Child Welfare Services

Family Urgent Response System for foster caregivers and children or youth

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued information regarding Family Urgent Response System for foster caregivers and children or youth (FURS).

FURS is a coordinate statewide, regional and county-level system to provide state-level phone-based response and county-level in-home in-person mobile response during situations of instability for the purpose of preserving the relationship between the caregiver and the child or youth, provide conflict management, and connect the caregiver to local services.

CDSS must establish a state-wide toll free hotline that is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.  Hotline still will provide de-escalation and conflict management and warm handoff to the County Mobile Response Team where services are needed.

The County Mobile Response Team must be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, to provide immediate face-to-face in-home response to address instability and preserve the relationship between the caregiver and the child or youth.  Counties must submit a plan to CDSS by November 15, 2020 describing how they will meet the County Mobile Response Team County Mobile Response Team requirements.  (ACL 20-89, August 6, 2020.)

COVID-19 extension of child welfare caseworker visits by alternative means

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has informed counties of extensions of various COVID-19 policies for child welfare services caseworker visits. ACIN I-33-20, summarized here, about monthly caseworker visits using alternative contact methods is extended until the end of the COVID-19 State of Emergency.  (ACL 20-73, June 26, 2020.)

COVID-19 extension of various foster care and child welfare changes

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has informed counties of extensions of various COVID-19 policies for foster care and child welfare services.  The following guidance is extended until the end of the COVID-19 State of Emergency:  ACL 20-33, summarized here, about placement preservation in the event of exposure to, symptoms of or a positive test for COVID-19, and ACL 20-58, child welfare reassessments during the COVID-19 State of Emergency.

The following guidance is extended through August 4, 2020: ACIN I-32-20, summarized here, verification of foster care status for cell phone access.  ACL 20-74 (June 26, 2020).

COVID-19 resuming in-person visitation for dependent children and wards

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In ACL 20-25, summarized here, the California Department of Social Services provided guidance regarding waiver of in-person monthly caseworker visits for dependent children and wards.  County child welfare agencies and juvenile probation departments are to resume requirements in-person visits for children, wards and nonminor dependents effective July 1, 2020.

Before conducting an in-person visit, county staff should screen for COVID-19.  If someone in the household has been exposed to COVID-19 or is experiencing symptoms, the caseworker should obtain essential protective gear (gloves, face covering, hand soap, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant) before the in-person visit.

Visits may be conducted by videoconference on a case-by-case basis, if the state, county, or local public health department provides direction and/or shifts back to Stage 1, the family or caregiver refuses entry because of their COVID-19 related concerns, or the family, caregiver, child, or someone else in the household is experiencing symptoms of or has tested positive for COVID-19.  If in-person contact is not possible because of one of these exceptions, the flexibilities in ACL 20-25 may be used through August 14, 2020.  (ACL 20-70, June 17, 2020.)

COVID-19 financial support for at risk families

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has provided information about financial support for eligible at-risk families with child welfare contact during the COVID-19 state of emergency.  Households are eligible if they meet one of the following criteria with a case open at any time in April, 2020 or a new case opened in May or June, 2020:

  • Households with a Family Maintenance service component without a subsequent entry into Foster Care.
  • Households with an Emergency Response service component without a subsequent entry into Foster Care.
  • Households with a substantiated Emergency Response referral, without an accompanying case opening or entry into Foster Care.
  • Households with an inconclusive Emergency Response referral, without an accompanying case opening or entry into Foster Care, where the Structured Decision Making Risk Assessment was considered high or very high.
  • Probation cases where children or youth were at imminent or serious risk of removal or candidates for foster care.

Eligible households will be issued prepaid cards. The assistance payment will be $200 per month for April, May and June, 2020 or $400 per month for an eligible household with three or more children at risk of entering Foster Care.  Households with cases opened in May will receive the payment for May and June, and households with cases opened in June will receive the payment for June.

These payments will not count as income for CalWORKs or CalFresh.  (ACIN I-44-20, June 1, 2020.)

COVID-19 child welfare services visits by videoconference

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance authorizing child welfare services monthly caseworker visits to be done by videoconference when an emergency prohibits or limits face-to-face contact.  The decision to do monthly caseworker visits by videoconference must be made on a case by case basis.

Child and Family Service case reviews can be done by videoconference but that decision must be made based on the circumstances of the case using specified factors. (ACIN I-33-20, April 21, 2020.)