Overview

When the investigation disposition is to transfer a case to ongoing services, the focus of ongoing services is on protecting child(ren) and engaging families in CAS services and other community supports in order to reduce the likelihood of future harm to child(ren). This standard includes a number of requirements related to the provision of ongoing services, in particular with respect to the following:

  • monitoring the safety plan;
  • conducting an assessment of the family’s and the child’s strengths and needs;
  • developing a service plan within the context of a family-centred conference;
  • the role of the child protection worker with respect to ongoing service case management;
  • the minimum level of contact with the family and the use of announced/unannounced home visits;
  • the case review and evaluation process;
  • concurrent planning;
  • case review and termination documentation;
  • subsequent referrals that a child may be in need of protection on an ongoing case; and
  • supervisory reviews, consultations and approvals related to this standard.

Intent

The intent of the standard is to ensure a collaborative and respectful assessment of the family’s strengths and needs is undertaken and a service plan developed to guide the subsequent interventions intended to mitigate risk to the child (or children). It is intended that engagement with the family is undertaken on a continual basis during the provision of ongoing services to monitor the child’s safety and well-being and to provide support to the family. The child protection services provided to the family are meant to be purposeful, goal-oriented, and outcomes focused. It is intended that the appropriateness of the services and the family’s progress is reviewed and evaluated at regular intervals.

The standard promotes the engagement of the family during the assessment, service planning and decision making processes. Emphasis is placed on ensuring the family understands the child protection concerns, the outcome of all assessments, what their child protection worker and all others participating in the service plan will do to resolve the child protection concerns, and how the family’s progress will be measured. There is also a continuous focus on the child’s need for a safe, stable, reliable and permanent placement.

Standard

The first month of ongoing services

The focus of the first month of ongoing child protection services is on:

  • monitoring the safety plan;
  • engaging the child and family in child protection service;
  • assessing the child and family’s strengths and needs; and
  • developing a service plan.

Monitoring the safety plan

If there have been changes to any of the safety threats identified in the safety assessment completed during the investigation or in the ability of the interventions to assure safety, the ongoing child protection worker will together with the family develop an alternative safety plan. Any new safety plan which is developed is approved by a supervisor prior to its implementation and documented on the next working day.

Conducting the family and child strengths and needs assessment

An assessment of the family’s and the child’s strengths and needs is completed on every case receiving ongoing protection service prior to the development of the service plan. The assessment assists in developing a service plan that utilizes family strengths and targets areas of need.

The results of the family and child strengths and needs assessment are discussed with the family during the service planning process.

Developing a service plan

The child protection worker who will implement and manage the service plan develops the service plan with the family within the context of a family-centred conference. The initial service plan is completed within thirty (30) days of the completion of the investigation, or within thirty (30) days of the date of the case transfer following the initial investigation.

It is anticipated that the vast majority of these conferences will be facilitated by the family’s own worker, who invites the child, family and their chosen circle of support in regular service planning and review. CASs are also required to have a family-centred conferencing model available for case planning purposes, and policies and procedures related to its use. The use of traditional conferencing/healing models or methods (e.g. talking circles) is preferable for Aboriginal children and their families.

Participants in the service planning process include:

  • all family members (including the child where age appropriate);
  • relatives, extended family, community members;
  • foster parents (for children in care);
  • collateral service providers; and/or
  • Band representative, other Native community representative, or appropriate Aboriginal Child and Family Service Agency when the child is a Native person.

The service plan minimally contains:

  • specific goals, objectives and activities including persons responsible and timeframes for completion; and
  • specific planned level of contact by the child protection worker with the child who has been determined to be in need of protection, and his or her caregiver(s).

Ongoing service case management (After the first month and beyond)

Following the development of the initial service plan with the family, the service plan is implemented and managed. The role of the worker is to:

  • meet with the family regularly and provide service to the family to support the achievement of identified goals and outcomes;
  • assess and respond to any planned or unplanned changes or circumstances. This includes assessing the impact of any new caregivers who may be residing in the home, on the safety of the child;
  • initiate an ADR process or a court application when required;
  • prepare the family for participation in services;
  • arrange, coordinate and monitor contracted or community services to assess the appropriateness of services;
  • assure that the focus on goals and outcomes is maintained;
  • facilitate communication amongst service providers;
  • continually evaluate the family’s progress toward achieving goals and outcomes during each interaction with the family;
  • collect information from collaterals regarding the family’s progress toward achieving service plan goals;
  • adjust the plan to better meet the unique needs of the child and family as they emerge over time or circumstances; and
  • for children in out-of-home care, engage in concurrent planning, and if the prognosis for a child’s reunification with his or her parent/primary caregiver is poor, implement an alternate permanent plan for the child.

The minimum standard for visits with families in their home is once per month. However, more frequent visits should take place in certain circumstances. When deciding whether more frequent visits are required the worker considers:

  • the risk rating on the risk assessment;
  • the strengths and needs of the family;
  • whether a safety plan is actively being monitored and the child continues to reside in the home; and
  • the vulnerability of the child.

The frequency of visits is also reviewed by the child protection worker and their supervisor during supervision.

The child victim(s) is/are interviewed privately either at home or in another setting. Non-verbal children are directly observed in their own home environment and particularly as they interact with their parent/caregiver.

Unannounced visits are required when:

  • the worker needs to determine whether or not the perpetrator is in the home;
  • it is not possible to contact the family to arrange an appointment;
  • it is necessary to assess the child’s living conditions without the family having the opportunity to modify any of its usual conditions; and/or
  • if in consultation with a supervisor it is determined that unannounced visits are necessary to address the child’s safety based on specific circumstances of the case.

Reviews, consultations or approvals by the supervisor

Every ongoing child protection case is reviewed in a supervision session minimally once every six (6) weeks. Cases with a higher degree of risk or complexity are reviewed more often.

Case review and evaluation

Formal case review and evaluation takes place every six (6) months following the development of the initial service plan. The formal review requires completion of the following assessments:

  • a reassessment of risk of future maltreatment or, if at least one child is in out-of-home care, a reunification assessment including:
    • a reassessment of risk,
    • an assessment of the quality and frequency of access, and
    • an assessment of safety of the environment to which the child is being returned, the need for reunification efforts or an alternate permanent plan; and
  • an assessment of the family’s and the child’s strengths and needs.

Information collected by the child protection worker from the family and collaterals regarding the family’s progress throughout the case management process will be reviewed in the context of a family-centred conference which involves all family members and their support persons who participated in the service plan, including other service providers whenever possible. The unavailability of other service providers will not delay the service plan review.

A service plan is also reviewed and revised when the reunification tools have been completed and the child will or has been reunited with his or her family.

Concurrent planning

At the time of the first case review and all subsequent reviews following a child being placed in out-of-home care, it is critical to consider what the prognosis is for the family to achieve reunification. If the protection concerns and needs of the family are significant, the family has made little or no progress in achieving its goals/objectives and the prognosis is poor, an alternate permanent plan is developed with the family. A reunification assessment guides these decisions. It is important to involve all interested extended family members, relatives or other family support persons including a representative chosen by the Band. The worker should conduct a thorough, continuous search for persons who may commit to participation in a permanent plan for the child. Wherever possible, the child should be placed with a family who is willing to work cooperatively with the child’s parent/primary caregiver toward reunification but is also willing to become the child’s permanent family if needed.

Case review or termination documentation

At the time of case review or termination, the following documentation is to be contained in the case record:

  • the risk reassessment or the reunification assessment;
  • the assessment of the family's and the child’s strengths and needs (only required if the case will continue to receive child protection services, or if the case is being closed and the last family and child strengths and needs assessment does not accurately reflect the family’s current functioning);
  • documentation of any child welfare court activity (if applicable);
  • an analysis of outcomes of all assessments, significant case events (including any subsequent child protection investigations and verification decisions) and review of the last service plan that results in conclusions or decisions about:
    • the family's progress or lack of progress in achieving goals, objectives and activities contained in the last service plan,
    • changes that have occurred involving the most critical risk factors identified during the initial investigation,
    • the quality of service implementation, appropriateness of services, any barriers to service provision and the family's participation in services,
    • the extent to which a positive support network (formal and informal) is present and being used by the family,
    • the prognosis for change over the next review period (only if the case will continue to receive child protection services),
    • the prognosis for reunification (if child is in out-of-home care),
    • the continued need for ongoing child protection services OR reason for termination of child protection service;
  • a new service plan and updated reason for service rating indicating the reason for ongoing child protection service (only if the case will continue to receive child protection services); and
  • documented supervisory approval of the services provided and decisions made within seven (7) days of completion of the recording.

New referral regarding a case receiving ongoing children’s aid society service

When new referrals about protection concerns are received on a case receiving ongoing services (which do not relate to a known incident or condition for which the family is already receiving service), standard #1 applies to the assessment of the referral and in determining the referral disposition.

When a child protection investigation is conducted on a case receiving ongoing child protection services, it is planned and conducted in accordance with standard 2. The worker also:

  • completes a safety assessment in accordance with standard 3
  • completes a risk assessment in accordance with standard 4
  • makes a verification decision in accordance with standard 5
  • makes any relevant updates to the service plan (if required)*.

*The service plan is updated only when new risk factors have emerged. The current service plan is enhanced to specifically manage these new risk factors until the next regularly scheduled service plan review.

Practice notes

Intensity of service during the first month of ongoing services

The ongoing child protection worker’s level of contact with the family is generally highest during the first month of ongoing service. The first month of ongoing services is the foundation for all subsequent casework decisions and activities (interventions). An effective use of self by the worker is required to engage families in CAS services and with community supports.

The assessment and service planning process

The worker gathers all information that can assist in formulating an accurate and comprehensive assessment of the family’s and the child’s strengths as well as any issues or risk factors that may affect child safety. The worker seeks to be holistic in his/her approach, obtaining knowledge and understanding of the child and family. This is done by considering the family’s uniqueness, including ethnicity, culture, religion, regional differences and relationship to the family’s extended family and community.

The assessments completed at the ongoing stage of service will incorporate information from:

  • CAS case records;
  • The family and extended family;
  • Other persons living in the family home;
  • Neighbours and/or community members involved with the family
  • Other persons or agencies providing services to the family; and
  • The child protection worker’s direct observation of the child and the family members.

Family and child strengths and needs assessment

The family and child strengths and needs assessment is designed to assist the worker to identify the presence of caregiver and child strengths and resources as well as to identify the underlying needs of family members that are associated with safety threats or longer-term risk of maltreatment.

The process of assessment is an interactive one that includes all members of the family, extended family (where appropriate) and any community service providers who have been involved with the family in the past and present. The child protection worker engages the family in a dialogue, using the process of completing the family and child strengths and needs assessment to help the family identify its strengths, challenges/needs and goals regarding change. The information gathered while completing the assessment is analyzed, and interpreted by the worker and reviewed with a supervisor.

The child protection worker formulates an assessment of the child and family by:

  • explaining to the family the purpose and process of the assessment;
  • actively encouraging and engaging the family’s participation in the process;
  • obtaining signed consents and gathering information from all relevant sources; and
  • ensuring that the information gathered includes all aspects of the family’s circumstances including:
    • individual and family strengths,
    • individual and family needs,
    • resources available to the family, and
    • any additional risk factors.

Link between assessment and service planning

Prior to the worker and family developing specific interventions, there must be a complete and thorough examination and understanding of the family functioning that includes the family’s strengths and needs. The assessments which are completed will support the development of a service plan that can target the areas of need. Through reassessments, the family strengths and needs assessment tool permits workers to assess changes in family functioning and the impact of service provision.

The worker analyzes the information gathered through the assessment process, and shares this analysis with the family prior to or at the time of the service planning process. The worker encourages a full discussion of the analysis.

The service plan is the link between assessment and intervention. It is an action plan that guides the family, child protection worker, other service providers and all casework activities toward well-defined goals and outcomes against which progress can be measured over time.

The service planning process

The result of the service planning process is a service plan document that is a record of clear and measurable goals, objectives and activities that are assigned to the participants, with timeframes for completion.

When explaining the concept of service planning, the worker:

  • explains and reviews the purpose and process for development of the service plan with the family;
  • emphasizes that this is the family’s opportunity to have its voice heard; and
  • explains and reviews with the family and other members which are part of the service planning process that this is an opportunity for the family to contribute directly toward the goals and expected outcomes that will become embedded in the service plan.

The process of completing the service plan includes an honest, open and clear discussion between the child protection worker and the family that results in the identification of specific goals, activities and outcomes for the family to achieve. The service plan process provides a vehicle for sharing issues and looking for solutions. Together, the worker and the family identify intervention strategies and services that would assist in the reduction and/or elimination of risk, and would increase the safety and well-being of the child. The service plan also provides a way to measure the family’s progress.

The child protection worker develops a service plan by:

  • having the family participate in the service planning process;
  • assisting the family in identifying those individuals and/or community partners (including representatives chosen by the Band) whom they see as being a support to them and whom they would view as important participants in service plan discussion;
  • utilizing a form of family-centred conferencing as the means to bring all relevant participants together to discuss the goals and objectives;
  • carefully considering any and all solution-focused options put forth by the attendees at the family-centred conference;
  • ensuring that family uniqueness and culture is honoured and valued by customizing a service plan that matches the family’s individual strengths and needs; and
  • developing realistic, clear and measurable goals that are understood and agreed to by the child and family.

Although achieving the agreement of the family to the service plan significantly improves the chances of its successful implementation, it should be noted that the child protection worker will not endorse any plans that he/she does not feel would adequately address child safety simply for the sake of achieving agreement with the family.

Family-centred conferencing

The child-focused and family-centred approach to service delivery is both a philosophy and a practice that supports active and meaningful participation of families and their support system in case planning and when service decisions are being made. Family-centred conferencing is rooted in the premise that family input in the design and provision of service is important and is valued. The philosophy recognizes that families are “experts” in knowing what interventions will be most supportive to them. It also believes that individuals within a family have strengths upon which they can draw as they work toward positive change that will influence and improve child safety as well as the family’s overall well-being.

In keeping with the values of family-centred practice, various forms of conferencing including Aboriginal healing traditions and talking circles are encouraged as techniques to ensure that the child protection worker and the family together actively participate in the development of the service plan. Such conferencing may also be used more generally at points throughout the duration of service. There is a wide range of family involvement models available to use when developing a service plan with the family. Within that range of options, it is important to select and implement the most appropriate conferencing choice. Case conferencing enables the extended family, community and professionals to come together directly with the child and family to openly discuss concerns, identify strengths, and seek realistic solutions. These discussions result in a service plan that contains specific and deliberate expectations allowing progress to be measured.

Family-centred conferences should be used for situations requiring significant decisions in the life of a case, such as:

  • the development of the initial service plan and for service plan reviews;
  • prior to a child coming into care on a planned basis or following a child coming into care on an unplanned basis;
  • prior to a child returning home from care;
  • any time a critical/significant decision is to be made about the child;
  • prior to court if there is a lack of agreement;
  • to address “stuck” issues;
  • prior to proceeding to formal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
  • for ADR (e.g. Family Group Conferencing, Family Group Decision Making); and/or
  • prior to case closure.

The level of complexity of a case will determine what type of family-centred conference will be most helpful based on the worker’s clinical analysis. It is best practice to use a neutral facilitator in cases involving:

  • high levels of conflict or volatility;
  • large complex family systems;
  • strained relationships between family members and agency workers;
  • complex situations (e.g. multi-generational abuse/neglect, sexual abuse, substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness); and/or
  • extensive cultural or language differences between the worker and the family or within the family system.

Implementing, managing and reviewing the service plan

Implementing and managing the service plan involves continuous, purposeful and focused discussion with the family members. The family’s ability and willingness to follow the action plan and meet the goals laid out in the service plan may vary from time to time. It is important for the child protection worker and family to have honest and open dialogue when this occurs. It may be that the service plan requires adjustment to better fit the relevance to, and/or needs of, the child and family circumstance at a particular time.

The child protection worker provides service and supports to the family and assists them to access the services that were identified as being required in the service plan. The worker needs to have a good knowledge of the family’s community and services or resources that are available.

There may be a need for the CAS to conduct home visits more frequently than the minimum standard of once per month. Frequency of visits should be reviewed in supervision and decisions made based on the unique circumstances of the case. For example, more frequent visits should take place:

  • with infants and young children residing in high risk environments;
  • when safety interventions in a safety plan are actively being managed; and
  • when the family is experiencing a crisis.

The child protection worker formally reviews the service plan with the family every six (6) months to assess the family’s progress. Together the worker and the family will:

  • identify the goals that have been achieved and determine which (if any) any of those achieved goals continue to be relevant, and should therefore be retained in the plan;
  • identify the goals that remain incomplete and determine which of the outstanding goals remain relevant and require completion;
  • determine which of the outstanding goals (if any) require modification or can be discontinued because they are no longer relevant;
  • identify any new goals that should be added to the service plan;
  • write down the revised set of goals, and obtain the agreement of the family to this list wherever possible;
  • determine the specific formal and/or informal supports or services that are required to assist the family in achieving the revised list of mutually determined goals;
  • determine whether or not those supports/services can be accessed by/for the family;
  • review with the family the effectiveness of other service providers and their impact to date related to any change, both positive and negative, regarding the family; and
  • identify existing, additional, or new supports or services that will continue to be, or will become, part of the service plan.

The child protection worker keeps the family and all other participants in the service plan informed of any changes to the service plan. Doing so will ensure that all the participants in the service plan clearly understand the common goals and objectives of the plan, and what is expected of each participant.

When a subsequent investigation on an ongoing case is not required

New information about a known incident or condition that may provide additional information about a child and family’s strengths and needs does not require a child protection investigation. It is discussed with the family at the next possible opportunity as part of the ongoing assessment process, and integrated in the reassessment at the time of the next formal review.

Option to complete a new safety assessment when changing circumstances

A safety assessment may be implemented at any point during ongoing service provision in situations where changing circumstances known to induce stress have been identified (e.g. loss of income, moves and illness of caregiver or child, a change in family composition such as a new caregiver or the loss of a protective caregiver from the home). If new safety threats are identified, a safety plan is implemented to mitigate those safety threats.