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Effective: 10/4/2023

3.10 SSW's Ongoing Contact with the Birth Family and Child

Legal Authority

Introduction

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​From the moment of the initial contact with the family, the SSW and the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) are obligated under federal and state law to make reasonable efforts to keep families intact whenever possible; and in removal situations, to make reasonable efforts to reunify children with their families. As part of this obligation, the SSW is required to maintain personal contact with families and children. Ongoing contact with the family provides information that contributes to a thorough assessment of whether the family has eliminated the safety threats and reduced the identified risk factors that initially lead to the involvement of DCBS.

Safety threats are conditions present within a home or family that creates an immediate danger to the child’s safety, or threat of severe harm, that may result in severe consequences without immediate intervention. A safety threat refers to a specific family situation or behavior, emotion, motive, or capacity of a family member that is out-of-control, imminent, and will likely have severe effects on the child.

Risk factors refer to the likelihood that maltreatment may occur if there is not intervention and is synonymous with words like chance, probability, or potential. Identified risk factors may be classified as low, moderate, or high.

Features of an acceptable pattern of visits include:

  • Unannounced, if necessary to ensure the child's safety, face-to-face contact frequently enough to sufficiently evaluate the family’s progress; 
  • Sufficient meaningful discussion of case planning tasks and objectives; and 
  • Sufficient opportunity to observe the residence(s) of the parent(s) and child(ren), or other family members significant to the case.

Through the life of the case, the burden is on the SSW to locate and maintain contact with family members based on the individual needs of each case.



Practice Guidance

Ongoing Contact with the Child

  • The SSW may utilize the Caseworker Visit Template during face-to-face contact with the child.
  • Throughout the child welfare intervention, if the SSW is notified that a child is missing, the SSW will assist the caretaker with filing appropriate notifications to local law enforcement, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and a local district/family court runaway petition, as described in SOP 4.67 Locating Missing Children-Including Runaways. SSW will also interview the child within forty-eight (48) hours of their return to evaluate as described in SOP 4.67​.​

Ongoing Contact with the Family

  • Ideally, the SSW makes face-to-face contact with the parent(s), in their residence, at a minimum of once per calendar month. However, the appropriate frequency of visit is guided by the case-specific circumstances. When the overall pattern of face-to-face visits is not monthly (once per calendar month), the SSW enters an explanation for the pattern of contact into the next case plan evaluation/ongoing assessment. 
  • In addition to face-to-face contact, the SSW may utilize telephone, mail, or email; however, the case-specific circumstances should guide the overall pattern of contact within the case. 
  • The burden is on the SSW to document a pattern of visits with the child(ren) and parent(s) that will appropriately demonstrate reasonable efforts to keep the child(ren) in their own home, reunify a child(ren) who has been removed from their home, or finalize an appropriate permanency plan for the child(ren). 
  • SSWs are not required to execute visits to a parent(s) if there is a no-contact order prohibiting contact, or if a judge has granted a waiver of efforts in the case. SSWs will document the issuance of such orders in their ongoing assessment until the no contact order is lifted, or until case closure. 
  • An SSW is prohibited from documenting that a face-to-face contact occurred, unless an actual face-to-face visit was completed by DCBS personnel or personnel contracted by DCBS, to make a visit. An entry reflecting a face-to-face contact when none occurred is considered falsification of records and is an ethical violation (please refer to Chapter 2.1 Employee Conduct in the Personnel Procedures Handbook​).

Procedure

Ongoing Contact with the Family

The SSW:

  1. Has individual, face-to-face contact with the parent(s) via in-person visits; 
  2. Has a private, face-to-face visit with the child(ren) at least once every calendar month in the home via in-person visits; 
  3. Discusses the following with the family during each contact: 
    1. Assesses for safety threats and risk factors;
      1. A safety threat refers to a specific family condition that is out-of-control, imminent, and will likely have severe effects on the child. Safety threats are continuously assessed throughout the ongoing case during home visits where the environment is assessed, and through ongoing interviews with family members, community partners involved, etc.; 
      2. Risk factors are family characteristics or behaviors present that create an environment or circumstances that contribute to the increased likelihood of maltreatment occurring, though do not necessarily indicate an immediate safety threat or imminent harm to the child(ren). Risk factors are of varying degrees, (i.e., low, moderate, high) and some risk factors show a stronger correlation than others for indicating the likelihood of maltreatment occurring. Risk factors are consistently assessed throughout the ongoing case through home visits, interviews with those involved in the case, (i.e., family members, service providers, etc.), and through review of documentation that captures progress in requested services; 
            1. Examples of risk factors that have been associated with the increased likelihood of child maltreatment include parental substance misuse, domestic violence, and parental childhood history of abuse. Young children and children with disabilities are at greater risk for maltreatment because of their greater dependency on others for care.
    2. ​Assesses for safe sleep practices when the family or household includes any infant(s) up to one (1) year of age.
      1. ​​Specifically asks where the child sleeps and requests to observe the child’s sleeping arrangements.
      2. Discusses the importance of safe sleeping practices, when appropriate. 
      3. Reviews the ABCDs of safe sleep with the family as part of the individual and overall family assessments, utilizing the handout What Does Safe Sleep Look Like?1
    3. Evaluates the family’s progress toward eliminating the safety threats identified and/or reducing the identified risk factors present that necessitated case action. Progress is evaluated utilizing service records received, interviews conducted, and ongoing assessments of the familial home; 
    4. Reviews the family’s progress toward accomplishment of their case planning tasks; 
    5. Reviews the tasks from other service providers and progress toward accomplishment of these; 
    6. Identifies and resolves barriers to completing case objectives; 
    7. Prepares for the next ongoing assessment, case planning conference/periodic review, and court hearing; and
    8. When appropriate, prepares an aftercare plan. 
  4. Thoroughly documents the following in TWIST service recordings: 
    1. All case planning conferences and family team meetings (FTMs) with the type of plan being negotiated, (i.e., initial, six (6) month periodic review, modification, etc.) with documentation of who was invited and the attendees; 
    2. Monthly communication with community partners and prevention service providers to document the family's progress (or lack of progress) toward eliminating safety threats and reducing risk factors that initiated DCBS case action; 
    3. Monthly observations regarding the family and the home setting; 
    4. Monthly progress (or lack of progress) toward each objective and task on the family case plan; 
    5. The family’s response to services they receive from other providers; 
    6. Additional assessment and planning information provided by the family; 
    7. The continued foster care candidacy for each child and the continued need for prevention services and evidence-based practices (EBPs) every month; and 
    8. The family has been provided information about the child’s: 
      1. Physical and mental health; 
      2. Education; and 
      3. Activities
  5. Documents in their ongoing assessments any barriers to their ability to maintain contact with the family including, but not limited to: 
    1. The parent’s whereabouts are unknown; 
    2. Written determination by the FSOS that family members are or may be violent; or 
    3. Family members refusal to participate in ongoing visits.


Contingencies and Clarifications

The SSW is expected to consider and document reasonable efforts for ongoing contact with non-custodial parent during an in-home, ongoing case.

The SSW:

  1. Respects the decision-making authority of the custodial parent with regards to approaching the non-custodial parent, case planning, and information sharing about the case; 
  2. Assesses the custodian’s willingness to work on deficits in the parent/child attachment or cooperative parenting with the non-custodial parent; 
  3. Obtains a description of the custody/visitation arrangements between the non-custodial parent and the child, prior to case planning; 
  4. Conducts an assessment of the non-custodian’s relationship with the child, and an assessment of how well the custodian and non-custodian cooperate to parent/meet the child(ren)’s needs; 
  5. Develops case plan objectives and tasks that support or improve the non-custodial parent’s relationship with the child(ren), when the custodial parent is in agreement; 
  6. Includes case plan objectives and tasks that improve the ability of the custodial and non-custodial parents to work collaboratively for the child(ren)’s benefit; 
  7. Documents whether the custodial parent sets limits or rejects proposed changes in the non-custodial parent’s role, or their involvement in the case; and 
  8. Documents safety issues that affect the SSW’s ability to engage the non-custodial parent.


FOOTNOTES

  1. ​When discussing the ABCDs of safe sleep practices with the family, ensure the following key points are relayed:
  • ​ALONE - Baby should always sleep alone. Babies need their own safe sleep space. This can be a crib, bassinet, pack & play, etc. with a firm mattress (designed for the device being used) and a snug fitting crib sheet. It is acceptable for babies to share a room with a parent/caregiver; however, they should not share a bed. Bedsharing with a sleeping adult places the baby at high risk for suffocation or overlay.
  • BACK - Baby should be placed in their sleep space on their back every time.
  • CRIB (or other appropriate sleeping device) - Baby’s sleep space should never have anything in it but the baby. This means there should not be any soft bedding such as blankets, pillows, or bumper pads. This also means the sleep space should be free of toys and other items.
  • DANGER - Being tired, sleepy, exhausted, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs (even some prescriptions) impairs one’s ability to care for a baby thus making bedsharing and other unsafe sleep practices more dangerous.

Documents

Revisions

​3/21/23 Addition: 

B.  ​Assesses for safe sleep practices when the family or household includes any infant(s) up to one (1) year of age.1
    1. ​​Specifically asks where the child sleeps and requests to observe the child’s sleeping arrangements.
    2. Discusses the importance of safe sleeping practices, when appropriate. 
    3. Reviews the ABCDs of safe sleep with the family as part of the individual and overall family assessments, utilizing the handout titled “What Does Safe Sleep Look Like?. 1


FOOTNOTES

  1. ​When discussing the ABCDs of safe sleep practices with the family, ensure the following key points are relayed:
  • ALONE - Baby should always sleep alone. Babies need their own safe sleep space. This can be a crib, bassinet, pack & play, etc. with a firm mattress (designed for the device being used) and a snug fitting crib sheet. It is acceptable for babies to share a room with a parent/caregiver; however, they should not share a bed. Bedsharing with a sleeping adult places the baby at high risk for suffocation or overlay.
  • BACK - Baby should be placed in their sleep space on their back every time.
  • CRIB (or other appropriate sleeping device) - Baby’s sleep space should never have anything in it but the baby. This means there should not be any soft bedding such as blankets, pillows, or bumper pads. This also means the sleep space should be free of toys and other items.
  • DANGER - Being tired, sleepy, exhausted, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs (even some prescriptions) impairs one’s ability to care for a baby thus making bedsharing and other unsafe sleep practices more dangerous.​

10/4/2023 Addition: 

Throughout the child welfare intervention, if SSW is notified that a child is missing, the SSW will assist the caretaker with filing appropriate notifications to local law enforcement, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and a local district/family court runaway petition, as described in SOP 4.67. SSW will also interview the child within forty-eight (48) hours of their return to evaluate as described in SOP 4.67.