Deliverables: Contractual Requirements

for FPS Providers

A training module for FPS therapists created byCheri Johnson, MSW

Central Washington University

for Children’s AdministrationOlympia, Washington

Introduction

• Every part of the FPS Client Service Contract is IMPORTANT!

• Signing a contract signifies your intent to comply with all requirements, no matter how seemingly small or obscure.

Before beginning this training….

• It will be especially helpful for you to have read the FPS Client Service Contract thoroughly.

• Some level of familiarity with the contract will ensure that the topics addressed in the training make more sense!

Please have the following items handy: Your copy of the FPS Client Service

Contract Copies of handouts (some are referred

to as “cheat sheets”) Highlighter Note-taking implements (pen and

paper, sticky notes)

Whenever you see this symbol,

we will be turning to the handout indicated on the slide—this is your cue to pull out the appropriate handout to follow along.

• Highlight every item in the contract that details a contractual requirement.

• Take notes regarding any questions that arise as you go through the contract or the training module.

• Direct questions to your supervisor, your regional CA program consultant, the FPS Program Manager in Olympia, or a CA-designated trainer.

A special note to providers using subcontractors…

• Provide a copy of the Client Service Contract to each subcontractor, and require they read it thoroughly.

• Provide subcontractors with administrative as well as clinical supervision.

• Know that you are responsible for errors or oversights made by subcontractors who don’t know the contract!

This training module will focus primarily on Exhibit A,

Statement of Work

but you still need to be aware of all aspects—business, legal, and clinical—of the FPS Client Service Contract.

We’ll now begin a step-by-step exploration of deliverables outlined in the FPS Client Service Contract.

Exhibit A: Statement of Work

FPS Purpose and Goals

• Family Preservation Services are committed to reinforcing the strengths of the family to prevent the out-of-home placement of a child or to expedite the earlier return of children from out-of-home care…

• …i.e, to preserve the family unit.

• Services focus on empowering families to:

• Solve problems,

• Become self-sufficient, and

• Strengthen relationships with community resources.

• Helping to improve family functioning is critical in order to enhance the health, safety, and welfare of children…

• …allowing them to remain at home, and the family to remain intact.

FPS Values and Beliefs

• Children need their families and should be raised by their own families whenever possible.

• Interventions should focus on family strengths, and must be responsive to the family’s needs and to their cultural values.

• Child safety is our first priority.

• Participation should be voluntary.

• All families have the ability to learn, grow, and change.

• FPS works in partnership with families, respecting their expertise and inviting their collaboration.

Service Outcomes

• RCW 74.14C.030 lists 5 expected outcomes of FPS:

• Connection to community resources;

• No new referrals to CPS or FRS within one year of FPS case closure;

• Consumer satisfaction;

• For reunification cases, reduction in length of stay in out-of-home placement; and

• Reduction in level of risk factors identified at time of referral.

…as translated into a contractual requirement…

• Providers must demonstrate at the conclusion of services:

• Improved child safety/harm reduction,

• Improved family functioning,

• Connection to community resources, and

• Client satisfaction.

So how do we demonstrate that we’ve helped our clients achieve the required outcomes?

The NCFAS

• Administer the NCFAS (North Carolina Family Assessment Scales) to assess family functioning at both intake and exit from services.

• Compare intake and exit scores in each domain.

• Progress is indicated by improvement in scores from intake to exit.

Consumer Satisfaction Survey

• Provide each family with a Consumer Satisfaction Survey at the conclusion of services.

• Surveys are confidential, and are mailed directly to DSHS in Olympia.

• Results are not linked to specific families; data is compiled to provide insight into overall consumer satisfaction with FPS as a service.

Connections to Community Resources

• Document in client file all referrals made to community resources—also include this information in weekly updates to social worker and in Monthly Status Report.

• Summarize community referrals under the appropriate goal(s) in the narrative portion of the Exit Summary.

Document, document, DOCUMENT!

• Provide information related to required outcomes in Exit Summaries and Quarterly Reports.

• The FPS Program Manager compiles data from Exit Summaries, Quarterly Reports, and Consumer Satisfaction Surveys into a report which is submitted to the Washington State Legislature.

• This data helps determine whether FPS will continue to be funded—thus, your cooperation in supplying the information is critical!

• Furthermore….provider success in achieving desired outcomes is one way Children’s Administration evaluates provider performance….

• …and may help determine whether you continue to receive a Client Service Contract.

Availability of Services

• FPS clients must have access to their therapist or designated backup 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays.

• From the contract: “the therapist and paraprofessional [if utilized], or designated back-up, assigned to the family shall be accessible…for all emergent situations.”

• From contract: “The Contractor shall ensure consistency of services for the family by assigning a single designated therapist to provide services for the family. The Contractor shall identify a back-up therapist to assist each family as needed.”

What this means is…

• Each newly-referred FPS family is assigned a specific FPS therapist, as well as a back-up therapist.

• The FPS therapist, as well as the parapro (if one is being used) and/or back-up therapist, must be available to the family in case of emergencies.

• Family crises do not always occur during business hours…

• …so make sure your agency is able to comply with this crucial requirement!

• FPS meetings take place at the client’s convenience, not at the therapist’s or referring social worker’s convenience.

• The FPS therapist must be available during those hours when problems can be seen and addressed—as long as the family agrees to meet at those times.

Please note: The contract DOES NOT support the use of unannounced, surprise visits by the therapist! While this may be necessary in cases where the client has no phone, drop-in visits should be avoided whenever possible (leave these up to the social worker, if they feel the need for such methods).

Of course, if you’ve asked the client for permission to make unannounced visits and they agree,

dropping in without an appointment is completely acceptable.

• Meetings with families take place in their own homes, unless the family requests an alternate location.

• Potential exceptions to this expectation: safety, need to access equipment located elsewhere, etc.

Caseload

• Average caseload must not exceed 10 cases per full-time FPS therapist.

• Caseload size may be adjusted when parapros are used or therapist is hired to provide FPS less than 40 hours/week.

• Any adjustments in caseload size must be addressed in the contractor’s Operating Procedures.

• Caseload size must also be adjusted to take into consideration a therapist’s other responsibilities (e.g., carrying cases under other service contracts, such as FRS Phase II or BRS; providing clinical supervision to other staff, etc.).

• An FPS therapist may always carry fewer than 10 cases (as long as their agency agrees! ), but the contract prohibits going above an average of 10 unless this is approved by CA and incorporated into the contractor’s Operating Procedures.

Duration of Services

• Each FPS referral is limited to a maximum of 6 months, or until the funds allotted for that case have been exhausted (whichever comes first).

• Occasionally, families may be re-referred, if substantial risk of placement continues to exist and the regional program consultant approves the re-referral.

• Written approval from the referring social worker and regional program consultant must be retained in the client file for any extension of services.

• When a case has been referred for reunification, the child MUST be returned to the home within 30 days of the referral, or the FPS therapist is required to terminate services.

• The FPS Client Service Contract does not provide for exceptions to this requirement.

Authorization of Services and Referrals

• All referrals must be initiated in writing by a CA social worker.

• All referrals must be made using the referral form designated by CA for FPS (if referring social worker is not sure how to access this, the CA Regional Program Consultant will advise them).

• The referring social worker must indicate on the referral form whether the child(ren) is/are at risk of placement or in need of reunification.

• “The Contractor shall not accept a case… without a complete written referral on the [CA-designated] referral form.”

• “Complete” means:• Uses the designated referral form (as

opposed to an obsolete form);

• Is signed by the supervisor; and

• Includes all required documentation.

Please keep in mind…

• CA Social Workers have large caseloads and many service contracts with which to work—they can’t be expected to remember the ins and outs of the FPS referral process!

• YOU need to be the expert in this area… so we have a “cheat sheet” to help.

Referral/Intake Process

Step-by-Step Referral Process

• Social worker meets with family, gathers info, suggests FPS, family agrees.

• Social worker completes referral form, obtains supervisor’s approval and signature, attaches Safety Plan, etc.

• Social worker/supervisor select provider and contact them by phone to determine provider’s ability to take case.

• Referral packet faxed to provider.

When you receive the referral…

Make sure it’s on the correct form.Check for supervisor’s signature. Check whether referring social worker

has indicated “At risk of placement” or “In need of reunification” for each child.

Check whether social worker has checked “yes” or “no” to indicate completion of CA Documents (Safety Plan, etc.), and that they have attached the appropriate forms.

If any one of these items is missing or

incomplete, the FPS therapist must contact the referring social worker immediately to explain he/she may not begin working with the family until the referral is complete.

Delivery of Services

Every FPS intervention will differ, depending on the individual family’s strengths, challenges, situations, needs, and goals.

• The effective therapist utilizes his/her experience, clinical skills, and unique individual strengths and abilities to determine the best way to proceed with each individual and each family.

• Children’s Administration also provides specialized trainings to ensure the consistency and effectiveness of Family Preservation Services.

For example…

• All FPS therapists and paraprofessionals receive training in Motivational Interviewing (MI):

a client-centered, directive intervention that focuses on enhancing intrinsic motivation by exploring and resolving client ambivalence.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

• In addition to Motivational Interviewing, other EBP’s are being explored and practice applications developed for FPS.

• One example is Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). This model, as well as others designed to meet the needs of FPS families, will be included in a menu of potential service models.

• When EBP’s are incorporated into the service contract, FPS therapists will be required to use these models with all families whose presenting problems fit the model.

• CA will provide training on all EBP’s included in the service contract, to ensure fidelity to the model.

Regardless of practice model or clinical approach…

there are a number of steps which must be taken and tasks to complete with each family with whom you work.

We will now take a look at the variety of tasks that play a part in each FPS intervention.

Initial Face-to-Face Contact

• As previously described, first face-to- face contact must take place within 48 hours of receipt of referral.

• If first meeting cannot occur within 48 hours, therapist must notify referring social worker, (as per “Notifications,” later in this training).

• At least one primary caregiver must sign a voluntary consent form, provided by the FPS therapist.

Voluntary Consent• There is no state-required Voluntary

Consent Form (aka Voluntary Service Agreement) currently in use; each contractor provides their own format.

• While Voluntary Consent Forms may contain additional information at the contractor’s discretion, they must include an acknowledgement that FPS is voluntary and that the client is choosing to participate in services.

Safety Plan

• If the referring social worker has completed a CA Safety Plan, a copy must be attached to the CA-designated referral form for FPS.

• During the initial meeting, the therapist must review the CA Safety Plan with the family.

• If no Safety Plan was completed by the social worker but the therapist becomes aware of safety concerns during the initial meeting, he or she must contact the referring social worker immediately (and report to CPS intake as well if these are CPS concerns).

• Written notification must follow within 24 hours.

• The CA Safety Plan must be reviewed with the family at least every 2 weeks; results documented in the client file.

• Any new safety concerns must be immediately reported to the referring social worker and followed up in writing (as noted previously).

• Safety plan status is reported to the social worker during weekly case updates.

• Remember that this requirement is related to CA-generated safety plans.

• As an FPS therapist you may choose to develop a different kind of safety plan with your clients, but doing so is not contractually required…

• …and doesn’t impact the requirement for reviewing and utilizing the CA Safety Plan!

Frequency of Client Meetings

• There is no requirement as to how frequently meetings with FPS clients should occur.

• However, a good rule of thumb is to have at least one face-to-face meeting each week—more frequently for crisis intervention and when developing the Family Assessment and Service Plan.

• The frequency of meetings with any family will generally vary according to:

• Family need and the specifics of their Service Plan;

• Where you are in the intervention (typically, increased frequency at the beginning, decreased near the end); and

• The amount of allotted funds remaining for each case.

Case Meetings

• The FPS therapist will attend any case-related meeting requested by CA staff.

• If unable to attend, the therapist will provide a written report, if requested to do so by CA staff.

• Meetings may include (but are not limited to:

• Child Protective Team (CPT) meetings

• Prognostic staffings

• LICWAC meetings

• Case Review staffings

• Family Unity meetings

• Family Team Decision-Making (FTDM’s)

• On occasion, FPS therapists may be asked to testify in court as to what is happening with a family.

• Therapists may also be asked to provide a court report or other documents.

• It is the therapist’s responsibility to comply with any and all such requests.

Child and Family Team Meetings• Gathers everyone involved with a

particular family to discuss that family’s needs and progress.

• The CFT meeting includes:• FPS therapist;• Referring social worker;• Family members, as appropriate; and• Representatives from other agencies

working with the family.

• May be convened if the FPS therapist feels a CFT would be beneficial—it’s not required, but is often clinically indicated and extremely helpful in ensuring the family and all treaters are following the same “game plan.”

• If the referring social worker decides such a meeting should be convened, he or she may delegate this responsibility to the FPS therapist, and the therapist must comply.

Family Assessment

• The FPS therapist is required to conduct a thorough Family Assessment with each family referred for services.

• The North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS) is the state-designated tool that must be utilized with every family.

• The NCFAS, used in Placement Prevention cases, contains 5 domains:

• Environment

• Parental Capabilities

• Family Interactions

• Family Safety

• Child Well-being

• Each domain contains various items that are scored individually; an overall score is obtained for each domain.

• The NCFAS-R, used only in Reunification cases, contains the five domains of the NCFAS plus two additional domains:

• Caregiver/Child Ambivalence

• Readiness for Reunification

• As with the NCFAS, the therapist scores each item and then determines an overall score for each domain.

• During the first 20 days following the initial meeting with the family, the therapist familiarizes him/herself with the family’s strengths and challenges in each domain.

• When the therapist has sufficient information to complete the Family Assessment, he/she scores the family on each NCFAS/NCFAS-R scale and determines overall scores for each domain.

• There is no minimum or maximum number of hours the therapist must spend on the Family Assessment, either with the family or scoring the NCFAS/NCFAS-R.

• After scoring all scales, the therapist completes a narrative report and submits it to the referring social worker within 20 calendar days of the first face-to-face contact.

• Currently, each contractor may decide what form their completed Family Assessments will take—there is no state-generated document required.

• However, the narrative report submitted to the referring social worker must either incorporate the NCFAS/NCFAS-R scores or have a copy of the scales attached.

• The NCFAS/NCFAS-R and the written Family Assessment, in conjunction with the FPS referral, is used as the basis for the Service Plan and outcome measures for services provided to the family.

• The FPS therapist completes the NCFAS/NCFAS-R again when the case is being closed. By comparing exit scores to the ones obtained at intake, the therapist may determine the amount of progress made by the family in each domain during the intervention.

• This information is reported in the Exit Summary.

Other uses of the NCFAS…

• The NCFAS/NCFAS-R must be reviewed in clinical supervision when a specific case is being discussed; this must be documented in the client file.

• The NCFAS/NCFAS-R must also be reviewed when a case is transferred from one therapist to another; the review must be documented in the client file.

All FPS therapists must complete specialized training in the use of the NCFAS/NCFAS-R before working with families. Please refer to the Program Requirements section of this training module for more information.

Service Plan

• Developed during the same time frame as the Family Assessment—completed Service Plan due to referring social worker by 20 calendar days from the first face-to-face contact.

• Service Plan addresses needs and builds on strengths identified in the Family Assessment.

• Always developed with the family, not for them, with their unique strengths and challenges, risk factors, needs, and culture in mind…

• “Pre-packaged,” “one-size-fits-all” service plans are never used in FPS! Each Service Plan is uniquely tailored to fit each individual family receiving preservation services.

Include input from referring social worker (and other sources, if applicable) when developing the Service Plan—families may not agree with the reason for referral, but the Service Plan must be consistent with/supportive of the Case Plan developed by the social worker.

• Each adult/adolescent family member addressed in the Service Plan should sign and date the completed plan.

• Younger children may sign if they wish—while not required, this can help them feel as though they are playing a significant part in the treatment process.

• The therapist should also sign, before forwarding the plan to the social worker for approval.

A good Service Plan…

• Clearly identifies goals of service, as related to concerns noted in referral.

• Outlines objectives (action steps) for achieving each goal—defines who will do what, when it will be done, etc.

• Is realistic, achievable, and something the family wants to accomplish!

At the first family meeting following completion of the Service Plan, each adult and adolescent family member receives his/her own copy of the Plan.

• The Service Plan is a dynamic document—it should change as the family’s situation changes, and reflect the flow of the intervention.

• When a goal is accomplished, document it, celebrate it, and move on to a new goal.

• If no progress is happening on a specific goal, discuss with the family— and consider another approach.

• When goals are accomplished, amended, or discarded, be sure to note this in weekly contacts with the social worker, as well as in the Monthly Status Report.

Community Connections

One of the primary functions of FPS is to help enhance families’ connections to the communities in which they live and work.

• To achieve this desired outcome, the FPS therapist will explore a number of issues, including:

• What are the family’s needs?

• What kinds of resources might fulfill these needs?

• Which of these kinds of resources are available in the family’s community?

• What barriers might be preventing the family from accessing resources?

• What other available resources might provide a reasonable alternative solution to the family’s needs?

• What might be the benefits and/or disadvantages of linking the family to specific community resources?

• A significant aspect of the mission of FPS is to help families increase their level of self-sufficiency.

• Teaching them where to look and how to access resources within their community is an important first step.

• Familiarizing FPS families with community resources provides them with valuable tools with which to tackle present and future challenges.

• Don’t just hand families a list of resources—help them explore what’s out there, show them how to discern what might be helpful, and take those first steps towards making the connection with them.

• Remember—our clients learn best when we do things with them, not for them!

The key to remember here is that we are NOT just connecting families to community resources to solve an immediate, one-time need…

we are showing families how they can respond to challenges in a healthy, positive way that may prevent the need for future CA intervention.

Concrete Goods and Support Services

• A specific dollar amount (currently $500) is allotted to each FPS case.

• These funds may be utilized by the therapist with appropriate written departmental approval.

Concrete funds may be used for food, clothing, shelter, or necessary services for the family…

But there are conditions and exceptions to the availability of this $500.

For specific information as to what constitutes an appropriate usage of Concrete Goods and Support Services funds, please refer to the contract and to the Billing and Payment training module.

The Billing and Payment training module also provides step-by-step instructions on how to access these funds and obtain reimbursement for your expenditures.

Use of Paraprofessionals

• From the FPS Client Service Contract: “ ‘Paraprofessional Worker’ means any

individual who is trained and qualified to provide assistance and community support systems development to families and who acts under the supervision of a preservation services therapist. The paraprofessional worker is not intended to replace the role and responsibilities of the preservation services therapist.”

• The FPS therapist supervises any paraprofessional (“parapro”) involved in a case—provides clinical support, continues to be responsible for the case, must complete necessary reporting, etc.

• Parapros may be used for tasks or activities in which the level of skills and/or credentials of the therapist are not necessarily required.

For example…

• Teaching skills, such as budgeting, meal planning/nutrition, basic parenting skills, housekeeping, doing laundry, etc.

• Providing emergency transportation when other options are not available.

• Developing community connections—teaching families how to access and use available resources.

• Because the hourly rate for a parapro is one-third the hourly therapist fee, the use of parapros is an excellent way to maximize the number of direct service hours to families.

• Parapros may also provide back-up crisis coverage to the families with whom they are working.

The referring social worker must authorize the use of paraprofessional staff/subcontractors. If authorization was not provided at the time of referral (indicated on the referral form), obtain this in writing before introducing the parapro to the client.

Communication Between FPS Therapist and

Referring Social Worker

Case Updates

FPS therapists must provide case updates to the referring social worker at least weekly—this means providing feedback regarding each case, at least once every calendar week.

• In a high-needs case (as determined by either the therapist or the referring social worker), updates should occur more frequently, depending on the intensity of the case.

• If the social worker requests a protocol regarding updates (e.g., every other day, twice a week, etc.), it is the therapist’s responsibility to comply.

• Case updates may include:• Phone calls, voice messages

• Faxed or emailed written updates

• Face-to-face contact with social worker

• Any formal or informal staffing regarding the case.

• Case updates must be documented in the client file and on the Monthly Status Report.

In addition to regular weekly case updates, the FPS Client Service Contract establishes a number of special conditions under which the FPS therapist is required to contact the referring social worker. These are known as “notifications.”

Notifications

• There are six specific conditions for which the FPS provider must notify the referring social worker. They are:

• Family unwilling to meet• Safety plan (new safety concerns found)• Change in residence• Missed appointments• Unusual incidents• Death of a client

Family Unwilling to Meet

• When an FPS referral is received, the therapist must meet face-to-face with the family within 48 hours.

• If the family is unwilling or unable to meet with the FPS therapist within that time frame, the therapist must document this and notify the referring social worker as soon as possible (within the 48-hour period).

Safety Plan

• If during an FPS intervention the therapist discovers safety concerns not addressed in the social worker’s Safety Plan (or if no Safety Plan was developed)…

• …the therapist must notify the social worker of the safety concern immediately, and follow up with written notification within 24 hours.

• If this safety concern is a CPS issue, CPS intake should also be notified immediately.

Change in Residence

• If any member of a DCFS-referred family changes residence during an FPS intervention, the therapist must contact the referring social worker, verbally or in writing, within one working day, to notify them of the change.

Missed Appointments

• When the FPS therapist learns that a client has missed an appointment (FPS or other significant appointment, generally related to the reason for referral), he or she must verbally notify the referring social worker within one hour of learning of the missed appointment.

• The therapist must then complete a Missed Appointment form (IFPS/FPS No-Show and Missed Appointment Report).

Missed Appointment Form

• The completed form must contain the following information:

• Date of appointment missed;• Type of appointment missed (FPS, doctor,

probation officer, etc.);• Reason appointment missed (illness, no

show, etc.);• Follow-up actions taken (by FPS therapist

or by client); and• Any concerns (e.g., pattern of missed

appointments, etc.)

• The Missed Appointment form must be faxed or delivered to the referring social worker within 24 hours of learning of the missed appointment.

• A copy of the Missed Appointment form must be retained in the client file.

Unusual Incidents

• In the event an “unusual incident” occurs which impacts a child’s health, safety or wellbeing, the child’s living situation, or permanent plan, the FPS therapist must contact the referring social worker immediately.

• The therapist must also follow up verbal notification in writing within 24 hours.

• “Unusual incidents” may include such things as:

• an unexpected change in medical or psychological condition

• adverse reaction to medication • severe behavioral incident unlike the child's

ordinary behavior • severe injury • running away • physical self-abuse or abuse of others • sexual assaults, or sexual behaviors that

are age inappropriate.

Death of a client

• If the therapist learns of the death of a member of the immediate family with whom he or she is working, the referring social worker must be notified immediately.

• Immediate verbal notification must be followed up in writing within 24 hours of learning of the death.

• The information in the contract regarding Notifications is specific and accurate—however, to ensure easy accessibility to therapists, we have provided another “cheat sheet” listing the various notifications.

• Because the requirements for each of these notifications differ in various ways, it’s a good idea to keep this sheet handy for quick reference.

Communication Between FPS Therapist and

Referring Social Worker

Termination of Services

• The FPS therapist and referring social worker mutually make the decision as to when a case should be closed.

• The FPS Client Service Contract contains a list of guidelines for determining the appropriate time to terminate services.

Termination

Documentation

From beginning to end, paperwork is one of the most important parts of any FPS intervention.

Let’s look at the range of documentation in FPS.

Client Service Log

• This document is known by different names in different agencies, and its format varies according to each agency’s needs.

• Regardless of name or appearance, this document must contain a listing of all dates and hours of every case-related activity.

Case or Charting Notes

• Documentation of each case activity must be included in the client file.

• Each case/charting note must include:• Name of staff providing the service;• Date of service/activity;• Location of service/activity;• Concise notes regarding activity; and• Signature of staff providing the service.

Family Assessment

• Must address all pertinent domains in the NCFAS/NCFAS-R and include NCFAS/NCFAS-R scores.

• Must be received by the social worker within 20 calendar days of the first face-to-face meeting.

Service Plan

• Must list goals of service and objectives (action steps) leading to goal achievement.

• Must be consistent with/supportive of case plan developed by social worker.

• Must be signed by therapist and family members; approved by social worker.

• Must be received by social worker within 20 calendar days of 1st meeting.

Monthly Status Report

• Must be completed and submitted to fiduciary specialist within 10 working days of the completed month of service (i.e., within 10 working days of the first day of each month).

• Must be submitted on the CA-designated form, which may not be altered or replaced with a substitution.

Completed Monthly Status Report includes both the narrative section and the Financial Reconciliation Page.

Narrative portion must include a summary of progress made (or lack thereof) on each Service Plan goal.

If reimbursement for Concrete Goods/Support Services funds are being requested:

• Attach ORIGINAL receipts for each expenditure, and

• Document how expenditure related to goals of service in narrative section.

Exit Summary

• Must be completed and received by social worker within 10 working days of termination.

• Must be submitted on the designated form, which may not be altered or replaced with a substitution.

Consumer Satisfaction Survey

• A CA-designated form that is provided to the client, along with a pre-addressed postage-paid envelope, at termination of services.

• Therapist must document in case notes that survey was given to the client.

Quarterly Report

• Must be submitted by the contracted agency for all therapists providing services.

• Must be submitted to the FPS Program Manager in Olympia within 30 days of each quarterly reporting period, using the database provided by CA.

Must contain numbers of:

• Referrals• Families served• Cases with improved

NCFAS scores• Range of changes in

NCFAS scores• Average of changes

in NCFAS scores• Identified reunification

cases

• Children reunified• Completed interventions• Family eval cases• Placemt prevention cases• Placements prevented• Children at risk of

placement• Ineligible families• Families refusing service

Documentation/Deadline Summary

Client File

• Contracting agencies must maintain files on each client.

• Typically, the designated therapist maintains their own client files.

• Files must be presented to CA on demand at any time requested.

The FPS Client Service Contract contains a lengthy list of what must be included in each client file.

Please note that while additional documents may be kept in the client file, these are the items that must be included.

Client File

Excerpts from Exhibit B:Program Requirements

Therapist Credentials and Experience

All professional FPS staff must have AT LEAST a Bachelor’s degree in social or behavioral science or closely allied field, and at least two years of direct casework experience working with families and children.

Therapist credentials, cont’d

In addition, 50% or more of a contractor’s professional FPS staff must have at least a Master’s Degree plus one year of direct casework experience working with families and children (OR: Bachelor’s degree plus four years of direct casework experience with families and children).

Therapist credentials, cont’d

All professional staff must be registered as a counselor or licensed in at least one of the following fields: Social Worker, Mental Health Professional, or Marriage and Family Therapist.

Therapist credentials, cont’d

On rare occasions, exceptions to this policy may be obtained by contacting the FPS Program Manager in Olympia.

Degree Requirements

Please refer to the current FPS Client Service Contract for specific degree requirements.

License Standing

• All required licenses must be in good standing.

• If any required license is suspended, or any limitations/restrictions placed upon a license, the contractor must notify the CA regional contract manager.

Professional Staff/Subcontractor Training

• Each contractor is required to ensure that all FPS therapists obtain the following training within 60 days of being hired to provide these services:

Specialized FPS Training

• A designated number of hours of specialized FPS training must be provided by CA-designated expert(s) in Family Preservation Services.

• Must be completed before staff/ subcontractor begins work with CA-referred families.

NCFAS

• A designated number of hours of approved training on the NCFAS must be completed by each FPS therapist.

• This may be either in-person or utilizing approved training materials under supervision of an FPS therapist who has completed the in-person training.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

A designated number of hours of MI training provided by CA-approved experts in Motivational Interviewing must be completed by each FPS provider.

Other Training

• Orientation on Quality Assurance standards.

• Specialized training in the provision of family support services and development of community support services.

Any professional staff/subcontractor who is assigned to work with a family prior to receiving the above training must be supervised by an FPS therapist who has completed the training!

Paraprofessional Staff/ Subcontractors

• There are no contractually-required credentials, years of experience, or training standards for parapros.

• Each contractor is required to develop a list of training standards and other requirements for parapros; these are submitted to CA as part of that contractor’s Operating Procedures.

…one more thing…

• All staff/subcontractors involved in providing FPS must also complete Mandated Reporter training and receive certification in CPR and First Aid.

• Other requirements concerning personnel files, etc., are contained in Exhibit B—be sure to familiarize yourself with them!

• As an FPS provider, you must have a clear and thorough understanding of what you have agreed to deliver…to your clients, and to CA.

• Complying with these expectations will increase your effectiveness as a clinician and better serve the families with whom you work.