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Children™s Bureau 1 North Carolina Child and Family Services Review Round 3 Program Improvement Plan ŠProgress Report State/Territory: North Carolina Report ing Period Date or Range : January 1, 2017 Œ June 30, 2017 PIP Effective Date: January 1, 2017 End of PIP Implementation Period: December 31, 2018 End of Non -Overlapping Year: December 31, 2019 Part One: Strategies/Interventions and Key Activities Report Goal 1: Improve the outcomes of safety, perma nency and well -being through the establishment of clear performance expectations for practice in CPS Assessments, In -Home services and Foster Care ser vices Strategy 1: Strengthen and clarify North Carolina™s child welfare policies and practices Progress: To achieve the tasks detailed in Goal 1: Strategy 1, a Policy and Practices Workgroup was formed in the Fall of 2016 and began meeting in October 2016. One of the first activities completed was the review of policy manuals from other states with the int ention of finding a framework that would fit North Carolina™s context. This process included reviews of the child welfare po licy manuals for Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. Also during the Fall of 2016, the Policy and Practices Workgroup received consultation from Sarah Desmarais , an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Applied Social and
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Children™s Bureau 2 Community Psychology Program at Nor th Carolina State University who has expertise in policy writing. Through the review of other states™ policy manuals and in consultation with Dr. Desmarais, a framework was chosen based on the following diagram: In this context, polices are formal, brief statement s of requirement(s) that usually have a statutory basis ; standards are protocols with mandatory action(s) to meet the requirement(s) ; guidelines d escribe practices or processes, includ ing best practices or recommended practices ; and procedures are step -by-step instructions for performing the task to ensure compliance . Once this framework was established, the Workgroup then began the process of reviewing and assessing CPS Intake, CPS Assessments, CPS In -Home Services, and Placement Services policies to map i t accordingly. This activity illuminated the current status of the policy manual and served as an initial step towards streamlining the content. The next step was to walk throug h the child welfare process through the eyes of a child being served by the s ystem. This exercise further identified gaps in policy. Policies Standards Guidelines Procedures
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Children™s Bureau 3 CPS Intake, CPS Assessments, CPS In -Home Services, and Placement Services policies were then reviewed to identify the duplication and inconsistency in language across the multiple sections. The O n-Site Review Instrument was used to crosswalk the federal expectations with North Carolina™s policies. The revisions of the policy manual were completed on schedule Œ June 30, 2017. The Policy & Practices Workgroup continues to receive consultation from the Capacity Building Center for States as it further delves into the revision work. Through this partnership, the Capacity Building Center for States completed a thorough review of Nor th Carolina™s safety and permanency policies using both a safety lens and a new worker lens. This review was compiled into an Executive Summary, that was used to inform the work of the Policy & Practices Workgroup. In June 2017 members of the workgroup conducted site visits to the ten pilot counties in preparation for the publication and implementation of the revised policies. These on -site visits included a pre -evaluation of the existing manual as a means of assessing its current usability, as well as an ove rview of the revised policies. O n Ju ne 30, 2017 , the revised Child Protective Services Assessment Policy and the Child Protective Services In -Home Service Policy were distributed to the ten pilot counties. The ten pilot counties began using these manuals to inform the daily practice of child welfare s ocial workers. In August, the Child Protective Services Intake and Child Placement Services manuals will be rel eased for immediate use by the p ilot counties. The revised policies can be found on the North Carolina TA Gateway Knowledgebase website: https://nccwta.org/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/2/12/nc -cw-modified -manual -for -nc-cw-pilot . These activities are ahead of schedule as ou tlined in the Program Improvement Plan, as they were not set to be completed until December 31, 2017. Key Activity Target Completion Date Most Recent Status (August 1, 2017 ) Most Recent Progress Prior Report Status (Not Applicable ) Prior Progress Review, assess, & revise the current policies and practices June 30, 2017 Completed 06/2017 On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable The policy manuals for CPS Intake, CPS Assessments, CPS In-Home Services, and Child Placement Services have been revised to cover the specific areas outlined in the PIP. Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Publish the revised manuals September 30, 2017 Completed MM/YYYY The policy manuals for CPS Assessments & CPS Completed MM/YYYY
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Children™s Bureau 4 Key Activity Target Completion Date Most Recent Status (August 1, 2017 ) Most Recent Progress Prior Report Status (Not Applicable ) Prior Progress On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable In-Home Services were published June 30, 2017. The policy manuals for CPS Intake & Child Placement Services are slated to be published mid -August 2017. On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Assess & develop capacity for implementation in the 10 pilot counties September 30, 2017 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedul e No longer applicable A readiness assessment survey was completed by the directors of the 10 pilot counties prior to the implementation of the revised policy man uals. A pre -evaluation was also completed ahead of the rollout of the revised manuals to get a sense of current policy manual usage, as well as other resources utilized for knowing & understanding the expectations for child welfare services work. Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable
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Children™s Bureau 5 Key Activity Target Completion Date Most Recent Status (August 1, 2017 ) Most Recent Progress Prior Report Status (Not Applicable ) Prior Progress Implement the revised policies, practices, & training in the 10 pilot counties December 31, 2017 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedul e No longer applicable With the release of the CPS Assessment & CPS In -Home Services manuals, implementation began immediately. The same will be true once the CPS Intake & Child Placement Services manuals are released in August. This is advantageous to NC, as the piloting period will be extended so as to learn more lessons prior to statewide implementation. Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Incorporate lessons learned from the 10 pilot counties & develop a plan for statewide implementation of the revised policies & practices March 31, 2018 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Develop & execute March 31, 2018 Completed MM/YYYY Completed MM/YYYY
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Children™s Bureau 6 Key Activity Target Completion Date Most Recent Status (August 1, 2017 ) Most Recent Progress Prior Report Status (Not Applicable ) Prior Progress statewide communication plan regarding the revised policies & practices On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Execute the statewide implementation plan for the revised policies & practices September 30, 2018 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Strategy 2: Enhance the training system to support the consistent application of the revised policies and practices Progress: Goal 1: Strategy 2 focuses on building the training system to support the consistent application of the revised policies and practices. Given this intention, the activities identified in this strategy are heavily dependent upon the revisions of the child welfare policy manual being completed by the Policy and Practices Workgroup. The Training Systems Workgroup began its work by reviewing the existing staff competencies for selected curricula associated with CPS Intake, CPS Assessment , CPS In -Home Servic es and Placement Services (Foster Care) , which are the sections of the policy being revised. These core competencies will be modified to align and support the revised policies and t he training curricula w ill be revised to incorporate the modified competencies. This review is scheduled to be completed by September 30, 2017, which is on – schedule to meet the timelines established in the Program Improvement Plan. In conjunction with the review of the compet encies, the group has also: Identified data sources that will inform the training systems workgroup , Identified desirable training content and delivery , Established a review process for curricula ,
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Children™s Bureau 8 Key Activity Target Completion Date Most Recent Status (August 1, 2017 ) Most Recent Progress Prior Report Status (Not Applicable ) Prior Progress Identify the key competencies necessary for the revised policies & practices and compare to current curricula for initial and ongoing training to identify gaps September 30, 2017 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable The key competencies for CPS Intake, CPS Assessment, CPS In -Home Services , & Child Placement Services and the curricula they inform are being cross -walked to ensure the revised policies & practices are addressed. Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedu le Behind schedule No longer applicable Revised the training curricula & delivery methodology based on the gaps assessment to include the competencies necessary to ensure staff have the basic skills necessary to do their work December 31, 2017 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longe r applicable Revisions to the training curricula are being made as needed to address any gaps identified from the revised policies & practices. These revisions will further enhance the training experiences for child welfare staff & build on the existing skills which increases their ability to child welfare work. Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Strengthen the transfer of December 31, 2017 Completed MM/YYYY Work has begun on strengthening the Completed MM/YYYY
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Children™s Bureau 9 Key Activity Target Completion Date Most Recent Status (August 1, 2017 ) Most Recent Progress Prior Report Status (Not Applicable ) Prior Progress learning model for all curricula & mandate the utilization of transfer of learning tool for county staff to ensure the social work competencies identified in the revised policies & practices are implemented consistently after staff attend training On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable transfer of learning model for all courses. Lessons learned from the transfer of learning tool in the Supervisor Academy will inform the model used in all training curricula. On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Develop a series of fiin -servicefl trainings to be used by county supervisors & training divisions to reinforce consistent implementation of the revised policies & practices March 31, 2018 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable An initial series of in -services trainings known as fiDo it Yourselffl (DIY) have been developed with input from NC™s Supervision Advisory Committee. Forthcoming DIYs will include one for each of the revised policy manuals: CPS Intake, CPS Assessments, CPS Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable
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Children™s Bureau 10 Key Activity Target Completion Date Most Recent Status (August 1, 2017 ) Most Recent Progress Prior Report Status (Not Applicable ) Prior Progress In-Home Services, & Child Placement Services. Strategy 3: Strengthen the capacity of county departments of social services to sustain the consistent application of the revised policies and practices through the development and implementation of a supervisor academy Progress: The premise behind Goal 1: Strategy 3 is that by strengthening the capacity of child welfare supervisors to understand and implement policy and practices, the safety, permanency, and well -being of children served by the system will improve. The idea of a Supervisor Academy originated after the second round of Child and Family Services Reviews that started in 2007, when North Carolina implemented a Supervision Advisory Committee. The charter of that group identified s upervisors as fiskilled practice chang e agents who improve child welfare services in North Carolina by promoting best practices, consistency, job -satisfaction and retention, and thereby improving achievement of positive outcomes for children and families.fl As part of thi s vision, the Committee worked with the North Carolina Child Welfare Workforce Collaborative at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social work to analyze best practices in supervision through a survey conducted of North Carolina Child Welfar e Social Worker s. The results of this study led to many initiatives, one of which was to create a Supervisor Academy. Years of collaboration with the North Carolina Child Welfare Workforce Collaborative, Methodist University, U niversity of North Carolina Family and Child ren™s Resource Program, and the Child Welfare Supervision Advisory Committee resulted in a framework for a beginning course to the academy. The Supervisor Academy Workgroup has continued to work on developing training curricula based on the identified su pervisor competencies. This has results in three new courses being added to the menu of trainings available to child welfare supervis ors. These courses will build upon the knowledge that are introduced in the prerequisite course, Introduction to Supervis ion. The new courses are: Nuts and Bolts : Child Welfare Supervision Using Data to Improve Agency Practice and Performance Using Data to Improve Practice and Performance -Community Partnerships The Workgroup also drafted a schedule in which the new courses would be presented in four regional sites based on the locatio n of the ten pilot counties and will be delivered beginning in August 2017 and continuing through September 2018. North Carolina™ s
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Children™s Bureau 11 Program Improvement Plan specifically states that eighty supervisors will complete these three courses of the Supervisor Acad emy during this timeframe. To achieve this number, as well as account for attrition, ninety -two supervisors have been selected us ing a random sampling process. The supervisors chosen have been notified of their selection and have registered for the assigned trainings. Finally, in conjunction with the Capacity Building Center for States, the Supervisor Academy Workgroup established a pre -test evaluation that will also be utilized in a post -test format following the receipt of each course. This will provide results on the effectiveness of the courses in achieving necessary outcomes and will be used to further enhance the courses in the future. Key Activity Target Completion Date Most Recent Status (August 1, 2017 ) Most Recent Progress Prior Report Status (Not Applicable ) Prior Progress Identify the supervisor competencies necessary to support the consistent implementation of the revised policies & practices December 31, 2017 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable The three curricula that are a part of the Supervisor Academy were written with the key competencies in mind. As the courses evolve and the policies & practices undergo any additional revisions, the key competencies will be revised to address them. Completed MM/YYY Y On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable Develop the supervisor academy based on the identified competencies December 31, 2017 Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable The training curricula for the three new courses have been written based on the k ey competencies. The curricula have been reviewed & are Completed MM/YYYY On/ahead of schedule Behind schedule No longer applicable
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