WWU

Walk Me Home. June 26

 

Walk Me Home is a nationwide 5k walk that will be held in more than 100 communities in 25 states across the U.S.  Tennessee’s third annual 5k fundraiser is focused on raising awareness of children in foster care. 

Join us for the 3rd Annual Walk Me Home 5k in Nashville on June 26, 2010!

This is a national fundraising event to help benefit foster children and families throughout each participating state.  The nationwide goal is to raise one million dollars; our goal in Tennessee is to raise $20,000 of which 70 percent will go directly to the Tennessee Foster Adoptive Care Association and 30 percent will go to the National Foster Parent Association.  

The proceeds will be used by TFACA to support the special needs of foster children and youth (i.e. camps, purchase of musical instruments, sports involvement, etc.), public awareness/education, workshops, and funding of youth scholarships.

These funds will be used nationally to:

    Increase positive awareness of foster care

    Increase recruitment of foster families

    Continue to develop new and meaningful training opportunities

    Enhance disaster relief efforts, as needed 

    Create and enhance advocacy programs for foster care throughout the nation

There are numerous ways to participate in this event:

    Register as an individual and raise funds solely.

    Form a team and work collectively on a fundraising goal.

    Join an existing team.

    Donate to a team already established.

    Make a one-time donation.

    Register as a VIRTUAL WALKER.     

All options are available on the Walk Me Home website at www.walkmehome.org

For more information contact:   Dorsell Martinez, State Walk Coordinator

Phone:   615.812.0948

E-mail:   dmartinez@tnadvocate.org  or dcstnadvocate@gmail.com                             

Update on DCS Staff Reductions

Governor Bredesen announced this morning that notices are going out at the end of this week to state employees who may be affected by the decision to eliminate state positions at six agencies.

The Associated Press story is linked here.

Children's Services is one of those six.

Approximately 147 of these filled positions are at DCS, and approximately 300 letters will be sent. The reduction in force is limited to the Juvenile Justice division's group homes and youth development centers.

Those affected include not only those who may be laid off, but those who may be affected by having the offer to exercise bump or retreat rights under civil-service rules.

  

We are sending these notices now so the reductions can take effect with the start of the next budget year. State employees have a statutory right to 90 days' notice.

We know that for many of you, it is not a surprise, given the state's difficult budget position. The Governor spoke about these reductions in his State of the State speech, and they are part of the budget proposal now before the Legislature. 

We also know it that is difficult and painful news to absorb. This is an incredibly hard time for the department. Some of our best employees are going to be affected, and inside many of these facilities, we are going to have to change the way the work is done.

Leaders from Juvenile Justice and the department's Human Resources office have been planning to travel across the state Thursday and Friday to lead staff meetings to discuss what is happening. Those will be the best places for employees to learn first-hand about what is happening at their facilities.

New Recruitment Goals for Finding Resource Parents

Would it surprise any of you to know that we need Resource Parents for teenagers?

In December, we held a convening to address this critical issue. 

Teams from every region came together.  They brought resource parents, providers, community partners and youth.  We studied data.  We worked together to identify areas that needed focused attention.  We had courageous conversations. 

Each team left the convening with the charge of developing a Resource Parent Recruitment Plan for their region.  

Plans were to be six months in length and contain attainable goals.  By the end of February, every region and Central Office finalized and submitted a plan.    Regional teams will convene again in June.  We’ll review the plans and determine progress.  We hope to learn from this process and use those lessons as we develop new plans. 

Please see the chart below and review each region’s goals.

Beth Kasch

Download Recruiting Goals Chart

More on the brain, this time involving meth and infants

From Science Daily: Prenatal brain exposure to meth.

Download WWU Brain abnormalities from prenatal meth exposure

'The Amazing Teen Brain'

Christy Russ from Juvenile Justice sent along the following article, thinking many of you would want to read this article, "The Amazing Teen Brain: What Every Child Advocate Needs to Know"

 Download The-Amazing-Teen-Brain-What-Every-Child-Advocate-Needs-to-Know

Don't forget: It's EAP Month

EAP Awareness Month is designed to educate employees about the benefits provided by the Employee Assistance Program which includes professional, confidential services to full-time state employees and eligible dependents.  Employees and their family members may seek assistance with the following:

 

• counseling and referral services to help deal with stress
• marital problems
• family and child rearing issues
• chemical dependency
• emotional difficulties
• financial and legal matters 

The short-tem counseling (up to six sessions) and referral services are provided by EAP counselors at no cost to the employee.  To schedule an off-site appointment, please contact our EAP vendor, Magellan Health Services at 1-800-308-4934.

 

The Employee Assistance Program is urging all supervisors to learn more about the program by attending one of the scheduled Supervisory Training Classes (see attachment).  The course is designed to teach supervisors how to utilize the EAP Program as an additional managerial tool.  To register, go to www.tn.gov/finance/ins/eap.html.   

 

Money, budget and taxes!  That is enough to worry and stress out anyone!  The March EAP Seminar (see attachment) "Managing the Emotional and Financial Stress of Today" will focus on giving you tips and tools to relieve that stress.  To register, please go to:  http://www.tn.gov/finance/ins/eap_register.html.

 

Stay turned for more information coming to a computer near you and join us as we "March into EAP Awareness Month".

Vicki Burton, IPMA-CP, MA

Download WWU EAP Awareness Month Seminar March 2010. 

Download WWU EAP Supervisor Training Schedule 2010

New Dispute Resolution in the Foster Parents Bill of Rights

A conversation with Commissioner Miller about the Foster Parents Bill of Rights and the new dispute resolution process:

How did this legislation come into being?

The original “Foster Parent Bill of Rights” came into being in 1997.  It can be found at 37-2-415.  The legislature wanted to address the fact that if there is any dispute as to the protection of these rights, there was no grievance procedure in place.  This addition to 37-2-415 created a dispute resolution process for foster parents.  If a foster parent has a complaint in regards to a failure to follow any of these tenets, they can file a grievance that will be heard by the region, by central office and by TCCY if necessary.

Why did we create this process?

This process was created to ensure that the foster parents and the Department work collaboratively for the best interest of every child in foster care.  We wanted to create a process by which foster parents could be heard if they believed that they had an issue that needed to be resolved.  This creates a mechanism by which foster parents can bring their issues forward.

How does this help foster parents?

One of the main tenets of the Bill of Rights addresses dignity and trust.  This process further supports this concept and opens up communication if there is any issue that needs to be resolved.  The Department is committed to resource parents being full partners to ensure safety, permanency and well-being for our kids.

How do the resource parents find out about this?

They are told during the PATH training.  They are given the opportunity to review all of the tenets in the Foster Parent Bill of Rights and the grievance process is fully explained to them as well.

How do DCS workers find out about this?

We have a computer-based training that is available for viewing in Edison.  It is titled "Resource Parents Bill of Rights"  (CHCB7000). Your region’s DCS lawyers can be asked about this statute as well.

If a foster parent notices something that is an immediate risk to a child, should they file a grievance under this statute?

If there is an immediate risk to a child in foster care, they should contact the case manager and also call in a CPS referral.  Any complaints of child abuse or neglect should be called in to our Child Abuse Hotline.  This process is for a general concern or complaint that one of the tenets of the Foster Parents’ Bill of Rights has been violated.

Is this process only for foster parents or also for adoptive parents?

It is for all resource parents of children in foster care.  Once a child is adopted, that child becomes just like their natural born children, so if there are concerns about adoption assistance or services, they can also file a grievance, but that complaint is filed with our Administrative Procedures Division and they receive a full hearing and an opportunity to be heard.  That said, we would love to resolve this informally at the local level, so please try to work this out first as it is always best to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.

Can’t you just work with your foster parent advocate to resolve disputes?

Yes, certainly.  Our resource parent advocates are a wonderful resource and they should always be involved in the resolution of any issues.  Whenever possible, we would love to resolve issues at the county or regional level, but sometimes that just cannot happen, so we created this addition to the statute to allow for a more formal process to be followed to make sure that every concern is addressed.  

Is this process already in place?

Yes, we are happy to say that we are already working on this.  For reference purposes, the protocol is listed on our website and can be found within Policy 16.7.

Black History Month at New Visions

  

L-R

Hughes, Brooks, Giovanni 

 

Today at New Visions Academy we had a black history program.We hoped that the program served as a reminder that not only is it a must that we take pride in ourselves, but it is imperative that we truly understand that black history does not only mean an achievement for African Americans but for everyone. The program included poems from Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, and even an original piece from one of the students. There was also a skit based on the Greensboro Four, as well as an original interpretative dance that the dance team, The New Visions Stars, created. Today we celebrated love, and we came together in the spirit by which such activists as Marcus Garvey, Medgar Evers, Angela Davis, Fannie Lou Hamer and countless others have fought, sat-in, and boycotted to make happen. Today was a day for the students to not only be exposed to their past, but also through their past be inspired to know that their futures are not bound by anything and that their options to be great are endless. It was a great success and we hope it truly impressed upon the students to appreciate and take pride in who they are and where they come from.

 

Candace Taylor

New Visions English Teacher

 

Footnote:  Ms. Taylor, Ms. Bobo, Ms. Garvin and Ms.Parker, worked with the girls to produce this very inspiring, creative and uplifting event.  The costuming, skits and poetry culminated in the singing of the Black National Anthem.  It was a celebration of diversity.

TFACTS Q&A, cont'd

Will the FSW group be able to see CPS comments? Sometimes these are locked out of view from the FSWs and therefore they can't see the complete investigation and history of the child.

Once an Intake is screened in it will be packaged up into a system entity called an Investigation. This module will function something like a "mini case." CPS supervisors and workers will be able to enter a variety of information, to include case recordings, in this system area. Once the Investigation is completed, there will be an option to link it to a family case module to continue working with the family if needed--either by creating a new family case or linking to an existing case. The linked Investigation module will only be accessible if a staff person has the associated security rights. This means that only a person who can click on the link to view the Investigation information will be able to view the case recordings contained within it. Based on feedback from DCS leadership with the Office of Child Safety, there are no current plans to change the security roles for TFACTS in this regard.

Will provider's comments also be locked out from view by FSWs? We have note after note after note in TNKids and can't view them so we don't even know what they're saying. Also keeps team members locked out of the information the team should have to make decisions.

The provider issue is different. The reason it's not possible to see information in TNKids case recordings is because the providers are currently only required to enter contact values and so forth via a web interface and no narrative. It is anticipated that providers will use the case recordings module in TFACTS directly, to include recording a monthly summary (entering the summary will take place after state wide system implementation). 

During a court training last week a question arose about being able to attach perm plans, etc as an email so they can be distributed to GAL's, Judge's, etc., as appropriate.  This ability would certainly remove the need to print out multiple copies for attorneys present for the case prior to court dates.  Will this be a feature?  

TFACTS will offer some useful document management features.  There are several forms that can be generated/completed/saved in the system.  Those saved forms can be saved as part of the family case in TFACTS and can also be saved out to your desktop so that you can attach to an email and send to whoever you need to. 

Users will also be able to scan documents and save those documents to the family case in TFACTS.

Will TFACTS automatically number the pages in the permanency plan when it prints it? I know it seems like such a small thing but I think it will save everyone-- from the CM, to the DCS attorney, to the parents, to the Judge- time if we aren't all fumbling through 25 unnumbered pages.  I know TNKids lets you write this in by hand once something is printed, but for some reason, this does not happen in my region.

TFACTS will automatically number the pages of the Case Plan Summary document. When a Case Plan Summary is generated-nearly all the information on that summary is automatically populated by TFACTS.  Because of that, TFACTS knows the size (how many pages) the document will be.   

On the other hand, the Case Plan Template document will have a space where user will have to manually write in the page numbers.  The Case Plan Template is the document where only a minimal amount of information will be populated by TFACTS.  The rest will be blank spaces to be used for handwriting a plan if that is necessary.  Because there’s no way for the system to know how many pages the handwritten plan will be, the numbering on that will have to be done manually.

Will we still have a separate quarterly progress report or is this system able to pull this info together to create a new report for this purpose, e.g., to give to a Foster Care Review Board?

The Quarterly Progress Report is a form that will be generated from TFACTS.  The majority of the information on this form will be auto-populated by TFACTS.  There is some information that must be completed by the user, but that will be done in the system using a forms parameter screen.  The form can be saved to the family case, to the desk-top for attaching to an email, and printed for hard-copy distribution.

 

Will we be able to copy the actual Order of Reference that we do for the court (i.e. Home Study), into TFACTS?

The CS-0816 Confidential Court Report form is one of the forms that can be generated from TFACTS.  Other home studies that are done in word documents or other formats based upon prescribed practice and policy in the regions/counties can be scanned into TFACTS and attached to the family case.

Currently, the NCA TRAK (National Children’s Alliance Tracking All Kids) picks up all severe abuse referrals from Central Intake at around 2:30 AM each day and distributes the referrals to the appropriate Child Advocacy Center.  How will this work with TFACTS? I have not heard this addressed.  The NCA TRAK keeps stats for the state of severe abuse referrals and the follow up CPIT investigations. 

Because the reporting that was done from NCA TRAK was a voluntary program, this was not included in initial development of TFACTS.  

Will TFACTS be able to track denials and acceptance of our children with our provider agencies as well as our DCS Resource Homes?

TFACTS will provide a placement ‘wait list’ function as well as a ‘placements not accepted function.’

The Placement ‘wait list ‘ function will allow authorized users to view all of the clients for whom a Resource is currently providing placement services.  It will also display children currently on a waiting list for that Resource. 

TFACTS will also provide a view of all children, in a selected time frame, for whom a Resource has decided not to provide placement services for.  

I was wondering if the PCCOP (Purpose of Contact, Content, Observation/Assessment, Plan) format will still be used in TFACTS? I am not sure that the format needs to be corrected or that I am not able to view the entire format on that one screenshot, so this is just a general question.

The crowd favorite ‘PC-COP’ format for case recordings will not be included in TFACTS.  However, case recordings from TNKIDS will convert over to TFACTS in the PC-COP format within the narrative field itself.