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In Sussex County, there are two treatment units with a total of twelve full-time workers and one part-time worker. Between the two units, they split approximately 150-200 cases. Treatment's primary goal is to minimize risk and to keep children safe.
In Sussex County, there are two treatment units with a total of twelve full-time workers and one part-time worker. Between the two units, they split approximately 150-200 cases. Treatment's primary goal is to minimize risk and to keep children safe.
In Sussex County, there are two treatment units with a total of twelve full-time workers and one part-time worker. Between the two units, they split approximately 150-200 cases. Treatment's primary goal is to minimize risk and to keep children safe.
Maggie ONeal Wilmington University, AHS8100 March 29, 2015
CRITICAL ANALYSIS REPORT
Critical Analysis Report A program within the Division of Family Services that is crucial to its mission is Treatment. Treatments primary goal is to minimize risk and to keep children safe. Treatment accomplishes this in a variety of ways. In Sussex County, there are two treatment units with a total of twelve full-time workers and one part-time worker. Between the two units, they split approximately 150-200 cases. One unit is located on the western side of Sussex County and the other unit is located on the eastern side of Sussex County. Predominantly, cases are assigned to each unit geographically, unless there is a conflict of interest. What is Treatment? In treatment, families are encouraged to cooperate with services to maintain independence and stability, or for cases where children have been removed from their parents care, parents are given a case plan to work towards reunification with their children. Treatment workers meet with parents or guardians and determine what services could benefit them. Then the treatment workers are able to make referrals for the parents to various outside agencies to assist the parents in obtaining the necessary services. The services that treatment workers can routinely assist parents in procuring are parent aide services, parenting classes, counseling, drug and alcohol evaluations/treatment, mental health evaluations/treatment, domestic violence evaluations/treatment, daycare services, rental assistance, transportation services, etc. For families that were not substantiated for child abuse or neglect in investigations, treatment is an optional service. However, they are often sent to treatment because the investigator feels they could benefit from further services or the investigator feels the children could be at risk in the future and wants treatment involved to continue to keep an eye on things and to address any issues that may arise.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS REPORT
Managing Treatment The two treatment units have a Family Crisis Therapist Supervisor at each site. The supervisors are responsible for the day-to-day operations and major decision-making functions of each unit. Family Crisis Therapist Supervisors play an integral role in assisting the Division in meeting the Mission to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and families through Education, Support, and Administrative Management of the unit. They provide the direct frontline workforce with best practice tools, strategies and models needed to achieve positive outcomes. Supervisors link their assigned staff, the practice/policy standards of the Division, and effective implementation of best practices and initiatives. The supervisor provides continual oversight of direct service to clients in the treatment unit, (Family Service Specialist Series Performance Plan, 2014). Treatment supervisors are responsible for monthly unit meetings as well. Its at these meetings where the unit is provided with any policy updates and any issues that may be happening within the State or the Division. The supervisor routinely has conferences with the treatment workers regarding the workers cases. This is to ensure that the supervisor and worker are on the same page and that the supervisor knows what is going on with all of the cases in the unit. The treatment workers also seek the supervisors advice and guidance when necessary on cases regarding case planning, services, court, custody, etc. If I Were the Director If I were the Director of the Division of Family Services, I would change the program first by adding more treatment worker positions. This would allow caseload numbers to come down, effectively allowing treatment workers to be better able to focus and dedicate valuable time to their cases, where needed. Besides adding more treatment worker positions to assist in
CRITICAL ANALYSIS REPORT
the caseload numbers, I would not change the way treatment is managed. Treatment is an excellent program. Treatment and the rest of the Division of Family Services has recently adopted a new practice, called Outcomes Matter. Family Engagement is the central unifying theme that supports the Outcomes Matter Initiative. Children and families deserve trained, skillful staff to engage and assist families. The Division is elevating family engagement as an overarching value, philosophy and practice, based on the belief that such engagement is fundamental in achieving improved outcomes for all children in safety, permanency, and well-being. Outcomes Matter is a Division of Family Services initiative which presented the Division with a Safety Organized Practice Model. Safety Organized Practice includes safety mapping, integrating the childs voice, harm and risk statements, safety planning, safety networks, and safety goals, (UCDavis, 2013). These tools make up a small part of Outcomes Matter. Outcomes Matter also includes Structured Decision Making, Team Decision Making, Recruitment, Development and Support, Family Search and Engagement, and FACTS II (data-entry system). All of these initiatives and practices have ranging effects on treatment, from minimal to the extreme, complete overhaul. Treatment has done an amazing job of adapting to the new initiatives and participating in all required trainings. Due to unforeseen difficulties in the FACTS II system, treatment has had to process certain events both in the computer and by hand. This is because the new system has many glitches and has been delayed for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the Divisions new initiatives were created with FACTS II in mind and were developed to be completed on the computer within the FACTS II system, but cannot be completed in the old FACTS system, so treatment workers have to complete events the old way as well as the new way. They are doing
CRITICAL ANALYSIS REPORT
twice the work because of the system problems, but they are doing a great job of staying up-todate and on-task. Funding It is imperative to maintain adequate funding for the entire Division of Family Services. However, treatment is sometimes seen as the redheaded step-child and is often neglected when it comes to additional funding. Funding is crucial for treatment because it helps to ensure treatment worker positions, as well as necessary services for families. Additional services for families are important to enable families to maintain or regain their independence. In order to acquire funding for the Division of Family Services, and specifically treatment, I would collect reports demonstrating caseloads and the number of children in Division custody. This would be a starting point for funding committees to see and understand the work that treatment workers are responsible for on a daily basis. Essentially, any child that is on a treatment workers caseload, they are responsible for that childs wellbeing. That is whether that child is in the Divisions custody or not. It would also be helpful to prepare a presentation to allow the committee to observe an example of the daily functions of a treatment worker. This would include phone calls, emails, home visits, counseling appointments, doctors appointments, court hearings, and placement activities. Employees and Interns In hiring employees to work for the Division of Family Services in the treatment units, it is important to recruit individuals who have knowledge of substance abuse and mental health. Treatment workers must be able to demonstrate the ability to prioritize competing assignments and multi-task. They also must have the ability to consistently complete workload and tasks within prescribed time frames (Family Service Specialist Series Performance Plan, 2014).
CRITICAL ANALYSIS REPORT
Treatment workers should also be knowledgeable of services and resources in the community that are available to families to assist them in their functioning and case planning. Treatment workers must also be mindful of diversity and be willing to access necessary resources to assist them in making contact with diverse populations if needed. Interns for the Division of Family Services treatment units can be beneficial in many ways if the correct individuals are chosen. It is good practice for the Division to maintain positive relationships with local colleges and universities by accepting placement of their interns. An intern wanting to complete their internship with the Division of Family Services treatment unit should be outgoing, personable, intelligent, thoughtful, and dedicated. Interns must want to learn and be willing to do the job in order to learn about the treatment unit. Bachelors level interns often receive their own case during the second half of their internship. They are directly supervised by a treatment worker, but they are responsible for meeting with the family and completing referrals and updating notes regarding that family. Interns should take the initiative and jump in where they see help may be needed. This includes such areas as trivial as answering the phones, filing case records, watching children during a meeting, etc. This will leave a lasting impression on the workers and the Division. Conclusion Through the Division of Family Services treatment units, many families are able to regain their sense of independence by completing their recommended case plan. Other families are able to successfully complete their case plan and eliminate risk and safety concerns and regain custody of their children. Treatment units are the backbone of the Division in my opinion, as this is where a case will spend the majority of its time. A case can be in treatment for three
CRITICAL ANALYSIS REPORT
months up to several years. Treatment workers build relationships with the families they work with and are able to gain their cooperation and trust.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS REPORT
References Family Service Specialist Series Performance Plan. (2014). Retrieved from U://DFS/OCSPerformancePlans/2014DFSPerformancePlansRevised. UCDavis Extension, Center for Human Services. (2013). Practice Profiles for Safety Organized Practice: Handbook. University of California, Davis: Northern California Training Academy.
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