Download Jackie Crow Shoe

Defining Collaborative Outcomes for
Working with Families
Minnesota's Experience with the
NCSACW Program of In-Depth Technical
Assistance
Presenters:
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Jackie Crow Shoe, MN DHS Child Safety and Permanency Division
Deb Moses, DHS/Chemical Health Division
Carole Johnson, Minnesota Judicial Branch
Kari Earle, National Center for Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
Presentation Objectives
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Developing a collaboration between
government agencies
Developing practical products to meet
community needs
Integrating AOD services into existing
systems
Sharing lessons learned from parents
Children’s Justice Initiative
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A collaborative project between MN DHS and
MN Judicial Branch to improve the processing
and outcomes of child protection cases
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Mission: To ensure that, in a fair and timely
manner, abused and neglected children involved
in the juvenile protection court system have safe,
stable, permanent families.
Key Features
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Seen “through the eyes of a child”
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Role of judge in managing case
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Importance of Permanency
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Timelines as a priority
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Integrated statewide
CJI-AOD Project
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Under the umbrella of the Minnesota’s
Children’s Justice Initiative
NCSACW In-Depth Technical Assistance
Project Team
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State Advisory Committee
Core Team
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Pilot Counties
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courts, child safety, chemical health, county,
parents, community provider
Mentor Counties - Itasca, Stearns
Ten Phase I Counties
Tribal engagement and involvement
CJI-AOD Project
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Seen as a priority
because of the nature
of addiction and
recovery related to
child safety, well
being and
permanency needs
“Five Clocks” highlight
challenge of
competing timelines
The Mission of CJI-AOD
To ensure that, in a fair and timely manner,
abused and neglected children involved in
juvenile protection court have safe, stable,
permanent families by improving parental
and family recovery from alcohol or other
drug problems.
Minnesota’s Context
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Total Population over 5 million; Child Population 1.3 million
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State Supervised; County Administered Child Welfare System
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Primarily locally funded
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Governed by Reporting of Maltreatment to Minors Act 626.556
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18-19,000 reports per year are accepted for a CP response
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Almost half of all reports are made by school personnel and law enforcement
Regardless of response path
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Disproportionately involves poor, single mothers and their children and families
of color
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MN CPS objectives:
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respond proportionately to the severity of the safety concern
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enhance family engagement
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promote early intervention and prevention
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broaden community involvement
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Differential Response System
– 57.5% received family assessment ; 42.5% an investigation
– Substantiation rate is 56% of all investigations
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Consolidated Chemical Dependency Treatment Fund
– 28,000 public pay clients
– State funded – County Administered with a 15% match
– Free market treatment system
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Majority of child maltreatment being addressed is for neglect
(65%)
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Families who neglected more likely to experience multiple
family issues, including alcohol and other drug issues and
poverty.
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Approximately 1/3 of all families receive services.
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AOD concerns are seen in over half of families needing
services.
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Only 11% of all CP interventions result in a Juvenile Protection
Court Intervention of placement out of the home.
MN Differential Response Continuum
Family Assessment
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Response for less serious cases
– No determination of
maltreatment
– Comprehensive
– Strength-based communityfocused
– Enhances Family Stability
– Focus is on safety through
engagement
Investigation
 Response for
substantial child
endangerment cases
– Did maltreatment
occur?
– Are Child Protective
Services Needed?
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Incident based with a
focus on fact finding
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Forensic in nature;
coordinated with law
enforcement
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May be perceived as
intrusive and
adversarial by family
The Five Clocks
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MFIP
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Child welfare system
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Recovery process
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Child development
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Agency and staff timelines
Clock Three: The Recovery Process
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Often takes longer than
substance abuse treatment
funding allows.
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Good outcomes are contingent
on adequate length of
treatment. This may be
incompatible with child welfare
deadlines.
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The recovery timetable can be
summarized as “one day at a
time, for the rest of your life.”
CJI-AOD: The Why and How
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Now, more than ever, system collaboration is
needed to improve outcomes for children
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Achieving Better Outcomes
– Important for personal growth, healthy emotional
development, and positive sustained relationships of
family members
– Can reduce future child safety concerns
– Can reduce treatment recidivism
– Can reduce broader community consequences
related to capacity, resources and cost
STEP 1:
Using the 10-Element Framework to Set
Priorities and Objectives
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Earlier engagement of parents in assessment,
treatment and recovery
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Improved practice through cross-system
collaboration
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Increased flexibility in individualized planning
and treatment services
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Improved training on overlap impact of AOD and
Child Welfare concerns
STEP 2:
Establishing Shared Values and Principles
- Accountability: agencies cooperate and
collaborate in order to establish the best
outcomes
- Partnerships: actively involve families and
communities in decision-making and solution
building
- Service Delivery: assure fair and equitable
access to early and effective interventions
along the continuum of care
- System Resources: dedicate staff and
resources to assist with implementation of
project recommendations
Cross-System Practice Focus
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Acknowledge deficits but focus on
identifying family competence and seek to
re-create the circumstances that allow
competence to flourish.
Collaboration between the “systems” and
the family increases the likelihood of finding
solutions.
Choices made by the family are more likely
to be implemented than choices made
without their collaboration.
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Success is a result of respectful interactions
which recognize family competence, family
choice and are demonstrated by:
– Respect and honesty
– Fairness and equity
– Solution-focused mutual accountability
– Clear and transparent communication
– Active mobilization of resources to remove
barriers
– Celebration of successes, however small
STEP 3: Review and Research
– Statewide best practice inquiry
– Eleven parent focus groups conducted across
the State, including Leech Lake Band of
Chippewa Reservation and MN Indian
Women’s Resource Center
– NCSACW database search
– Internet research on evidence-based
practices
Step 4: Analyze Emergent Themes
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Suggested Engagement Strategies
Family and Community Needs
Cultural and Regional Dynamics
Service Delivery Issues
– Communication and Information Sharing
– Exit/Transition
– Other Barriers and Challenges
Lessons Learned from Parents: Highlights
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Use an approach that is collaborative, culturally
competent, family-centered and strengths-based
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The intervention was warranted at the time of
occurrence in their lives – however services and/or
the way they were delivered alienated the parent
from wanting, believing and in some cases
succeeding in making improvements with limited
permanency time frames.
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The encounters with each of the systems
discouraged the parents from admitting their need
for recovery or seeking the services needed for
their families to become healthy.
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Parents found themselves working through a seemingly
endless, confusing and often conflicting stream of rules,
requirements and paperwork.
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Parents continually questioned how a system that is
designed to help families justifies separating the family for
the purposes of treatment and recovery.
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Fathers expressed:
– the need for reparation of the father-child relationship
– inclusion in the intervention and recovery process
– acknowledgement from professionals that they are
important in the lives of their children.
Step 5: Product Development
1. Best Practice Tool Kit : 20 specific strategies
identified to achieve improved outcomes for
Minnesota’s families
2. Training Plan: Rolling out the tool kit at the
county level
3. Sustainability Plan: Recommendations to
State Policy Leaders
4. Evaluation Plan: Measuring success
5. Parent Partner Model: includes a Parent
Partner Handbook and Research Summary
Samples of the Best Practice Strategies
in the “Tool Kit”
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Parent Mentors/Recovery Specialists
 Parent mentors - work as a guide for parents working to enter and
maintain recovery, they can help educate the family on child welfare
concerns.
 Recovery Specialists - facilitate immediate access to services by
assisting the parent/family in navigating and removing barriers as it
relates to treatment and recovery
Shared Family Care
 designed to prevent out of home placement, allowing the entire
family to be placed in a supervised setting while parent works on
recovery
Family Dependency Treatment Court
 Court based system combining criminal and juvenile protection
matters to quickly identify and assess parental AOD issues with
frequent court supervision.
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Motivational Interviewing
 training and client-centered, directive method for
enhancing self-motivation to change by exploring and
resolving ambivalence thus better engaging the
parent in the treatment and recovery process.
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Wellbriety - Culture of Healing
 culturally specific training that applies the traditions of
the American Indian culture to the healing and
recovery from AOD issues.
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Father specific case planning
 includes engagement and retention of fathers in
services and case planning needs.
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Individualized AOD Services for Children
– Developmentally appropriate interventions to address
individual needs, based on comprehensive
assessment
Next Steps: Implementation
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Training Plan Implementation
– Cross Systems Training Plan
– October Kick off Conference
– Implement best practice strategies at the local level
with state technical assistance
• Direct support and assistance to Mentor and Phase I Teams
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Sustainability Plan
– Improve communication and data sharing
– Support best practices
– Develop performance measurements and follow for trends to
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Implement Evaluation Plan
– Provides framework and sets out strategies for the systemic
collection of information both regionally and statewide
– Is MN reaching intended outcomes and implementation goals with
respect to families with co-occurring issues related to chemical
health and child welfare?
– Developed in collaboration with the NCSACW, DHS-SSIS and
Policy Coordinator, planning and programs supervisor, chemical
health, Courts and a community stakeholder
– Design Information technology supports (SACWIS) to document
and support services while providing ongoing feedback about
outcomes
– State guidance on continual practice and system improvements
Closing Thoughts on Successful
Project Collaboration
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Be Patient
– Not every step is a success
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Celebrate
– Any and all progress should be acknowledged
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Engage
– Enlist the energy and wisdom of all
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Be Consistent
– Use a parallel process based on mutually agreed upon principles
– Nurture all relationships with compassion and honesty to build
trust and confidence
Further Information
Children’s Justice Initiative
http://www.courts.state.mn.us/page/?pageID=197&subSite=childrensJustice
Shared Values and Principals document
Summary of Parent Partner Focus Groups
Research Report on Parent Mentor/Leader Models
CJI-AOD Project Members:
Jackie Crow Shoe, Social Service Program Consultant
DHS-Child Safety and Permanency Division
(651)431-4676 [email protected]
Carole Johnson, CJI Project Specialist
Supreme Court Administrators Office
(651)296-2269 [email protected]
Deborah Moses, Operations Manager
DHS-Chemical Health Division
(651)431-3251 [email protected]
Kari Earle, Director, Technical Assistance Programs
National Center for Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
(775) 843-9756 [email protected]