On June 19, 2020, DCYF’s revised Program Improvement Plan (PIP) was approved and finalized by the Federal Children’s Bureau. The plan details the agency’s child welfare approach to improving safety, permanency and well-being outcomes for children and families, as well as significantly reducing the number of children in out-of-home care. Highlights of the plan include:
- Workforce Development
- DCYF seeks to design and implement a supervisory approach and administrative tools to enhance capacity to provide clinical supervision and support.
- Engagement
- DCYF seeks to support and empower families through early and ongoing partnership, recognizing them as experts in their own family situation to improve child safety, permanency and well-being.
- Assessment and Case Planning
- DCYF seeks to ensure child and youth safety through thorough and ongoing assessment of safety and risk, collaborative case planning with families to address identified issues and provision of services to prevent removal of children or support safety through timely reunification.
- Permanency
- DCYF seeks to improve timely permanency of children through ongoing comprehensive assessments of safety, articulation of conditions to return home and provision of needed services to address identified safety concerns.
Throughout this process, DCYF engaged with various stakeholders, including staff, external partners, leadership, Tribes, parents, youth, judicial officers, the Administrative Office of the Courts and caregivers statewide to provide feedback in problem identification, root cause analysis and the development of goals, strategies and activities. The PIP also incorporates feedback received from federal partners.
The agency worked with the Children’s Bureau to develop this PIP. An initial proposal was submitted in May 2019, and in June 2020, negotiations were finalized to meet the required expectations to address the performance areas identified in the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR).
The purpose of the CFSR is to ensure substantial conformity with federal standards, understand what is happening to children and families engaged in child welfare services and assist in enhancing the agency’s capacity to achieve positive outcomes by identifying strengths and areas needing improvement.
The agency will begin implementation on July 1, 2020. DCYF has two years to implement the identified improvements and an additional year for measurement.
You can read more about DCYF's Program Improvement Plan on the agency website.