CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW
WHAT IS THE CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW?
The Child and Family Services Review is the federal government's program for assessing the performance of state child welfare agencies in regard to achieving positive outcomes for children and families. More information about the process and Ohio's performance in Round 1 is available in the 2008 Children, Families and the Courts Ohio Bulletin.
The final report on the Ohio Child and Family Services review, issued in May 2009, is now available.
WHAT DOES IT REVIEW?
The Child and Family Services Review examines the delivery of all child welfare services including child protective services, foster care, adoption, family preservation and family support, and independent living. The CFSR looks at outcomes for children and families in three areas:
- Safety
- Permanency/permanent home environments for children
- Child and family well-being.
The CFSR also looks at how each state supports and could improve the delivery of child welfare services through staff training, computer systems, policy and practice changes, and the recruitment and training of foster parents. It determines if states are complying with federal laws and provides states the chance to improve the quality of the services and programs for children, youth, and families.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?
While there is considerable conversation regarding the choice of measurements used in the CFSR process, there is little discussion regarding the desirability of these outcomes. A safe environment without risk of harm, a permanent home, and a condition of well-being are concepts that all communities hold as common goals for children and families.
The CFSR takes a point-in-time look at how successful the state has been in achieving these outcomes for the children who have come to the attention of the public child welfare agency. It presents a composite picture that is reflective of systemic functioning, which includes a range of services, programs and agencies. It is shortsighted to regard it simply as a measurement of the child welfare agency’s effectiveness.
Ohio is unable to make progress toward meeting performance measurements without the active participation of the community stakeholders represented on the Summit county and state planning teams. In the same way that all share responsibility for improvement, all stakeholders also ultimately bear the brunt of any fiscal penalties incurred by the state as a result of its performance in the CFSR.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS?
There are three parts to the Child and Family Services Review:
- Statewide Self Assessment
- Onsite Review
- Performance Improvement Plan
Additional information regarding the CFSR process is available here.
STATEWIDE SELF-ASSESSMENT
Each state completes a self analysis of its child protective services, foster care and adoption programs. The state compares its performance on specified safety and permanency outcomes to national standards established by the federal Department of Health and Human Service’s Administration for Children and Families.
Ohio submitted its Statewide Self Assessment on June 6, 2008. The document highlights ongoing collaborative efforts among ODJFS, the Supreme Court of Ohio, local partners, service providers, and youth and family advocates to improve local practices impacting the children they mutually serve. Some of the key initiatives featured included the Advisory Committee on Children, Families & the Courts, the Ohio Summit on Children, Alternative Response, Unified Family Drug Courts, Beyond the Numbers, and Child Protection Mediation Programs.
ON-SITE REVIEW
The On-site Review of the state child welfare program is conducted by a federal-state team in three counties. By federal rule, one of the sites must be the county that is home to the state’s largest metropolitan subdivision. The other two are jointly selected by the state and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This team evaluates the state’s performance by:
- Reviewing case records,
- Interviewing children, youth, and families engaged in services, and
- Interviewing other stakeholders, such as the courts and community agencies, foster families, caseworkers, supervisors, and service providers.
Ohio’s Round 2 On-Site Review was conducted on Aug. 18 to 22, 2008, in Franklin County, Ohio’s largest metropolitan subdivision, and in Lorain and Belmont counties. During the process, federal/state team members interviewed youth, family members, court representatives, service providers, caseworkers and other local stakeholders. In addition, 65 cases were reviewed for compliance with federal child welfare requirements.
Ohio was notified in Spring 2009 that it does not meet substantial compliance with federal Child and Family Services Review measurements. The state now has 90 days from receipt of the notification to submit a Program Improvement Plan that sets out the state’s strategy for moving to conformance with federal measurements.
A detailed explanation of the federal CFSR Child Welfare Outcomes and Measures are available here. Additional information on the CFSR review periods and permanency measures is available here.
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (PIP)
If a state does not meet federal requirements for any areas of the CFSR, it must develop an improvement plan. The Program Improvement Plan must be submitted by ODJFS within 90 days of receipt of the CFSR final report. States are strongly encouraged to involve the court system and other key community members in developing and carrying out the PIP.
Fiscal penalties will be levied against states that do not meet federal standards. For Ohio, penalties could exceed $9 million for failing Round 2 of the CFSR.
WHERE CAN I FIND DATA ANALYSIS ABOUT MY COUNTY?
Data analysis to assist county teams with planning efforts is available on the Data Analysis Page. This page will be frequently updated to include new analysis as well as up-to-date information for the existing data. Each analysis is accompanied by a document explaining how to use the data files and suggesting questions for discussion with the local planning team.