions/interventions. Continued placement is the only protective intervention at this time.

The next step of the reunification assessment requires the SSW:

To evaluate the case plan progress.

If there are two (2) parents, the worker will rate the progress for each (i.e., primary caregiver and secondary caregiver).
If there is no secondary caregiver, select “No Secondary Parent” at the top and rate only the primary parent.

Evaluate the following:

Parent engagement in case plan tasks, as evidenced by observed behavioral change;
Parent use of formal and informal support to achieve or maintain behavioral changes related to case plan tasks; and
Parents’ overall progress in achieving case plan tasks as indicated by behavioral change.

Assess the parent-child interactions based on any contact or interactions observed between the child and the parents, including visitation.
Assess attendance of visits outlined in the visitation agreement- including the frequency and quality.
Assess parents' behavior during interactions with the child, including parenting responses to the child’s behaviors, child energy, development, and emotions.

The FSOS:

Meets monthly with each SSW to discuss and strategize case-specific issues for each CPS case as outlined in SOP G1.5 Supervision and/or Consultation;
Upon submission of the SDM™ Reunification Assessment by the SSW, reviews the assessment for appropriate completion and approves the assessment.

Documents

Structured Decision Making (SDM™) Reunification Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual ...

Structured Decision Making (SDM™) Risk Reassessment Policy and Procedures Manual ...