Community Partnerships Community Partnerships for Protecting Children for Protecting Children

(CPPC)(CPPC)

Andy Kogerma

Family Connection Partnership

CPPC: PhilosophyCPPC: Philosophy

• Based on the idea that people and places in neighborhoods are primary resources for families in crisis

• Formal and informal resources need to work together

• Protecting children is everyone’s business

CPPC: BackgroundCPPC: Background

• Sponsored by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation

• Four initial sites (1995): Cedar Rapids, Jacksonville, Louisville, S. Louis

• Each site is working to achieve three broad goals . . .

CPPC: Broad GoalsCPPC: Broad Goals

• Change the CPS response to families, moving away from a “one size fits all”response

• Develop and expand neighborhood-based resources to help families keep children safe and ensure support before problems become crises

• Involve broad spectrum of community services

CPPC: Core BeliefsCPPC: Core Beliefs

• Child Focused: every child is valued

• Family focused: respect for families’ capacity/skill in caring for their children

• Results Accountability (define results, design/implement results-based strategies for implementation, evaluate results)

• Outcomes based: “What difference are we making?”

Core Beliefs (cont)Core Beliefs (cont)

• Strengths Based: “What is right with this family?”

• Shared Leadership:Promotes the involvement of all parties

• Cultural Differences Valued/Respected

Taking Stock: Assessing Taking Stock: Assessing Strengths/NeedsStrengths/Needs

• Each community,like each family, has unique strengths and needs

• CPPC must build on these• Community assessments must occur--for

example, Cedar Rapids used “geomapping” to analyze geography of CAN/DV reports, then identified overlap areas

• Assets/Needs of area must be assessed

Community AssetsCommunity Assets

• Existing social structures in community: churches, neighborhood associations, interagency councils, natural leaders, etc.

• Accurate inventory of formal resources involved in community

Community NeedsCommunity Needs

• Limitations on residents ability/willingness to access available resources (inadequate public transportation, isolation, cultural barriers, lack of information, etc.)

• Circumstances/conditions which hamper families (DV, CAN, substance abuse, income issues, lack of education, mental illness, etc.)

CPPC in GeorgiaCPPC in Georgia

• DFCS Sponsored initiative

• Family Connection Partnership a primary partner

• Other Partners include:Prevent Child Abuse Georgia, UGA-CVIOG, Casey

• Operates through the leadership of local FC Collaboratives with local DFCS assuming key leadership role

CPPC in GeorgiaCPPC in Georgia

• Nine counties selected for participation: Brantley, Catoosa, Clarke, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Jenkins, Muscogee and Peach

• Each county receives seed money and one assigned DFCS CPPC position

CPPC: Four Key StrategiesCPPC: Four Key Strategies

#1: CPS Policy/Practice Change#2: Use of Family Team

Meetings/Individualized Courses of Action (“FTM’s”, “ICA’s”) to facilitate change

#3: Develop Network of Community Supports and Resources for families in need

#4: Shared decision making between all parties

Strategy #1: Strategy #1: Individualized Courses of Individualized Courses of

ActionActionDevelop family centered, Individualized Courses of Action (“ICA’s”) for vulnerable families/children

Use strengths-based Family Team Meetings (FTMs”) to generate plan for change

Values Informal support (neighborhood, family)

Involves DFCS/Community agencies

Family Team Meetings Family Team Meetings

• Core Strategy of CPPC

• Involves meeting of family members, facilitators, family support, service providers . . .

• Purpose: to help family identify strengths/needs and generate a plan for change

Family Team MeetingFamily Team Meeting

• Based on core conditions of respect, empathy, genuineness

• Uses active listening skills

• Strengths based: “What is right with this family?”

• Is solution focused

Family Team Meeting: StepsFamily Team Meeting: Steps

• Welcome and Introductions

• Purpose

• Outcomes

• Non-negotiables/confidentiality

• Ground Rules

• Family Story

• Strengths to Achieve Outcomes

FTM: Steps (cont)FTM: Steps (cont)

• Identification of Individual and Family Needs

• Brainstorm How to Meet Needs

• Develop Agreement for Plan (who will do what, when, where, etc)

• Assessing what can go wrong

• Next Steps and Closing

““Dual Track Response”Dual Track Response”

• Community• Prevention based• Low-risk/self-

identified families• “Hub” conducts

FTM/facilitators may be community members

• Generates Family Support Plan

• DFCS• Intervention Based• Moderate-high risk

families identified through DFCS

• Uses intensive family assessment and FTM

• Conducted by DFCS• Generates 6 month

case plan

Strategy #2: Community Strategy #2: Community Network of Network of

Services/supportsServices/supportsReflects belief that the community is best able to protect children, support families through change

Uses service/resource “hubs”Prevention is focus of involvementDepends on informal helpers Parents/residents work together

Strategy #3: CPS Strategy #3: CPS Policy/Practice ChangePolicy/Practice Change

This includes . . . outstationed or geographically assigned

staff individualized responses to maltreatment

reports (“differential response”)promoting staff connections to community

resourcesemphasis on workload, not caseload

CPS and CPPC in GeorgiaCPS and CPPC in Georgia

• Implementing CPPC means changes to CPS policy/practice in nine counties

• In-depth Family Assessment replaces Strengths/Needs Assessment

• Family Team Meeting basis for case planning

• Case Plan written during FTM: “with, not for, families”

• 6 Month time frame for case plan

CPS and CPPC: Lessons CPS and CPPC: Lessons Learned from Other StatesLearned from Other States

• All sites use “dual track” system: “investigations” for DFCS cases, “assessment” for community

• Outbasing/geographic assignment of workers led to CPS culture change,both internally and externally.

• Internal CPS change: workers cited “improved relationships with service providers,greater accessibility to services, more informed referral decisions.”

CPS and CPPC: Lessons CPS and CPPC: Lessons Learned /Other States (cont)Learned /Other States (cont)• Some CPS staff stated that “outbasing was

the reform mechanism that has affected the greatest change in their practice”.

• External perception change: “provided direct benefits in the relationship between CPS and community residents/clients. Community residents recognize CPS workers on sight, voluntarily providing more information on safety concerns.”

Quotes from CPS WorkersQuotes from CPS Workers

• “ICA is a helpful framework for involving the family more in what they want, not in what we think they want.”

• “I’ve seen it [use of FTMs] change the opinion of a lot of workers who did not come from that perspective.”

• “The view of the agency by others is more positive. I am hopeful now that CPS image will improve. Families can be shown that CPS can help in positive ways.”

CPS Quotes (cont)CPS Quotes (cont)

• “Now, it’s a little different. CPS is not there just to take their kids. We also come to try and help you.”

• “I think families are starting to feel better about workers and workers are feeling more positive about families.”

• “Word is getting around. People are seeing us as more helpful, hopefully, and calling us before things really get out of hand.”

Strategy #4: Shared Strategy #4: Shared Decision MakingDecision Making

A commitment to shared decision making between families, community members and service providers, in which

resident voices are prominentdecisions are data driven/outcomes focusedemphasizes outreach to broad spectrum of

partners

Shared Decision Making Shared Decision Making (cont)(cont)

• Two Primary Issues:

What decisions will be shared?How will we share them?

Fulton County CPPCFulton County CPPC

• Located in East Washington (East Point)• DFCS partnered with East Point Community

Action Team• Created Alpha Center• Alpha Center now houses outstationed

DFCS staff, alternative school suspension program, prevention resource library, GED classes, computer lab, after school sports, Boy Scouts