Yearly Archives: 2018

Short Term Residential Therapeutic Programs Placement Criteria, Interagency Placement Committees, Second Level Review for Ongoing Placements

Posted on by

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has recently provided guidance and instructions regarding Interagency Placement Committees (IPCs), Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs Placement (STRTP) Criteria, Child and Family Teams (CFTs), and Second Level Review requirements for children and nonminor dependents placed in STRTPs and group homes.

Assembly Bill 403 established new licensed children’s residential facilities called STRTPs, which are public agencies or private organizations licensed with CDSS to provide integrated, high-quality, therapeutic programs. The programs are intended for children whose behavioral and therapeutic need are not met by a home-based family setting, even with supportive services. The goal of the program is to provide trauma-informed therapeutic interventions and integrated programming to address barriers to the child’s ability to safely reside and transition into a home-based family setting. The county placing agency, the STRTP, the caregiver, and the child and their support system must work together to identify and coordinate necessary services.

STRTP homes must be cleared by IPCs and a second level of review which takes into account CFT’s opinions.

The IPC is made up of representatives from county placing agencies and the county Mental Health Plan (MHP). The IPC may work together with other jurisdictions to act as a multi-disciplinary committee for child care and treatment. The IPC must also review and approve placements for STRTPs, group homes with a level of care assessed at Rate Classification Level 13/14 and that have been granted extensions (as determined by ACL 16-65), as well as out-of-state residential programs. The IPC decision is to be made by reviewing all available assessments. To support partner agency compliance, county placing agencies must notify and coordinate needed services with the school of origin regarding educational stability and the case plan, the MHP, and the Regional Center currently serving the child immediately upon the child’s placement.

The child may be placed in a STRTP if the child does not require inpatient care in a licensed health facility and the child’s needs have been assessed and can be provided in a STRTP to maintain the health and well-being of the child. One of the following criteria must also be met:

  • the child meets medical necessity criteria as determined by a mental health professional
  • the child is assessed as Seriously Emotionally Disturbed
  • the child is assessed as requiring the level of services provided by the STRTP
  • OR the child meets the criteria for emergency placement into a STRTP.

Emergency placement determinations may be made prior to the IPC determination if:

  • A mental health professional has made a written determination that the child requires the level of care that STRTP services offer
  • The IPC makes a similar determination within thirty days of an emergency placement (or transmits their disapproval to the STRTP)
  • AND the STRTP is not acting as a temporary placement in the event that a home-based family setting cannot be found. The county placing agency must ensure there is commonality of need with the other children in the placement setting.

If counties decide to integrate the CFT and IPC into single meetings, they should do so via an Interagency Memorandum of Understanding.

STRTP providers are not required to accept any specific child for placement, though they are expected to have the capacity to serve individual children with complex needs. The intake process should be coordinated with the IPC to avoid non-admissions and 7-day notices of denial from an STRTP provider, and information should be conveyed to county placing agencies to allow for CFT meetings pending placement. If STRTP providers demonstrate a pattern of not accepting placements, a review may be conducted by CDSS to assess the technical assistance level of the STRTP in order to prevent unnecessary disruption.

Assembly Bill 1997 provided added requirements, and also requires that the Department of Health Care Services and CDSS develop a dispute resolution process in order to track the number of reported and resolved disputes. While this is developed, county placing agencies should inform the CDSS if there is an unresolved IPC dispute by emailing CDSS.

The Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) uses residential care as a short-term, therapeutic intervention until the child is able to transition into a home-based family setting.  The CCR includes additional requirements on case plan documentation and second level review. The former requires that the case plan for a child placed in a STRTP document that the placement is for the purposes of short-term, specialized and intensive treatment, the need for the placement, the plan for transitioning the child, and the projected timeline for future action. If the child is under 12 years of age of younger, prior approval from the director of the child welfare agency is needed.

The Placement Timeframes for Second Level Reviews are age-specific. For children ages 0-6, STRTP placements are extremely rare and not to exceed 120 days. For children ages 6-12, STRTP placements shall not exceed 6 months unless the county made progress toward implementation of the case plan (including the child’s future transition), circumstances beyond the county’s control have impeded the county from obtaining those services, and the need for additional time is documented by a caseworker and approved by the Child Welfare Deputy Director.  For children older than age 13 under the supervision of the dependency court, the placement shall not exceed 6 months unless the Child Welfare Deputy Director or Director has approved the case plan. For children older than age 13 under the supervision of the delinquency court, the placement shall not exceed 12 months unless the Chief Probation Officer of the county has approved the continued placement no less frequently than every 12 months thereafter.

County placing agencies should have established processed to ensure that these processes are followed immediately for children placed in STRTPs or group homes.  (ACL 17-122, January 9, 2018.)

 

Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Children in Foster Care

Posted on by

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance for counties participating in the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children in the 2018-19 fiscal year.

The Bridge Program aims to increase the number of stable, sustainable home-based family placements for children in foster care. Because one of the main barriers for placement of foster children is lack of access to child care at the time of placement, resource families, emergency caretakers, approved homes of nonrelative extended family members (NREFM) and parents who have jurisdiction under the juvenile court may be eligible to receive a time-limited voucher for child care and child care services. The program is opt-in at the county level, and funds are to be supplementary to existing funds used to provide child care.

The Resource and Referral (R&R) programs provide information and services to both parents and other potential child care providers. The R&R Programs must enter into a formal agreement with the county welfare agency to facilitate communication and the best use of Title IV-E funding sources. These services are available through Alternative Payment Programs which are funded by states and the federal government, and they are designed to aid parents in creating and accommodating care arrangements for their children.

The Bridge Program has three primary parts. The first establishes an emergency child care voucher or payment which helps eligible families pay for child care costs for foster children until the child turns 12, or 21under some circumstances.  Eligible families may receive a voucher when work or school responsibilities prevent them from being at home to care for the child, or when the family is required to participate in an activity without the child, such as judicial reviews, that are outside the scope of ordinary parental duties. These vouchers may be issued for up to six (6) months until the child is successfully transitioned into long-term, subsidized child care. If this is not possible, eligibility may extend up to, but not beyond, twelve (12) months, at the discretion of the county. If the family secures a subsidized child care placement before their enrollment period in the Bridge Program is set to expire, the family will cease receiving funds from the Bridge Program.

The child care payments may be made to the family or directly to the provider in accordance with Regional Market Rate guidelines.

The second part of the Bridge program is the Child Care Navigator provided by the county R&R Programs to assist families with finding a child care provider, complete program applications, and work with the parents to develop a long-term care plan. The Child Care Navigator is an employee of the local R & R Programs, and works with eligible families, child welfare workers, social workers, and the Child and Family Team (CFT) to assess child care options and provide information about care. Navigator services are available to any child in foster care, any child previously in foster care but in their original home, and any child with parents involved in the child welfare system.

The third part of the Bridge program provides access to trauma-informed care training, which teaches parents and providers about how to work with children in foster care. Also included in the training is information on best care practices and infant/toddler development.

Family eligibility for the Bridge program is determined by the county, which may establish additional criteria depending on local priorities. Eligible parties include resource families and families with a child placed with them for an emergency or compelling reason, licensed foster family homes, certified family homes or NREFM homes, and parents who are under the jurisdiction of juvenile court (such as nonminor dependent parents).

Participating counties must ensure collaboration between the child welfare services program and CalWorks child care program administrators to share information, priorities, and child care plans. They must also develop and agree to plans with the local Resource and Referral Program to ensure that a child care navigator is provided, develop and use eligibility criteria in accordance with local priorities, and distribute payments to eligible families. They must also ensure that the payment or voucher is in the correct amount and in accordance with RMR ceiling payment rates and collect and submit quarterly data and outcomes to CDSS. This data includes information on voucher eligibility and enrollment, type of voucher placements and care settings, and transition information, as well as the number of each type of referral and trauma-informed care training sessions held.  (ACL 18-80, June 14, 2018.)

CalFresh waiver to combine reminder notice and notice of adverse action for periodic reporting

Posted on by

California has been granted a waiver which counties to continue to combine the reminder notice and the notice of adverse action for failure to complete semi-annual reporting.  This notice is sent to clients when they do not submit their semi-annual report on time or submit an incomplete semi-annual report.  New federal regulations require separate notices reminding clients that they failed to submit a complete periodic report and terminating benefits for not submitting a complete periodic report.  The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) issued instructions to implement the new federal regulation in ACL 18-18, summarized here.

Because of implementation challenges, CDSS requested a waiver of the federal regulation requiring separate reminder and termination notices.  The federal government approved the waiver for two years, effective May 1, 2018.  The waiver allows continuing the current practice of combining the reminder notice and the termination notice when the client does not timely complete their semi-annual report.

The waiver requires counties to send the combined reminder notice and termination notice no later than 10 days from the date the report should have been submitted, and, if the household files a complete report during the 10 day period following the combined notice, benefits shall be issued no later than 10 days after the normal issuance date.

As a result, CDSS will continue to use the existing NA 960 X (report not received) and NA 960 Y (report incomplete) notices and ACL 18-18 is no longer in effect.  (ACL 18-74, June 22, 2018.)

CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work requirements for two parent households with one disabled parent and pregnant women only assistance units

Posted on by

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued instructions implementing AB 910 about Welfare-to-Work requirements for two parent households with one disabled parent and pregnant women only assistance units.

Effective July 1, 2018, two parent assistance units with one disabled parent that are on the 24 month time clock must participate an average of 20 hours per week with a child under age 6 and 30 hours per week without a child under age 6.

To meet federal standards either to stop the 24 month clock or after exhausting of the 24 month clock, two parent assistance units with one disabled parent must participate an average of 30 hours per week of which 20 hours must be core.

Pregnant Woman Only assistance units that are on the 24 month time clock must participate an average of 20 hours per week.  To meet federal standards either to stop the 24 month clock or after exhausting of the 24 month clock, Pregnant Woman Only assistance units must participate an average of 30 hours per week of which 20 hours must be core.  (ACL 18-84, July 5, 2018.)

Criminal welfare fraud prosecution timeframe

Posted on by

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued instructions implementing SB 360 regarding criminal prosecution for welfare fraud based on a match from the Income and Eligibility and Verification (IEVS) system.

Counties must review and compare information from IEVS with the case record to determine any differences that affect eligibility or benefit levels.  If there are differences that would affect eligibility or benefit level, the county must mail the client a verification letter within 45 days of receiving the IEVS data.  In addition, counties must establish an overpayment or overissuance by the end of the quarter following the quarter in which the county received the IEVS data.

The client can no longer be subject to criminal prosecution for any month following the 45th day of the county’s receipt of the IEVS data if the county does not provide the client a verification letter within 45 days of receiving the data or the county does not establish the overpayment or overissuance by the end of the quarter following the quarter in which the county received the IEVS data.  (ACL 18-22, March 27, 2018.)

CalWORKs Immediate Need overpayments

Posted on by

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued instructions about overpayments of CalWORKs immediate need benefits.

Applicants are eligible for CalWORKs immediate need if they are apparently eligible for CalWORKs and have an emergency situation.  With limited exceptions, information does not need to be verified for immediate need eligibility.

An immediate need payment is only an overpayment if the applicant was not apparently eligible for CalWORKs when the immediate need payment was issued.  A finding by the county that the assistance unit is not eligible for CalWORKs after full evaluation of the case does not, by itself, mean that immediate need is an overpayment.

A change in circumstances between issuance of immediate need and full evaluation of the application does not make the immediate need payment an overpayment unless the applicant was not apparently eligible for CalWORKs when the immediate need payment was issued based on the circumstances at the time the immediate need payment was issued.  (ACL 18-26, June 6, 2018.)