| Program aims to keep kids in their homes |
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| Wednesday, 11 February 2009 | |
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Managing editor Anoka County is launching a new program aimed at keeping children in their homes and preventing out-of-home placement. The Anoka County Board has authorized the human services division to issue a request for proposal for family group decision making and short-term case management upfront services in child welfare. For the family group decision making component of the program, the county has received a $10,702 grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The goal of the program is prevention - to try and deal with parent/child problems before they lead to out of home placement through child protection and/or the courts, which is a very expensive alternative for the county, according to Jerry Soma, county human services division manager. “A number of counties are using this method for extra efficiency and to save dollars from out of home placement,” said County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah, chairwoman of the county board’s Human Services Committee. Cindy Cesare, county manager of children and family services, describes the new program as “changing our delivery system from a risk to a safety model.” The upfront services plan would focus on keeping families together and prevent out of home placements of children, she said. The program would target families where children are at imminent risk of out of home placement and in some case, where out of home placement has already occurred, according to Cesare. Through the program family involvement would increase through meetings with county case managers, Cesare said. And where it is deemed necessary for the child leave the home for a time while issues are worked out, instead of the out of home placement through child protection and/or the courts, there would be informal placement with relatives, she said. The limited case management services under the program would monitor safety plans and link families with appropriate services, Cesare said. Follow-up would make sure the transition is smooth when the child moves back with their parents, she said. “The goal of short-term case management would be to reduce out of home placements of children, reduce court ordered child protective services and prevent a repeat of maltreatment,” Cesare said. But at no time would child safety be compromised, she said. The request for proposal authorized by the county board is because staffing for the program will be contracted out to an agency. The request for proposal provides for contracting with two full-time staff, who would be housed in the county’s child protection intake and ongoing child protection units, according to Cesare. These two staff persons would be available to respond to emergencies with the investigators, develop safety plans and locate relatives for informal and formal placements and services, Cesare said. The short-term case management services would be offered to families on a voluntary basis for three to six months where children are at imminent risk of out of home placement, she said. According to information provided by staff to the Human Services Committee, the estimated cost is $130,000 for family group decision making and $70,000 for short-term management services. Cesare is optimistic the program won’t become the victim of budget cuts at either the state or county levels because the Minnesota Department of Human Services is encouraging counties to implement this type of project, she said. Responses to the request for proposal are due back in early March, Cesare said. The goal is to start the program in April, she said. “We want to keep children out of the child protection system and families intact,” Soma said. Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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