Multiple Response System (MRS) and System of Care (SOC) North Carolina’s Child Welfare Reform Model The North Carolina Foster and Adoptive Parent Association Shining the Spotlight: A Decade of Dedication Twin City Quarter Embassy Suites & Marriott April 25-27, 2008

What is MRS? North Carolina’s Child Welfare Reform 1.Strengths based structured intake 2.Choice of two assessment responses for reports of child neglect and dependency 3.Coordination between Work First (TANF) and child welfare 4.Coordination with law enforcement on cases of abuse 5.Redesign of CPS In-Home Services 6.Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings throughout the life of the case 7.Shared Parenting meetings

What is SOC? “System of Care is not a program – it is a philosophy of how care should be delivered. Systems of Care is an approach to services that recognize the importance of family, school and community, and seeks to promote the full potential of every child and youth by addressing their physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural and social needs.” 1 1 United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration “Systems of Care,”

SOC Supports MRS PARTNERSHIPS STRENGTHS FAMILY- CENTERED PRACTICE SOC&MRSSOC&MRS

What is SOC? North Carolina’s Child Welfare Reform Based on a System of Care Model 1.Culturally Competent 2.Child, Youth, and Family Involvement 3.Individualized, Strengths Based Care 4.Community Based Services and Supports 5.Interagency Collaboration 6.Accountability to Results

What is FCP? North Carolina’s Child Welfare Reform Based on Six Family Centered-Practice Principles of Partnership 1.Everyone desires respect 2.Everyone wants to be heard 3.Everyone has strengths 4.Judgments can wait 5.Partners share power 6.Partnership is a process

SOC and FCP A Crosswalk System of CareFamily Centered Practice 1.Cultural Competence1.Everyone Desires Respect 2.Child, Youth, and Family Involvement 2.Everyone Needs to be Heard 3.Individualized Strengths Based Care 3.Partners Share Power 4.Community Based Services and Support 4.Judgments Can Wait 5.Interagency Collaboration5.Everyone Has Strengths 6.Accountability to Results6.Partnership is a Process

How it Works! MRS SOC FCP

What is MRS? North Carolina’s Child Welfare Reform 1.Strengths based structured intake 2.Choice of two assessment responses for reports of child neglect and dependency 3.Coordination between Work First (TANF) and child welfare 4.Coordination with law enforcement on cases of abuse 5.Redesign of CPS In-Home Services 6.Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings throughout the life of the case 7.Shared Parenting meetings

Child and Family Team Meetings Done MRS / SOC Style…CFT Meetings: Recognize and respect the family as the experts of their own children and that no one knows a family’s strengths and needs better than the family Moves away from traditional child welfare service planning which is deficits based and assumes child welfare worker is the professional by trusting and believing that families can solve their own problems Values the supports (both formal and informal) that the family brings to the table Is guided by a neutral facilitator to give voice to both the family and the professionals

Your Role in the CFT Meeting As Foster and Adoptive Parents You Can Help By: Preparing the child in your foster home by helping them understand this meeting Supporting the child by helping them express their wishes and desires Being willing to be a teacher and an informal support for the birth family Being willing to support the birth family by sharing your observations of the child’s daily progress, successes, challenges, and needs If adoptive parents, consider being advocate / mentors to both foster parents and birth families during the meetings

What is MRS? North Carolina’s Child Welfare Reform 1.Strengths based structured intake 2.Choice of two assessment responses for reports of child neglect and dependency 3.Coordination between Work First (TANF) and child welfare 4.Coordination with law enforcement on cases of abuse 5.Redesign of CPS In-Home Services 6.Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings throughout the life of the case 7.Shared Parenting meetings

Shared Parenting Meetings Done MRS / SOC Style…Shared Parenting Meetings: Respects the role of the birth family within a child’s life and recognizes the family as the experts of their own children Provides an opportunity to value and to continue to help develop the birth family’s strengths by maintaining contact between the child and the birth family Provides an opportunity for birth, foster, and adoptive parents to exchange meaningful information about the child Provided safety can be assured, is held with 7 days of a child coming into care to underscore the importance of birth family connections Can be especially crucial for the success of older children that are adopted

You are Part of the Equation!

What is the PIP? A plan to continue enhancing child welfare reform developed through a collaborative process between staff from county departments of social services, youth, parents, foster parents, service providers, and other child and family serving agencies It not a new initiative or project; it is a continuation of the work we have already accomplished through MRS/SOC Ultimately this plan is about improving outcomes for children and families which can only be accomplished through collaborative efforts A plan whose implementation benefits from collaboration between birth families, foster families, and adoptive families

Pieces of the Child Welfare Pie

Local Community Collaborative A place within a community where foster and adoptive parents can: complete a community service needs assessment share information about community resources and plan around service array needs for children in care advocate for any special needs for foster and adoptive parents

State Community Collaborative “The North Carolina State Community Collaborative for Children and Families, through a System of Care framework, provides a forum for collaboration, advocacy, and action among families, public and private child and family serving agencies and community partners to improve outcomes for all children, youth and familes.” 1 1 North Carolina Collaborative for Children, Youth and Families

The State Collaborative Provides a forum for discussion on improving the work that families and agencies do with one another A place where decision makers from public and private agencies can work together collaboratively to meet the needs of children and families Develops recommendations regarding the coordination of services, funding, training, and local reporting mandates to reduce duplication Provides support for the local community collaborative and for Child and Family Teams

Thank You! Please feel free to contact us! Candice Britt, MSW – Child and Family Services Review Coordinator R. Patrick Betancourt – Multiple Response System Coordinator North Carolina Division of Social Services 325 North Salisbury St. MSC 2408 Raleigh, NC / fax