FY2017 Foster Care Scorecard - New York · 9/12/2016 · Scorecard. Updated: September 12, 2016 . Administration for Children’s Services . 2 . Table of Contents. ... The Scorecard

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FY2017 Foster Care

Scorecard

Updated: September 12, 2016

Administration for Children’s Services

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Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................2

II. MEASURES ......................................................................................................................................2

A. New for FY2017 ...................................................................................................................................... 2

B. FFC Scorecard Overview ......................................................................................................................... 3

C. TFFC Scorecard Overview ....................................................................................................................... 4

D. SFFC Scorecard Overview ....................................................................................................................... 5

E. Residential Scorecard Overview............................................................................................................. 6

F. Safety Practice Area ............................................................................................................................... 7

1. Safety Practice Index ...........................................................................................................7

2. Safety Process Index ............................................................................................................8

3. Safety Outcomes Index ........................................................................................................8

G. Permanency Practice Area ..................................................................................................................... 9

1. Permanency Practice Index ..................................................................................................9

2. Permanency Process Index...................................................................................................9

3. Permanency Outcomes Index............................................................................................. 11

H. Well-being Practice Area ...................................................................................................................... 14

1. Well-being Practice Index .................................................................................................. 14

2. Well-being Process Index ................................................................................................... 15

3. Well-being Outcomes Index ............................................................................................... 16

III. SCORECARD SCORING .................................................................................................................... 18

A. Rate Achieved....................................................................................................................................... 18

B. Examples............................................................................................................................................... 18

Appendix 1: PAMS Case Practice Review ....................................................................................... 20

Appendix 2: Foster Parent Training and Certification Records Audit ................................................ 45

Appendix 3: FY2017 Foster Care Scorecard Template ...................................................................... 50

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I. INTRODUCTION The Foster Care Scorecard serves as the annual evaluation for foster care programs serving New York City’s children and families. The Scorecard evaluates outcome measures and case practice in order to assure the safety, permanency and well-being of some of the city’s most vulnerable young people. The data and information provided in the Scorecard is also designed to support agency quality improvement processes in collaboration with the ACS Office of Agency Program Assistance (APA).

The Foster Care Scorecard evaluation distinguishes four types of foster care programs. These include Family Foster Care (FFC), Treatment Family Foster Care (TFFC), Special Medical and Developmentally Disabled Foster Care (SFFC), and Residential Services. Outcome measures common to foster care are included in the Scorecard and are measured across all programs. Additionally, practice and process measures specific to each program are collected through aggregate data as well as the Provider Agency Measurement System (PAMS) comprehensive case review. Outcome measures allow evaluators to better know if system interventions are having the desired effect. Practice/Process measures allow evaluators to better know if system interventions, believed to lead to the desired outcomes, are occurring with fidelity.

II. MEASURES A. New for FY2017 The FY2016 Scorecard began a shift towards a heightened focus on the achievement of outcomes by aligning measures with federal expectations, target setting for key permanency measures and giving greater weights to outcome measures over practice or process measures. Letter grades were also replaced with numeric ratings and program rankings for each practice area: Safety, Permanency and Well-being.

The FY2017 Scorecard continues the focus on outcome achievement through continued emphasis on the attainment of the federal Child & Family Service Review (CFSR) outcomes, and on permanency targets for the achievement of KinGap and Adoption. Scorecard has added process measures aimed at supporting safe permanent exits, including measures focused on the timely filing of TPR petitions or KinGap Agreements, the timely application for adoption subsidies, and the timely conclusion of Trial Discharge. In preparation for the FY2017 Scorecard, ACS conducted an analysis to better understand which PAMS questions increase the internal consistency and reliability of Scorecard process and practice indices (factor analysis) and are most directly related to the achievement of positive child outcomes (correlation analysis). The inclusion of items from the PAMS review reflects Scorecard’s focus on items empirically shown to be related to safe permanent exits from foster care..

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Wel

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Perm

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Safe

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B. FFC Scorecard Overview

Practice Area

Practice Area

Weight

Index Type

Index Weight Proposed FY2017 Measures

25% Safety of Current Placement Setting 25% Risk Assessment

20% Practice 25% Frequency of Casework Contacts with Child

Frequency of Casework Contacts with Caretaker

30% Process

25% Foster Parent Training and Certification 34% Timeliness of Foster Home Certification 33% Frequency of AWOL 33% Responsiveness to OSI Corrective Action Plans

50% Outcome 50% Maltreatment in Care 50% Subsequent Maltreatment 10% Parent and Child Visitation 20% Family Team Conferencing 20% Service Planning

20% Practice

30% Process

20% Permanency Planning

20% Frequency of Casework Contacts with Parent/DR Frequency of Parent and Child Visits

10% Timeliness of FASP Approval 10% Length of Trial Discharge 30% Filing of TPR Petition or KinGap Agreement 30% Filing for adoption subsidy 30% Freeing for Adoption 10% Adoption Target 10% KinGap Target

Reunification and other Permanency for children in 50% Outcome 20% placement less than 12 months

30% Practice

30% Process

40% Outcome

FYI

20% Permanency for children in placement 12-24 months 20% Permanency for children in placement 24 or more months 20% Re-entry 25% Physical and Emotional Well-being 25% Educational Well-being 25% Recreation 10% Frequency of Sibling Visits 15% Timeliness of CANS Assessment 25% Medical Review 25% Preparing Youth for Adulthood Checklist 25% Transitions to Kinship Placement 25% Sibling Placements (FFC) 50% Placement Stability 50% Step Ups (FFC) & Step Downs (TFFC & Residential Care)

CANS Data regarding the rate of actionable Developmental, Medical, Behavioral, Trauma, Substance Abuse items

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Safe

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C. TFFC Scorecard Overview

Practice Area

Practice Area

Weight

Index Type

Index

Weight Proposed FY2017 Measures


Frequency of Casework Contacts with Child 20% Practice

25%

Frequency of Casework Contacts with Caretaker Frequency of Individual Therapist Contacts (TFCO)

30% Process

25% Foster Parent Training and Certification 34% Timeliness of Foster Home Certification 33% Frequency of AWOL 33% Responsiveness to OSI Corrective Action Plans

50% Outcome 50% Maltreatment in Care 50% Subsequent Maltreatment 10% Parent and Child Visitation 20% Family Team Conferencing 20% Service Planning

20% Practice 20% Permanency Planning Frequency of Casework Contacts with Parent/DR

20% Frequency of Parent and Child Visits Frequency of Family Therapist Contacts (TFCO)

30% Process

50% Outcome

30% Practice

10% Timeliness of FASP Approval 10% Length of Trial Discharge 30% Filing of TPR Petition or KinGap Agreement 30% Filing for adoption subsidy 30% Freeing for Adoption 10% Adoption Target 10% KinGap Target

20% Reunification and other Permanency for children in placement less than 12 months

20% Permanency for children in placement 12-24 months 20% Permanency for children in placement 24 or more months 20% Re-entry 25% Physical and Emotional Well-being 25% Educational Well-being 25% Recreation

Frequency of Sibling Visits 25% Frequency of Socio-therapist Contacts (TFFC)

Frequency of Skills Coach Contacts (TFCO)

30% Process

40% Outcome

50% Medical Review 50% Preparing Youth for Adulthood Checklist 50% Placement Stability

50% Step Downs (TFFC & Residential Care)

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D. SFFC Scorecard Overview

Practice Area

Practice Area

Weight

Index Type

Index Weight

Proposed FY2017 Measures

Sa

fety

20%

Practice


25% Frequency of Casework Contacts with Child Frequency of Casework Contacts with Caretaker

25% Foster Parent Training and Certification

30%

Process

34% Timeliness of Foster Home Certification 33% Frequency of AWOL 33% Responsiveness to OSI Corrective Action Plans

50%

Outcome 50% Maltreatment in Care 50% Subsequent Maltreatment

Pe

rman

ency

20%

Practice

10% Parent and Child Visitation 20% Family Team Conferencing 20% Service Planning 20% Permanency Planning


10% Timeliness of FASP Approval

30%

Process

10% Length of Trial Discharge 30% Filing of TPR Petition or KinGap Agreement 30% Filing for adoption subsidy 30% Freeing for Adoption

50%

Outcome

10% Adoption Target 10% KinGap Target


20% Permanency for children in placement 12-24 months

20% Permanency for children in placement 24 or more months

20% Re-entry

W

ell-b

eing

30%

Practice

25% Physical and Emotional Well-being 25% Educational Well-being 25% Recreation 25% Frequency of Sibling Visits

30%

Process

50% Medical Review 50% Preparing Youth for Adulthood Checklist

40%

Outcome

50% Placement Stability

50% Step Ups (FFC) & Step Downs (TFFC & Residential Care)

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E. Residential Scorecard Overview

Practice Area

Weight

Type Index Weight

Proposed FY2017 Measures

40%

Practice

33% Safety of Current Placement Setting

Safe

ty 33% Risk Assessment

34% Frequency of Casework Contacts with Child Frequency of Casework Contacts with Caretaker

60% Outcome

20% Frequency of AWOL 40% Maltreatment in Care

40% Subsequent Maltreatment

20%

Practice

10% Parent and Child Visitation 20% Family Team Conferencing

Perm

anen

cy

20% Service Planning 20% Permanency Planning


10% Timeliness of FASP Approval

30%

Process

10% Length of Trial Discharge 30% Filing of TPR Petition or KinGap Agreement 30% Filing for adoption subsidy 30% Freeing for Adoption

50%

Outcome


25% Permanency for children in placement 12-24 months

25% Permanency for children in placement 24 or more months

25% Re-entry

30%

Practice

25% Physical and Emotional Well-being 25% Educational Well-being 25% Recreation

Wel

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ng 25% Frequency of Sibling Visits

30%

Process 25% Medical Review 25% Preparing Youth for Adulthood Checklist

40%

Outcome

50% Placement Stability 50% Step Downs (TFFC & Residential Care)

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F. Safety Practice Area 1. Safety Practice Index:

Safety of Current Placement Setting: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review -- Does the case record document that the current placement is a safe and healthy setting for this particular child (S24)? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of cases with a positive response to this PAMS question serves as the numerator.

Risk Assessment: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review – (1) Is the Risk Assessment Profile (RAP) in the FASP consistent with the case circumstances and (2) Are the Family Strengths, Needs, and Risk (SNR) assessment scales consistent with case circumstances (S15, S16)? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of cases with a positive response to this question serves as the numerator.

Foster Home Training & Certification: This practice measure evaluates the presence of appropriate training and home finding processes (i.e., home study/reauthorization narrative, SCR clearance, criminal background clearance and medical clearance). For this measure the number of homes eligible for review in each area is the denominator and the number of homes that meet the requirement as the numerator.

2. Safety Process Index:

Timeliness of Foster Home Certification: This process measure evaluates the timeliness (1) initial certifications for kinship emergency homes within 90 days and, (2) recertification of foster homes with a child in an active paid status within 12 months of certification. For this measure the number of homes which received certification/recertification on time is the numerator and the total number of homes requiring certification/re-certification is the denominator. This measure is calculated annually and shared with agencies two weeks after the end of the fiscal year.

• The program serving the youth at the time of the report receives credit. • Homes without children at the time that certification is due are excluded from the

denominator and numerator. • Home serving children with different levels of care: The measure will be applied to

the higher level of care (e.g., TFFC or SFFC). For homes serving youth in both TFFC and SFFC, the measure will be applied to both programs.

• Source: Connections, CCRS, SSPS • The following closing reasons will count negatively towards this measure

o 006 - A-Non-Compliance with Home-Licensing Regulations o 007 - Z-System Closed (System Generated) o 060 - A-Health and Safety o 062 - A-Unacceptable Medical Report

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Responsiveness to OSI Corrective Action Plans (CAP): This process measure evaluates the (1) timeliness and (2) quality of CAP responsiveness to OSI indicated cases involving caretakers of children in care with an agency. The maximum score for each CAP is two points and will be awarded for timely completion of a CAP. One point will be awarded for late completion within 7 calendar days of the CAP due date.

• Data source: FPS CAP Monitoring

Frequency of AWOL: This process measure evaluates the rate at which youth in foster care do not experience any AWOL episode during the fiscal year. The number of youth, ages 12 and older, in placement with the program at any time (at least one bed day with the program) during the fiscal year is the denominator. The number of youth, ages 12 and older, in placement with the program who do not experience any AWOL days during the fiscal year is the numerator.

• Data source: Connections, CCRS, SSPS • M950 (SC) is used for this measure. Overstayed weekends M950 (SH) is not

included in this measure.

3. Safety Outcomes Index: Maltreatment in Care: This outcome measure evaluates the rate at which children experience an indicated report of maltreatment per 100,000 days of care. Children who experience an indicated investigation during the fiscal year are included in the numerator and the number of bed days that all children spent in foster care during the fiscal year serves as the denominator. This ratio is multiplied by 100,000.

• Indicated Investigations (CD_CPS_INVST_DTL_OVRLL_DISPTN = 'IND') with Stage Start Date within 11 days of initial placement into foster care (M910) are excluded

• Children on suspended pay (M950) as well as trial discharge (M970) are included in this measure

• Data source: Connections, CCRS, SSPS,

Subsequent Maltreatment: This outcome measure evaluates the rate at which children experience an indicated report of maltreatment within 365 days following a permanency discharge. Children who exit to reunification or KinGap in the prior fiscal year are included in the denominator. Children who experience an indicated investigation within 365 days of reunification or KinGap are included in the numerator.

• Only children younger than age 17 who were in placement for at least 45 days prior to the reunification or KinGap are included in this measure.

• Children discharged from RIC, NSP and LSP facilities are excluded • Data Source: Connections, SSPS, CCRS • Discharged children are identified by CCRS entries of M990 (or M999 if M990 is

missing) with the following modifiers ('570', '571', '572', '591', '600')

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G. Permanency Practice Area 1. Practice Index:

Parent Child Visitation: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review - Was the progression of the visiting plan consistent with the case circumstances (P39)? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of cases with a positive response to the question serves as the numerator.

Family Team Conferencing: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review and is based on the following review questions: (1) Does the Permanency Planning FTC Summary/Plan correspond to issues that are evident in the FASP and/or progress notes? (2) For tasks that were due during the review period, did the agency take concrete steps to implement the tasks in the plan that was created in the SPR/FTC? (3) Does the work with the family done after the FTC/SPR reflect the information learned from the conference (P31, P34, P35)? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of cases with a positive response to the questions is included in the numerator.

Permanency Planning: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review and is based on the following review questions: (1) Is the child's Permanency Planning Goal consistent with case circumstances? (2) Is the service plan consistent with the child's Permanency Planning Goal (P4, P13)? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of questions with a positive response serves as the numerator.

Service Planning: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review and is based on the following review questions: Is the most current FASP available during the review period (S1)? Does the FASP accurately capture the improvements and changes that need to be made to achieve permanency (P9)? Does the FASP accurately capture the improvements and changes that need to be made to provide for the child's well-being (P10)? Does the FASP document outcomes and activities that address the identified service needs (P11)? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of questions with a positive response serves as the numerator.

2. Permanency Process Index:

Timeliness of FASP Approval: This process measure evaluates rate at which timely approval of the Family Assessment and Service Plans (FASP) occurs. The number of FASP’s approved in a timely manner serves as the numerator and the total number of FASPS required serves as the denominator.

• The program responsible for case planning is evaluated for this measure. • RIC children are included in this measure

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• Agencies must enter the "M990" discharge codes in CCRS prior to the FASP due date to avoid including a closed case in this measure

• Each program who was involved at the time of the FASP is evaluated for this measure.

• The first agency approval date is used to determine if a FASP was approved timely. • Data source: Connections, SSPS, CCRS, first agency approval data:

“DT_APPROVERS_DETERMINATION” • Rebuttals should be received within three week of receiving the quarterly data.

Criteria for rebuttals are listed below: o ACS rejected the FASP on the grounds that the provider was not assigned to

the case or that the worker had not authority to approve the FASP/Plan: ORE will verify in Connections.

o Stage Progression Issue (i.e. a CCR was created): Submit the Connection Stage Identification numbers Connections screen shot of progression issue. Enter the new Stage ID number in column identified for these issues.

o Case is a Preventive Case: Submit a Connections screen shot showing that the case is preventive. Identify the case in the column for preventive cases.

Length of Trial Discharge: This process measure evaluates rate at which trial discharge is closed within 180 days. This measure uses the number of new trial discharge during the most recent calendar year as the numerator and the number of those trial discharge spells that are closed within 180 days as the denominator.

• Data Source: CCRS, SSPS o TD start – CCRS code M970 o TD end – CCRS codes M980/M990

• Children in a juvenile justice placement are excluded from this measure.

Filing of TPR Petition or KinGap Agreement: This process measure evaluates the timeliness of TPR Petition Filing or KinGap Agreement within 17 months of placement into foster care for children who have been in placement for 15 of the most recent 22 months. Children with a petition filed or with a completed KinGap Agreement are included in the numerator and children in placement for at least 15 of the most recent 22 months are included in the denominator. Children with the following circumstances are excluded from this measure: Children who are freed for adoption, children with compelling reasons, children with a suspended judgment within 18 months, children on trial discharge, children older than 18 and children in a juvenile justice placement and children who have transferred to another agency during a quarter.

• The program responsible for case planning is evaluated for this measure. • Children in care on the last day of each quarter are included in this measure • RIC children are included in this measure • Data Source: Connections, CCRS • Petition filed codes (CCRS) L100, L300, L600 with of modifier ‘10’ or ‘09’ or ‘17’ • KinGap agreement codes: TBD

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Filing for adoption subsidy: This process measure evaluates the timeliness of filing for an adoption subsidy for children who are freed for adoption. Children who are freed for adoption during the fiscal year are included in the denominator and children with an adoption subsidy filed prior to the freeing are included in the numerator.

• The program responsible for case planning is evaluated for this measure. • RIC are included • Data Source: CCRS • Code: TBD

Children Freed: This process measure evaluates the timeliness of children being freed for adoption for children in placement for at least 27 months. Children freed for adoption during the fiscal year are included in the numerator and the total children in placement for at least 27 months on the first day of the fiscal year are included in the denominator. This measure excludes children with the following circumstances: Children with compelling reasons, children with a suspended judgment within 18 months, children with PPG of KinGap, children who moved during a quarter, children in a juvenile justice placement.

• The program responsible for case planning is evaluated for this measure. • RIC are included • Data source: CCRS, CCRS code A499

3. Permanency Outcomes Index: Adoption Target: This process measure evaluates the rate at which a program achieves the adoption target set by ACS. The adoption target serves as the denominator and children provided a permanent exit through a finalized adoption are included in the denominator. The adoption target is the number of children with the program that are freed for adoption on the first day of the fiscal year.

• This measure excludes youth age 18 and older. • Data source: Connections, CCRS, SSPS, • Children freed for adoption are identified in CCRS with an A499 entry.

KinGap Target: This process measure evaluates the rate at which a program achieves the KinGap target set by ACS. The KinGap target serves as the numerator and children provided a permanent exit through KinGap are included in the denominator. The KinGap Target is set at the agency level and will be applied to all agency programs (except residential). The target is set to 60% of the children in placement that meet the eligibility criteria on the first day of the fiscal year. KinGap eligibility: (a) in-care for 18 months or longer; (b) in the same kinship home for 12 months or more; (c) age 18 or younger.

• If 60% of eligible children results in a fraction (a number after the decimal point), the target will be rounded down (e.g. 60% of 2 children is 1.2 children. The target would be “1”).

• Agencies for which the target is less than “1” are not applicable (i.e. not given a target) for this measure.

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Permanency for children in placement for fewer than 12 months: This outcome evaluates the rate at which children who enter placement are provided a permanent exit within one year of placement. Children who enter placement during the previous fiscal year are included in the denominator and children who achieved permanency within 365 days of placement are included in the numerator. The measure will be applied to all programs with whom a child was placed during the previous fiscal year.

• Children who were in placement for at least 45 days are included in this measure. • The measure will be applied to all agency programs (with no breaks in the child

placement spell, e.g. FFC, TFFC, Residential) with whom a child was placed during the previous fiscal year.

• Children who placed with more than one agency – the measure will be applied to the first agency to have the child for at least 45 days.

• Children transferred from Agency A to Agency B and then back to Agency A – the 365 day follow-up period for permanency will start with the initial placement with agency A.

• Children with more than one foster care spell during the fiscal year – the measure will only include the first spell, even when a child has two or more spells with two or more agencies

Permanency for children in placement between 12 and 24 months: This outcome measure evaluates the rate at which children in placement between 12 and 24 months are provided a permanent exit during the fiscal year. Children who are in placement on the first day of the fiscal year (i.e., on July 1st) who have been in placement between 12 and 24 months are included in the denominator. Children who achieved permanency within the fiscal year (within 365 days from July 1) are included in the numerator.

• The measure will only be applied to the agency and program with whom the child was placed on the first day of the fiscal year (regardless if the child was transferred to another program or agency during the fiscal year).

• Children on Trial Discharge (M970) are considered to be in placement (Trail Discharge does not count as permanency)

• Permanency date will be determined based on the M990 date in CCRS.

Permanency for children in placement greater than 24 months: This outcome measure evaluates the rate at which children in placement for greater than 24 months are provided a permanent exit during the fiscal year. Children who are in placement on the first day of the fiscal year (i.e. July 1st) who have been in placement for more than 24 months are included in the denominator. Children who achieved permanency within the fiscal year are included in the numerator.

• The measure will only apply to the agency that was providing services on the first day of the fiscal year (regardless if the child was transferred to another program or agency during the fiscal year).

• Children on Trial Discharge (M970) are considered to be in placement (Trail Discharge does not count as permanency)

• Permanency date will be determined based on the M990 date in CCRS.

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Re-entry: This outcome measure evaluates the rate at which children who were discharged to permanency (reunification or KinGap) re-enter foster care within one year of the permanent exit. The number of children who experience reunification or KinGap during the prior fiscal year serves as the denominator. The number of those children who returned to foster care within 365 days of the permanent exit serves as the numerator.

• The measure includes children under the age of 17 years old who were in placement for at least 45 days prior to the permanency exit

• The Program from which the child/youth achieved permanency will be measured for this outcome.

• Any re-entry into foster care will be counted in the numerator (regardless for reason for entry or agency / program of placement).

• Data source: Connections, SPSS, CCRS, • Children and youth discharge to permanency will be identified by CCRS entries of

M990 (M999 if M990 is missing) with the following modifiers ('570', '571', '572','591', '600').

• Children and youth who re-entered foster care will be identified based on M910 within 365 days of from M990 or M999.

H. Well-being Practice Area

1. Well-being Practice Index: Physical Well-being: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review and is based on the following review questions (WB1, WB7): Did the case record include an assessment of the child's physical health? Did the case record include an assessment of the child's developmental functioning? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of questions with a positive response serves as the numerator.

Emotional Well-being: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review and is based on the following review questions (WB2, WB3): Did the case record include an assessment of the child's emotional/ psychological well-being? Did the case record include an assessment of the child's social/behavioral well- being? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of questions with a positive response serves as the numerator.

Education Well-being: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review and is based on the following review questions (WB8, WB10, WB11a, WB12, WB13):

• Is there documentation that the child is currently enrolled in a school/educational/vocational program/day treatment?

• Is there ongoing communication between the child's teacher and/or other school personnel by the caseworker or other agency staff in the last 6 months regarding the child's progress?

• If the child's academic performance is not within his/her grade level, is the child receiving remedial assistance?

• Is the agency actively following up on the child's attendance in school/educational/vocational program/day treatment?

• Has the birth parent(s) or discharge resource been involved in decision-making

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regarding the child's education?

The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of questions with a positive response serves as the numerator.

Recreation: This practice measure is extracted from the PAMS review and is based on the following review question: (WB6) Is there documentation in the case record regarding the child's participation in recreational and/or leisure activities? The number of applicable cases in the review serves as the denominator and the number of questions with a positive response serves as the numerator.

2. Well-being Process Index: Medical Review: This process measure is based on the Medical Audit Unit's review. This review focuses on the documentation of health services delivered during a designated calendar year. The Medical Review occurs annually for all medical programs and biennially for all other programs. The most recent annual review is used for the scorecard.

Preparing Youth for Adulthood (PYA) Checklist: This process measure evaluates the (1) timely completion of the PYA Checklist and (2) overall completion of the PYA checklist. For the overall completion of the PYA Checklist, number of completed PYA checklists serves as the numerator and the number PYA checklist required serves as denominator. For the timely completion measure, the number of completed PYA checklists, completed in a timely manner, serves as the numerator and the number of completed PYA checklist serves as the denominator. This data is provided on a quarterly basis.

• PYA Checklists should be completed and submitted one week after the corresponding FTC/SPR conference. However, for purposes of the Scorecard, agencies are given credit for checklists submitted up to 60 days prior to the FASP due date.

• All youth who are age 17 and older are included in the list of required PYA checklists • Children placed at RIC, NSP and LSP are excluded from this measure. • Due to data tracking limitations, children with a voluntary or PINS placement are

currently not included in this measure. These children will be included once these data limitations are overcome.

• Data source: Connections, SSPS, PAT

Timely CANS Assessment: This process measure evaluates the timely completion of the CANS assessment for each child in foster care. Children in placement with the program on the last day of each quarter are included in the denominator and children in foster care with a CANS assessment completed within the most recent six months are included in the numerator. This measure is not applicable for TFFC, SFFC and Residential programs and is also not applicable for FFC children in placement for fewer than 30 days.

Transitions to Kinship Placement: This process measure evaluates rate at which children who are placed in a non-kinship setting are transferred to a kinship placement within the first 45 days of placement. This measure uses the number of initial non-kinship

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placements as the denominator and the number of those children who are transferred to a kinship placement within 45 days as the numerator. This measure only includes children at initial placement or children who were transferred to the agency from a pre-placement setting (e.g., from the Children’s Center).

• The measure only includes children with initial foster care placement into Regular FFC program during the fiscal year.

• Data Source: CCRS, SSPS • Codes: CCRS code M910 (direct placements into agencies or CCRS codes

M982/M960/M980 after initial placement into Children’s Center); Connections facility type code (Transition to Kinship Placement is captured by moves from facility type ‘13’. ‘01’, ‘FA’ to facility type ‘14’)

Sibling Placements: This process measure evaluates rate at which sibling groups who enter foster care together are placed in the same foster home. This measure uses the number of sibling groups as the denominator and the number of sibling groups with the entire sibling group placed within the same foster home as the numerator. Children placed in higher levels of care and children who enter placement at a different time than the rest of the sibling group are excluded from this measure. Children entering placement without any siblings are included as a sibling group of one, and the credit for keeping the sibling group together is provided when this occurs.

• Sibling groups who entered care on the same date during the fiscal year are included in this measure.

• The sibling group size includes only the children who are placed in FFC. For example: When a sibling group of 5 has 3 children placed in a FFC program, 1 child placed in residential and 1 child placed in TFFC then the 3 children placed in FFC are considered to be the sibling group.

• If a sibling group is separated due to a kinship placement then only the children placed with non-kin are included in the sibling group. For example: when a sibling group of 5 is placed within a FFC program and 1 child is placed in kinship care with her paternal aunt and the other four are not placed with kin, the 4 children placed not in kinship placements FFC are considered to be the sibling group.

• Children entering care without other siblings considered a sibling group for this measure (i.e., sibling group of one). The program is provided credit for keeping the sibling group together.

• Data source: CCRS, SSPS

3. Well-being Outcomes Index: Placement Stability: This outcome measure evaluates the rate at which programs have placement moves per 1,000 days of care. Placement moves occurring during the fiscal year are included in the numerator. The number of care days that children in placement spent in foster care over the 12-month period serves as the denominator.

The following placement moves are excluded for this measure: • Respite - move to a facility for up to 21 days with a return to original facility • Step-down from residential program to a family setting or from a TFFC

setting to a FFC setting • Reuniting siblings (Transfer code TJ)

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• Kinship Care (foster home certification type 14) • Pre-adoptive (Transfer code TE, foster home certification type FA)) • Office of Mental Health (OMH) or Office for Persons with Developmental

Disabilities (OPWDD) licensed setting • RIC facility • Between cottages within the same campus are excluded. • Data source: Connections, CCRS, SSPS

Step-Ups (FFC & TFFC): This outcome measure evaluates the rate at which children in family settings step-up into a higher level of care. Children ages 12 and older who are in placement on the first day of the fiscal year (i.e., July 1st) are included in the denominator. Children who move from a family setting into residential placement are included in the numerator.

The following placement moves are not considered a “step-up” for this measure • Children who are provided a permanent exit from care • Respite moves to 00B14132 that end in a return to the same facility • Moves to an Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office for Persons with

Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) licensed setting • RIC facility • Moves from FFC to TFFC or SFFC are not included in this measure. • Data Source: Connections, CCRS, SSPS • Family-Based codes: '01', '13' ,'14' ,'FA'; • Residential codes: '05', '06' ,'07' ,'12' 'SL';

Step-Downs (TFFC & Residential): This outcome measure evaluates the rate at which youth in TFFC and Residential placement step-down to a lower level of care. Children in placement on the first day of the fiscal year (i.e., July 1st) are included in the denominator. Children who move from a residential setting to a family setting are included in the numerator for residential programs. Children who move from a TFFC setting to a FFC setting are included in the numerator for TFFC providers. Children who achieve permanency are not applicable for this measure.

The following placement moves are not considered a “step-down” for this measure • A youth who was not placed in a residential facility or TFFC for at least 45

days prior to the “step down.” • Respite moves from 00B14132 that end in a return to the same facility • Movements from TFFC to FFC must last more than 45 days to be considered

a TFFC Step-down. • Data Source: Connections, CCRS, SSPS

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III. Scorecard Scoring

A. Rate Achieved The Rate Achieved is calculated for each measure by using the definitions listed in the methodology. The program mean is the mean of Rate Achieved across all the agencies in the program type. Programs achieving the mean for their program type are rated an “80” for the measure and programs that are at least 25% higher than the Program Mean (i.e., 1.25 X Program Mean) are scored at 100 (scores are capped at 100). Scores between zero and 100 are prorated.

When a higher % indicates worse performance:

• Equation A: Y=1.8-agy%/sys%

When a higher % indicates better performance:

• Equation B: Where sys%<=.8 Y=.8*agy%/sys% • Equation C: Where sys%>.8 Y=1+.2*(1-agy%)/(sys%-1)

B. Examples

Example for “Measure A, Residential” (using Equation C):

Agency

Program Program Mean

Agency Percentage

Rate

A Res 93% 95% 85.71 A Res 93% 88% 65.71 B Res 93% 100% 100.00 B Res 93% 80% 42.86 B Res 93% 66% 2.86 C Res 93% 75% 28.57

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Example for “Measure A, SFFC” (Using Equation B):

Agency

Program

Program Mean Agency Percentage

Rate

A SFFC 60% 55% 73.33 A SFFC 60% 30% 40 B SFFC 60% 15% 20 B SFFC 60% 80% 100 B SFFC 60% 66% 88 C SFFC 60% 75% 100

Example for “Measure B, FFC” (Using Equation A):

Agency

Program

Program Mean Agency Percentage

Rate

A FFC 5% 10% 0.00 A FFC 5% 4% 100 B FFC 5% 8% 20 B FFC 5% 1% 100 B FFC 5% 6% 60 C FFC 5% 3% 100 … … … …

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APPENDIX 1: FY2017 FOSTER CARE PAMS METHODOLOGY

Table of Contents PAMS CASE PRACTICE REVIEW

A. PAMS SAMPLING ..................................................................................................................... 22

B. PAMS Schedule and Review Periods ....................................................................................... 22

C. Safety and Risk Alerts .............................................................................................................. 23

D. Permanency and Past Practice Concerns ................................................................................ 23

E. PAMS Case Review Rebuttals ................................................................................................. 23

F. PAMS Scoring .......................................................................................................................... 24

G. Definitions of Key Terms for PAMS Reviews .......................................................................... 26

H. PAMS Case Sample Variables Definitions ............................................................................... 30

I. Foster Care PAMS Casework Contact Requirements and Scoring ......................................... 33

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I. PAMS CASE PRACTICE REVIEW The Provider Agency Measurement System (PAMS) Case Record Review is a comprehensive annual performance case review to inform the Scorecard that is designed to evaluate the quality of casework practice and services provided by foster care programs. PAMS is also shared with ACS Agency Program Assistance (APA) teams to identify and target quality improvement efforts in partnership with provider agencies.

Consistent with the overall Foster Care Scorecard, PAMS is divided into three practice areas: safety, permanency and well-being. Within each practice area, data collected through the PAMS review is sorted further into indices. The PAMS indices capture a comprehensive view of case practice across all practice areas. A table reflecting the PAMS case practice indices in each practice area is provided below.

Practice Area

Index

Sa

fety

Safety and Risk Assessment Frequency of CW Contacts with Child Quality of CW Contacts with Child Frequency of CW Contacts with Caretaker Quality of CW Contacts with Caretaker Frequency of Individual Therapist Contacts (TFCO programs only)

Pe

rman

ency

Service Planning Permanency Planning Family Team Conferencing/Service Plan Reviews Frequency of CW Contacts with Parent(s) / Discharge Resource Quality of CW Contacts with Parent(s) / Discharge Resource Frequency of Parent and Child Visits Quality of Parent and Child Visits Frequency of Family Therapist Contacts (TFCO programs only)

W

ell-b

eing

Education Services Frequency of Sibling Visits Quality of Sibling Visits Frequency of Sociotherapist/Skills Coach Contacts (TFFC and TFCO only)

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A. PAMS SAMPLING The PAMS review consists of a case record review in Connections. One case record review instrument is used to evaluate all family-based and residential records. The PAMS case record review is focused on the one child in the case who has been selected for review based on the sampling criteria. Cases will be pulled according to child planning agency. All programs in family- based care and residential care will be evaluated except for children placed in Rapid Intervention Centers (RIC) and Older Youth Reception Centers. No juvenile justice placements are reviewed as part of Foster Care PAMS. Please see Section H for more details on PAMS case sample variables.

The following programs will be sampled in FY17:

Family-Based Care Samples Residential Care Samples FFC AOBH TFFC/TFCO* (formerly MTFC) (Combined Sample)

Group Home

Special Medical/Developmentally Disabled FFC (Combined Sample)

Group Residence Institution

Developmentally Disabled Residence (All Levels of Care)

Sexually Exploited Residence (All Levels of Care)

Sexually Abusive Behavior Residence (All Levels of Care)

Maternity/Mother Child Blended Residence (All Levels of Care)

B. PAMS Schedule and Review Periods Agencies are reviewed on a “rolling” basis. The annual sample size for each program type operated by the agency will be split into two rounds. Agencies are notified prior to the beginning of a review round that the review is beginning and provided with an estimated date of review completion. Review completion is defined as the finalization of the review after which no additional alerts will be issued for the cases evaluated in that round. Upon notification of the review start date, the agency is expected to share the contact information for the agency liaisons.

1. The Connections Review Period is a contemporaneous review. The Connections Review

Period includes all case information from the first day of the Review Period to the date of the review, approximately eight months. Earlier periods in the case may be reviewed as is necessary in order to obtain clarity on contemporaneous events. Thus, the complete PAMS review covers a period of approximately eight months.

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2. The Contact Review Period is the first six months of the eight month review period during which reviewers evaluate contacts and visits. PAMS allows the month immediately prior (seventh month) to the beginning of the review month (eighth month) as a grace period and relies on the six months prior to that to review case contacts and visits.

The current FASP, Permanency Planning FTC/SPR, and other case information are expected to be current to the date of the review.

Month of Review Review Period for Contacts and Visits

January June 1 - November 30 February July 1 - December 31 March August 1 - January 31 April September 1 - February 28 May October 1 - March 31 June November 1 - April 30 July December 1 - May 31 August January 1 - June 30 September February 1 - July 31 October March 1- August 31 November April 1 - September 30 December May 1 - October 31

C. Safety and Risk Alerts Reviewers generate alerts related to Safety and Risk only. One combination alert form will be utilized for both types of alerts. Alerts are sent to the agency liaison by the PAMS Manager with a copy sent to APA and others as indicated. Agencies are required to document their responses on the alert document and submit it to APA, with a copy sent to the PAMS unit and others as indicated. Case-related actions in response to the alert must be documented in Connections within the time limits specified. APA will follow up directly with agencies on alert-related issues.

D. Permanency and Past Practice Concerns Case-specific permanency and past practice concerns (previously issued as alerts) requiring the attention of the agency will be shared with agency liaisons and APA at the end of the agency review using the “Foster Care Permanency and Past Practice Concern Notification Spreadsheet.” Agencies are expected to respond to APA within 10 business days of receiving Permanency and Past Practice concerns. APA will follow up directly with agencies about past practice concerns.

E. PAMS Case Review Rebuttals Agencies may submit limited rebuttals within 30 days of notice by PAMS that the rebuttal period has started. Rebuttal items must specifically address systematic errors in the review or

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incorrect scoring. Individual case-specific rebuttals for particular questions that are not systemic in nature will not be considered. Casework contact rebuttals will not be considered if the case has met the minimum casework contacts requirement, as extra credit is not given for additional casework contacts. By limiting rebuttals, PAMS and agencies will be able to devote the appropriate resources to errors that are the most problematic and corrections that provide the greatest improvement in scores.

F. PAMS Scoring The final annual PAMS score is cumulative and is based on all cases reviewed over the fiscal year. PAMS reports will be scored and produced by program type (i.e., Family Foster Care or Group Home). PAMS score reports provide an overall practice area score as well as a score for those indices within each practice area. PAMS will share the agency’s preliminary PAMS score report and the case review raw data with the agency liaison and APA after each review round is completed. The final PAMS score and system average scores are shared at the end of the review year.

1. Scoring of PAMS Questions All PAMS questions are assigned a practice area and an index. Each scored question is assigned a total possible value of 1 point; however, not all questions are scored. Some questions allow the reviewers to select multiple answers but the value does not exceed 1 point total. The response for each question determines the point value earned. There are different types of responses and different values for each response. Response types and point values can differ within the same instrument and within the same practice area. N/A means the question is not applicable to the case being reviewed. Because of this, the agency will not be penalized with a negative score. The question is dropped from cumulative scoring for the agency.

Please see the Section G for a list of all PAMS questions with the response and scoring breakdown for each question. An example is provided below.

Q # Question Responses Scoring

P20

Did the caseworker have discussions with the child (if age/developmentally appropriate) about progress or lack of progress toward permanency?

Yes 1/1 point Yes, Partially 0.5/1 points

No 0/1 points N/A, question not appropriate given

child’s age/development

0/0 points

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2. Scoring of Casework Contacts and Visits All contacts are assigned to a practice area and an index, just like the questions in the case record review tool. Only face- to-face contacts receive credit for Scorecard. No extra credit is given for exceeding the number of required contacts. Please see Section I for more detail on scoring of casework contacts required for each contact type.

a. Quality of Contacts and Credit for Casework Contacts

The content of the progress note determines whether credit is given for the quality of a specific contact. Please see Section G, Definitions of Key Terms, below, for the definitions of quality for a contact or visit as documented in the progress notes. If there is a discrepancy between the header and the content of the progress notes, such as when the header states that a child participated but then the child is not named in the body of the notes or the body of the note specifically states the child did not attend, credit is not given.

b. Pro-Rating Required Contacts and Visits:

Contacts and visits are pro-rated for case-specific situations if there is an absence of two weeks or longer. Please see Section I(C) for an explanation of appropriate reasons for pro-rating and how pro-rated contacts are scored.

c. Casework Contact Scoring Calculation:

# Total Contacts Made + # Home Contacts Made + Diligent Efforts # Total Contacts Required + # of Total Home Contacts Required

3. Index and Practice Area Scores All questions have both a Practice Area and Index assigned which determines what category the individual questions or measures are scored in. Index and Practice Area scores are calculated using the average of individual case scores within that respective area.

a. Index Scores A score is calculated for each individual case with qualifying questions in an index. The average of all case scores in an index generates the overall index score. See example below: Sample Agency Score Service Planning

PAMS Review ID

Child’s First Name

Numerator

Denominator

Case Score

233 Miguel 10 10 100% 234 Vicki 7.5 9 83% 235 Natasha 8.5 10 85% 236 Michael 9 9 100% 237 Crystal 8 9 89%

Overall Index Score = 91%

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b. Overall Practice Area Scores An agency’s Practice Area score is generated by first establishing case scores for each index within a practice area. The average of each case’s index scores serves as the case practice area score. The case practice area score only includes indexes with a score. For example, a freed child’s case score would not include the quality and frequency of parent/child visits measure or the frequency of CW parent/DR contacts measure. See the following example:

PAMS Review

ID

Child’s First Name

Service Planning

Permanency Planning

FTC

Frequency

CW Contacts Parent

Quality of CW

Contacts with

BP/DR

Parent/ Child Visit Frequency

Parent/

Child Visit

Quality

Overall Case Score

233 Miguel 100% 78% 86% 75% 75% 82% 234 Vicki 83% 95% 64% 50% 25% 83% 33% 61%

235 Natasha

85%

92%

0%

67% 90%

60%

30%

60%

236 Michael

100%

88%

67%

13%

100% 0%

61%

237 Crystal 89% 88% 86% 20% 0% 56% Overall Practice Area Score = 64%

G. Definitions of Key Terms for PAMS Reviews The following terms are defined as follows for use in the PAMS protocol for consistency. They are not intended to be an interpretation of policy or regulations.

Case Risk Rating should be logically derived from the Risk Assessment analysis and all other information gathered to date. The caseworker is assessing the likelihood of abuse or maltreatment re-occurring. In reaching this decision, the caseworker should be assigning a Case Risk Rating as if no safety interventions or services were being planned or provided. The Reviewer will determine whether the information in the FASP and case record support the risk rating. Risk Assessment is an analysis of risk related elements, the family’s understanding of the safety and risk issues that brought the case into care, an identification and examination of family’s strengths and needs, and any other significant case circumstances that may affect family functioning. The analysis should help evaluate the likelihood that a child may be abused or maltreated in the future. It should also help determine what services are needed, if any, to reduce identified risk, build family strengths, and resolve identified problems.

Casework Contacts with Child are defined as individual or group face-to-face contacts between the caseworker and the child for the purpose of assessing the child's level of safety and risk, evaluating or re-evaluating the child's permanency needs and permanency goal, and to guide the child towards a course of action aimed at resolving problems of a social, emotional or developmental nature that are contributing towards the reason(s) why such child is in foster care. This includes documented face-to-face contacts which occur to implement the service tasks

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in the family and child’s service plan. The case record should document the extent to which these contacts are occurring and the location and duration of the contacts.

Casework Contacts with Foster Parent/Child Care Worker are defined as face-to-face contacts by the caseworker with the person or people immediately responsible for the child’s day-to-day care (foster parent or child care worker, if child is in a residential care setting) for the purpose of assessing the child's level of safety and risk, obtaining information as to the child’s adjustment to foster care, and for facilitating the caretaker’s role in achieving the desired course of action specified in the child and family services plan. This would include any documented face-to-face contact which has occurred to implement the services in the family and child’s service plan. The case record should document the extent to which these contacts are occurring and the location and duration of the contacts.

Casework Contacts with Parent/Discharge Resource are defined as individual or group face-to- face contacts between the caseworker and the child’s parent or discharge resource for the purpose of assessing whether the child would be safe if s/he was to return home, and the potential for future risk of abuse or maltreatment if s/he was to return home. Such contacts are also for the purpose of guiding the child's parents or relatives towards a course of action aimed at resolving problems or needs of a social, emotional, developmental or economic nature that are contributing to the reason(s) why such child is in foster care. In the case of children with a PPG of Another Planned Living Arrangement, with a permanency resource or adult residential care, contacts serve to mobilize family support of the youth's efforts to function independently; increase the youth’s capacity to be self-sufficient; evaluate the ability of the parents/relatives to establish or reestablish a connection with the youth and serve as a resource to the youth; and, where appropriate, encourage an ongoing relationship between the parents/relatives and the youth. These include any documented face-to-face contacts that occur to implement the services in the family and child’s service plan. The case record should document the extent to which these contacts are occurring and the location and duration of the contacts.

TFFC Sociotherapist Contacts with Child are defined as individual or group face-to-face (treatment team meetings included) contacts between the Sociotherapist (Behavior Specialist, Skills Trainer or other worker identified by the agency that functions in the role of a Sociotherapist) and the child for the purpose of providing the treatment and supports the child needs, and to help decrease problem behaviors and increase developmentally appropriate and adaptive gains, while emphasizing the personal and social effects on behavior. Make referrals for children/youth to community based organizations (substance abuse, mental health, etc.); and maintain contact with the school to gather information that will be used in the treatment plan. There should also be behavior management training and support for Treatment Foster Care foster parents; including bi-weekly support groups that focus specifically on the needs of the child in their home. The Sociotherapist’s contacts with child and foster parent should assess the overall impact the behavior modification techniques have on child’s behavior. Socio- Therapist/Behavior Specialist/Skills Trainer – make two (2) home visits per month to the foster home and two (2) other face–to-face contacts, all with the foster child present.

TFCO Skills Coach Contacts with Youth are defined as individual face-to-face contacts between the TFCO (MTFC) Skills Coach and the youth for the purpose of providing opportunities for the

28

youth to practice new behaviors (i.e., social skills, problem-solving) in order to support the youth’s adjustment across different settings, environments, including assisting the youth to develop relational skills with adults, peers and community members. Sessions are typically conducted in the context of recreational activities and include a high level of positive reinforcement and encouragement. Usually the Skills Coach will pick up the youth from school, escort the youth to the sessions and then escort the youth back home to the foster parent. Sessions are typically two (2) hours in length; however, the total time involved in each session may be longer due to the necessary travel. The Skills Coach meets with the youth once (1) per week after school hours and contacts typically take place in the community.

TFCO Individual Therapist Contacts with Youth are defined as individual face-to-face contacts between the TFCO Individual Therapist and the youth for the purpose of providing a high level of support and guidance for the youth. The Individual Therapist serves as a therapist for the youth and may refer the youth to a psychiatrist as needed. The Individual Therapist may be designated by the TFCO Program Supervisor to conduct case planning contacts and/or activities with the youth and foster parent, in addition to fulfilling the therapist role. The Individual Therapist meets with the youth once (1) per week.

TFCO Family Therapist Contacts with Parent/Discharge Resource are defined as individual face-to-face contacts between the TFCO Family Therapist and the parent/discharge resource for the purpose of providing services to enhance parent management skills and strategies, parenting practices, behavioral interventions and conflict resolution of the discharge resource. The overall focus of these contacts is planning for reunification of the youth and family. The Family Therapist may be designated by the TFCO Program Supervisor to conduct case planning contacts and/or activities with the parent/discharge resource in addition to fulfilling the therapist role. The Family Therapist meets with the parent/discharge resource once (1) per week.

Parent and Child Visits are defined as face-to-face visits between child and the discharge resource (parent/relative) to whom the child is to be discharged. ACS policy requires family visits to be held weekly unless prohibited by court order. When the placement makes visiting impossible, agencies are required to at least plan for and facilitate monthly visits between the child and the discharge resource. In the case of children 13 years or older placed by the court as PINS or juvenile delinquents in an institution less than 100 miles from their homes and the placement that was chosen makes weekly visitation impossible, at a minimum, there must be a plan for and facilitation of quarterly visits between the child and the discharge resource. However, at the time a service plan for discharging the child is developed, appropriate visits of a greater frequency than quarterly between the child and the discharge resource must be arranged. The Visiting Plan should document the planned frequency and location of the visits, the names of the persons scheduled to visit, and any arrangements or assistance necessary to facilitate the visits. Documentation should include progress made by the child and parent towards resolving the problems or needs of a social, emotional, developmental or economic nature which are contributing to the reasons why the child is in foster care.

Sibling Visits are defined as face-to-face visits between minor siblings or half-siblings who are in foster care but who have been placed in separate foster care settings. Sibling visits are

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reviewed for both case planning and child planning providers. Both case planning and child planning providers are responsible for supporting, coordinating and facilitating sibling visits. Credit is given regardless of who entered the documentation, as long as documentation meets the information detail criteria. Biweekly sibling visits are required unless such contact would be contrary to the health, safety, or welfare of one or more of the children or unless lack of geographical proximity precludes visitation. Reviewers look for clear documentation as to why siblings cannot visit each other.

Foster children who are siblings or half-siblings should not be unnecessarily separated. Diligent efforts should be made to secure a foster boarding home which is willing and able to accept the placement of the siblings together, unless placement together is determined to be detrimental to the best interests of the siblings. In determining whether the record documents efforts to place siblings together, Reviewers look for documented consultation with or evaluation by appropriate professional staff that placement together of siblings is contrary to the health, safety, or welfare of one or more of the children with consideration of the following factors: the age differentiation of the siblings; the health and developmental differences among the siblings; the emotional relationship of the siblings to each other; the individual service needs; the attachment of the individual siblings to separate families/locations; the continuity of environment standards; sibling visits would endanger the child’s health, safety, or welfare; visits prohibited by court order; siblings live too far apart; and siblings whereabouts unknown.

Progress notes should regularly document diligent efforts to place siblings together, or that such joint placement is contrary to the health, safety or welfare of the children. Efforts to place the children together should be an ongoing process and not a one-time event. Regulation states that FASPs “must include a discussion of the need for continued separation of siblings and any plans for reunification.” Thus, this should be documented as least every six months.

Current FASP: The current FASP is the FASP that has the most recent due date within the PAMS review period. This FASP must have received provider agency approval to be read for PAMS. FASPs which are pending provider agency approval are not considered the current FASP and are not reviewed. If there is no current FASP in Connections, a Safety Alert is sent to the agency. The current FTC/SPR is reviewed even if the current FASP is not read. For example, if the PAMS review begins on 1/20/16, a FASP with a due date of 7/19/15 is not considered a current FASP, even though July falls within the review period for contacts and visits. In this example, there should be a FASP with a due date of 1/19/16. If it is not done and approved by the given date, a safety alert will be generated.

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H. PAMS Case Sample Variables Definitions

Variable FY17 Definition

A. Case Status

Case is open in CCRS from the start of the review period through at least four months of the contact review period. Cases that closed after four months of the contact review period are included in the review (except Adoption and COS cases).

B. # of Days in Program

Child must have been in the same program at the same agency at least 30 days prior to the start of the review period. Child must be in the same program at the same agency at least 150 days for closed cases and 240 days for active cases. Cases which switch program types during the contact review period are excluded. Children who are transferred after the end of the contact review period but prior to the start of reading are included. Blended Mother/Child programs follow the same rules as other program types.

C. Age of Child The sample is not stratified by age.

D. Permanency Planning Goals

For cases with multiple PPGs, the PPG used should be the longest PPG during the review period. If 2 PPGs reflect an equal 50% of the review period, the PPG for the second half of the review should be used. Cases without PPGs or PPGs that have expired will be included.

E. Trial Discharge Cases

All TD cases in the sample will be read.

F. PINS Cases PINS cases are reviewed.

G. AWOL Cases The sample will exclude cases that have uninterrupted AWOL spells of 3-months or more.

H. Child Away at College

Included regardless of length of absence. Contacts will be prorated based case circumstances.

I. Hospitalized Child Cases

Included regardless of length of absence.

J. Incarcerated Youth Cases

Included regardless of length of absence.

K. ICPC Cases Excluded from the review.

L. COS Cases Excluded from the review.

M. RTF, OMH, OMRDD Cases

Excluded from the review.

N. JD Cases Excluded from the review.

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Variable FY17 Definition O. Absences:

SE – Work Program SG – Temporary Foster Care Transfer

SH – Overstayed Weekend

SI – Pending Approval of Extended Care SK – School Holiday SL – Summer Camp SM – Religious Holiday SN – School Trip SO – Vacation SP – Weekend Visit SQ – Visit to Potential Foster of Adoptive Home

Exclude cases with uninterrupted absence of 3 consecutive months or more.

P. Cases that were Previously Reviewed

Random sample may include some cases that were previously reviewed in other rounds.

Q. Siblings

Siblings in the same program are excluded. Siblings in different programs are included even if they are in the same home.

Cases which have a freed sibling and a non-freed sibling are considered 2 separate cases and are included regardless of program type. Cases which have two (2) freed siblings in the same program are considered 2 separate cases and are included regardless of program type.

R. Foster Care Cases Receiving PPRS Services

Included in the review.

S. Agency Case Responsibility

Child Planning Agency

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I. Foster Care PAMS Casework Contact Requirements and Scoring

1. Acceptable Staff for Contacts and Visits: It is expected that contacts are made by the case planner. Contacts made by staff other than the case planner are acceptable only in the circumstances described below. Those staff must be identified and shared with the PAMS manager at the beginning of the review period.

a. CW Contacts with Child and CW Contacts with Caretaker

• If the case planner has made all required contacts except two (i.e. agency is short

two monthly case planner contacts for the review period), then up to two contacts made by another staff member with the same credentials as a caseworker will be accepted.

• Both contacts must be made by the same staff person. • In order to be eligible for credit for contacts made by a person other than the case

planner, all contacts must be made for the review period (i.e., case planner must make at least 4 of the 6 months of contact and if two months of contacts were not made by the case planner, both contacts must be made by alternate staff person; if only one of the two contacts were made, case will only receive credit for the contacts made by the case planner).

b. CW Contacts with Parent/Discharge Resource - Reunification and Adoption Goals

Only

• If the case planner has made all required contacts except two (i.e. agency is short two monthly contacts for the review period), then up to two contacts made by another staff member with the same credentials as a caseworker will be accepted.

• 1 of the 2 contacts may be made by the parent advocate, case aide, or other staff person.

• In order to be eligible for credit for contacts made by a person other than the case planner, all contacts must be made for the review period (i.e., case planner must make at least 4 of the 6 months of contact and if two months of contacts were not made by the case planner, both contacts must be made by alternate staff person; if only one of the two contacts were made, case will only receive credit for the contacts made by the case planner).

c. Child Planning Agencies ONLY - CW Contacts with Parent/Discharge Resource

• If a child planning agency did not meet the monthly casework contact requirement

for the review period, they can borrow at least one contact per month with the discharge resource from the case planning agency. However, in order to be eligible to borrow contacts from the case planning agency, the child planning agency must have made at least one contact with the discharge resource.

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2. TFFC ONLY a. Sociotherapist Contacts with Child

If the agency has not made all the required sociotherapist contacts for the month, then one extra contact made by the case planner may be substituted for a sociotherapist contact, as per ACS policy. Extra contacts made by the sociotherapist cannot be substituted for required contacts made by the case planner.

b. CW Contacts with Child and CW Contacts with Caretaker

• The Program Supervisor is considered the case planner. • The Program Supervisor may designate the Individual Therapist to conduct case

planning contacts with the child and/or caretaker.

c. CW Contacts with Parent/Discharge Resource • The Program Supervisor is considered the case planner. • The Program Supervisor may designate the Family Therapist to conduct case

planning contacts with the parent/discharge resource.

3. Child Planner vs. Case Planner Distinction The tool includes questions to help identify whether the agency being reviewed has case planning responsibility or not and whether the case is shared by more than one foster care agency. These questions are intended to focus on collaboration, coordination, and communication between case planning and non-planning agencies when applicable.

In addition, child planning agencies are not penalized when the FASP was not completed by the case planning agency and/or when aspects of the FASP which they cannot complete or do not have control of are inaccurate.

4. Casework Contact Requirements

a. Casework Contacts with Child (Any PPG – All cases, except TFCO (MTFC) Cases)

i) Points for # of Contacts Made • Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 1 contact per month (6 total contacts in review period)

# of Contacts per Month Points per Month

Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 monthly contact receive full credit 1 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 6

IMPORTANT: If 1 or more months are prorated, then the total possible points that can be earned will be less than 6.

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ii) Points for # of Home Contacts Made • Includes ONLY home contacts • The requirement is 2 home contacts per quarter

# of Home Contacts per Quarter Points per Quarter

Cases with 0 home contacts per quarter receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 home contact per quarter receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 or more home contacts per quarter receive full credit 2 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 4

IMPORTANT: If 1 or more quarters are prorated, then the total possible points that can be

earned will be less than 4.

b. Casework Contacts with Child (Any PPG – TFCO (MTFC) Cases Only) i) Points for # of Contacts Made • Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 2 contacts per month (12 total contacts in review period) • Case planning contacts may be conducted by the Program Supervisor or by the

designated Individual Therapist


Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0

Cases with 1 monthly contact receive partial credit 1

Cases with 2 monthly contacts receive full credit 2

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 12 IMPORTANT: If 1 or more months are prorated, then the total possible points that can be


ii) Points for # of Home Contacts Made • Includes ONLY home contacts • The requirement is 1 contact per month (6 total contacts in review period)

# of Home Contacts per Month Points per

Cases with 0 home contacts per month receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 or more home contacts per month receive full credit

1 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 6 IMPORTANT: If 1 or more months are prorated, then the total possible points that can be


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c. Casework Contacts with Caretaker (Any PPG – All cases, except TFCO (MTFC) Cases) i) Points for # of Contacts Made • Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 1 contact per month (6 total contacts in review period)

# of Contacts per Month Points per Month Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 monthly contact receive full credit 1 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 6

IMPORTANT: If 1 or more months are prorated, then the total possible points that can be


5. Points for # of Home Contacts Made • Includes ONLY home contacts • The requirement is 1 home contact per quarter

# of Home Contacts per Quarter Points per Quarter Cases with 0 home contacts per quarter receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 or more home contacts per quarter receive full credit 1 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 2



4) Casework Contacts with Caretaker (Any PPG – TFCO (MTFC) Cases Only)

a) Points for # of Contacts Made • Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 2 contacts per month (12 total contacts in review period) • Case planning contacts may be conducted by the Program Supervisor or by the

designated Individual Therapist

# of Contacts per Month Points per Month Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 monthly contact receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 monthly contacts receive full credit 2 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 12

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b) Points for # of Home Contacts Made • Includes ONLY home contacts • The requirement is 1 contact per month (6 total contacts in review period)

# of Home Contacts per Month Points per Month

Cases with 0 home contacts per month receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 or more home contacts per month receive full credit 1 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 6



5) Casework Contacts with Child’s Discharge Resource: Cases with NO History of CPS Indication Including Trial Discharge Contacts (Any PPG – All cases, except TFCO (MTFC) Cases )

a) Points for # of Contacts Made

• Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 1 contact per month (6 total contacts in review period) • If a child planning agency did not meet this requirement, they can borrow at

least one contact per month with the discharge resource from the case planning agency over the 6-month review period. However, in order to be eligible to borrow contacts from the case planning agency, the child planning agency must have made at least one contact with the discharge resource.





b) Points for # of Home Contacts Made • Includes ONLY home contacts • The requirement is 1 home contact per quarter

# of Home Contacts per Quarter Points per

Quarter

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Cases with 0 home contacts per quarter receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 or more home contacts per quarter receive full credit

1

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 2 IMPORTANT: If 1 or more quarters are prorated, then the total possible points that can be


6) Casework Contact s with Child ’s Discharge Resource: Cases with History of CPS Indication Including Trial Discharge Contacts (PPG = 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, except TFCO (MTFC) Cases)


• Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 2 contacts per month (12 total contacts in review period) • If a child planning agency did not meet this requirement, they can borrow at

least one contact per month with the discharge resource from the case planning agency for a maximum of 6 borrowed contacts over the 6-month review period. However, in order to be eligible to borrow contacts from the case planning agency, the child planning agency must have made at least one contact with the discharge resource.


Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 monthly contact receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 monthly contacts receive full credit 2 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 12



b) Points for # of Home Contacts Made • Includes ONLY home contacts only • The requirement is 1 home contact per month


Cases with 0 home contacts per month receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 or more home contacts per month receive full credit

1

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 6

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7) Casework Contacts with Child’s Discharge Resource: Cases with History of CPS Indication Including Trial Discharge Contacts (PPG = 5A, 5B, 5C, except TFCO (MTFC) Cases)


• Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 1 contact per month (6 total contacts in review period)



IMPORTANT: If 1 or more months are prorated, then the total possible points that can be earned will be less than 6.

b) Points for # of Home Contacts Made

• Includes ONLY home contacts only • The requirement is 1 home contact per quarter

Number of Home Contacts per Quarter Points per Quarter

Cases with 0 home contacts per quarter receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 or more home contacts per quarter receive full credit 1 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 2

IMPORTANT: If 1 or more quarters are prorated, then the total possible points that can be earned will be less than 2.

8) Casework Contact s with Child’s Discharge Resource (Any PPG – TFCO (MTFC) Cases Only)


• Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 2 contacts per month (12 total contacts in review period)

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• Case planning contacts may be conducted by the Program Supervisor or by the designated Family Therapist


Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 monthly contact receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 monthly contacts receive full credit 2 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 12



b) Points for # of Home Contacts Made • Includes ONLY home contacts • The requirement is 1 contact per month (6 total contacts in review period)


Cases with 0 home contacts per month receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 or more home contacts per month receive full credit 1 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 6



9) Casework Contacts with Sociotherapist and Child (Any PPG- TFFC Cases ONLY)

a) Points for # of Contacts Made • Includes home contacts and any other type of made contact • The requirement is 4 contacts per month (24 total contacts in review period) • If an agency has not made all the required sociotherapist contacts for the month,

1 extra contact made by the case planner may be substituted for a sociotherapist contact. This is ACS policy.

• Only a Home Contact from the Casework Contact for Child may be substituted for a Home Contact for the Sociotherapist.


Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0

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Cases with 1 monthly contact receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 monthly contacts receive partial credit 2 Cases with 3-monthly contacts receive partial credit 3 Cases with 4 monthly contacts receive full credit 4 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 24



b) Points for # of Home Contacts Made • Includes ONLY home contacts only • The requirement is 2 home contacts per month

Number of Home Contacts per Month Points per Month

Cases with 0 home contacts per month receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 home contact per month receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 or more home contacts per month receive full 2 credit TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 12



10) Casework Contacts with Skills Coach and Child (Any PPG - TFCO (MTFC) Cases ONLY)

a) Points for # of Contacts Made • Includes home contacts and community contacts; contacts typically take place

in the community • The requirement is 4 contacts per month (24 total contacts in review period)


Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 monthly contact receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 monthly contacts receive partial credit 2 Cases with 3 monthly contacts receive partial credit 3 Cases with 4 monthly contacts receive full credit 4 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 24



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11) Casework Contacts with Individual Therapist and Child (Any PPG- TFCO (MTFC) Cases ONLY)


• Includes home contacts and community contacts • The requirement is 4 contacts per month (24 total contacts in review period)

# of Contacts per Month Points per

Month Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 monthly contact receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 monthly contacts receive partial credit 2 Cases with 3 monthly contacts receive partial credit 3 Cases with 4 monthly contacts receive full credit 4 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 24



12) Casework Contacts with Family Therapist and Parent/Discharge Resource (Any PPG- TFCO (MTFC) Cases ONLY)


• Includes home contacts and community contacts • The requirement is 4 contacts per month (24 total contacts in review period)


Cases with 0 monthly contacts receive no credit 0 Cases with 1 monthly contact receive partial credit 1 Cases with 2 monthly contacts receive partial credit 2 Cases with 3 monthly contacts receive partial credit 3 Cases with 4 monthly contacts receive full credit 4 TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 24



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13) Parent/Child and Sibling Visits

IMPORTANT: Visits are scored differently than Casework Contacts. • There is not a Home Contact requirement for either Parent and Child or Sibling Visits

Parent and Child Visit Requirements Points

# of Points Per Visit 1 # Required Visits per Month 4 Total POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 24

Sibling Visit Requirements Points # of Points Per Visit 1 # Required Visits per month 2 Total POSSIBLE POINTS in the Review Period 12

C. Pro-Rating Required Contacts and Visits

1. Contacts and visits are pro-rated for case specific situations. Contacts and visits will be

pro-rated if there is an absence of 2 weeks or longer. 2. Reviewers cannot pro-rate to require more contacts or visits than the minimum

standard. 3. The following are acceptable reasons to pro-rate contacts or visits as per ACS and OCFS

policy: a. All contact and visit types may be modified due to a court order b. CW Contacts with Child: Child is AWOL, on vacation, incarcerated, or away at

school. Connections must document if an incarcerated youth is not allowed visits and the reason.

c. CW Contacts with Caretaker: Child is away at college, child is AWOL, child is on trial discharge, foster parent is on vacation.

d. CW Contacts with Parent/Discharge Resource: Parent’s whereabouts are unknown, parent is in an inpatient drug program, hospitalized, out of the state or the country. Connections must document if a program or hospital does not allow contact and the reason.

e. Parent and Child Visits: Child is AWOL, parent’s whereabouts are unknown, child is away at school, either birth parent or child are out of the state or the country, child is on vacation, parent or child is in an inpatient program, hospitalized or refusal by either the parent or the child to visit. Connections must document if a program or hospital does not allow visits and reason. A refusal by either the birth parent/discharge resource or the child to attend visits must be clearly documented in progress notes.

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f. Sibling Visits: Child is AWOL, on vacation, away at school, hospitalized, or refusing to visit. A refusal by either the birth parent/discharge resource or the child to attend visits must be clearly documented in progress notes.

g. If the absence is for two weeks or longer the contacts will be pro-rated as follows:

4 Months or More PPG Contact Type First 3 months of Initial

Placement

All Contact with Child 1 contact per month / 0 home contacts

All Contact with Caretaker 1 contact per month / 0 home contacts

After Initial Placement

0 contacts per month


All

Contact with Parent/Discharge Resource (Cases with NO History of CPS Indication) TFCO ONLY: Contact with Child,

1 contact per month / 0 home contacts


All

1, 2*, 3*, 4*, 8

5A, 5B, 5C

Contact with Caretaker, Contact with Parent/Discharge Resource Contact with Child’s Discharge Resource (Cases with History of CPS indication) Contact with Child’s Discharge Resource (Cases with History of CPS indication)

1 contact per month / 0 home contacts 1 contact per month / 0 home contacts 1 contact per month / 0 home contacts 0 contacts per month

*If the child is not freed D. Diligent Efforts or Attempted Contacts

Agencies are eligible for partial credit if the agency did not make any successful contact in a given month, and diligent efforts were made by the agency to reach the child or family.

• A case is eligible for 0.5 Diligent Efforts (DE) points if there were “0” credited contacts/visits for the month.

• A case is only eligible for 0.5 DE points for each spell. A spell is defined as consecutive months with “0” credited contacts/visits.

• Diligent Efforts points will not exceed 1.5 points for each type of Contact/Visit, for the entire review period.

• Diligent Efforts points will be awarded if the agency made at least two attempted face to face contacts starting with the first month of a spell.

IMPORTANT: Agencies are legally required to meet the applicable contact, visit and diligent effort standards, even when cases are on Trial Discharge.

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Appendix 2: FOSTER PARENT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION RECORDS AUDIT

The Foster Parent Training and Certification Records audit is conducted by PAMS staff. PAMs will audit a sample of foster parent records for all family-based program types (FFC, TFFC and SFFC). The Foster Parent Training and Certification audit score is reflected in the Safety Practice Area of the overall Foster Care Scorecard. In FY17, the Foster Parent Training and Certification Records audit will be conducted in July 2017.

The Foster Parent Training and Certification audit consists of two overall measures: training and homefinding. The homefinding measure includes four sub-measures: the home study/reauthorization narrative, SCR clearance, criminal background (FBI) clearance and medical clearance.

Each area is measured by using the number of homes that met the requirement as the numerator and the number of homes eligible for review in each area as the denominator. The homefinding measure equals the aggregate of the four sub-measures. The final score is based on the Training Compliance rate and the Homefinding Compliance rate divided by two:

Foster Home Study and Training Score Formula:

[(Training Compliance Rate) + (Homefinding Practice Compliance Rate)]

2

A. Training Requirements

PAMS staff review the training information within each foster parent record, which includes a review of certificates, attendance sheets, curriculum, and credentials of trainers. The Foster Parent Training Requirements reflect the ACS standard issued on July 26, 2011 by Family Permanency Services.

1. Training Requirements for NEW HOMES:

a. For newly recruited foster parents, 30 hours of “Model Approach to Partnerships

in Parenting/Group Preparation and Selection“ (MAPP/GPS) training are required and must be completed prior to a child being placed in the home. An alternative to MAPP/GPS is MAPP/Deciding Together (7 sessions for 2-2 ½ hours each).

b. For homes licensed on an emergency basis, 15 hours of Mini-MAPP training are

required and must be completed within 150 days of initial placement. • Partial credit may be given if an agency provides at least quarterly

documentation of their efforts to engage the kinship foster parent and/or if the kinship foster parent attended some training. Documentation may include, but is not limited to: letters reminding foster parent of training

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requirement, letters that include specific training information and/or mailing of training flyers, emails from the agency in attempt to engage and/or invite foster parents to training.

c. For homes recruited solely as adoptive resources by adoption recruitment

agencies, the training requirement is a shorter, modified MAPP for adoptive parents. For adoptive homes recruited by the foster care provider, MAPP training for the recruited foster parents is required.

d. For new licensed Treatment Family Foster Care (TFFC) homes, MAPP or Mini-

MAPP training and “Parenting Skills Training” (PST) must be completed prior to certification. Expedited TFFC homes are excluded from the sample.

e. For new licensed Special Medical and Developmentally Disabled homes, MAPP or

Mini-MAPP training is required.

f. NEW: TFCO Sample will be scored. For new licensed Treatment Foster Care – Oregon (TFCO) homes, MAPP or Mini-MAPP training and “TFCO Training” must be completed prior to certification.

2. Training Requirements for RECERTIFIED HOMES:

a. For Regular (recruited) and Emergency/Kinship homes undergoing recertification, 6 hours of training must be completed.

b. Partial credit for kinship homes may be given if an agency provides sufficient

documentation that the kinship foster parent attended some training during their certification period.

c. TFFC, TFCO and SMDD homes are excluded from the annual recertification

training sample as the ACS Children with Special Exceptional Needs and the Medical Audit Units review these records for specialized training.

B. Homefinding Requirements

1. Homefinding Requirements for NEW HOMES:

Using the same sample selected for the training requirements for each foster home type, PAMS staff will review the record for compliance with all applicable Homefinding requirements as follows:

a. Full and detailed home studies signed by the Homefinder and foster parent/s

including a thorough safety assessment;

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b. Criminal history checks for all household members 18 and over (including foster children);

c. SCR clearances for all household members 18 and over (excluding foster

children);

d. Medical exams and Tuberculosis screenings for foster parents and all household members not more than one year old at the time of certification, per ACS Guidance dated July 27, 2011 and Title 18 NYCRR Part 443.2; and

e. TFFC, TFCO and SMDD Converted Homes – converted homes will be considered a

new home for the program; however they will be reviewed based on the recertification criteria (i.e., Reauthorization Narrative for the most current recertification period and Medical/TB Screens no more than two years old at the time of the most current recertification).

2. Homefinding Requirements for RECERTIFIED HOMES: For Regular (recruited) and Emergency/Kinship homes undergoing recertification, PAMS staff will review the record for compliance with all applicable Homefinding requirements are as follows:

a. A comprehensive Reauthorization Narrative describing the current home environment and any changes since the initial certification and home study.

b. Medical exams and Tuberculosis screenings for foster parents and all household

members must have occurred within the past two years at the time of recertification.

i. NOTE: Per ACS Guidance and Form CM-1060, dated July 27, 2011, ACS requires an annual TB screening/clearance within 12 months of every foster home certification/approval and recertification/re-approval. For the purpose of this audit, reviewers will accept TB screenings dated within two years of the date of recertification.

c. SCR and Criminal Background clearances for all household members will be scored as part of the Homefinding measure. i. Criminal background clearances for all household members 18 and over

(including foster children). ii. SCR clearances for all household members 18 and over (excluding foster

children).

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C. Rebuttal Process

All documents should be in the foster home records at the time the review team begins the onsite audit. Missing documentation submitted within 2 business days of the audit date will be considered for all elements of the Training and Homefinding requirements, with the exception of Foster Home Safety Assessments which must be in the foster home records at the time of audit.

D. Data Source

All program samples will be pulled from Connections and provided at least two weeks prior to the scheduled audit date . Table 1 below details the review time periods and sample sizes for each program type. Table 2 (next page) details the foster parent sample criteria. PAMS staff will perform the case review onsite at the provider agency office.

Table 1: Review Time Periods

Foster Home Type Certification/Recertification Sample Size

FFC: Regular 5/1/2016 – 4/30/2017 20 FFC: Emergency/Kinship 2/1/2016 – 1/31/2017 10 TFFC 5/1/2016 – 4/30/2017 10 SFFC 5/1/2016 – 4/30/2017 10 TFCO 5/1/2016 – 4/30/2017 10 FFC: 1st Recertification 5/1/2016 – 4/30/2017 20

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Table 2: Foster Parent Sample Criteria 1. FFC: New foster parents certified within the review time period. 2. FFC: New emergency/kinship foster parents approved/emergency certified who

had a child placed in their home within the review time period. 3. TFFC: Foster parents who were newly certified as a Treatment Family Foster

Care provider within the review time period.

a. Expedited TFFC homes are excluded. 4. SFFC: Foster parents who were newly certified as a Special Medical Family Foster

Care provider within the review time period. 5. Recertification: Regular and emergency/kinship foster parents recertified within

the review time period. 6. Closed homes are included if they were certified or recertified within the review

time period.

a. Exception: New Emergency/kinship home that no longer has relative child in home.

b. Exception: Emergency/kinship home closed within 5 months of the child’s placement date.

c. Exception: Emergency/kinship home which is now closed AND did not have a child placed at the time of the recertification due date is excluded.

7. Excluded:

a. Transferred foster parents. b. Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) foster parents.

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PERM

ANEN

CY

SAFE

TY

Appendix 3: FY2017 Foster Care Scorecard Template

Agency A Family Foster Care (FFC)

Practice Area Data Measures Percent

OUTCOMES Maltreatment in Care Repeat Maltreatment Foster Home Certifications

Emergency (90-day)

Progra m

Mean

Rating

Program Rating Mean

Program Ranking

PROCESS

PRACTICE

Certifications 12-month Recertifications

Frequency of AWOL Responsiveness to OSI CAP Safety of Current Placement Setting Risk Assessment Foster Home Study and Training

Foster Home Study Training

OUTCOMES

Overall Permanency In care < 1 yr

In care ≥ 1 yr and < 2 yrs In care ≥ 2 yrs

Re-entry

PROCESS

PRACTICE

Adoption Target KinGap Target Length of Trial Discharge Filing of TPR Petition or KinGap Agreement Filing for Adoption Subsidy Freeing for Adoption Parent and Child Visitation Family Team Conferencing Service Planning Permanency Planning Timeliness of FASP Approval

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WEL

L-BE

ING

Agency A Family Foster Care (FFC)

Practice Area Data Measures Percent

Placement Stability

Progra m

Mean

Rating

Program Rating Mean

Program Ranking

OUTCOMES TFFC Step Down (TFFC

only) Step Up Medical Review

Compliance Quality

PROCESS

PRACTICE

Preparing Youth for Adulthood Checklist Transitions to Kinship Placement Sibling Placements (FFC) Emotional Well-being Educational Well-being Recreation Timeliness of CANS Assessment

FYI CANS Threshold Data

Documents

FY2017 Foster Care Scorecard - New York · 9/12/2016 · Scorecard. Updated: September 12, 2016 . Administration for Children’s Services . 2 . Table of Contents. ... The Scorecard