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Effective: 10/1/2022

1.5 Supervision and Consultation

Legal Authority

Introduction

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Supervision is an integral part of ensuring that appropriate and timely services are being assessed, offered, and provided to the vulnerable families and children served by Department for Community Based Services (DCBS/Department). It is important that the FSOS supports staff in critical thinking and decision making. The purpose of case consultation is to use the knowledge and expertise of the supervisor and designated regional staff to guide the casework being completed by staff, and to ensure that staff is completing the tasks/objectives as delineated in the assessment, case plan, and as instructed by the supervisor. In addition to the standards established below, regional consultations can be requested by staff at any time. 

Regional case consultation protocol has been established for investigations and out-of-home care (OOHC) cases. To eliminate additional meetings for staff, the OOHC case consultations incorporate the following:  
  • ​Adoption review committee issues;
  • Safety and risk consults;
  • MSW consults;
  • Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) reviews;
  • Decisions about sibling separation/return/reunification;
  • Case closure reviews;
  • Planned permanency living arrangement (PPLA) reviews; and
  • Regional consult committee review.
By completing the OOHC case consultations, as outlined in the procedures below, staff will no longer have to conduct the meetings listed above.   



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Practice Guidance

  • Prior to foster home approval, the Provide Supervisory Consultation Template is not required. The FSOS will document all supervision/consultations held during the safety check and review in service recordings, including any recommendations or action planning.
  • The initial Investigative Consultation form may be used for consultation throughout the course of the investigation.


Procedure

The FSOS

  1. Meets monthly with each worker to discuss and strategize case specific issues for each child protective service (CPS) and adult protective service (APS) case;
  2. Ensures that staff complete all identified tasks or actions as discussed and documented on the corresponding case consultation form;
  3. Documents the following information on the consultation form when a task or action is unable to be completed by the next consult: 
    1. Barriers to completing the task or action;
    2. Strategies to assist the family and SSW in completing the task; and
    3. Anticipated date of completion of the task or action;
  4. Assesses the completion of the identified tasks or actions at the next consultation meeting. 

Investigative Case Consultation

  1. The FSOS meets with the SSW at least monthly to review all investigations using the Investigative Consultation Form.
  2. The FSOS and SSW cover the following content during the consultation:
    1. Who are the household members (describe each member's age, disability, etc.);
    2. What are the allegations;
    3. What are the strengths of the family;
    4. What is the protective capacity of the parents and/or caregivers; 
    5. What is the family history with CPS/APS (investigations and ongoing);
    6. What are the identified safety threats affecting the child(ren);
    7. What are the identified risk factors affecting the child(ren);
    8. What is the high-risk behavior(s) of the caretaker(s);
    9. Is SSW concerned about the children’s safety and why;
    10. Who has been interviewed so far;
    11. What documentation has been gathered; and
    12. What are the next steps in the investigation (interviews, referrals for service, etc.)?
  3. The FSOS will ensure all action steps are completed prior to the approval of the assessment.
  4. Investigative consultations will be documented in the service recordings and will include the following details:1
    1. Date each consultation was held; and
    2. Parties involved in the consultation.
  5. During the consultation, and throughout the investigation, if safety threats are identified which may prohibit the child(ren) from remaining in the home, FSOS and SSW should refer to SOP 2.11 Investigation Protocol, SOP 2.13 Structured Decision Making Safety and Risk Assessments,​ and DPP-20 Safety and Risk Consultation Form.

Regional Investigative Case Consultation

  1. Within seventy-two (72) hours from the time the referral was accepted by centralized intake, the SSW and FSOS consult with their regional office designee using the Investigative Consultation Form, for investigations alleging physical abuse involving a child four (4) years old and younger.
  2. Designated regional office staff discuss the following during the consultation:
    1. Who are the household members (describe each member's age, disability, etc.);
    2. What are the allegations;
    3. What are the strengths of the family;
    4. What is the protective capacity of the parents and/or caregivers;
    5. Discuss the family's history with CPS/APS (investigations and ongoing);
    6. What identified safety threats are affecting the child(ren);
    7. What identified risk factors are affecting the child(ren)'
    8. What is the high-risk behavior(s)of the caretaker(s);
    9. Is SSW concerned about the children’s safety and why;
    10. Who has been interviewed so far;
    11. What documentation has been gathered; and
    12. What are the next steps in the investigation (interviews, referrals for service, etc.)?
  3. Designated regional office staff, the FSOS, and/or SSW will conduct a follow-up consultation no later than fourteen (14) working days after the initial seventy-two (72) hour consultation when there are unresolved safety threats identified in the initial consultation. 
  4. The FSOS will notify the designated regional office staff of any changes in the investigation since the fourteen (14) day investigative consultation.
  5. The FSOS will ensure all action steps are completed prior to the approval of the assessment.
  6. Investigative consultations will be documented in the service recordings and will include the following details:
    1. Date each consultation was held; and
    2. Parties involved in the consultation. 
  7. During the consultation, and throughout the investigation, if safety threats are identified which may prohibit the child(ren) from remaining in the home, FSOS and SSW should refer to SOP 2.11 Investigation Protocol, SOP 2.13 Structured Decision Making Safety and Risk Assessments, and DPP-20 Safety and Risk Consultation Form.

In-Home Services Case Consultations

  1. The FSOS meets with the SSW monthly to review all in-home services cases.
  2. The FSOS and regional office staff meet with the SSW to consult on in-home cases that have been open for fifteen (15) consecutive months and every six (6) months thereafter: 
  3. The FSOS and regional office staff cover the following content during the consultation: 
    1. Who are the household members;
    2. What are the strengths of the family;
    3. What are the dates of the most recent face-to-face contact with the mother, father, temporary custodian (if applicable), and children; investigative assessment, ongoing assessment, case plan, and family team meeting (FTM);
    4. What risks were identified with the family that resulted in a case being opened;
    5. What are the services in place to reduce risk or further maltreatment;
    6. What prevention services are being offered to the family;
    7. What date did services start;
    8. What is the date the child(ren) was identified as a candidate for foster care;
    9. What are the evidence-based practices (EBPs) being utilized with the family to mitigate high-risk behaviors; 
    10. What high-risk patterns were identified;
    11. What services are in place for each adult to address high-risk patterns of behavior;
    12. What progress has been made by the mother, father, or other caregivers to reduce high-risk patterns of behavior and safety threats identified in the case plan;
    13. Is the court case active and what court orders are in place;
    14. What are the final tasks that need to be completed on the case plan for the case to be closed;
    15. What does the family see as barriers to case closure and how do they believe these barriers can be overcome;
    16. What does the SSW see as barriers to case closure and how do they believe these barriers may be overcome;
    17. What is the projected date of closure; and
    18. What community resources does the family need to be linked with prior to case closure (formal and informal)? 
  4. If a new investigation is received during an ongoing case, refer to SOP 2.11.
  5. If a new investigation has not been received, however, safety threats have been identified which may prohibit the child(ren) from remaining in the home, the SSW:
    1. Upon determination that the child(ren) cannot remain safely in the home, consults with the regional office utilizing the DPP-20​. 
    2. Participates with the FSOS, and regional office staff in consultation.  The FSOS, chief, and/or covering supervisor facilitates the request for the consultation. For emergency and on-call situations, the FSOS and regional office may consult without the SSW.
      1. If available, a master’s degree level practitioner is recommended as a participant in the consultation.  If not available, the SRAA/SRCA or designee is appropriate. Regional office maintains a copy of the signed DPP-20​;
      2. Participants should be in agreement with the consultation outcome. If participants are not in agreement, the regional SRCA or SRA (if SRCA is involved with the initial consultation) will be consulted; and  
      3. The consultation is not required when the court grants DCBS custody of a child(ren) when DCBS did not request or recommend custody.
    3. Provides the custodial parent with a copy of the When Your Child is Removed from Your Care Guide for Parents brochure when the child(ren) is placed outside of their home by way of a safety plan or court order; and
    4. Follows placement considerations (please refer to SOP 4.9).
  6. Ongoing in-home consultations will be documented in service recording and will include the following details:
    1. The date the consultation was held;
    2. Type of consultation held (in-home services case consultation); and
    3. Parties involved in the consultation.
  7. The completed case consultation template will be maintained by the regional office designee (either electronically or in hard copy format). 

Out of Home Care (OOHC) Regional Case Consultation

  1. The FSOS and designated regional office staff meet to consult on the progress of an OOHC ongoing case:
  2. After a child has been in OOHC for three (3) months and documents information on the three (3) month initial OOHC case consultation template;
  3. Prior to the child being in OOHC for twelve (12) months; and
  4. Every twelve (12) months thereafter, according to the child's entry date into OOHC, until the child achieves permanency;
  5. The results of the periodic case consultations are documented on the Ongoing OOHC Case Consultation Template.
  6. Ongoing OOHC consultations will be documented in service recordings and will include the following details:
  7. The date the consultation was held;
  8. Type of consultation held (OOHC regional case consultation); and
  9. The parties involved in the consultation.
  10. The completed case consultation template will be maintained by the regional office designee (either electronically or in hard copy format). 
  11. For agency cases, the consultation is documented utilizing the Agency Case Consultation Template.
 

Adult Protective Services Consultation

Investigative Cases

 
The FSOS  

  1. Meets with the SSW at least monthly to review all investigations and may utilize the APS Investigation Consultation Form.
  2. Along with the SSW, cover the following content during the consultation: 
    1. Who are the household members (describe each member's age, disability, etc.); 
    2. What are the allegations; 
    3. What are the strengths of the adult;
    4. What is the adult’s history with CPS/APS (investigations and ongoing); 
    5. What are the identified safety threats affecting the adult; 
    6. What are the identified risk factors affecting the adult;
    7. What is the high-risk behavior(s) of the adult or caretaker(s); 
    8. Is SSW concerned about the adult’s safety and why; 
    9. Who has been interviewed so far; 
    10. What documentation has been gathered; and 
    11. What are the next steps in the investigation (interviews, referrals for service, etc.)?
  3. Will ensure all action steps are completed prior to the approval of the assessment.

Ongoing Cases


  1. Conducts a formal consult, quarterly, on each case and as part of the formal consult covers the following items:
    1. Documents on the appropriate consultation form the complete details of the consultation including, but not limited to:
      1. Strengths of the case;
      2. Areas for improvement; and
      3. Required tasks or actions and timeframes for each party.
  2. Ensures that staff complete all identified tasks or actions as discussed and it is documented on the appropriate consultation form;
  3. Documents the following information on the individual supervisory consultation form when a task or action is unable to be completed by the next quarterly consultation
    1. Barriers to completing the task or action; and
    2. Anticipated date of completion of the task or action.
  4. Assesses the completion of the identified tasks or actions at the next quarterly consultation.

Provide Case Consultation 

The FSOS


  1. Conducts a formal consult, monthly, to assess the current status of the foster/adoptive home utilizing the Provide Supervisory Consultation Template.  The consultation will include:
    1. Current status of home; 
    2. Children currently placed in the home; 
    3. Current exceptions;
    4. Review of any prior action plans developed during the annual re-evaluation foster/adoptive home review, or child-specific waivers; and
    5. Discussion of a child-specific foster home's need for ongoing training or waivers.

Footnotes

  1. Anyone can enter the contact as long as the appropriate selection is made to reflect that it is a consultation.

Documents

Revisions