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New Mexico Client Support Services Project a.k.a. Social Worker Model. Angela Peinado , PhD. Parents meeting their attorneys for the first time at the initial hearing. Attorney-Client visits not occurring. Case plans: no parent input P arent/child visits restricted by resources. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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New Mexico Client Support Services Project a.k.a.
Social Worker Model
Angela Peinado, PhD
What Was Happening in New Mexico?
Parents meeting their attorneys for the first time at the initial hearing.
Attorney-Client visits not occurring. Case plans: no parent input Parent/child visits restricted by
resources. Parent language does not =
attorney language
I am in court and haven’t met
my attorney!I never get a return phone
call!
Do I have a say in
case plans?
Seriously! Once a
week for 1 hour?
Ex par-tay?
Children’s Court Improvement Commission (CCIC) –
Legal Representation Workgroup
What We Wanted to Do Develop innovative approach that advance court, agency, and stakeholder collaboration, in improving the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families in the child welfare system for New Mexico.
Model to assist parents and their attorneys established through the Legal Representation Workgroup.
Reduce time to permanency, reduce the number of motions to terminate parental rights, reduce the cost of foster care and services per family.
Reunified families will be less likely to re-enter the child welfare system.
When Protective Services looks like this.
What We Found Interesting The national trend is for independent social
workers to provide case work services and supportive testimony on behalf of respondent parents in abuse/neglect parents.
Social workers are able to provide the type of “case work” often needed in these cases that attorneys with increasing caseloads are unable to undertake.
Case Workers with Children, Youth and Families protective services (PS) Division often lack the time to assist clients through the process.
{
Placement
Visiting
Services
Conferences
The Four Cornerstones Concept
VisitingShould be as frequent and long as possible, and in settings that most closely mimic family life.
PlacementShould support a child’s connections to family and the people and institutions that the child was connected to before placement.
ServicesShould address a parent and child’s strengths and needs.
ConferencesShould occur out of court and provide opportunities for parents and older youth to meaningfully participate in their case planning.
“Cornerstone Advocacy”
supports family reunification by
devoting intensive advocacy during
the first 60 days of a case in four
areas.
The First Cornerstone: Placement
Appropriate placement eases the child’s transition to foster care• A placement that
helps children stay connected to teachers, friends, and other community supports like therapists or physicians minimizes the disruption in a child’s life.
Appropriate placement keeps parents engaged• Foster parents who
are willing to support a parent and child’s relationship play a critical role in maintaining family ties that inspire parents to stay engaged in services.
Appropriate placement supports reunification• A placement
which appropriately supports a child’s connection to family promotes reunification and eases the transition home.
The Second Cornerstone: Services
Poor or Inappropriate Services
may be ill-suited to the family and may create unnecessary demands on a parent who must attend programs, court appearances, and visits.
may lose legitimacy for parents and can cause them to disengage or “fail to comply.”
Creative and flexible services
will keep parents engaged by ensuring that the services are meaningful and manageable
given the parents’ other commitments
will move the family towards reunification more quickly by addressing their needs
and building on their strengths
The Third Cornerstone: Conferences
Many important decisions about a family’s life are made outside court in family conferences.• Will the family remain together?• Will a family member become a foster parent?• How often will the parent and child visit each week?• Is the family ready for unsupervised visits?
However, historically there has been a disconnect between the social work sphere and the legal sphere.• An attorney who is not aware of decisions made at a family
conference may have inaccurate information or be unaware of issues arising from these conferences.
The Fourth Cornerstone: Visiting
Visiting is the key to
parent engagem
ent
•Visiting enables parents to continue the relationship with their children and inspires them to keep working on getting them home.
Visiting helps
children cope with foster care
and eventually with the
transition home
•When children can see their parents often and in circumstances that make them comfortable, they can talk with the people they most need to about what has happened—their parents.•Quality visiting can help children preserve cherished rituals, share stories from school and social life, and continue to seek advice and encouragement from their parents.
Meaningful and frequent visitation is the single
best predictor of safe and lasting reunification
• Practitioners should advocate for more frequent visits with as little supervision as necessary.
• When possible, visits should occur outside the agency and include activities that mimic family life.
• ALWAYS explore Visit Hosts
Acknowledging Emotions
$
Why Sandoval County? Master’s level social worker on staff
available for the position, who is familiar with the court process and data collection.
Caseload size allows for a manageable number of cases.
Four contract attorneys available. Potential for growth in that it encompasses
three counties. Court innovative and open to change.
First Steps Internal Work Meeting with
Stakeholders (CYFD, CASA, CRB, CLC , attorneys and the judge)
Concerns and Issues
Collaborative Partners NMSU and NMHU
Identify Team
Develop Plan with Timeline
Identify Funding Sources for Training
Started to develop social work standards manual as a starting point to outline roles and responsibilities, and attorney/social worker division of labor. Washington State piloted
a similar program by county.
Forms
Identify data outcomes.
CFR
Initial discussion. Conference calls Set up agenda. Funding. Training date. August 2013 start date.
Inc.
CFR Cornerstone Institute: New Mexico Court Staff, Child Welfare Staff and Practitioners July 22, 23, 24, 2013
DRAFT Program Outline—3 Day Institute: need a working title
Piloting an Interdisciplinary Model of Parent Representation in New Mexico: Enhancing Parent Engagement, Opportunities for Safe Reunification and Opportunities for Court
Improvement (Arrangements will be made for guests to access computers and/or private office space during breaks
and CFR will provide lunch each day and coffee and tea throughout the day) Day One: 9:30 am to Noon (with one short mid am break): Getting Started
Goals and Objectives for the Program: Those of CFR and those of the Practitioners Overview of Materials Core Values and Core Purpose of Enhanced Representation for Parents and an
Interdisciplinary Practice Brief Overview of Cornerstone Advocacy on the Ground: in Work with Parents Brief Overview of Cornerstone Advocacy in the System —how it supports accurate
identification of permanency goals and how it can bolster court improvement initiatives Introduction to the Concepts of Next Actions, Small Adjustments and Toolkits
12noon-12:30: Break 12:30-1:30pm: Lunch with CFR’s Parent Advocates1: Why Strategies focused on Parent Engagement Matter –Views of the Child Welfare and Family Court systems from “Consumers” 1:45pm-4:00pm: Best Practices for a Team Practice: with CFR Staff:
Roles of the Attorney, Social Worker, Family Advocate, Parent Advocate and Paralegal Best practices for shared ownership and authorship of the case—communication routines that
work for staff and clients Ethical challenges of Team Representation
1 CFR’s Parent Advocates are professional staff comprised of parents who have personal direct experience with being investigated by protective services and being prosecuted in family court; they have had their children placed in foster care and have successfully and safely reunified their families.
Parent Support Services Dominica Montano
Sandoval County Judicial Complex 505-771-7175 or 505-340-1350
1500 Idalia Rd., Bldg. A FAX 505-771-7177
Bernalillo, NM 87004 [email protected]
PSS Referral Form
DATE:_________________
Client’s Name:__________________________________________________________________
Date of Birth:________________________________Phone______________________________
Work Phone:_________________________________Other_____________________________
Referring Attorney:______________________________________________________________
Phone____________________________Email________________________________________
Date & Time of Custody Hearing____________________________________________________
Children(s) Name(s):_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
ADA __________________________________________________________________________
ICWA (Yes)______(No)_____Tribe/Pueblo____________________________________________
Special needs/ specific instructions: ________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you
STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANDOVAL THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT CHILDREN’S COURT JQ 2013-00000 CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES DEPARTMENT, ex rel, STATE OF NEW MEXICO IN THE MATTER OF _____, a child, And Concerning ________ and _______, RESPONDENTS.
ORDER APPROVING SOCIAL WORK INTERN APPOINTMENT
Dominica Montano, LMSW, a qualified supervising social worker participating in an
internship program of the _________________School of Social Work which meets the
requirements of (RULE? Other? ) and _______________________ Counsel for
___________________ in the above captioned matter, have requested that
__________________, a social work student enrolled in a qualified clinical social work program,
be permitted to participate in this matter as authorized by LR 13-XXX.
It is hereby ORDERED that the above-named social work intern may participate in this
case as authorized by LR 13-XXX .
_______________, 2013 _________________________ (Date) John F. Davis Children’s Court Judge
Someone to trust who can help you bridge the gap….
DATA
May 2014
CLIENT SUPPORT SERVICES Stats May 2014.docx
Challenges
Transportation for clients Additional resources for interns (i.e.
phones) Mental Health Evaluations
(alternates) Location, location , location Fees for programs Roles clarifications Funding
I don’t have a car! I have to pay
to detox?
Does the attorney
and social worker talk?
Seriously! One
phone!
Who is in control of the case?
Great surprises thanks to CQI!
Credits
People
InternsAttorneys
CIPStakehol
ders
Notes
Data
New Mexico FirstCase
management system
SW Model tracking
Model tracks
demographicsVisits
Locations
Sandoval
County
Three counties in this district: Sandoval is
“medium sized” of the three
Training
External
Internal
CYFDCFR
CASAMediation
Court processes
Funding
CIPCaseyAOCCourt
Notes
Ideas
ABACFR
Detroit Advocacy
CenterWashington
OPD
Goals include adding FSTR,
parent mentors ,
attorney pay and
manageable caseloads.
Questions?
BioAngela Peinado, PhD received her Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from the University Phoenix with a published Dissertation on Personality and Communication Styles of Drug Court Program Managers. She currently works with the Administrative Office of the Courts as a Statewide Program Director with the Court Improvement Project to researching efforts related to best practices, policy and procedural changes, as well as systemic changes for the permanency, safety and well-being of children in the child welfare system. Angela is also a faculty member at the University of Phoenix. She facilitates courses and prepares curriculum for General Studies, Writing, Communication, Management, Business and Criminal Justice courses.