State of Georgia 2019 annual progress and services report

State of Georgia 2019 Annual Progress and Services Report
Submitted by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services June 2018 (rev.)

Table of Contents
A. Background/Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 6 A1. Background.................................................................................................................................. 6 A2. DFCS Vision/Mission/Values........................................................................................................ 9 A3. Legislation/Policy Updates ......................................................................................................... 11 I. Legislation ............................................................................................................................. 11 II. Policy Updates....................................................................................................................... 13 A4. Program Instructions .................................................................................................................. 16 A5. Key Accomplishments................................................................................................................ 18 A6. PIP Updates............................................................................................................................... 30 I. CFSR-PIP.............................................................................................................................. 30 II. IV-E PIP................................................................................................................................. 34
B. C3 Integration ............................................................................................................................... 35 C. Requirements ............................................................................................................................... 36
C1. Collaboration ............................................................................................................................. 36 I. Stakeholder involvement with assessment of agency strengths and areas needing improvement................................................................................................................................. 37 II. Review of goals, objectives, and interventions....................................................................... 38 III. Monitoring of progress ........................................................................................................... 39 IV. Ongoing involvement ......................................................................................................... 41
C2. Assessment of Performance ...................................................................................................... 53 I. CFSR Findings ...................................................................................................................... 54 II. Quality Assurance Review Findings....................................................................................... 54 III. Program Improvement Plan Goals......................................................................................... 57
C3. Plan for Improvement and Progress Made to Improve Outcomes .............................................. 58 I. Child and Family Services Plan (Rev. 2017) .......................................................................... 58 II. Progress and Plans for Improvement..................................................................................... 61 III. Systemic Factors ................................................................................................................. 136
C4. Service Descriptions ................................................................................................................ 140 C4a. Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program (title IV-B, subpart 1)..................... 140
I. Prevention ........................................................................................................................... 141 II. CPS Intake Communications Center ................................................................................... 144 III. Child Protective Services ..................................................................................................... 146 IV. Foster Care and Permanency .......................................................................................... 150 V. Adoptions ............................................................................................................................ 157

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VI. Office of Provider Management (OPM) ............................................................................ 166

VII. Well-Being Services ......................................................................................................... 175

C4b. Promoting Safe & Stable Families.......................................................................................... 184

I. PSSF Family Support Services............................................................................................ 186

II. PSSF Family Preservation Services .................................................................................... 187

III. PSSF Time-Limited Reunification Services.......................................................................... 188

IV. PSSF Adoption Promotion and Permanency Support Services ........................................ 189

V. Outcomes ............................................................................................................................ 190

C4c. Populations at Greatest Risk of Maltreatment ........................................................................ 193

C4d. Services for Children Under the Age of Five .......................................................................... 195

I. Permanency and Placement Services for Children Under the Age of Five ........................... 195

II. Expediting Permanency for Children 0-5 Years of Age ........................................................ 196

III. Implementation Strategies for Expediting Permanency for Children 0-5 Years of Age ......... 197

IV. Services for Children Ages 0 to 5 Years ........................................................................... 198

V. Professional Development Regarding Young Children .......................................................... 200

C4e. Children Adopted from Other Countries ................................................................................. 201

C5. Program Support ..................................................................................................................... 201

I. Training and Technical Assistance Provided........................................................................ 201

II. Training and Technical Assistance Received....................................................................... 210

III. Technical and Capacity-Building Assistance the State Anticipates Receiving ...................... 213

IV. Research, Evaluation, Management Information and Quality Assurance Systems ........... 213

C6. Consultation and Coordination with Tribes............................................................................... 214

I. Collection of Feedback ........................................................................................................ 214

II. Ongoing Coordination and Collaboration ............................................................................. 215

III. Jurisdiction .......................................................................................................................... 215

IV. ICWA Compliance............................................................................................................ 215

V. Tribal Input on CFSP/APSR................................................................................................. 216

VI. Discussions regarding Chaffee Foster Care Independence Program ............................... 216

VII. APSR Exchange .............................................................................................................. 216

C7. Monthly Caseworker Visits (Every Child Every Month)............................................................. 216

I. Use of the Monthly Caseworker Visit Grant Funds............................................................... 216

II. Assessment of Performance................................................................................................ 217

III. Steps to Ensure Performance Standards Are Met - Plan for Improvement........................... 221

C8. Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentive Payments ............................................................ 223

C9. Child Welfare Demonstration Activities .................................................................................... 223

C10. Quality Assurance System ..................................................................................................... 224

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D. Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act ................................................................................ 229 D1. CAPTA Plan ............................................................................................................................ 229 D2. CAPTA State Grand Funds...................................................................................................... 229 D3. Prenatally Exposed Infants ...................................................................................................... 230 I. Policies and Procedures ...................................................................................................... 231 II. Multi-Disciplinary Outreach .................................................................................................. 231 III. Procedures to monitor plans of safe care............................................................................. 232
E. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program .............................................................................. 233 E1. Independent Living Program .................................................................................................... 233 I. Key Accomplishments ......................................................................................................... 233 II. Planned Activities for FFY 2019........................................................................................... 234 III. National Youth in Transition Database................................................................................. 235 IV. Collaboration with Youth and Other Programs ................................................................. 236 V. Consultation with Tribes ...................................................................................................... 238 VI. Education and Training Voucher Program........................................................................ 238
F. Updates to Targeted Plans ......................................................................................................... 239 F1. Foster and Adoptive Parent Diligent Recruitment Plan ............................................................. 239 F2. Health Care Oversight and Coordination Plan .......................................................................... 242 F3. Disaster Plan............................................................................................................................ 244 I. Emergency Response System Updates............................................................................... 244 F4. Training Plan ............................................................................................................................ 247
G. Statistical and Supporting Information......................................................................................... 247 G1. Child Protective Service Workforce.......................................................................................... 247 G2. Juvenile Justice Transfers ....................................................................................................... 252 G3. Child Maltreatment Deaths ...................................................................................................... 253 G4. Education and Training Vouchers ............................................................................................ 253 G5. Inter-Country Adoptions........................................................................................................... 254 G6. Monthly Caseworker Visits ...................................................................................................... 254
H. Financial Information .................................................................................................................. 254 H1. Payment Limitations Title IV-B, Subpart 1............................................................................. 254 H2. Payment Limitations Title IV-B, Subpart 2............................................................................. 254 H3. FY 2016 Funding--Revised CFS-101 Budget Request............................................................ 254

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APPENDICES
I. Georgia DFCS Organizational Chart II. Georgia Child & Family Services Review Round 3 Data Profile III. CFSR Report IV. CAPTA Citizen Review Panels Annual Report V. DFCS Response to CAPTA Panels Annual Report VI. Foster and Adoptive Diligent Recruitment Plan VII. Connect by 21 Plan Guide VIII. Healthcare Coordination and Oversight Plan IX. Disaster Plan X. CFS-101, Parts I, II, and III

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A. Background/Executive Summary

A1. Background

The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) administers programs funded under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act. The Division provides a wide range of human services that are designed to promote self-sufficiency, independence, safety and well-being for all Georgians, including child welfare services and public assistance programs.
Through two primary functions: Social Services and the Office of Family Independence (OFI), DFCS assists and supports children and families. Social Services includes Child Protective Services (CPS), Foster Care and Adoptions. OFI administers Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid and other self-sufficiency and family support programs, such as energy assistance. Eligibility for all OFI programs is based upon financial criteria as well as program-specific criteria, such as age or disability.
Georgia's child welfare service delivery system is state-supervised and county-administered. Direct services to children and families are provided through 159 county departments of family and children services (DFCS county offices) in accordance with state policy, direction, law and regulations.
DFCS county offices and state offices transitioned into a new organizational structure July 1, 2015 to increase effectiveness of field operations. Regions were grouped into 14 areas rather than 15, with Henry County being moved to Region 4, Rockdale to Region 5, Clayton to Region 13 and Cherokee to Region 1. Regional directors report to one of three district directors who report to the DFCS director of field operations. The northern district includes Regions 1 5, southern district includes Regions 6 12, and the metro district is made up of five counties - Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton.
The organizational changes were intended to:

Coordinate state office sections and units that support the Blueprint for Change efforts Increase operational effectiveness in Field Operations Create cohesion and consistency between regions within districts Establish a structure in Field Operations that equalizes workloads and supports equal allocation
and deployment of staff resources

An organizational chart is appended to this report.
In 2014, Governor Nathan Deal created the Georgia Child Welfare Reform Council to review child welfare practice and offer recommendations around improvements for the agency. The Council, which began meeting in May 2014, was modeled after the successful Criminal Justice Reform Council, and it completed a comprehensive review of Georgia's child welfare system. The Council's recommendations were incorporated in SB138, which became effective July 2015. Below is a list of the recommendations from the council's report and the state's progress on each.
1) Local Boards:
The state was directed to clarify the purpose, powers, and duties of existing county-level DFCS boards in the statute and provide a list of the kinds of people who should be named to these county DFCS

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boards. As of September 2015, the state has 159 active boards, and training regarding this governance has been completed for regional and county directors. The Local Board Handbook and training materials have been updated.

2) District Advisory Boards:

It was advised that district-level DFCS advisory boards be created to bring information from the countylevel DFCS boards to DFCS district directors to improve communication, service delivery, and application of policy in each district. It is required that these advisory boards meet quarterly with DFCS district directors. Members for these boards have been identified and meet regularly.

3) DFCS State Advisory Board:

Creation of a state-level DFCS advisory board was recommended. This board includes:

One governor-appointed representative from each of the 14 DFCS regions, and Five governor-appointed representatives from the legislature and/or the fields of:
o Child welfare experts o Former foster youth o Public health o Mental health and developmental disabilities o Juvenile justice

4) DFCS Director:

The provision that the DFCS director be appointed directly by the governor, serve at the pleasure of the governor, and be answerable to the governor took effect with the passage of Senate Bill 138. Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Virginia Pryor as the DFCS director, effective March 16, 2018. Pryor had been serving as the interim director since November 2017.

5) DFCS-DHS Relationship:

DFCS has adhered to the provision that DHS maintain authority over DFCS with respect to:

DFCS budgeting and appropriation of funds, which DHS should oversee (with input from the DFCS director)
Rules and regulations for the operation and management of DFCS, which the DHS board should ultimately approve

6) Data-Sharing Between Agencies:

DFCS was encouraged to have the legislature review state agencies' ability to share data and to increase their ability to share data within the confines of federal and state law (including HIPAA). The aim is to allow agencies to ascertain a full picture of the services each child is receiving from various state agencies to know how to better serve each child. Bidirectional data-sharing was considered for:

Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) Department of Community Health (DCH) Department of Public Health (DPH)

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Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Department of Education (DOE) Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC)
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the Division are in the process of finalizing a formal agreement that will aid the Child Fatality Review Panel by providing the Division with death certificate and certified birth certificate data. However, the DPH has indicated they will send 2015 data soon. A formal agreement to share data has been put in place with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Department of Education (DOE), Department of Community Health (DCH) and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) regarding Children in Need of Services (CHINS).
7) Custodial Records:
The council suggested the state review the extent to which statutes, rules, or regulations allow DFCS to share children's mental and physical health and conduct records with care providers when those providers need that information to care for the children in their custody. Additionally, they recommended the promulgation of legislation to allow care providers appropriate access to the records relating to children in their care. Policy 2.6 Confidentiality and Safeguarding of Records was updated to include this recommendation. This policy incorporates mandated requirements to allow foster parents access to the medical and educational records of foster children in their care. Authority already exists for child care providers OCGA Section 49-5-41(c) (4).
8) Child Abuse Registry:
The final recommendation required the state to conduct research to determine the best statutory scheme to create a child abuse registry within a state agency to maintain the names of those convicted of child abuse and neglect. It called for the state to create a child abuse registry for Georgia to keep children safe while also complying with constitutional requirements of due process. The Division enters the names of all alleged mal-treaters with a substantiated case of child abuse - July 1, 2016 or thereafter - into the Child Protective Services Information System (CPSIS).
The Division worked with a collaborative that included the CAPTA Panels, DJJ, SAAGs, Adoption and Foster Parent Association of Georgia and Navient Health Partners to educate the community of the purpose and procedures related to the registry. State-level staff have worked with staff in the field to educate them on how to write justification statements statements that explain how/why one should be listed in the registry - which has in effect increased the accuracy of statements.
The registry helps to ensure that persons with a substantiated case of child abuse may not be eligible for certain jobs providing care to children or approved to foster or adopt. There is a formal procedure to request to be informed whether a person's name is on the registry or to petition to remove a name from the registry. Policy regarding notification and the appeal process for children and youth in foster care ages 13-17 has been updated. The public may access information about the registry at https://gacar.dhs.ga.gov.

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A2. DFCS Vision/Mission/Values

In July 2014, the former DFCS division director set out to develop the best child welfare agency in the world. He led the agency in the adoption of a Blueprint for Change a three-pillar approach to reforming Georgia's social service system. Most of the strategic work that the agency engages in serves to positively impact these pillars:

Social services practice model Robust workforce Constituent engagement

The current director, Virginia Pryor, maintains a commitment to remain focused on executing this Blueprint for Change as the state journeys to become a State of Hope. A State of Hope is a collaborative approach in which people from all walks of life share a vision of safety and success for every child, family and individual who lives in their community. It is a place where public and private organizations nonprofits, philanthropies, government, businesses and communities collaborate closely to help achieve that vision. As a result, children are safer, families are stronger, and communities are more supportive places for all members to thrive.

State of Hope (SOH) is an intentional and creative initiative designed to engage a broad base of community stakeholders to transform the lives of Georgia's most vulnerable residents. It is a shift in thinking for the system that serves families, taking reactive policies and programs and reshaping them into proactive efforts designed in partnership with families and communities. The goal is to have communities that support individuals, children and families in a way that reduces the risk of harm or abuse and allows them to thrive.

The SOH builds on the Communities of Hope concept started by Casey Family Programs, a national philanthropic foundation, and the work of the Northwest Georgia System of Care Advisory Council (SOC) and the Northwest Georgia Region of Hope. Georgia is the first state in the country to attempt a State of Hope identifying and anchoring multiple Region of Hope sites across the state. While the original work of the Northwest Georgia Region of Hope focused solely on child welfare issues, the SOH will have a broader focus.

What separates the SOH from other collaborative initiatives is the use of human-centered design thinking and having the voices of youth at the center of the design process. Communities will be able to take the ideas that have been designed by youth to inform the strategies that they choose to implement with their collaborative partners. Human-centered design is an innovative approach for solving complex challenges in which people, and the needs of those people, are at the center of the design process. This process involves building to learn -- and learning while building -- through inspiration, ideation and implementation.

In 2018, the hope is to identify and anchor three additional Region of Hope collaborative sites across the state. While the Division does not solely "own" the SOH and the transformative work that can only happen within individual communities, the Division has committed to be the convener of this collective impact approach in partnership with several key stakeholders. No single group or organization alone can raise up strong, healthy, thriving communities. The biggest impact will be made through multiple organizations working together across systems in support of the same goal.

The anchor opportunities are the Division's priority areas for the State of Hope. These areas are broad enough that the Division believes most communities can and will connect with them.

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Education Improving the educational attainment of vulnerable youth, most importantly the graduation rates of youth in foster care
Trauma Increasing the awareness of trauma informed practices, the impact of trauma and how to mitigate its impact
Quality Caregiving Improving the quality of caregiving across a continuum including, but not limited to, birth parents, kin caregivers, foster/adoptive parents and the larger caregiver community
Economic Self-Sufficiency Strengthening and supporting individuals and families on their path toward independence
The State of Hope will encompass the entire state from border to border, transcending geographical communities and zip code boundaries. Every child in America deserves to live in a Community of Hope, and this statewide approach ensures that will be the case for every child in Georgia. This work cannot be done alone. It will take the partnership and collaboration of every sector of this state to be successful.
Strategies outlined in the state's 2014-2019 Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP), Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Program Improvement Plan (PIP), and the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget strategic plan for the Division (Social Services and Office of Family Independence) directly relate to and support the objectives of the Blueprint. In 2017, the state worked to synchronize the plans. The original CFSP and PIP goals were redesigned as strategies that would be applied to the following goals that were derived from the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget goals:
Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect. Permanency: Families and individuals are healthy and stable. Well-being: Families and individuals have enhanced capacity to meet their physical, cognitive
and educational needs. Workforce: The Division's workforce is competent, professional and efficient. Stakeholders: The Division and its stakeholders are fully engaged and responsive.
Note: The Office of Family Independence endeavors to achieve the additional goal of self-sufficiency wherein families and individuals have sustainable financial independence, have voice and choice in services, and are self-directed.
In conjunction with the initial implementation of the Blueprint, the DFCS vision, mission and values were updated in 2015.
Vision
Safe Children. Strengthened Families. Stronger Georgia.
Mission
Prioritize the safety of Georgia's children in the decisions we make and the actions we take. We strengthen families toward independence and build stronger communities with caring, effective and responsive service.
Guiding Principles/Values
As the Division of Family and Children Services we...

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1. Demonstrate our commitment to the safety of our children in the decisions we make and the actions we take.
2. Empower, strengthen and support families on their path toward independence. 3. Serve with compassion. 4. Provide caring, responsive and effective service. 5. Engage, listen and respond to our participants, communities and each other. 6. Collaborate with our communities to create systems of support. 7. Develop a competent, professional and efficient workforce that never stops learning and
growing.

A3. Legislation/Policy Updates

I. Legislation

2018 State Legislation
The following bills were passed by the state legislature during the 2018 legislative session. Policy and practice are in the process of being developed and will be released based on the effective date of the law.
House Bill 159:
A bill to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 19 of the O.C.G.A., relating to general provisions for adoption, so as to substantially revise the general provisions applicable to adoptions; to change the requirements for adopting children; to provide for a nonresident to allow an adoption of his or her child; to provide for adoption of foreign-born children; to provide for a waiver to revoke a surrender of parental rights; to change the age for individuals to access the Adoption Reunion Registry; to revise and provide for forms; to provide for the annulment of an adoption under certain circumstances; to amend Code Section 15-11-320 of the O.C.G.A., relating to termination of parental rights, so as to correct a cross-reference; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
This bill changes the requirements for adopting children, changes the timeframe for revoking a surrender of parental rights, and allows a parent to delegate caregiving authority of their child via a power of attorney.
House Bill 732:
A bill to amend Code Section 16-5-46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to trafficking of persons for labor or sexual servitude, so as to expand the offense of trafficking an individual for sexual servitude; to change the punishment for a certain type of trafficking an individual for sexual servitude; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

This bill amends the definition of sex trafficking.

House Bill 790:

A bill to amend Chapter 13 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to

administrative procedure, so as to implement recommendations of the Court Reform Council to improve

efficiencies and achieve best practices for the administration of justice; to revise a defined term; to

provide administrative law judges with authority to issue final decisions; to provide for exceptions; to

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require agencies to forward a request for a hearing to the Office of State Administrative Hearings; to provide administrative law judges with the power to enforce subpoenas and sanction parties; to correct cross-references; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

This bill expands the authority of the Office of State Administrative Hearings, and results in changes to the process of granting individuals Fair Hearings.

House Bill 906: A bill to amend Chapter 11 of Title 15 and Code Section 49-5-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Juvenile Code and powers and duties of the Department of Human Services, respectively, so as to allow the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services to offer extended care youth services to youths between 18 and 21 years of age under certain circumstances; to change a definition; to clarify juvenile court jurisdiction and the termination of dependency orders; to provide for voluntary agreements for services and court oversight; to change provisions relating to the Department of Human Services' powers and duties; to amend Part 1 of Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to dependency proceedings, so as to require certain information be provided to a caregiver, foster parent, pre-adoptive parent, or relative by DFCS upon placement of a child; to amend Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to inspection of public records, so as to repeal certain provisions in order to clarify the law regarding the legislative branch of government; to exclude public disclosure of personal information of certain foster parents or former foster parents; to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

This bill prohibits public disclosure of foster parent information, requires certain information to be provided to the caregiver upon placement of a child, terminates dependency orders when a child reaches age 18, and describes extended care youth services for a child between 18 and 21 years of age. This law goes into effect on July 1, 2018, however, the portions of the law relating to extended care youth services go into effect in July 2020.

House Bill 920: A bill to amend Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions for adoption, so as to allow for the use of the department's information concerning the parties to an adoption under certain circumstances; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

This bill allows for the provision of sealed records concerning an adopted child to the Office of the Child Advocate upon certain circumstances.

Senate Bill 131: A bill to amend Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Juvenile Code, so as to provide that adoption proceedings be stayed while an appeal of an order to terminate parental rights is pending; to clarify the court's duties to a case while an appeal is pending; to clarify the statutory grounds for terminating parental rights and provide other considerations when terminating such rights; to clarify provisions relating to the waiver of the right to counsel; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

This bill requires a stay of adoption proceedings pending an appeal of an order to terminate parental

rights.

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2017-2018 Federal Regulations
HR 1892: Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act
The purpose of this subtitle is to enable States to use federal funds available under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide enhanced support to children and families and prevent foster care placements through the provision of mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services, in-home parent skill-based programs, and kinship navigator services.
The Family First Act is aimed at amending the IV-E entitlement to provide more federal resources to help families in crisis stay together, and limit federal funds for putting foster youth into congregate care placements, including group homes.
IM-17-05
The Fostering Connections Act of 2008 phased-in "applicable child" eligibility criteria beginning in FFY 2010 and phased out eligibility criteria for a child who is not applicable as of FFY 2018 (October 1, 2017). On or after October 1, 2017, each title IV-E agency must determine eligibility of a child according to the "applicable child" eligibility criteria.
PI-15-07 and PL 113-183: Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
The Policy and Regulations Unit updated all policies to address provisions in this PI. Ongoing efforts to adhere to all provisions are being led by the Federal Liaison and the Project Management Team.

II. Policy Updates

The Child Welfare Services Manual Transmittal (CWSMT) provides notification of changes in child welfare policy to DFCS staff via email and are published on Online Directives Information System (ODIS). The following CWSMTs were released during the reporting period.

CWSMT 2017-04

Released 3/20/2017

Policy chapters 3 (Intake) and 5 (Investigations) were updated. There were significant changes to the categories of child abuse with the implementation of the Child Protective Services Information System/Child Abuse Registry on July 1, 2016. These changes required modification to the categories of child abuse used by DFCS when receiving intake reports and making an investigation determination.

CWSMT 2017-05

Released 3/20/2017

Policy chapters 5 (Investigations) and 7 (Family Support Services) were updated to incorporate the Initial Safety Assessment (ISA) process for counties that have not yet implemented Georgia's new Practice Model.

CWSMT 2017-06

Released 6/19/2017

Policy chapters 10 (Foster Care) and 14 (Resource Development) were updated to improve the quality of care being provided to children in foster care and ensure that supports are available to provide for the needs of children in foster care and those who achieve permanency.

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CWSMT 2017-07

Released 7/3/2017

Policy chapter 4 (Conducting the Initial Safety Assessment) was updated to enhance assignments for track assignment decisions in ISA and incorporate state and federal legislative changes.

CWSMT 2017-08

Released 7/24/2017

Policy chapter 19 (Case Management) was updated to ensure that appropriate screenings are being utilized at different stages of a case to ensure child safety.

CWSMT 2017-09

Released 7/25/2017

Policy chapters 3 (Intake) and 19 (Case Management) were updated to incorporate provisions resulting from the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA).

CWSMT 2017-10

Released 8/22/2017

Policy chapters 10 (Foster Care), 12 (Adoption Assistance), and 16 (Room, Board, Watchful Oversight) were updated to align with practice changes and facilitate improvements.

CWSMT 2017-11

Released 9/6/2017

Policy chapters that address child welfare program areas were updated to include revisions to efforts to locate a parent, family, or youth with an active DFCS case.

CWSMT 2017-12

Released 10/16/2017

Policy chapters 3 (Intake) and 5 (Investigations) were updated to reflect recent changes in state legislation regarding Safe Place for Newborns, Georgia's "safe haven" law.

CWSMT 2017-13

Released 10/27/2017

Policy chapters 10 (Foster Care), 17 (Legal), and 19 (Case Management) were updated to reflect recent changes in state legislation regarding dependency found to be resulting from caregiver substance abuse.

CWSMT 2017-14

Released 12/11/2017

Policy chapters 14 (Resource Development) and 19 (Case Management) were updated to reflect recent changes in state legislation regarding criminal records checks for substitute caregivers providing routine care for children in DFCS custody.

CWSMT 2017-15

Released 12/11/2017

Policy chapter 10 (Foster Care) was updated to reflect revisions in placement of a child, preferred placements for children subject to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), trial home visits, and the Enhanced Relative Rate application.

CWSMT 2017-16

Released 12/21/2017

Policy chapters 2 (Information Management) and 20 (Child Protective Services Information System/CPSIS) were updated to reflect recent changes in state legislation regarding access to child abuse records and the child abuse registry.

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CWSMT 2018-01

Released 2/12/2018

Policy chapter 1 (Administration) was updated to incorporate provisions resulting from the 2016 ICWA Final Rule. The Child Welfare Services Memorandum (Memo) disseminates notice of a change in policy or documentation.

The Child Welfare Services County Letter (CWSCL) disseminates changes in policy or practice in advance of a manual transmittal and is used to provide clarification regarding policy. The following CWSCLs were released during the reporting period.

CWSMT 2018-02

Released 4/2/2018

Chapter 19 (Case Management) was updated to include a new policy section to support staff when using drug screens in case assessment and case planning.

CWSMT 2018-03

Released 4/6/2018

Policy chapter 19 (Case Management) was updated to include enhancements to the diligent search process and establish a comprehensive process for constructing and updating genograms with families.

CWSMT 2018-04

Released 6/1/2018

Policy chapters 10 (Foster Care) and 19 (Case Management) were updated to clarify the process for obtaining consent for the use of psychotropic medications for children in foster care.

CWSMT 2018-05

Released 6/1/2018

Policy chapter 10 (Foster Care) was updated to provide greater flexibility in selecting guardianship as a permanency plan.

CWSCL 2017-01

Released 4/21/2017

To announce the timeframe for completion of special investigations has been increased from 30 to 45 days.

CWSCL 2017-02 7/17/2017

Released

To announce policy changes resulting from the transfer of the CAPS program to the Department of Early Care and Learning.

CWSCL 2017-03 7/25/2017

Released

To announce policy updates resulting from changes in recent state legislation.

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A4. Program Instructions

Following is a listing of significant information memoranda, program instructions and federal guidance related to child welfare that was issued during the report period. This list is not necessarily all inclusive.

State

Released 10/25/2017

To announce that the pre-implementation policy manual has been discontinued and is no longer available on ODIS.

Federal

Program Instructions

PI 18-01, released 3/5/2018 This PI summarizes the actions required in completion and submission of (1) the fourth APSR update to the 2015-2019 CFSP, (2) the CAPTA Update, and (3) the CFS-101, Parts I, II, and III.

PI 18-02, released 3/5/2018 To provide guidance to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia on actions they are required to take in order to receive their allotments for Fiscal Year 2019. This PI does not apply to DFCS.

PI 18-03, released 3/6/2018 To provide guidance on the 2018 Children's Justice Act Grants to States Under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

PI 18-04, released 3/6/2018 To set forth the requirements for recipients of and provide guidance and instructions for the preparation and submission of the Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect application for FFY 2018.

PI 18-05, released 5/4/2018 To provide guidance to state, territorial and tribal title IV-E agencies on the actions required to apply for one-time funding to support the development, enhancement or evaluation of kinship navigator programs.

PI 18-06, released 5/31/18 To provide guidance to states, territories, and insular areas administering titles IV-B and IV-E of the Act and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and to Indian Tribes, Indian Tribal Organizations, or Indian Tribal Consortia administering titles IV-B and IV-E of the Act of changes in law and funding affecting the information that must be submitted with the Annual Progress and Services Report.

Federal Guidance/Information Memoranda

PI-15-07 and PL 113-183: Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act The Policy and Regulations Unit updated all policies to address provisions in this PI. Ongoing efforts to adhere to all provisions are being led by the Federal Liaison and the Project Management Team.
IM-17-05, released 9/28/2017

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The Fostering Connections Act of 2008 phased-in "applicable child" eligibility criteria beginning in FFY 2010 and phased out eligibility criteria for a child who is not applicable as of FFY 2018 (October 1, 2017). On or after October 1, 2017, each title IV-E agency must determine eligibility of a child according to the "applicable child" eligibility criteria.

Due to the passage of the Family First Prevention Services Act, effective 1/1/18, the full implementation of the title IV-E adoption assistance de-link provisions is delayed until 6/30/2024.

IM 18-02

, released 4/12/2018

To inform States and Tribes of the enactment of the Family First Prevention Services Act and provide

basic information on the new law. Policies and programs are being reviewed to identify areas affected

by the new law, and workgroups are being developed to plan strategies for implementation.

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A5. Key Accomplishments

Regions of Hope

The passage of the Federal Family First Prevention Services Act demonstrates national recognition that there is a growing need to bolster community engagement around the work of child abuse and neglect prevention. Georgia's sojourn to becoming a State of Hope began in 2014 and progressively focused on making improvements to develop the workforce, implement a comprehensive practice model and engage constituents. Numerous stakeholder meetings and roadshows later, the state is now seeking to further energize those who have come to understand that child welfare is a collective work and get them to actively help build Regions of Hope. The mission is to encourage nonprofits, philanthropies, government, businesses and communities to collaborate closely to build local safety nets that will prevent conditions that attribute to disparities in education, threaten a family's self-sufficiency and lead to child abuse and neglect. The ultimate vision is having 14 Regions of Hope across Georgia whether that is one or multiple sites/projects in each region.

This report period, a tremendous amount of work and manpower has gone into the manifestation of the vision. As noted earlier, the core partners of this endeavor, Georgia State University's Child Welfare Training Collaborative and Georgia Family Connection Partnership along with other "hope maximizers," have determined that the four areas of opportunity will be education, trauma, quality caregiving and economic self-sufficiency.

The launch event for the campaign was held May 2017, and an application process will launch June 2018 in Augusta for potential members innovators of the inclusive network. Selection of at least three sites/projects will occur in late summer 2018 and a youth engagement component is scheduled to be added in fall 2018. Additional Destination Hope events will be held in regions with selected State of Hope sites from September-November 2018. There will be a reflection event at the end of 2018. And the next application cycle will commence winter 2019.

Training

In the last report period, the state began implementing one of the components of a new practice model, Solution Based Casework (SBC). SBC is an evidence-based practice that targets family and individual behavior change to prevent maltreatment from reoccurring. The statewide roll-out of SBC was completed in October 2017. Frontline case managers and supervisors were required to complete the 2.5-day OCP 765 - Solution Based Casework for Staff training. Supervisors were also required to complete the two-day OCP 766 - Solution Based Casework for Supervisors training to support certification. Education and Training has 15 practice model coaches to provide coaching and over-theshoulder support to assist staff through the certification process and implementation of the practice model. Ninety-one OCP 765 classes and 29 OCP 766 classes were conducted during that time frame. Regions 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 10 and 12 were trained as part of the scheduled rollout during the period and all regions are now in the implementation and certification stages. The number of participants for OCP 765 classes was 1,673 and 394 for OCP 766 classes.

The Georgia Child Welfare Training Academy for new child welfare case managers was piloted from June 2017 through September 2017. The curriculum for the academy was written to support a competency-based training system that includes SBC and other components of Georgia's Comprehensive Practice Model. Enhancements were made based on feedback from participants,

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supervisors and leadership as well as an evaluation conducted by the Professional Excellence program at Georgia State University. The first academy classes began in April 2018 with improved curriculum in the areas of substance abuse, CSEC, domestic violence, interviewing, documentation, the assessment of safety, Georgia SHINES and a live case simulation. One major change with implementation of the academy is that staff are not allowed to have any cases while they are in training. Staff will also be cross-trained in CPS and foster care.
The Supervisor Mentor Program was established because of a recommendation made by the Governor's Child Welfare Reform Council. It is charged with providing intense, one-on-one mentoring to new supervisors as well as those veteran supervisors who may need such support. The goal of mentoring is to enhance the capabilities of supervisory staff so that they can perform their duties effectively. The Supervisor Mentor Program was successfully piloted in December 2015. Because of advocacy by DFCS leadership for additional funding to expand the supervisor mentoring program, $2.5 million dollars were approved in the Governor's 2018 FY budget to further expand the supervisor mentoring program. During the period under review, the program was expanded with the hiring of three unit managers and 19 supervisor mentors. Plans are to add two additional supervisor mentors for a total of 23 mentors (21 new and two pilot). Mentoring has been provided in each of the three districts, and 25 supervisors have completed mentoring since February 1, 2018. With the expansion of the Supervisor Mentoring Program, new supervisors are now being mentored within a few months of their promotion dates, thereby creating a process that supports them as they begin their supervisor roles.
Policy and Regulations
The state's Policy and Regulations Unit further enhanced the Federal Regulations workgroup, which was created in FFY 2017 to review, disseminate, and monitor implementation of federal rules and regulations, to include state legislation and plans. The Policy and Regulations Unit provides copies of federal laws or guidance for attendees to review and discuss implementation plans. There is representation from state office sections and field operations as information is shared and discussed with section and unit leadership. An online repository was created to archive and make accessible for review state and federal issuances. Meetings are scheduled quarterly to address the coordinated implementation processes and identify solutions for any challenges. This process ensures that all state and federal regulations are thoroughly disseminated and reviewed with the appropriate work units and that desired outcomes of policy and practice coordination are achieved timely.
The unit also initiated a process to provide information on the Title IV-E State Plan. A meeting was held in April 2018 to provide a general overview of IV-E requirements, and follow-up meetings are scheduled throughout the year with state office sections and field operations to have more in-depth discussions and review required activities. As the Title IV-E pre-print, and subsequently the IV-E State Plan, will be revised to reflect new federal guidance related to the Family First Prevention Act, the unit will update the state plan and continue to engage with staff regularly to ensure that new information is shared, that all units are familiar with the guidance, and that agency activities are coordinated to ensure IV-E compliance.
The unit also created the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC), comprised of both internal and external stakeholders, to review proposed policy changes and make recommendations to develop new policy. The PAC meets as needed, when proposals are received, or when regulations are released that will impact policy. Requests for policy changes are submitted on a standardized request form, and the PAC members can make a recommendation to approve the request if the proposed policy may lead to improvements in the delivery of child welfare services and is consistent with federal and state laws. The PAC also reviews policy development and dissemination procedures and monitors effectiveness. It

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ensures engagement at each step in the process by including stakeholder review and recommendation of draft policies.
Prevention
The state takes precautions to protect children and families so that they will not need to come to the attention of DFCS, and it has been working diligently over the years to improve the timeliness and quality of agency responses once the child welfare agency has been notified of an allegation of abuse or neglect. To be proactive, it is important for the state to be aware of the most frequent or likely types of maltreatment and harm that a child in Georgia may face and to identify and address risk factors.
According to the Center for Disease Control, one in four children have experienced abuse or neglect at some point in their lives (https://www.cdc.gov/features/healthychildren/index.html). "Exposure to child abuse and neglect and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) cause toxic stress that can disrupt early brain development and harm the nervous and immune systems. Exposure to childhood adversity can increase a person's risk for future violence, unhealthy behaviors, poor health and wellness, and limit life opportunities. This impact can be long-lasting and may continue across future generations." Through funding, Georgia's Prevention and Community Support Section (PCSS) aided the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) in incorporating 11 new ACE-related questions into the Georgia 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. The collected data were analyzed, and DPH was then able to supply the first-ever Georgia-specific ACEs data fact sheet.
Despite the frequent occurrence of childhood abuse and neglect, these debilitating experiences are preventable. In April 2017, the PCSS led several activities in support and recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention month, including a proclamation signing at the capitol with the Governor. Extensive efforts were made to distribute informational material, increase awareness and use popular media to increase exposure. A Prevention Resource Guide was distributed to all 159 Family Connection Collaboratives, the Strengthening Families Georgia Partnership, all University System Cooperative Extension Agents and all Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) Georgia local child abuse councils to distribute to their networks. The guide was also distributed to all local DFCS offices and at Georgia's annual Home Visiting Institute, DFCS Supervisor and Leadership Summits, the Georgia Conference for Children and Families, and a Prevention Day event at the DFCS state office. Other publications shared with stakeholders were the National Child Welfare Gateway Resource Guide and a Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Resource Guide developed by the Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force. This guide is purposed for educators, legislators, funders and other providers who make decisions regarding sexual abuse/sexual exploitation prevention education. The exploitation guide and other fact sheets were posted on the PCA Georgia website at http://abuse.publichealth.gsu.edu/targ/. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were used to feature daily updates, share resources and bring attention to the urgency of the cause.
The state continues its campaign to prevent deaths due to poor sleeping practices such as co-sleeping or putting babies to sleep on their stomach or on an unsafe surface that may place the child at risk of asphyxiation (e.g., soft bedding). The number of these unfortunate events remained consistent with the previous year; however, fewer were specifically due to co-sleeping. In FFY 2016, 57 children with CPS history died due to sleep-related circumstances, with 37 of those due to co-sleeping. In calendar year 2017, of 117 known child sleep-related deaths, 59 children had CPS history. In 33 of those instances, the death was related to co-sleeping. The Safe to Sleep Campaign has remained a key CFSP strategy for the state, and several state partners, such as Georgia CASA, Georgia Prevent Child Abuse and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, assist with the messaging, training and distribution of materials.

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Families often receive support from one of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) contracted providers to help support high-risk families and vulnerable populations. In FFY 2017, there were 11,049 intakes of families, with 19,044 dependents, by the PSSF Network across all PSSF program areas: Family Preservation, Family Support, Time-Limited Reunification and Adoption Promotion and Permanency. Of these families, 36.6% did not have any CPS involvement at the time of intake. At the time of exit, 38.1% did not have any current CPS involvement. At the time of intake, 18.5% had an open CPS case; at the time of exit, 8.5% had an open CPS case. While participating in services, only 8.3% of families had an incident of violence in the home reported, and only 8.6 % had a report of alcohol or prescription drug abuse or illegal substance use in the home. Twelve percent of families or caretakers were referred to DFCS. Of those referred (791), 94% were the subject of a maltreatment report or investigation. The state has been able to report these data because of upgrades made to the PSSF data collection process over the past fiscal year. A more detailed breakdown is presented in section C4 of this report. Technological enhancements to the grant program's website and provider portal now allow for more secure reporting and the featuring of training opportunities and success stories.
Safety
Following the state's CFSR in 2015, the state was not in substantial conformity with Safety Outcome 1 or 2. The state had achieved a rating of 66% for Safety Item 1 and set a PIP target of 73% by 2019. The target was met by 2017, and the state continued to excel in timeliness of initiating investigations of reports of child maltreatment. The agency's Quality Assurance (QA) review assessed the state at 86% in March 2018. In May 2017, the goal of achieving the PIP target of 68% for Item 2 seemed nearly unattainable as the state's rating had fallen all the way to 28%. However, within 10 months, the state had achieved 50%, a significant improvement.
Several key PIP activities have been put into place to address the need for services to families, and safety panel facilitators have enhanced services provided to the field to support the safety of high-risk children. Safety panel facilitators, along with state leadership and regional directors, are given a list of high-risk cases weekly to review. A service directory that identifies active service providers statewide (location, contact information and list of service types) is now accessible to case managers and other users through a link on Georgia SHINES, the state's child welfare information system. More analysis regarding the steps taken by the state to make significant strides in outcome achievement is outlined in section C3 (Plan for Improvement and Progress Made) of this report.
Extensive training and support has been provided during this report period related to behaviors and practices that safeguard children. Plan of Safe Care champions provide training to internal staff, and Georgia provides training opportunities to mandated reporters in the community. The state's safety director presents identified court issues and barriers to the court improvement project. Through collaborative action by the Department of Public Health (DPH), DFCS Office of Prevention and Family Support, Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel and others, materials that support safe sleep messaging are developed and distributed throughout the community.
Enhancements were made to the state's 24-hour web-based portal to help expedite processing of initial child abuse and neglect reports. Via NexxPhase Telephony Information System, reports are instantly routed to an available case manager, even reports that are emailed or faxed to CPSintake@dhs.ga.gov. Updated CPS report forms were widely distributed to school districts, hospitals, police departments and other mandated reporters. The interactive voice CPS hotline was upgraded to allow for routing of calls, by zip code, to an appropriate county office. A caller may select an automated option to activate the transfer of a call to a local DFCS office if the call is not to report child abuse but for other reasons such as accessing services such as TANF, SNAP or Medicaid. This

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added feature has decreased call volume directly to the state's call center (CICC), freeing up staff to focus more on CPS and child safety-related issues. The state is dedicated to high quality customer service and allows callers to rate their call experience on the phone. The survey responses may be accessed by all supervisors. Recordings of the hotline calls may be reviewed by quality assurance staff historically or in real time. Scorecards and evaluations are produced based upon this information to help assess capacity and training needs, and drive performance.
Those who suspect someone is being sold for sex or made to work for little or no pay may call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or the Statewide Georgia Hotline for Domestic Minor Trafficking at 1-844-842-3678 for help. The state has gone beyond what is minimally required for federal compliance to ensure the specialized needs of youth in this population are met and operates in a truly collaborative manner to ensure a proactive approach to addressing the issue of trafficking in the state. DFCS hired a commercial and sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) program coordinator in 2017. This is a full-time position devoted to four focus areas: tracking, training, treatment/resources and collaboration. Each of the 14 regions also has an identified CSEC field program specialist that is responsible for overseeing the regional CSEC protocol, tracking monthly referrals, ensuring regional staff is trained and ensuring appropriate service linkage for identified youth. Regional specialists are expected to participate in multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings. The state coordinator participates in the statewide CSEC MDT and collaborates with Georgia Cares, Amerigroup, Youth Sparks, Wellspring Living, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and others who are involved in service provision and advocacy work for children who are victims of trafficking. She represents the agency on the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force and is teaming up with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to establish a CSEC receiving center for the state.
There was about a 15% increase of children under the age of 1 entering foster care, nationwide, from 2012 to 2015, and it is believed that the increase is attributable to the opioid epidemic (GAO-18-196)1. As per Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) requirements, Georgia's governor submitted assurances that the state has laws, policies and practices in place to address the needs of infants affected by prenatal substance use. The state now has regional Plan of Safe Care champions in all 14 regions to promote awareness of the needs of substance affected infants and their families and to provide technical assistance to case managers. DFCS policy 19.27, which became effective July 30, 2017, describes the requirements and procedures for developing a Plan of Safe Care; referring the infant, mother and other caregivers in the home for services; assessing the family members for ability to meet the needs of the affected infant; monitoring the Plan of Safe Care; and ensuring follow-up is conducted to ensure the safety of the infant. The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) reviewed Georgia's draft Plan of Safe Care policy and its recommendations were incorporated into the state's policy.
An additional measure taken by the state to ensure the safety of children is the tracking of perpetrators of substantiated cases of abuse. A Child Protective Services Information System (CPSIS), also known as the state's child abuse registry, was activated in July 2016. The registry, which stores and provides limited access to information on substantiated child abuse and neglect, has provided a more efficient

1 Substance-Affected Infants: Additional Guidance Would Help States Better Implement Protections for Children, January 2018. Highlights

of U.S. Government Accountability Office-18-196, a report to the Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Children and Families, Committee on

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate

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method of sharing child abuse information with other states as required by law. Since the activation and training of staff on the system, the state has provided subsequent training on the drafting of justification statements, which has resulted in improved accuracy.
Permanency
When children are unable to remain safely at home with their parents or guardians, the state must assist in placing the children where they can thrive. Over the last five years or more, the state has seen a significant increase in the number of children who have come to the agency's attention and need such a placement. This increase in demand has resulted in a shortage of foster homes. Former DFCS Director Cagle proposed a charge to the agency in January 2016 to prioritize kinship care placements and to strive to have most children who are in the state's care in family-based foster care by 2018. National research confirms that children do best in kinship foster care and that family connections are critical to healthy child development and a sense of belonging. Kinship care also helps to preserve children's cultural identity and relationship to their communities. The rate of kinship placement at the child's first out-of-home care placement has not yet reached that pinnacle, but these placement types are steadily rising. Whereas 12% of foster youth were in kinship placements in 2012, 27% were in such placements in 2016. The agency's Kinship Navigator program served 2,924 kinship families in 2017. Today, 32% of Georgia's children removed from their homes are being placed with kin initially.
For this kinship care effort to be successful, children should only be placed in kinship settings when it can be done safely, and, therefore, quality safety assessments are imperative. Secondly, the state needs to be able to provide financial and other supports for the relatives. This kind of groundwork takes significant preparation, planning and training. In partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Child Welfare Strategy Group, Georgia has been working to build quality caregiving as a Kin First organization and working to have 50% of children placed with kin by July 2019. In FFY17 state-level leadership launched a Kinship Design Team to begin the first phase of development and implementation.
Not only is the state focused on placing children with the best possible caretaker, it endeavors to keep children as close to their home communities as possible. A "Bring Them Home" Campaign was initiated November 2017 to support timely reunification as well as bring children back to their home communities. DFCS officials build relationships and collaborate with judges and courts to be more intentional about where a child is placed initially. Resource development teams have been instrumental in finding ways to overcome barriers and achieve positive results. February 2018, the state had a 38% success rate in returning children to their communities. Some regions also attributed their improvement in CFSR outcome item 9 (preserving connections) to their active participation in this campaign. Region 2, a strong advocate of the campaign, was at 14% on item 9 in November 2016. By May 2017, they had reached 44%. The state was at 39% after the CFSR Round 3; as of March 2018, it had increased to 57%.
Individuals wishing to foster a child may call the state's Foster Georgia Inquiry Line. Since April 2017, the state's Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit (CRRU) has been working to transition the work of executing, staffing, monitoring, and maintaining the line from an outside contractor back to the agency, which occurred in June 2017. While there is a "warm line" option for potential foster, adoptive, and relative foster caregivers, a second "warm line" option is available for currently approved caregivers to seek brief mentoring and guidance from a peer foster parent. In conjunction with this support, the state has caregiver support techs who serve as liaisons between caregivers and social services case managers, identify and link caregivers to community services/programs, and keep families engaged during the initial onboarding process. Data tools have been integrated into Georgia SHINES to aid in

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tracking the progression of prospective caregivers through the onboarding process, home compliance and utilization, and home approvals. A Resource Development (RD) Track training curriculum for DFCS and child placing agency staff was piloted in February, April and June 2017. The training is now being used to increase the skill and competencies of staff directly responsible for the recruitment, training, and vetting of prospective caregivers. The Education and Training Unit plans to host a Train-the-Trainer with designated Office of Provider Management (OPM) staff.
OPM added a policy violations assessment (PVA) training for providers to assist them with accurately and fully completing PVAs to ensure the safety of youth in foster care. Additionally, OPM has partnered with Amerigroup to offer trainings to assist case management staff with accessing appropriate and timely wellbeing services for youth in care. It also joined forces with DFCS Revenue Maximization unit to provide trainings for providers as part of Georgia's ongoing improvement plans for the title IV-E foster care eligibility process. A workgroup was convened with CPA providers to discuss the sharing of foster home assessments and references. This resulted in a plan to address concerns related to the circulation of foster parent assessments and references and will be included in the FY19 Minimum Standards directive for providers. More formalized corrective measures to address provider deficiencies, concerns and issues has led to a decrease in the number of suspended providers compared to previous fiscal years. After completion of four 100% audits of RBWO providers, OPM has been able to determine that provider compliance has increased from 39% in the prior year to 99% currently.
The state's Placement Resource Operations team streamlined the state's GA+SCORE provider database and shortened the time it takes to get notifications on referral submissions. The innovative technology update includes an online status submission tracker and offers easy access to RBWO Program Designation memorandums for private providers and field staff. Once a determination is made, there is an option to pre-populate a child's demographics and information in Georgia SHINES onto the Universal Referral Application, which increases the likelihood of a more accurate placement search through the implementation of a detailed Standard Operating Procedure. Collaboration with the field allows PRO to triage high-level cases based on identified factors, such as the child's current location and needs.
Other technology enhancements include a Georgia SHINES upgrade to the child placement referral form known now as the universal application. The system generates an updated letter notification. Upgrades to GA+SCORE included an improved ability to track data and create data reports and adjustments to review timeframes and automated notifications between the field and PRO.
Kenny A Consent Decree
In the metro regions where Fulton and DeKalb counties are operating in accordance with the Kenny A. Consent Decree, there has been notable progress in efforts to ensure young children are not placed in congregate care placements unless necessary for the child's welfare. The consent decree has several restrictions related to the use of group care, including limiting the use of congregate care for young children.

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According to state reports for these two counties,2 no children under the age of 12 entering foster care or already in care during the reporting period were placed in group homes or child caring institutions except as allowed under the Modified Exit Plan.3 During Period 24 (July-December 2017), of youth in care or who entered foster care in the period, 19 youth were placed in hospitals, seven were in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs), and seven children were hospitalized for mental health issues. Additionally, three children were placed with their mothers in a group care setting designed for teen mothers. All documentation and waivers were reviewed by the Monitoring and Technical Assistance Team (MTAT).
The Modified Consent Decree also states:
a. No child shall be placed in a temporary facility or any other foster home or group facility beds used on any temporary basis, for more than 30 days, and,
b. Children shall not be placed in more than one temporary facility within one episode of foster care (meaning the period of time that a child is in foster care from the date of removal from the home until the child is discharged from DFCS custody, except that a runaway does not trigger a new episode of foster care).
As a result, children are not remaining in temporary facilities longer than 30 days, and far fewer are placed in more than one temporary facility while in foster care. During Period 24, out of the 1,991 children who were in foster care at the beginning of the period or entered during the period, there was no child placed in a temporary facility or any other foster home or group facility beds used on any temporary basis for more than 30 days. Additionally, for calendar year 2017, only 33 of 919 children (3.6%) were placed in two or more temporary facilities within one episode of foster care. This is a major reduction from CY 2015, when 162 out of 1,403 children (11.5%) were placed in two or more temporary facilities.
Other major findings identified in the Period 24 Monitoring Report completed by the Accountability Agent and MTAT also relate to child placement time frames and locations. One of the major areas of concern identified by the parties as they transitioned to the Modified Exit Plan was the state's continued and persistent reliance on commercial motels and hotels as placements for children in foster care. Over the past two years, the state has cited a need to diversify, to increase its array of foster care placements, and to enhance diligent search efforts to locate and support relatives and fictive kin as temporary placements for children and youth. The parties agreed to cut hotel usage in half by December 2016 and to end all usage by June 30, 2017.
The state met with providers and strengthened the enforcement of contractual requirements for private providers to give a 14-day notice before disrupting placements. The state also continued its partnership with the Multi-Alliance Alliance for Children (MAAC) to reserve ten emergency placement beds for youth in Fulton and DeKalb counties. Additionally, the state discussed with providers the need for targeted recruitment of placements for teenagers who may present behavioral challenges. The use of hotels steadily declined, leading up to the agreed-upon deadline. During Period 23, 26 children were placed in hotels. Since the deadline of June 30, 2017, there have been only two instances of children

2 The reported information is for all children under the age of 12 in care between July and December 2017 - not for a sample of the entire

foster care population.

3 The Kenny A. Consent Decree was renegotiated in Dec. 2016 and is now referenced as the Modified Consent Decree and Exit Plan

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being placed in hotels; one in September 2017 (P24), and one in March 2018 (P25). The state has virtually eliminated the practice of housing children in hotels in the metro regions.

Additionally, the state has limited the amount of time a child spends in a DFCS office, especially during overnight hours. The Modified Consent Decree states, "no child shall spend more than 23 hours in a county DFCS office. Any child who spends time in a county DFCS office between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. shall be reported to the MTAT. The intent of this provision is to prevent the use of DFCS offices as an overnight placement for children - as children with urgent placement needs require a safe bed in a home-like environment." This is the second reporting period for which MTAT has tracked the amount of time children spend in a DFCS office awaiting placement.

During the 24th period, there was no time where a child spent more than 23 hours in the office; there was a time, however, when a child had spent a little over 17 hours, which was the longest period. The state also reduced the number of cases in which a child spent time in an office overnight from 83 cases in Period 23 to 53 cases in Period 24. The average number of hours a child spent in an office overnight decreased as well, from 6.7 hours to 4.8 hours.

Well-Being

Education, Afterschool and Employment

The Division has worked diligently to increase its capacity to provide education support services to school age youth in foster care. The number of youth referred to Educational Programming, Assessment and Consultation (EPAC) has increased from 45% in February 2017 to 81% in August 2017. As of March 2018, the referral rate has remained above 70%. By incorporating a new education service delivery model, the state has been able to institute several program enhancements including the creation of an advisory group and practice group developed in concert with Multi-Agency Alliance for Children (MAAC), a long-standing partner of the Division that is now the lead education agency for Fulton and DeKalb counties. As the lead, MAAC provides education support, such as tutorial services, extracurricular activity tracking, educational assessments and specialized services as needed to youth in grades 7-12.

Internal programmatic structure has been enhanced in that the North, Metro and South districts have each been assigned an education manager who provides support, guidance and supervision to the Division's Education Support Monitor (ESM) team. The education managers serve as EPAC program representatives and subject matter experts who may be contacted to address immediate and critical educational concerns or provide advisement at regional and state meetings.

The state launched an EPAC web portal, which was developed in collaboration the Department of Human Services Office of Information Technology (OIT). On this site, users can access resources, information and the online Education Support Services Referral System to refer youth ages 5 17 in foster care to EPAC. Specialized trainings known as Education Academies are hosted throughout the year and aid staff in better understanding how to access and use the portal. In 2017, these academy trainings began to be offered virtually so staff can access them via WebEx. Two sessions of Educational Stability Support for Foster Youth: A Model for Success were hosted using this platform in December 2017. Two sessions of Work, Their Rights: Supporting Youth Through the Student Disciplinary Process were held in March 2018. Onsite academies were held:

o Wednesday, February 21, 2018 Albany, Georgia o Thursday, March 2, 2018 Columbus, Georgia o Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Athens, Georgia

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The Well-Being and Education and Training units are working together to create module-based training that can be accessed by staff at all levels on the agency's learning management web portal. Topics being considered for inclusion are: Supporting Youth through the Disciplinary Process; Providing Support to the Special Student; and Understanding My Role as a Mentor.
As research has demonstrated, afterschool programs can "boost academic performance, reduce risky behaviors, promote physical health, and provide a safe, structured environment for the children of working parents" (youth.gov; Naftzger et. al., 2007). Afterschool programming improves classroom behavior (Huang, Leon, La Torre, Mostafavi, 2008), has been associated with reduced drug use (UCLA National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing, 2007), positive health outcomes and reduced obesity (Mahoney, J., Lord, H., & Carryl, 2005). Georgia's Afterschool Care program funded 41 nonprofit organizations with more than 200 program sites serving youth before and/or after school, between sessions and during summer sessions. As youth get older, employment becomes another option for out-of-school time. The state provided four employment-related trainings to youth selected for internships. There were 306 youth participants in these four trainings. Nineteen adults participated in the community training that was hosted for youth who reside in group homes and low- to moderate-income communities. Youth Supporter trainings were also offered to adult foster parents, caregivers and group home providers of youth who participate in the Georgia TeenWork Internship Program.
Early Education
For years, parents and caretakers had to complete three different applications to get a child considered for a spot in an early education program in Georgia. While they may have preferred one program over another, they couldn't be sure they would get their first choice, so they applied for the other two programs as a backup plan. While there is still a shortage of spaces for the Head Start/Early Head Start program, caretakers can now use one application to be considered for that program while simultaneously being considered for the other two: Georgia Pre-K and the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) subsidized care program. The number of applications has increased and are expected to rise even more once the process becomes automated in spring 2018. The result of this streamlining has been an increase in children who are enrolled in Head Start and quality rated childcare programs. A pilot process is being put in place that will assist DFCS in retrieving data regarding program space usage and availability statewide.
An early childhood collaboration manager was hired in October 2016, and he has visited several counties to address adoptive and foster parent associations. The Early Childhood Education Unit updated agency policies and procedures related to identifying and enrolling children 0 to 5 into quality educational programs. Workgroups of related partners (e.g., DECAL, CAPS, Georgia Head Start Association) convened to outline steps for a smooth transition of the CAPS program back to DECAL in December of 2017.
Health and Wellness
In March 2018, the state Wellness Programming, Assessment and Consultation Unit (WPAC) began providing trainings jointly with the Educational Academies to establish a more efficient process for staff in the regions to obtain both sets of trainings. After a new director was hired in October 2017, the unit began to issue a monthly trend report to regions that identifies their strengths and areas for improvement. The report also provides counsel on resources and strategies that can be implemented to improve practice.

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Along with the Placement Resource Operation (PRO) Unit, a protocol was developed for staff to use in cases where there is a need for escalated consent for a youth to be prescribed psychotropic medication. The protocol helps to ensure timely approval or denial of these medicines for youth newly admitted to acute behavioral health facilities and crisis stabilization units.
As the state continues to implement the Health Care Oversight and Coordination Plan, WPAC worked with each region individually to make sure they had adopted their own regional wellness plans. WPAC specialists made sure the regions had steps in place to track and monitor overdue medical, dental, and trauma/development assessments and to ensure medical appointments are scheduled for youth in care and that their health needs are met. DFCS also initiated an inpatient medication consent protocol, which includes a provision that the management of medication requests, including time-sensitive approvals and responses from DFCS regional directors for children receiving emergency care and stabilization within the state's inpatient facilities, be executed at the state office by the PRO unit in collaboration with WPAC.
Workforce Development
One of the pillars of the Georgia Blueprint for Change, and, consequently, a strategic plan goal for the state, is to build a workforce that is competent, professional and efficient. The state's efforts to stabilize its workforce and increase its capacity to do quality work include pay increases, a rekindled work incentive program, new resources, increased professional development, and advancement opportunities. Skills training, however, has been the primary means for strengthening the workforce. "According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Child Welfare Information Gateway, those working in the social work field often stress the opportunity for professional development as being important for ongoing retention within an organization. Greater work satisfaction and better client outcomes are generally linked to the higher retention levels." A survey was taken by 2,200+ DFCS staff in 2017. Of the 2,143 useable responses, 71% agreed that they had employee satisfaction, which was an increase from the 66% rating in 2015. Surveys were also conducted in 2015 and 2017 to attain a sense of the work culture in the Georgia Department Human Services. Although employees from four agencies were surveyed, 64% of the respondents were DFCS staff. The results demonstrated significant positive growth as indicated by the following synopsis of results.

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Training staff on Georgia's new practice model, including SBC and (Initial Safety Assessment) ISA, is a key strategy within the state's Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Georgia is on schedule to begin a new Child Welfare Training Academy on April 1, 2018 that all new case management staff will be required to attend. The SBC curricula has been woven into this academy. As noted above, Georgia has provided various trainings to enhance the skills of DFCS and child placing agency (CPA) resource development staff, thereby increasing their job knowledge and their partnering efforts in diligent recruitment. The resource development track training rolled out September 2017. There was a total of 13 participants for the first session; as of April 2018, a total of 74 DFCS staff had been trained in the curriculum.
Stakeholder Engagement
The third pillar of the Blueprint for Change (fifth CFSP goal) is to have the Division and its stakeholders fully engaged and responsive. The seriousness with which this goal is regarded is evident by the primary role Division leadership has taken to set the tone and move this forward. As part of the ongoing QA review process, case specific interviews and/or surveys were conducted with case managers, supervisors, community partners, including foster parents, service providers, court personnel, attorneys, and school personnel. During the October 2017 through March 2018 review cycle, 77% of 301 respondents rated the agency's effectiveness of partnership with their agency or organization as excellent or good. Despite the slight decline from last year, this is an area where the agency has seen tremendous growth. In reports collected from stakeholders at the APSR Joint collaboration meeting, it appeared that there was consensus that there was better engagement with stakeholders at the leadership level, but there is still some work to do at the local levels. Each region has now devoted at least one meeting a quarter that is specifically designed to include external stakeholders as active partners in resolving concerns around service array. See the C3: Stakeholder Engagement section of this report and the Regions of Hope narrative in this section for additional details on the myriad of ways in which the agency is working with the community.

A6. PIP Updates

I. CFSR-PIP

Georgia's Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Program Improvement Plan (PIP) was approved effective June 6, 2017 and as negotiated with the Children's Bureau, the PIP implementation period commenced on April 1, 2017. The goals and strategies in the PIP directly correlate with the goals of the CFSP and are intended to impact CFSR Items 1-6 and Items 12-15. Georgia's CFSR PIP includes the following five goals:
Goal I: Improve the timeliness, quality, and utilization of child and family assessments throughout the child welfare continuum.
Goal II: Meet the assessment and individualized needs of children, youth, and families through an enhanced and broadened array of services.
Goal III: In support of the Practice Model, establish a value-based case practice which supports safety, permanency, family and youth engagement, and community connections.
Goal IV: Establish a robust workforce. Goal V: Increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources.

Georgia has met the target percentages for items 1, 4, 6 and 13 and these items are no longer part of the PIP reporting requirements.

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Georgia's CFSR Management Plan serves as a guide for a state-wide aligned and collective effort to implement Georgia's approved PIP and to ensure that PIP goals are achieved. The main components addressed in the plan are:
Identification and implementation of high impact strategies Data needs, trends and utilization of data Knowledge mobilization Communication and messaging for clarity Roles and responsibilities Sustainability

The PIP communication protocol, established and laid out in the CFSR Management Plan, was created to ensure that PIP information reaches all levels of staff and external stakeholders. Collective messaging has been delivered in a clear, concise, and consistent basis utilizing a variety of venues reflecting different learning and communication preferences.

The final, approved PIP has been published and shared within the organization and with DHS/DFCS stakeholders. The approaches used to distribute the plan include:

Publishing hard copies and distributing them to the tribes, community partners, stakeholders, service providers, etc.
Posting the plan on the Division's website and on the Georgia Child Welfare Strategic Planning websites: o https://dfcs.georgia.gov/child-and-family-services-review-cfsr o www.gacwplanning.org
Regional staff having stakeholder forums Emailing copies to all DHS/DFCS Social Services staff Regional C3s coordinate training to case managers, supervisors, county management staff and
regional staff on the content and implementation

PIP Strategies are continually communicated to new agency staff, and new service providers and community partners. Since the plan needs to be continually communicated, discussion of the PIP has been added to leadership development calls and meetings with providers and community partners. To support these efforts monthly, the C3 coordinator in each region of the state is responsible for tracking and reporting the progress on educating everyone within the assigned region on the PIP.

The C3 coordinator ensures that staff receive a copy of the PIP, understand all components and how they relate to their job, and provides mentoring as needed on key activities. Each manager/director at the State Office is responsible for sharing the PIP with their team members. The manager/director ensures that team members understand their roles and responsibilities.

The following approaches are being utilized to communicate PIP implementation updates and foster a continuous feedback loop to include internal and external stakeholders.

CFSR outcomes and reports are shared with all regions for reference of "bright spots strategies" 30-minute slot for PIP discussion at Macon leadership meeting (monthly) Weekly regional and statewide leadership development calls Condensed version of the PIP Quarterly Progress Report widely disseminated PIP/APSR/CFSP/CFSR/CQI (PACCC) meetings (monthly)
o PIP leads share PIP implementation updates regarding key activities, expected outcomes and key people responsible for completion

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o C3 coordinators share information from meetings via blasts, newsletters, video clips, visual displays, stakeholder meetings (internal and external)
State Office CQI Team o Track and monitor strategies and related data to determine whether PIP key activities have been achieved o Information reported to the state office CQI team by SO section representatives and regional C3 coordinators provide monthly updates related to progress and/or problems with implementing and completing all PIP strategies and key activities

To support and obtain optimal implementation, it is critical that regular updates on PIP implementation and execution are communicated through a central point of contact. To accomplish this, the following table outlines the persons responsible for implementation of the communication protocol.

Table 1: PIP Communication Protocol Responsibilities

Audience Method

Medium

Frequency

PIP

DFCS Field

Document Operations

Dissemination of PIP document
Introduction of PIP goals/strategies

Email Distribution List

Quarterly

Posting on websites: https://dfcs.georgia.gov/childand-family-services-reviewcfsr www.gacwplanning.org
Cadence Calls (regional/statewide)

Quarterly Weekly

Trainings and Summits

Quarterly

External Stakeholders (tribes, community partners, service providers)
DFCS State Office

Dissemination of PIP document
Introduction of PIP goals/strategies Dissemination of PIP document

Email/Deliver hard copies of document Posting on websites: Division website GA CW SP

Quarterly Quarterly

Regional stakeholder forums
Email/Deliver copies of document

Next Quarterly meeting after PIP approval Quarterly

Introduction of PIP goals/strategies

Posting on websites: Division website GA CW SP Leadership Development Calls (regional & statewide)

Quarterly Monthly

Persons Responsible Regional & State Leadership State Office (SO) Core Team
Regional & State Leadership C3 Coordinator C3 Coordinator SO Core Team
C3 Coordinator
State Office Section Director/Unit Manager SO Core Team
SO Core Team & PIP Program Leads

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Feedback Loop
Data (Progress towards meeting PIP outcomes; issues and concerns)

DFCS Field Operations and State Office
External Stakeholders DFCS Field Operations
External Stakeholders DFCS State Office

PACCC Meeting
PIC Meetings
Regional/State CQI Meetings
Regional C3 Stakeholder Meetings
CFSR Outcomes & Reports
PIP Update at Macon Leadership Meetings Regional and State Cadences PIP Progress Report (condensed version) Regional/District Leadership Conference Calls Regional Stakeholder Meetings
Inclusion of PIP updates

Information distributed via Email blasts, newsletters, video clips, visual displays Regional Summits Random sampling (survey, focus group, phone call, interview)
Trend Report and Comparison Chart Six-month trend report
Email Distribution
Program specific Newsletters

Monthly
Monthly
Quarterly
Monthly after completion of CWQA Review Monthly
Quarterly
Monthly Semi-annual Monthly
Weekly Quarterly
Quarterly
Quarterly/Annual
Quarterly

CQI Manager, PIP Program Leads, C3 Coordinators Regional C3 Coordinators CQI Specialists PIP Execution Strategy Workgroup Members CWQA & CQI
Regional C3 Coordinators CQI Specialists Regional C3 Coordinators CQI Specialists CWQA
CWQA SO Core Team & PIP Program Leads Regional Leadership Quality Management Director
PIP Program Leads
Regional C3 Coordinator, Regional Director Section Managers

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Georgia's third quarter progress report was submitted to the Children's Bureau on February 23, 2018. Then Children's Bureau staff made site visits from March 27th to March 29th to determine Georgia's overall progress in both the CFSR review and PIP implementation. Though Georgia has met four of the ten quality review items, CFSR review data shows a decrease in items 2, 3, 5, 12, 14 and 15 since the 2015 baseline (This statement is based on rolling trend comparison data from all zones/regions during November 2017 May 2018). Based on the Children's Bureau assessment and Georgia's current performance, a PIP renegotiation draft proposal has been submitted to the Children's Bureau in Washington, D.C. for review. The draft proposal recommends transferring several PIP activities to the APSR for ongoing monitoring, and it includes recommendations for amending several PIP activities to provide additional attention and enhancements to more effectively impact outcomes. In June, Georgia received additional feedback, from the Children's Bureau, on the draft PIP proposal. This feedback will be incorporated into a final PIP proposal for review and approval by Children's Bureau officials in Washington, D.C.
II. IV-E PIP
Georgia began implementation of a Title IV-E Program Improvement Plan (PIP) in January 2013. Following the exit conference for the Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility onsite review in November 2015, the agency was cited as not being in substantial compliance with 12 error cases; two additional cases were identified as questionable and scheduled for a third-level review. Safety requirements were not satisfactorily met for caregiver staff of child caring institutions (CCI) in which children were placed during the periods under review. Violations were found in the following policy areas of the state licensing agency: (1) no evidence of a criminal background check (CRC) for all staff of the facility, (2) CRCs not completed prior to the child's placement, (3) initial CRCs accepted that were greater than 12 months old, and (4) required five-year CRC re-check not completed timely, if at all. Of the eleven error cases, nine had violations in one or more of the listed safety requirements related to criminal record checks. The state did not request any revisions be made to the goals, objectives or interventions within the IV-E PIP.
OPM conducted 5 webinars on February 22 and March 1, 2017 with providers to discuss the quality assurance plan and the requirements for uploading all safety screenings for staff. OPM & Rev Max conducted cross training of on the two programs on April 20, 2017 and followed that up with a training to RBWO providers on the IV-E requirements and safety screenings on May 16, 2017. During this meeting, OPM provided data to the providers explaining the number of providers that were out of compliance, the reasons for being out of compliance and data on the number of providers that were placed on suspension, and unable to accept additional placement. The providers had to submit corrective action plans that are monitored by the Office of Provider Management during quarterly safety check desk reviews.
As of December 2017, all IV-E PIP goals have been achieved, most of them ahead of schedule. Since April 1, 2017, the Office of Provider Management completed 675 audits on private provider staff to ensure their compliance with the IV-E requirement. These 100% audits have proven effective in keeping providers engaged and holding them accountable. By January 1, 2018, 99% of providers were found to be in compliance with the IV-E requirement. This is a significant increase from the 39% that complied in July 2017. March 31, 2018, OPM only had one RBWO provider on suspension due to noncompliance with the IV-E safety check requirement. This is notable given that a year ago, 87 providers were on suspension due to non-compliance with the IV-E safety check requirement.

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Ongoing, there is a monthly Risk Management meeting held between DFCS, Rev Max, RCCL, DJJ, Pro Unit and the fiscal director. In this meeting, key issues related to IV-E PIP are shared and discussed as needed. In addition, a monthly provider leadership meeting is held with providers that creates an opportunity for OPM to address concerns, provide clarifications, and further explain requirements. It also affords providers a chance to ask questions, present ideas and share their feedback. RBWO providers began receiving GA+SCORE alerts regarding safety screenings in July 2017.
B. C3 Integration
The Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) is a five-year strategic plan that comprehensively integrates programs that serve children and families and serves as a roadmap for performance. The plan is reviewed annually to assess progress toward goals, strategies and objectives. Every five to seven years, the state and the federal Administration for Children and Families review the state's performance regarding national standards and desired outcomes. The state uses this Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) examination to identify gaps in the work and subsequently develops an action plan to address areas of deficiency. This Program Improvement Plan (PIP) outlines strategies to intervene in the areas needing improvement. Principles of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process are used to get to the root cause of problems and support improvements in practices and procedures. In past years, the coordination and development of these plans and processes were done in silos. Over the past three years, the state has cultivated a more integrated operation.
While there are managers who are separately responsible for the CFSP, CFSR and CQI work, the three units work closely together to ensure there is symmetry in how agency priorities are adopted and how the strategic planning work flows throughout the service continuum. There is also a dedicated, fulltime C3 coordinator in each region that ensures this symmetry is as intrinsic at the field level as it is at the state level. This concept, branded as the C3 Connection, provides a foundation of stability, focus and effective communication, and it ensures courses of action that support plan objectives.
The state hosts a monthly CQI meeting called a "PACCC,"4 where program area leads provide updates on their areas of responsibility for strategy action steps and activities. C3 coordinators provide updates on their respective region's progress in implementing CFSP and PIP strategies, challenges that are being faced, trends that are surfacing and innovative practices being used to address barriers or ramp up positive outcomes. The Quality Assurance Review Team director presents data to confirm the status of the state's achievement of objectives and targets. The PIP manager reports updates on the PIP's action plan and the CFSP manager provides updates related to the CFSP goals and APSR highlights. Once the meeting participants have a grasp of the scope of progress being made or not made, there is deliberation regarding needed corrective action, assignments of responsibility, and information or ideas that should be shared with staff in the field and others not present.
The CQI manager facilitates the PACCC meeting and uses it to target child welfare practices or processes that need closer examination, applying CQI principles to pinpoint root causes and solutions. C3 coordinators participate in bi-weekly conference calls facilitated by the CFSP manager and submit written monthly reports to the state office so that there isn't a disconnection between state-level staff

4 PIP, APSR, CFSP, CFSR, CQI

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perceptions and regional-level reality. The reports help to monitor progress, but they also allow issues to surface and be addressed timely and effectively.
At the regional level, C3 coordinators work to ensure staff understand the role they play in assuring the state meets plan objectives, national standards, and ultimately the best outcomes for children and families. Many of them have built a team in their regions and either work closely with their CQI facilitators or serve as the CQI representative. The CQI Unit has been informing regional teams of CFSR findings, preparing them to meet PIP requirements, and aligning Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) goals and interventions to achieve performance outcomes. The state CQI Unit works to improve the stability and functional capacity of regional CQI teams through monthly CQI meetings, quarterly statewide CQI facilitator meetings, monthly PACCC meetings and CQI trainings. As of June 2018, there are three CQI specialists who serve the 14 regions and the state's intake call center, two vacancies are anticipated to be filled soon.
Trainings were provided to field program specialists, data integrity specialists, state CQI team members, stakeholders and others to ensure they are well versed in the performance improvement process. CQI specialists additionally received training on the fundamentals of SBC, alignment of staff, effective teams and effective collaboration, rapid process improvement and data analysis.
Each of the regions are assigned a QA reviewer to work in conjunction with the CQI specialist and team in each region. The QA reviewer provides additional consultation and training as needed around the CFSR outcomes and measures to improve case practice performance and the quality of services provided to meet the needs of families. Once a quality assurance review is completed for a region, state CQI specialists, regional CQI facilitators, C3 coordinators and the QA reviewers meet to examine the outcomes and identify performance practices and changes needed to positively impact the work within the region. Subsequently, a Performance Improvement Collaboration (PIC) meeting is conducted within that region with state and regional leaders, CQI team members, the C3 coordinator and community stakeholders. Participants are encouraged to provide feedback and input related to current practice and changes needed for improving overall performance. The regional CQI team take the input and uses it to apply the CQI and performance improvement process for identifying problems and implementing QIP goals and interventions for improving overall performance and meeting PIP requirements.
Since the federal program instruction released March 2014 (ACYF-CB-PI-14-03), the state has worked diligently to integrate the CFSP with the CFSR and CFSR PIP process. The incorporation of the work of the QA reviewers, CQI staff and C3 coordinators has been integral to the state's ability to do this skillfully.

C. Requirements

C1. Collaboration

As the state works to achieve the anticipated pillars, Director Pryor contends that it must be done in a spirit of partnership. "It is through partnering with others that we find honesty and ownership in codeveloped plans and initiatives... When we operate with this partnership lens, interactions with children and families are no longer compliance based but are opportunities to maintain and strengthen these individual relationships and celebrate successes. This same partnership dynamic is true when applied to interactions with our staff and stakeholders."

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I. Stakeholder involvement with assessment of agency strengths and areas needing improvement

The Division seeks stakeholder input and involvement in the assessment of agency strengths and areas needing improvement. This stakeholder involvement occurs in the quality assurance (QA) and continuous quality improvement (QI) process as well as ongoing practices.
Stakeholder interviews are conducted as a routine part of the quality assurance case review process and their input is included in the QA trend reports. These interviews are to determine the role and effectiveness of interventions for families and to ensure collaboration between county agencies and external partners. Stakeholders interviewed include case managers, supervisors, community partners, foster parents, service providers, court personnel, attorneys and school personnel. Among the areas the stakeholders are asked to rate are effectiveness of partnership, ability to identify risk, quality and timeliness of services and training provided.
QA review results and trends are routinely shared and discussed with stakeholders in collaborative meetings such as the CAPTA citizen review panel steering committee meetings with leadership, annual stakeholder joint planning collaboration meetings, regional road shows and town hall meetings with regional and/or state leadership, and continuous quality improvement meetings (regional and statelevel).
The state does an annual analysis of results and data, compiling the status of the state's achievements regarding pre-established goals and objectives. Data are presented to stakeholders at the annual APSR collaboration meeting conducted in partnership with the Children's Bureau. Participants include non-DFCS stakeholders representing several areas of expertise and practice, including presidents and executive directors of private, faith-based and community groups, such as CASAs, attorneys and other judicial and court representatives, educators, health professionals, CAPTA panel members as well as DFCS regional directors, county directors, C3 coordinators, CQI specialists and foster families/youth. DFCS program managers and directors jointly serve with community stakeholders on panels to discuss areas of concern in the state that warrant examination and directed discourse.
The Division maintains strong relationships with Georgia's three CAPTA panels, their individual members and the organizations they represent. Co-chairs from each CAPTA panel serve on a joint steering committee that meets several times a year to promote inter-panel collaboration, coordination of Panel activities, and joint planning with DFCS. Georgia is now holding quarterly meetings with the Panel Steering Committee and DFCS leadership. These meetings provide opportunities for conversation on topics of interest/concern to the panels and opportunities for the panels/members to provide input on agency strengths and areas needing improvement. CAPTA panel members have been instrumental in the development of the CFSR PIP, serving on the state's policy advisory committee and the statewide CQI group and participating in development of the state's new CAPTA plan.
Georgia CASA has been an active participant in state-level collaborative meetings with the Division. On a regional level, local CASA leaders have been engaged and included in local stakeholder meetings, road shows, and CQI teams. Additionally, Georgia CASA provided input on SBC policy updates, continued to partner with the Child Welfare Training Collaborative on its statewide training opportunities, presented at regional and state level trainings, and supported community engagement efforts.
The Multiagency Alliance for Children (MAAC) is a collaboration of nine agencies that work together to provide placement and wrap-around support to children with higher service needs with a scope of

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services ranging from assessments to intensive psychiatric care, adoptions to residential group homes, therapeutic foster care to maternity care and more. MAAC attends CQI meetings, provides input and coordinates youth involvement on child welfare policies and in stakeholder meetings. MAAC's EmpowerMEnt program staff and advocates were involved in discussions regarding the PIP. Additionally, MAAC's director of Program Improvement and Evaluation sits on the State CQI Team and provided agency feedback throughout the development, implementation, and monitoring of the PIP.
Stakeholder input on policy and practice occurs routinely. Some examples: Call center administration conducts frequent roadshows throughout the state and takes notes when maltreatment reporters provide feedback. Based on Mandated reporters requesting additional CPS reporting options due to lengthy hotline call wait times, CICC created the CPS online reporting portal and improved the fax, email, and CPS hotline reporting options. The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) works closely with the Division on developing plans for enhancement of services. OCA provides written recommendations for practice, reviews case activity and provides reports. OCA is actively involved with child fatality and serious injury cases and conducts formal reviews independently and in collaboration with the Division's internal child death and serious injury review unit. OCA has also provided training for staff, from frontline case managers to senior leadership Policy and Regulations Unit staff have attended Kinship meetings with internal and external internal stakeholders, including Casey Family Programs, to discuss and identity ways to improve the number of children placed with relatives, supports, and permanency. The Division participates in the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) and Crisis Stabilization Units (CSU) Quality Council Consortium, a collaboration of Amerigroup, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), private PRTF and crisis stabilization providers, Amerigroup, the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), and the Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL). The collaboration is an effort to improve policies and practice, provide training; monitor trends, address questions and concerns, and brainstorm solutions. Wellness Programming, Assessment and Consultation Unit (WPAC) works in collaboration with the Department of Community Health (DCH), Amerigroup, Department of Public Health (DPH) and Children 1st to develop strategies to decrease the number of overdue initial and ongoing medical/dental/trauma assessments. The Department of Community Health (DCH), Amerigroup, WPAC, and RevMax (internal partner) have worked together on multiple occasions to resolve issues around lapses in Medicaid as well as third-party insurance billing for youth in care. In May 2017, input was solicited from private agency partners for the revision of caregiver onboarding forms, particularly the revised application and questionnaires. (The unit also convened a workgroup with regional staff and foster parents to review the forms in December 2016.) Stakeholder input informed the final form revisions. The Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit (CRRU) went to 13 of the 14 regions to facilitate Think Tank sessions. These sessions helped the CRRU understand the systemic factors and programmatic processes that impeded each regional team's capacity to onboard new caregivers, retain existing caregivers, and recruitment efforts. During the session a discussion of current policies also ensued, which resulted in multiple policy revisions.

II. Review of goals, objectives, and interventions

The Division has several collaborative mechanisms for seeking review of input on goals, objectives and interventions.

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During the APSR Kick-Off Joint Collaboration meeting held March 2018, stakeholders were given descriptive copies of the state's child welfare goals, objectives and interventions. Panel presentations and subsequent discussion groups explored specific areas of related practice. During roadshows, state leadership routinely seeks feedback from frontline staff, private providers, local agencies, educators, judicial and legislative personnel and other meeting attendees. Leadership provides an overview of the agency's priorities with respect to the Blueprint pillars, explaining why these are areas of focus.

During annual regional stakeholder meetings (there is at least one held in every region, but some regions host several), appropriate state and regional leaders such as the CFSR PIP manager, CFSP/APSR manager, Quality Assurance Review Team director and regional director make presentations to help local stakeholders understand their roles in the overall child welfare system the CFSP and PIP goals and the strategies that have been adopted to impact the goals are described. Data is presented to demonstrate how the region compares to the state overall, and then stakeholders are given an opportunity to discuss the goals and objectives and make suggestions regarding interventions or practices that can be employed to improve areas of priority. A significant amount of brainstorming occurs at the meetings and the effort put into planning these meetings has proven to be time well spent.

These stakeholder meetings have proven to not only be one of the most effective ways for the agency to deliberate goals and objectives, but also to generate ideas for making greater progress in achieving them. They have been chiefly influential in impacting the state's goal to improve constituent engagement and increase stakeholder participation in other meetings, such as local and state CQI meetings and PIP planning, implementation, training, and advisory meetings.

University of Chicago - Chapin Hall Assessment of Georgia DFCS Placement Operations

This assessment includes a review of the current network options, assessment of the processes that govern how system partners make decisions to access the continuum of care and locate children to placements, and assessment of outcomes associated with those decisions given the structure and context for making placements with a goal of developing recommendations for optimization.

The draft report has been received and discussions are ongoing to clarify several points. However, the report recommendations are broad in scope with significant fiscal and systemic impacts. The Division does not anticipate being able to execute the recommendations quickly, as they likely require significant funding as well as broad systemic change involving multiple internal and external stakeholders. Additionally, the current structure of the placement process will require a redesign.

III. Monitoring of progress

One of the three pillars of the Division's Blueprint for Change is constituent engagement, and CAPTA panels represent significant constituent engagement in assessing and monitoring child welfare practices and progress.

Georgia's Citizen Review Panels are:

The Child Protective Services Advisory Committee (CPSAC) includes members from a broad range of service providers and community organizations including volunteers and professionals with expertise in kinship care, pregnant and parenting youth, domestic violence, medically fragile children, foster parents, and visitation. The CPSAC spent much of the last year focused on the training of foster parents and support for relative caregivers. The CPSAC completed a review of the DFCS process for training foster parents and has provided concrete recommendations to the Division about that training.

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The Division has spoken with CPSAC about this topic and will continue the discussion to ensure concerns about training content and delivery are addressed. The CPSAC is encouraged by the Division's efforts to promote a kin-first culture and has also provided recommendations for ensuring relative placements are appropriate and the needs of children and caregivers are met. The Division will continue to engage the CPSAC for feedback as it designs its new kinship policy and programming. The CPSAC is currently shifting its focus to worker safety and CPS investigations involving placements. The Division is actively providing information on these topics as the reviews are underway.
The Children's Justice Act Task Force (CJATF) includes members from law enforcement and the courts (police, prosecutors, juvenile court judge), the non-profit community (CASA, Barton Center, Child Advocacy Centers, CHOA, PCA GA, CHRIS Kids), other state agencies (juvenile justice, education, DBHDD), and relevant community members (adoptive parent, parent of a special needs child, foster parent). The CJATF is always assessing Division strengths and areas needing improvement with special attention on the results of the Task Force's 2015 three-year assessment which focused on concerns related to the reporting and handling of reports of incidents of abuse. The CJATF and the Division worked closely together to identify key goals, objectives, and interventions in this area. With the encouragement and support of the Division, the Task Force completed a project addressing inconsistencies in terminology, definitions, policies, practice and training across agencies and in different sections of the Georgia Code, relevant DFCS policy, and the state's child abuse protocol. A multi-agency work group worked to remedy some of the identified inconsistencies and create standard maltreatment definitions. A legislative proposal did not pass in the 2018 session but will be proposed again next session. In addition to its continued work around mandated reporters and investigations of child fatalities, the CJATF is completing another three-year assessment in 2018 focusing on the training provided to individuals who respond to and investigate cases of child maltreatment. The Division commits to collaboration with the Task Force and other agencies around these areas.
The Child Fatality Review Panel (CFRP) is co-chaired by a superior court judge and a juvenile court judge. The membership includes state legislators, representatives from many state agencies (including OCA, DBHDD, DPH, DHS Board, DECAL, GBI, and Education), and subject area specialists (including a coroner, forensic pathologist, and child abuse prevention specialist). The CFRP made a considerable effort to enhance their examination and reporting on maltreatment-related child fatalities and they have provide feedback to the Division on areas where they see a need for improvement. The CFRP Maltreatment Committee is working to develop criteria for identifying and reviewing a select group of fatality cases where abuse and/or neglect has been identified as the cause of the fatality and other elevated risk factors were identified. They are also exploring opportunities for collaboration with other groups who collect and analyze data on child fatalities.
The child fatality review team works with both internal and external stakeholders to monitor child fatalities reported to the Division. Internal stakeholders include the Policy Unit, Program Planning and Guidance, Field Operations and their regional offices, the Data Unit, and the division director's office. External partners include Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), medical examiners and coroners statewide, the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA), and local law enforcement. The Child Fatality review team analyses and tracks available information with a focus on fatalities with prior agency history. Some fatalities warrant a joint staffing with external partners and internal DFCS staff to examine the circumstances around the death more closely. These reviews focus on facts and a review of prior agency involvement. These reviews are a collaborative effort to ensure the safety of surviving siblings and related data-gathering. Findings and trends are used to identify policy concerns, training needs, practice deficiencies and opportunities for improvement. This team's work has also supported the effort to reduce sleep-related

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deaths across the state, a strategic goal of the Division, and helped to inform the state's Safe Sleep Campaign.
Consent decree work, by its nature, relies heavily upon the accountability agent (AA) assigned by the court. The AA has a team that provides valuable assistance in understanding data, quality improvement, analysis of the current processes, and efforts to achieve meaningful, long-term improvement. KA primarily relies upon semi-annual case and programmatic reviews conducted by the KA Review Team. Additionally, other measurements are produced by the Data Unit based on queries that are run to respond to specific outcomes. The information produced is used in reports to measure overall progress. Though the goals and outcomes contained in the KA Consent Decree are mostly based on CFSR requirements, the work does not fully align with the CFSP. Because the KA Consent Decree was agreed to in 2005, the CFSP is not a primary driver in meeting its outcomes. Nevertheless, the KA work supports the overall goals of the Division, and KA attempts to meet many of the CFSR goals.
The Division's Independent Living Program (ILP) works closely with the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia. This cooperative work has been the impetus for various initiatives in the past, such as the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program, Embark Conferences, College Bound, and Leadership Academy. During this reporting period, the Institute provided the Division with a series of analytics, including academic outputs and outcomes of ETV recipients. Based on these analytics, ILP has begun to tailor efforts around enrollment and retention through increased knowledge about the ETV program through webinars, in-person training sessions and college connections workshops. In partnership with ILP, the Institute hosts information sessions for caregivers, providers and secondary education institutions. ILP and MAAC host statewide workshops specifically for youth who need post-secondary education support.

IV. Ongoing involvement

The Division anticipates the continued rollout of the State of Hope campaign will be successful in part due to the state's strong, decades-long partnerships with community stakeholders. While intentional focus on constituents and engagement with the media and advisory boards in recent years have fostered new bonds, the efforts have also strengthened long-lasting relationships, igniting new ways in which the agency interacts with "old friends." The agency has renewed its commitment to hosting roadshows and will increase the minimum number of regional C3 stakeholder meetings from one to four a year. The following collaborative work will also be continued in the coming year.

Interagency Directors Team (IDT)
As part of a cooperative agreement among high-level agencies, an Interagency Directors Team (IDT) meeting is held monthly with representatives from Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Department of Community Health (DCH), Department of Public Health (DPH), Department of Education (DOE), Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), and Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) to promote increased cooperation, coordination, and integration at the administrative and service delivery levels between the parties for the benefit of children and adolescents in need of or in receipt of behavioral health services, and their families;
Prevention Collaborations

The Division's major partners that provide substantial, ongoing and meaningful collaboration with PCS to address issues related to child abuse prevention are Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) Georgia and

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Strengthening Families Georgia. PCS is on the advisory board for both groups, each of which meets quarterly. This provides an important feedback loop from other members of the advisory boards that provide child abuse prevention services across the state.

Strengthening Families additionally had a formal evaluation conducted by consultants to determine the effectiveness of the Strengthening Families Initiative. This evaluation helped PCS access strengths and needs and the Strengthening Families Georgia Strategic Plan. The major impact of PCS work with Strengthening Families Georgia for the past fiscal year was that this partnership was instrumental in getting the Five Protective Factors integrated in the work of state and private agencies involved in the field of child welfare across the state, not only through the distribution of materials but also through trainings conducted by Strengthening Families Georgia (SFG).

Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) Georgia is instrumental every year in leading National Child Abuse Prevention Month efforts across the state. PCA Georgia is also instrumental in the provision of several trainings, including Mandated Reporter, Bullying Prevention, Child Home Safety, Engaging Fathers, Stewards of Children and Childhood Trauma trainings. Additionally, this year, the Division also partnered with PCA Georgia to begin the planning of a statewide Child Abuse Prevention Campaign. The campaign will be launched later this year, and the Division plans to capture/track any measurable the impact and outcomes resulting from the campaign.

Another important partnership with PCA Georgia was the development of a resource map for the state that includes PSSF services and services available through PCA Georgia's resource hotline number. A link to this map was added to the Georgia SHINES system so that case managers can access it and determine the location of services in their area.

Safety Collaborations
Quarterly Meetings with Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia (AFPAG) The Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit and Adoptions Unit (CCRU) directors meet quarterly with AFPAG leadership to discuss issues and concerns raised by caregivers for whom they provide mentoring, advocacy, and support. AFPAG leadership provides an update on trending issues that lead to caregiver complaints and grievances, interventions implemented to mitigate concerns, training and support provided to local associations, and resources needed. This information is shared with Division executive leadership for consideration and interventions.

Substance-Exposed Newborns The Division continues to work with Georgia PROUD to engage multi-disciplinary partners to support implementation of Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) amendments.
Additionally, DFCS Practice and Program Guidance is in communication with DBHDD and DPH regarding best practices of working with shared populations and is creating a small inter-agency work group to ensure resources are leveraged in a way that maximizes services and promotes the best possible outcomes for infants and families.
Foster Care and Permanency Collaborations

The Permanency Section continues has developed ongoing collaboration with internal and external parties. Ongoing collaborative meetings with private providers and state office and regional leadership occur monthly. There is an established judges' meeting that is facilitated by the permanency and safety directors. Provider stakeholders participate in discussions around proposed practice shifts and in

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workgroups that could potentially impact their practice. The permanency section vets all proposed practice shifts to the field prior to any rollout. Additionally, C3 coordinators are responsible for retrieving trend information and reporting at the monthly state PACC meeting.
Placement Resource Engagement Meetings The Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit (CRRU) works closely with the Office of Provider Management (OPM) to establish and maintain partnerships with private agency providers, both child placing agencies and child caring institutions. In November 2016, the CRRU launched the Placement Resource Engagement Meeting initiative to encourage the local development of partnerships between regional RD teams and their private agency partners in their area. These partnerships mirror those already established in Region 3 and Region 5 between the Division and private agency stakeholders. The Regional RD teams are encouraged to reach out to their private agency stakeholders to support their efforts in recruiting, onboarding, and maintaining their caregiver resources. Since the inception of the Placement Resource Engagement Meeting initiative, each of the 14 DFCS regions has hosted a meeting with local stakeholders to plan and execute recruitment activities.
Provider Leadership Meetings Foster Family-based Treatment Association (FFTA), GA Alliance of Therapeutic Services (GATS), Together Georgia, RBWO providers, EmpowerMEnt, Residential Child Care Licensing and DFCS leadership participate in a monthly provider leadership collaboration meeting. This meeting is co-led by an RBWO Provider (a representative is selected quarterly) and DFCS leadership. In this meeting, providers can discuss any systematic needs and/or ask questions. DFCS leadership uses this opportunity to discuss any changes within DFCS, pending policies changes, legislation changes, and provide information on upcoming meetings/trainings as well as other collaboration opportunities.

Private Provider-Resource Developer Bi-Annual Meetings The CCRU and OPM aid in the coordination and hosting of a bi-annual meeting between private agency stakeholders/RBWO providers and regional resource development teams. Two meetings were held to discuss programmatic practices relative to the execution of the Diligent Recruitment Plan. Information is presented and shared by private agency stakeholders and Division staff. Roundtable discussions are encouraged, and feedback is obtained during the meetings relative to discussed topics. The meetings were held on April 13, 2017 and December 12, 2017.

MAAC Crisis Continuum This collaboration developed in partnership with the State Placement Resource Office is designed to divert youth coming into foster care or who are otherwise hard to place from having to stay in hotels while awaiting placement. A dedicated MAAC staff member works with youth who are placed in designated crisis homes for 30 days while an appropriate long-term plan is developed. MAAC implements an intervention model that is informed by high-fidelity wraparound practice and traumaresponsive principles. The process relies heavily on youth voice, developing a culture of support, securing sustainable resources and helping young people achieve and maintain permanence. MAAC utilizes a System of Care perspective, believing that individuals, agencies and child serving systems all play a role in positive outcomes for youth. The team will continue to engage in strategic planning and active recruitment efforts to expand the capacity of the Crisis Continuum program.

Children's Freedom Initiative The Children's Freedom Initiative (CFI) is a collaborative effort supported by the Georgia Developmental Disabilities Network, The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), the Institute on Human Development and Disability at the University of Georgia (IHDD), The Georgia

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Advocacy Office (GAO), and the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University (CLD). The collaboration provides an opportunity to educate families about resources available for children so that they can remain at home and advocate for youth to transition from facilities into homes within the community
Together Georgia Retreat, Conference and Meetings Together Georgia has an annual executive retreat in which Together Georgia member executives, senior leaders and DFCS leaders participate. Together Georgia has approximately four specialized monthly meetings with Together Georgia member providers including CCI, CPA, family preservation, behavioral health and faith-based providers. Members from DFCS State Office participate in these meetings quarterly to address any needs/concerns being expressed by RBWO providers.
Additionally, Together Georgia sponsors a Georgia Conference on Children and Families, which is the largest annual interdisciplinary event in Georgia designed to bring together the community that serves children and families. The conference features specialized tracks, plenary sessions and networking opportunities with the goal of improving outcomes for the children and families served. This conference includes a full spectrum of disciplines and organizations, including child advocacy, juvenile justice, social services, education, legal counsel and the faith-based community. The conference provides a forum to improve competencies, learn from experts in the field and network with other professionals who have a wealth of experience.
The Office of Provider Management, Department of Juvenile Justice, Residential Child Care Licensing and Together Georgia conduct a quarterly New Provider Orientation that provides introductory information each year to approximately 700 participants interested in becoming RBWO providers.
Another collaboration event with Together Georgia is "Practice Matters," quarterly meetings with DFCS and RBWO providers to discuss what's going well, address needs and develop strategies to address the identified needs.

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Adoption Collaborations

The State has the following vendor/partners for both pre- and post-adoption services:

Table 2: Adoption Collaborations Vendor/Partner Program All God's Children Adoption Services

Bethany Christian Child Life History Services
Bethany Christian ADOPTS Program Services
Bethany Christian Adoption Services Services

The Dave Thomas Wendy's

Foundations

Wonderful Kids

Program

Families First

Georgia Center for Resources & Support

Families First

Reunion Registry

Families First

Adoption Services

Service Provision
To recruit, assess, prepare, and train families who will be able to parent children with special needs and to provide the family support services that will assist them in maintaining the placement of these children to the point of finalization and even beyond. To complete the child history; which is used for full disclosure to an adoptive family prior to adoptive placement. To provide trauma-informed family therapy specific to adoptive families and their adopted children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or other complex traumas. To recruit, assess, prepare, and train families who will be able to parent children with special needs and to provide the family support services that will assist them in maintaining the placement of these children to the point of finalization and even beyond. To provide diligent child specific recruitment activities for children in care without an identified adoption resource; children referred to this program are generally youth with significant needs or are members of very large sibling groups. To maintain operation of the Georgia Center for Foster and Adoption Resources by developing and delivering a comprehensive program for accessing and developing post-placement services for foster and adoptive families. Services are available on a statewide basis in the 17 DHS Service Delivery Areas to all foster and adoptive families who continue to reside within the state of Georgia (prior to and after the legalization of the adoption) until the child reaches the age of 18. To enhance and maintain operation of Georgia's Adoption Reunion Registry, as required by state law, to offer services to birth parents, adopted persons, adoptive parents, and siblings who are affected by adoptions finalized in Georgia. The complete content of the law can be found in the Official Code of Georgia, Annotated, as Amended (19-8-23f). To recruit, assess, prepare, and train families who will be able to parent children with special needs and to provide the family support services that will assist them in maintaining the placement of these children to the point of finalization and even beyond.

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Family Matters
Image Freeway Lisa Lumpe Lisa Lumpe Lutheran Services of Georgia
Georgia Mentor
Georgia State University

ATEAM
Record Retention Photo listing Statewide Adoption Match Meeting Adoption Services
Crisis Intervention
Training Adoption Competency

To provide adopted teens in grades 6-12 opportunities for mutual support and self-awareness/development through group interactions with other adopted teens in 12 ATEAM sites across the state. Parent support meetings also provided. To prepare, microfilm, index, and purge State and county adoption records for permanent retention as mandated by law (O.C.G.A. 19-8-23). To provide the services required by federal law to feature children with no identified adoption resource on a local, regional and nationwide photo listing website. To provide staff with training, networking and matching opportunities through an annual conference.
To recruit, assess, prepare, and train families who will be able to parent children with special needs and to provide the family support services that will assist them in maintaining the placement of these children to the point of finalization and even beyond. To provide crisis intervention to families with a potential for disruption or dissolution of an adoptive placement. A statewide team of skilled individuals works with families to asses and connect them to needed resources. A partnership with GSU to provide clinicians providing therapeutic services to adoptive families the competencies needed to better services the families with a goal of reducing adoption disruptions, displacements and dissolutions.

Well-Being Collaborations

Several external stakeholders and partners engage in substantial collaboration with the agency to address educational, health and wellness needs of children in foster care. Some of the more customary partners in this work include:
Georgia Department of Education (GA DOE) Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates (GA CASA) Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network (SAN) United Way of Greater Atlanta (UWGA)

Children in Need of Services (CHINS) The Policy and Regulations Unit initiated a CHINS (Children in Need of Services) Collaborative, which includes DFCS, judges, Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and DBHDD, to look at creating a statewide policy on addressing the CHINS population. The second meeting scheduled for March 2018 was planned to identify statewide issues that need to be addressed, expectations and possible duties of a statewide CHINS coordinator, strengths and challenges, vision and challenges in developing and implementing CHINS policies across state agencies.

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Wellness WPAC, DCH and Amerigroup meet monthly face-to-face and bi-weekly via conference call to discuss ongoing barriers around services provided to each region, communication between Amerigroup and DFCS, coordination of services, areas of improvement, and positive outcomes. WPAC meets quarterly face-to-face with DPH to share data, discuss barriers, and opportunities to improve practice. WPAC coordinates trainings with Amerigroup and DPH in various regions as needed.
WPAC, the Department of Community Health (DCH) and Amerigroup joint efforts in facilitating Mobile Assessment Unit events, Fulton County Court Clinic, and other clinical opportunities to provide medical, dental, and trauma assessments for youth in care have highlighted the need for better planning in each region around scheduling, tracking, monitoring, and follow-up when addressing the medical and mental health needs of youth in care. Identified barriers to addressing overdue mental/dental/trauma assessments are discussed in multiple meetings with WPAC, DCH and Amerigroup throughout the month. The barriers are identified and supported by data collected at these events and in Georgia SHINES. When these barriers in practice are identified, DCH and Amerigroup offer support by facilitating clinic days and WPAC assists the regions in getting organized for these clinic days. Amerigroup and WPAC provide training and over-the-shoulder support to these regions.
Unfortunately, high staff turnover contributes to the increase in overdue mental/dental/trauma assessments. WPAC and Amerigroup have limited numbers of staff available to provide support, so they are not always able to provide additional one-on-one support to a region that may be short-staffed. However, the data that DCH and Amerigroup collect (as well as SHINES data) are very helpful in identifying trends and monitoring progress toward ensuring youth receive timely mental/dental/trauma assessments. Additionally, the data collected by DPH regarding referrals made to DPH/Children 1st assisted in overall monitoring of Children 1st referrals for children under the age of 5 in care. This type of feedback provides guidance around training and the need to improve practice around timely referrals. One ongoing barrier to timely referrals statewide is the court orders that state the child is in custody of DFCS. DPH and WPAC jointly address the issue of timely court orders and are planning to engage juvenile courts on the importance of timely court orders.
The Department of Public Health (DPH) provides data on the number of referrals received by Children 1st within the quarter (by county, age, sex), additional referrals that were made to other resources, referrals that were declined and why, and reasons for deactivations of services. This data provides WPAC and DPH an idea of which areas have a higher number of youth with children under the age of 5, which resources are being referred out, types of services being provided, and if referrals are being submitted.
Education The Early Childhood Collaboration Manager meets with education partners several times a month to evaluate the effectiveness of services provided and make any necessary changes to practice and guidance. The Division's Education Advisory Committee is designed to provide recommendations to agency executive leadership and expertise around key areas such as policy, practice, and data. The committee will also review recommendations and insights from other stakeholders and partners that may inform, advise or aid the Division's leadership in establishing priorities related to education service delivery, practice, workforce development and interagency collaboration.
The Division's Education Practice Workgroup plans to engage a cross-section of agencies and professional disciplines to research, evaluate, test, design, and establish practices and protocols that support:

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Division best practices related to educational well-being and collaboration with state and local education agencies
Identification of early intervention and early childhood education services for young children in foster care.
Refinement/development of processes and protocols that minimize the delays in school enrollment when children enter foster care or change placements
Development of sustainable practices for external partners to provide wrap-around services and family supports to children in foster care and kinship care.
Development of training and professional development opportunities focused on traumainformed practices
Development of protocols for exchanging information with: o Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) o Cross-Agency Child Data System (CACDS) o Statewide Longitude Data System (SLDS)
CSEC: Project Intersect Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Georgia Center for Child Advocacy: Project Intersect is a collaboration with the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy that seeks to improve the well-being of commercially sexually exploited children through the provision of high-quality, trauma-focused, evidence-based treatment to exploited children and their families and the training of professionals across child-serving systems to better recognize and respond to the needs of exploited children. The primary goal of this partnership is to ensure trauma-informed systemic change will be implemented over the course of several years in a variety of child and family-serving systems engaged with this population, including juvenile justice, foster care, and homeless/runaway youth services.
CSEC Multidisciplinary Team Meeting The Division collaborates with Georgia Cares, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and the Georgia Child Advocacy Center to co-chair Georgia's statewide Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking MultiDisciplinary Team Meeting (DMST-MDT). This meeting is held monthly and is attended by DFCS, DJJ, DMST residential service providers, law enforcement, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, therapists, local district attorney offices, and other parties with direct involvement in working with victims of DMST. The purpose of this meeting is to ensure routine consultation on DMST cases with a diverse group of service providers and allow opportunities for trainings and staff development. Georgia Cares provides trainings at the MDT regarding the efforts to increase awareness of the correlation between child welfare and DMST and uses the meeting for collaboration on the efforts to establish DMST Standards of Care for the state.
In addition to the CSEC MDT, the agency maintains a strong relationship with Georgia Cares, Amerigroup, Youth Sparks, Wellspring Living, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and others who are involved in service provision and advocacy work for children who are victims of trafficking. The statewide CSEC coordinator also represents the agency on the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force and is collaborating with DJJ and CJCC to establish a CSEC receiving center for the state. The work of the agency continues to go beyond what is required for compliance and reflects a truly collaborative effort to ensure the specialized needs of youth in this population are met and that the issue of trafficking is addressed in a proactive manner.

MAAC - Youth Town Hall Series Georgia has a long-standing partnership with the Multi-Agency Alliance for Children (MAAC) to include: facilitating ILP workshops, facilitating IDA workshops, monitoring and tracking youth participation, and managing the Education Service Delivery Model. During 2017, DFCS and MAAC sponsored a series of

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youth town hall meetings statewide. The series was a success in that it allowed the Division to engage and encourage youth involvement in the decision-making process. Youth town hall meetings provide updates and suggestions related to systemic concerns of youth in foster care. More than 200 youth participated in MAAC-sponsored workshops throughout 2017 that covered topics such as education, permanency, housing, normalcy, mental and physical health, employment, and staff experience and engagement. DFCS staff from the Well-Being Unit meet bi-monthly with MAAC to assess the effectiveness of workshops being provided to youth. Because of these evaluation sessions with Division leadership, the consensus is that the town hall meetings are productive because they allow collaboration between youth and Division leadership. However, it has also been determined that more work can be done to increase communication with DFCS staff and foster connections with family members and adult supporters.

Collaboration with Courts

The Division has actively engaged the judicial system in its efforts to create systemic improvements. The Division director and senior leadership consistently interact with the Council of Juvenile Court Judges (CJCJ), including participation at all conferences. A designated judicial liaison from DFCS participates in Court Improvement Project meetings, attends CJCJ conferences, serves on relevant committees with juvenile court judges, and generally provides an efficient way for judges to communicate with DFCS. The Placement and Permanency director also participates in the CJCJ Permanency Planning committee and is a member of their subcommittee to increase placement of children in their home communities.

CAPTA Support One of the CAPTA program focal areas is improving legal preparation and representation, including procedures for appealing and responding to appeals of substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect and provisions for the appointment of an individual to represent a child in judicial proceedings. Similarly, CJA funds have been used to support training of guardians ad litem though Georgia's CASA program.

In addition to CAPTA funding, the Children's Justice Act Grant has allocated significant funds to projects that foster ongoing and meaningful collaboration with courts. These projects include funding for a variety of trainings, including a conference run by the Division's Legal Unit focused on training SAAGs the attorneys representing the Division in court and multiple trainings and court observations by CASA for juvenile court guardians ad litem. CJA funds also support the Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program, which supports the placement of future child welfare lawyers in Georgia's juvenile courts and in stakeholder organizations to support development of a pipeline of high-quality child welfare court personnel.

Policy Development When policies are being developed, the Policy and Regulations Unit invites juvenile court judges to review policy and provide feedback. The unit continues to enhance and solidify engagement of internal and external stakeholders to facilitate communication and adherence to federal and state regulations. Policy drafts are sent out via Survey Monkey, and reviewers are asked to provide specific feedback on the language, content, and anticipated impact of the policy on programs and practice.

Court Improvement Project The Court Improvement Project works with the Division to assist with the removal of barriers to court cases regarding practices related to safety resource placements and to provide insight, feedback, and recommendations regarding agency policy and practices. The CIP has allowed the Division to present

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information in a joint question-and-answer session with judges. There is an established monthly CIP collaboration meeting at the county and state levels. The Permanency director meets with judges on a quarterly basis to discuss problematic practice and judicial concerns.
PSSF Network of Community-Based Providers Locally, PSSF-funded providers are very responsive to the courts in providing services for families with court involvement. This is especially true of the PSSF-funded CASA programs, which are often relied upon for assistance with diligent search and home evaluation, not as the sole source, but as support and additional resources. Also, supervised visitation centers have responded by expanding their services outside regular hours, offering more frequent and longer visits and visits with extended family members and siblings - all beyond the typical parent-child visit.
Collaboration with Tribes
A designated member of the Policy and Regulations Unit serves as the DFCS State Office liaison to ICWA and the Georgia Tribes. The liaison regularly meets with the leadership of the state-recognized Georgia Tribes during the monthly meetings of the Governor's Council on American Indian Concerns to present relevant policy or practice and engage the tribes. Through these council meetings, the liaison has engaged with individuals from each Georgia tribe (including the Lower Muscogee Creek, the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Council, and the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee) to discuss specific concerns and agency policies and practices. Each tribe was also given several opportunities to review the development of the ICWA policy revision and offer comments, as the policy was enhanced to incorporate the provisions of the ICWA Final Rule. Frances Crews of the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Council advised that many of her tribe's children live across the southern state line in Florida, and so the ICWA policy would not have a significant impact on her tribe.
Tribal leaders, including Vonnie McCormick of the Lower Muscogee Creek, and Johnny Chattin and JB Jones of the Eastern Cherokee, have expressed interest in protecting their tribal sovereignty while partnering with DFCS when needed to protect tribal children. State recognition and state rights were discussed in several meetings. Opportunities for cooperation were identified, and the agency was advised that to extend state tribe protections to several families who were receiving DFCS services and identified as members of the emerging Tsigamogi tribe, the Tsigamogi families would henceforth be recognized as part of the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee.
The liaison has also reached out to ICWA specialists in other tribes for guidance on policy development and application and engaged the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) when needed. Federally recognized Tribes, including the Cherokee, Sault Saint-Marie, and White Earth Chippewa, were contacted for assistance in recruiting their members who live in Georgia to serve as ICWA preferred placements when needed. These tribes were identified from Georgia SHINES data of Native American children who were receiving foster care services and confirmed as tribal members. Several tribal responses were received, and the liaison will continue to reach out with additional recruitment efforts that will be coordinated with the CRRU as needed.
Local staff continue to seek opportunities to engage with tribal members. Tribal resources are identified, when available, for support services. Tribal families are encouraged to partner with agency staff to provide supports for children. Regional FPS monitor child welfare cases that involve tribal children to ensure ICWA protocols are being followed consistently and accurately. Ongoing efforts are being made to recruit tribal families as part of generalized recruitment efforts for ICWA foster and adoption placements, and to participate in DFCS Advisory Boards, when available.

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The members of the Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns were informed of the annual APSR meeting in March 2018 and encouraged to attend. Tribal leaders were invited to review the CFSP and the previous APSR online and to bring suggestions for improved collaboration and coordination with the agency.
Upcoming Plans:
The Council meeting schedule will be reduced from monthly to bi-monthly, and the liaison is coordinating efforts to include a DFCS program staff member in the council meetings to briefly present an overview of the agency's programs and services, including Well-Being, ILP, and caregiver recruitment.
In partnership with the Program and Practice Guidance Unit, the Policy and Regulations Unit has developed a training plan that continues efforts to educate staff on the provisions of ICWA. Ongoing opportunities have been identified with internal stakeholders such as SAAGs, Resource Development, Education and Training, and external partners such as the Court Improvement Project. This collaborative effort will ensure information is disseminated to partners in the child welfare system regarding ICWA.
Continue to engage the Georgia Tribes in reviewing policies, developing state protocols to improve practice in tribal-related child welfare matters, and providing case support to the field on federal and Georgia Tribe interactions.
Continue to provide case specific consultation to DFCS staff as needed. Seek out opportunities to engage with the Court Improvement Project on ICWA training for Courts.

Workforce Development Collaborations
Beginning August 2015, the IV-E Child Welfare Education Program was restarted after it was discontinued in 2011. DFCS partners with Georgia State University, which is the administrator for the IV-E contract and manages the school's contract and funding. Fort Valley State University was added to the program and began awarding stipends in January 2018. This brings the total number of participating universities to eight. This program is a recruitment and retention tool for DFCS staff, with 52 participants expected to graduate in May 2018.

ETS continued to partner with Public Consultant Group (PCG), Georgia State University and the Title IV-E Consortium as a part of Georgia's Title IV-E Child Welfare Education Program. The Consortium now consists of fiscal and academic staff from Savannah State University, Albany State University, Fort Valley State University, Georgia State University, University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University, Augusta University and Valdosta State University. PCG has been instrumental in assisting the Division in ensuring that policies and procedures are aligned with federal Title IV-E Child Welfare Education Program requirements. In addition to monthly meetings, PCG has assisted in conducting financial and curriculum reviews with all participating universities. Additionally, the Title IV-E Consortium group meets each quarter. The purpose of the meetings is to develop and review programmatic goals, policies, and procedures. Sub-committees are established to provide input on policy, curriculum, internship requirements, evaluation.

Training collaboration has supported the agency's work in implementing its case practice model and solution-based casework (SBC). Dr. Dana Christensen has continued to provide consultation and support to ensure that the practice model coaches, training staff, and managers incorporated SBC principles into training and implementation for case managers, supervisors, management, leadership and stakeholders.

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An ETS staff member continues to serve on the Commercial Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) Task Force Workgroup, which addresses issues from law enforcement to training, collaborates on developing an advanced CSEC training webinar, and engages in ongoing conversations regarding how DFCS might better work collaboratively with all CSEC partners.
Several collaborations support the ongoing workforce development and training efforts of the Education and Training Section (ETS). This includes the following collaborations:
Georgia State University's Professional Excellence Program providing training on secondary traumatic stress for case managers and supervisors; feedback has been extremely positive from these trainings.
Care Solutions, Inc. providing online training for Medical Mandated Reporter Training; the firm provides monthly reports on the numbers completing this training.
Georgia Child Advocacy Center, with ETS, providing training on Critical Skills for Gathering Information from Children, an intensive two-training on interviewing and engaging children; preand post-test scores as well as the post-training evaluations have shown increases in knowledge and case managers believe this training has helped them gain new skills in interviewing and engaging children.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with DFCS, providing Drug Safety and Trends webinar highlighting trends, dangerous drugs and safety recommendations for staff.
Online Training and Instructional Services (IOTIS) at Athens Tech manages the learning management system (LMS) used to schedule and track training hours and certifications and host online training. This system allows DFCS staff, foster parents and private providers to access training resources. ETS is working with IOTIS for delivery of a new LMS that will be more user-friendly, provide a wider array of reports, and better track foster parents and private provider training hours. The target date for the new LMS rollout in July 2018 for community partners and January 2019 for DFCS.
The Georgia Schools of Technology, DHS Regional Training Center and the Methodist Home to provide regional training hubs for staff and enable staff to attend training closer to home.
The DFCS/GSU/Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) Education Collaborative continued to meet quarterly with the various departments at CHOA that provide training to DFCS staff. The collaborative worked to identify training needs, to ensure training needs of DFCS staff were being met, and to prevent duplication of training materials. Using trends and data gathered from the different partners, this group will be able to target identified needs.
Promoting Safe and Stable Families
Georgia's Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (PSSF) which provides federal child welfare funding, training and technical assistance to support at-risk children and families collaborates with 151 community-based agencies to provide services throughout the state. Community-based services in Georgia are designed to reinforce ongoing service and population priorities, support the state's fiveyear Child & Family Services Plan (CFSP), and address service array needs as identified by the CFSR and addressed in the CFSP. and other input from staff and stakeholders as solicited through:
Consultation with DFCS leadership, unit and program managers An online statewide survey for DFCS regional directors and county directors, supervisors, and
case managers An online statewide survey of all PSSF service providers

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Three regional meetings held Statewide with all PSSF providers and representatives from local and regional DFCS staff
Focus groups with service providers that included representation by all PSSF program areas and service models.
Consultation with community partner (substance abuse treatment provider), to expand focus of service model to be more family-focused
Consultation with Georgia CASA Consultation with agency leadership and Georgia State University (training and technical
assistance) to incorporate evidence-based SafeCare home visiting model into Family Preservation Placement Prevention services model. Feedback from site visits to two Family Support/Service for Homeless Youth providers on challenges and successes.
These efforts were incorporated into the Statement of Need to solicit services statewide. Due to the continued collaborative work,
The FFY2019 PSSF Statement of Need to solicit proposals for community-based services was updated to reinforce ongoing service, population and geographic priorities, support the state's five-year Child & Family Services Plan for FFY 2015-2019 (CFSP), and incorporate input from staff and community stakeholders through: Consultation with DFCS leadership, unit and program managers An online statewide survey for DFCS regional directors and county directors C3 quarterly stakeholder meetings Consultation with community stakeholders, including homeless youth, relative caregivers, caregivers in recovery, CASA programs and child advocacy centers Feedback on service, population and geographic priorities from all these sources was incorporated into the PSSF FFY2019 Statement of Need. PSSF conducts this assessment annually to update the Statement of Need.

C2. Assessment of Performance

To assess the state's level of achievement toward meeting goals, objectives and outcomes for children and families, the state reviewed and analyzed the data profile and results from the Round 3 Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR). Quality Assurance Trend Reports and reports from program area leads, C3 coordinators and external stakeholders are also used to assist in the analysis regarding achievement in CFSP and PIP goals and strategies.

Due to data syntax errors found after the 2015 CFSR reports were issued, the Children's Bureau (CB) suspended the use of the state's performance on the national standards for the seven statewide data indicators in conformity decisions. As a result, the CB re-issued the report in April 2017, but it did not contain any changes to the results in the prior version of the Georgia Final Report. However, in the aftermath, Georgia was required to add CFSR Items 4, 5 and 6 to its PIP. The CB removed references to "conformity" based on the national data, and now refers to the national standards as "national performance." This performance represents the performance of the nation on the statewide data indicators for an earlier point in time.

Below are the most recent federal CFSR, state Quality Assurance review and PIP target findings,

followed by section C3, which uses these findings to highlight the state's achievement toward the newly

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aligned CFSP and provide an overall assessment of the state's work to improve performance in CFSR outcome areas.
I. CFSR Findings
Safety
The state was not in substantial conformity on Safety Outcomes 1 and 2, with Items 1, 2 and 3 rated as areas needing improvement. On the statewide data indicators for recurrence of maltreatment and maltreatment in foster care, the state met the national standards.
Permanency
The state was not in substantial conformity on Permanency Outcomes 1 and 2, with Items 4-11 rated as areas needing improvement. Additionally, the state met the national standards for four of the five permanency data indicators but did not meet the standard for placement stability.
Well-Being
The state was not in substantial conformity on Well-Being Outcomes 1-3, with Items 12-18 rated as areas needing improvement.
Systemic Factors
The state was in substantial conformity on two of seven systemic factors, Quality Assurance and Agency Responsiveness to the Community, with strength ratings on Items 25, 31 and 32. Additionally, the state received strength ratings on the following individual items, although the two systemic factors were not in substantial conformity overall:
Case Review System: Items 21 (periodic review) and 22 (permanency hearing) Foster and Adoptive Parent Licensing, Recruitment and Retention: Item 34 (requirements for
criminal background checks
The other three systemic factors not in substantial conformity, with most or all items rated as areas needing improvement, included:
Statewide Information System Staff and Provider Training Service Array and Resource Development
II. Quality Assurance Review Findings
The last APSR-published Quality Assurance (QA) Review Team findings identified the state's performance on review items up through December 2016. At that time, Georgia did not meet the FFY 2016 federal definition of substantial conformity for any of the seven overall outcomes (a rating of 95%) or for any of the 18 items reviewed (a rating of 90%). The highest performance was found for the following items: Item 1 - Timeliness of initiating investigations of reports of child maltreatment, which had a 71% strength rating; and Item 7 - Placement with siblings, which had a 77% strength rating. The state's lowest performance was for the following items: Item 12 - Needs and services of child, parents and foster parents (25%); Item 15 - Caseworker visits with parent(s) (28%); and Item 18 Mental/Behavioral Health of the Child (20%).

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In comparison to December 2016, within the first six months of FFY 2018, the state improved in nine areas: Items 1, 4, 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 17 and 18 and performance was rated highest at 86% for Item 1: Timeliness of initiating investigations of reports of child maltreatment. However, the greatest positive change was an increase in case managers involving children and families in case planning (from 42% to 58%) which is likely a consequence of the state's integration of solution-based case practice which places an emphasis on this comportment. Significant growth was also accomplished regarding initiating investigations of reports of child maltreatment timely (from 71% to 86%). Because of positive work performance, the state achieved four of the 10 PIP target measures.
The following comparison charts present CFSR baseline data, data reported in the 2018 APSR (December 2016), and the first six months of federal fiscal year 2018.
Based on the chart below, Georgia has shown minimal improvement in most of the CFSR items, with several items continuing to score below the CFSR baseline of 2015. The items with the most progress since the CFSR baseline included:
Item 1- Timeliness of initiating investigations of reports of child maltreatment, improving from 66% in 2015 to 86% in March of 2018,
Item 4- Stability of foster care placement, improving from 68% in 2015 to 74% in March 2018, Item 6- Achieving reunification, guardianship, adoption or OPPLA, increasing from 27% to 32%, Item 9- Preserving connections, increasing from 39% to 57% Item 13- Child and Family involvement in case planning, improving from 42% to 58%.
Georgia continues to struggle with ongoing quality and purposeful contacts with family, assessment of risk and safety, and implementing and monitoring appropriate services to meet the child and family's identified needs.

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Table 3: Rolling Trend Comparison

Safety

Outcome S1: Children are, first and foremost, protected

from abuse and neglect.

Item 1:

Timeliness of initiating investigations of reports of child maltreatment (70 of 81 cases)

Outcome S2: Children are safely maintained in their

homes whenever possible and appropriate.

Services to family to protect children in home

Item 2: and prevent removal or re-entry into foster care

(26 of 52 cases)

Item 3:

Risk assessment and safety management (44 of 150 cases)

Permanency

Outcome P1: Children have permanency and stability in

their living situations.

Item 4:

Stability of foster care placement (67 of 90 cases)

Item 5: Permanency goal for child (37 of 90 cases)

Achieving reunification, guardianship, adoption,

Item 6: or other planned permanent living arrangement

(29 of 90 cases)

Outcome P2: The continuity of family relationships and

connections is preserved for children

Item 7: Placement with siblings (50 of 64 cases)

Item 8:

Visiting with parents and siblings in foster care (36 of 72 cases)

Item 9: Preserving connections (51 of 90 cases)

Item 10:

Relative placement (52 of 90 cases)

Item Relationship of child in care with parents (29 of

11:

66 cases)

Well Being

Outcome WB1: Families have enhanced capacity to

provide for their children's needs. (Item 12 must be a

strength for the Overall Rating to be Substantially

Achieved)

Item Needs and services of child, parents, foster

12:

parents (39 of 146 cases)

Statewide Federal CFSR Review 2015 (150 cases) *
66% 66% 43%
59%
43%
14% 68% 42% 27%
32% 77% 45% 39% 46% 34%
26%
25%

Georgia Annual Progress and Services Report - June 2018

Statewide as of December 2016 (150 cases) **
71% 71% 32%
58%
32%
14% 67% 43% 30%
52% 77% 54% 62% 62% 58%
23%
25%

Statewide October 2017March 2018 (150 cases) **
86% 86% 29%
50%
29%
19% 74% 41% 32%
48% 78% 50% 57% 58% 44%
20%
27% 56

Item Child and family involvement in case planning

13:

(80 of 139 cases)

42%

42%

58%

Item 14:

Caseworker visits with child (82 of 150 cases)

59%

57%

55%

Item Caseworker visits with parent(s) (31 of 132

15:

cases)

31%

28%

24%

Outcome WB2: Children receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs

54%

58%

59%

Item 16:

Educational needs of the child (58 of 98 cases)

54%

58%

59%

Outcome WB3: Children receive adequate services to meet their physical and mental health needs

25%

25%

30%

Item 17:

Physical health of the child (55 of 108 cases)

49%

47%

51%

Item Mental/Behavioral health of the child (19 of 81

18:

cases)

29%

20%

24%

Source: Knowledge Management/Quality Management/Quality Assurance, Georgia Comparison Charts

*Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Round 3

**Data based on 90 Foster Care/30 Family Preservation/30 Family Support Cases. The December

2016 QA results were published in the 2018 APSR; the most recent statewide data at the time.

III. Program Improvement Plan Goals
Based on these CFSR results, the state was required to develop a two-year Program Improvement Plan (PIP). The following table presents current outcome targets. Following the federal reissue of the state's data profile, the state was required to add PIP targets related to Permanency Items 4, 5 and 6. The state uses a six-month rolling report of quality outcomes which allows a PIP goal to be considered met once it occurs at any point within the review cycle. As of October 2016, the state met the PIP target for Safety Outcome Item 1: Timeliness of initiating investigations. As of May 2018, the state has also met PIP targets for Permanency Items 4 (stability of foster care placement), 6 (achieving reunification, guardianship, adoption, or other planned permanent living arrangement) and 13 (child and family involvement in case planning).

Table 4. Program Improvement Plan Targets

Outcome
Safety Item 1 Safety Item 2 Safety Item 3 Permanency Item 4 Permanency Item 5 Permanency Item 6

CFSR Baseline
66% 59% 43% 68%
42%
27%

PIP Target
73% 68% 49% 74%
49%
33%

State Performance as of May 2017*
Achieved 28% 77% 77%
28%
37%

Georgia Annual Progress and Services Report - June 2018

State Performance as of May 2018**
Achieved 45% 29%
Achieved
40%
Achieved
57

Permanency

25%

29%

17%

19%

Item 12

Permanency

42%

47%

49%

Achieved

Item 13

Permanency

59%

65%

58%

53%

Item 14

Permanency

31%

36%

38%

26%

Item 15

Source: Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Round 3

Knowledge Management/Quality Management/Quality Assurance

Georgia Program Improvement Plan (PIP) Goals Comparison

*Data based on April to May 2017 reviews for zone EE, AA (Regions 1, 2, 9, 11, 12 and Cobb Co.)

**Data based on December 2017 to May 2018 All Zones/All Regions

C3. Plan for Improvement and Progress Made to Improve Outcomes

I. Child and Family Services Plan (Rev. 2017)
The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services developed its current Child and Family Services Plan in 2013 in accordance with federal instructions. One year later, the state's new division head enlisted the help of the Casey Family Programs to take a comprehensive look at the agency's strengths and potential for growth. Along with a consensus on guiding principles and values for the agency, three overarching themes workforce development, constituent engagement, and practice model - emerged from the strategic planning workgroups. Following that year, the Division conducted another state assessment via the federally proscribed Child and Family Services Review. The revelations of that review coupled with the research from the Casey-led strategic planning group helped the state to better pinpoint the most pressing areas for the agency to prioritize. Many of the objectives identified were consistent with the findings of the 2015 CFSR results.

By 2016, the state was in a better position to state clearer strategies and to structure them so that they would be more aligned with the state's overarching themes and priorities. A team of state-level staff refined agency strategies to conform to the overall work of child welfare while assuring that the strategies would adequately reflect the desired outcomes based upon research and discovery. The refined plan was then submitted as part of the annual state child welfare plan submitted to the governor.

Below are the reworded and adjusted goals that pertain to the social services components of the plan.

None of the main themes of the CFSP, as reported in last year's APSR have been removed. They have

now been more appropriately renamed key strategies and have been categorized into one of the more

high-level and expansive subject areas: Safety, Permanency, Well-Being, and Systemic Factors:

Workforce and Stakeholder Engagement. These labels will now serve as the identifiers of the state's

CFSP goals. The renaming and adjustments allow for the state to ensure that not only the areas of

deficiency identified prior to the CFSR review but also those discovered post CFSR are being

addressed. Additional benefits of the realignment are:

Improved symmetry of the state plan with the federal plan

More meaningful and quantitative objective measures

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Better correlations between key activities and desired outcomes More consistent tracking of activities More simplified plan for staff and constituents to understand and support
The state added one new key strategy to better ensure safety requirements are satisfactorily met for caregiver staff of child caring institutions, and to address concerns noted in the state's IV-E PIP. The plan encompasses strategies that have been frequently discussed with staff and stakeholders, and for which preparations and activities are underway. Several of the strategies and key activities mirror the state's CFSR Program Improvement Plan (PIP). Benchmarks and measures and action steps for key activities are identified in the narrative sections below the CFSP table; in a few instances, key activities and actions steps are still in the process of being added or adjusted. In the newly realigned plan, the goals and key strategies are as indicated in the following chart. Unless otherwise stated, the objective measure targets are being reported for December 31, 2016, September 30, 2017 (or FFY 2017) and the first six months of FFY 2018.5 December 2016 was the most recent data the state had available at the time of the last APSR that included all regions (all zones) statewide.

5 September 2017: The last six months of FFY 17 (April 2017 September 2017). 94 foster care cases/32 family preservation cases/30

family support cases. March 2018: The first six months of FFY 2018 (October 2017 March 2018). 90 foster care cases/30 family

preservation cases/30 family support

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Table 5. CFSP Goals and Strategies Overview

Goals

Key Strategies

1. Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect

Implement Solution Based Casework Improve child and family assessments throughout the child
welfare continuum
Implement Safe to Sleep Campaign in partnership with community partners and providers
Implement monitoring activities to ensure the appropriate use of safety resources

Implement a robust quality assurance process for provider agencies

2. Permanency: Families and individuals are healthy and stable

Implement Solution Based Casework Increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources Strengthen the public and private agency placement operations
system which includes the recruitment, retention and use of foster and group homes

3. Well-Being: Families and individuals have enhanced capacity to meet their physical, cognitive and educational needs

Implement Solution Based Casework Implement Connected by 21 Provide Educational Academies to train staff, caregivers, and
partners on the Division's educational policies, procedures and entitlements to promote successful educational outcomes
Streamline the educational assessment process to minimize the case management work process
Meet the assessment and individualized needs of children, youth, families through an enhanced and broadened array of physical and mental health services

4. Workforce: The Division's workforce is competent, professional and efficient

Provide staff with skills to effectively engage, partner and plan with families, as well as track and celebrate their successes
Improve staff critical thinking and decision-making skills to ensure appropriate safe disposition of cases
Implement the Employee Selection Protocol to ensure the selection of the most appropriate Child Welfare employment candidates for the Division

5. Stakeholder Engagement: The Division and its stakeholders are fully engaged and responsive

Provide education and training on Georgia's Comprehensive Practice Model to the Division's key stakeholder groups to ensure statewide support and engagement as implementation occurs
Utilize the statewide Child Welfare Training Collaborative a partnership between the Division and Georgia State University to provide stakeholders with opportunities for consistent and ongoing training
Partner with stakeholders to create opportunities for DFCS case managers and supervisors to receive additional training, information and resources that will assist them in providing direct academic support to foster youth

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II. Progress and Plans for Improvement
SOLUTION BASED CASEWORK

Table 6. CFSP Goals 1, 2 and 3

Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect.

Permanency: Families and individuals are healthy and stable

Well-Being: Families and individuals have enhanced capacity to meet their physical, cognitive and

educational needs

Objectives

Key Strategies

Key Activities

Action Steps

By September 2019

CFSR Safety Outcome Implement Solution 1 Increase the percent Based Casework, a

Complete rollout statewide

Complete roll out in Regions 1, 3, 13 and

of children who are, first component of

December 2017:

14.

and foremost, protected from abuse and neglect from 66% to 76%
CFSR Permanency Outcome 1 Increase the percent of children who have permanency and stability in their living situations from 14% to 17%
CFSR Well-Being Outcome 1 Increase the percent of families who have enhanced capacity to provide for their children's needs from 26% to 31%

Georgia's Comprehensive Practice Model, to provide a traumainformed framework for safety decision making, to ensure quality visits and engagement with parents and children, to ensure timely initial assessment of family and individual needs, as well as connections to relevant supports to meet identified needs inclusive of a traumainformed approach, throughout the State.

Complete rollout in Regions 1, 3, 13 and 14
December 2016 Complete rollout in
Regions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. December 2017
Provide Solution Based Casework training and certification to all child welfare case management and supervisory staff as part of the statewide implementation of Georgia's Comprehensive

December 2016
Fidelity reviews completed in Regions 1, 3, 13 and 14 to assess effectiveness of implementation. December 2017
Complete roll out in Regions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. December 2017
Fidelity reviews completed in Regions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 to assess effectiveness of implementation. December 2018

Practice Model to ensure child welfare staff have the necessary skills to effectively engage, partner and plan with families. July 2019

The Training unit and C3 Coordinator or staff members will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings. Starting July 2017 (ongoing)

The Fidelity Team will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings

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Starting July 2017 (ongoing)

Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect.
Permanency: Families and individuals are healthy and stable
Well-Being: Families and individuals have enhanced capacity to meet their physical, cognitive and educational needs
Key Strategy: Implement Solution Based Casework (SBC)
Objective Measures: Increase the percent of children who are, first and foremost, protected from abuse and neglect from
66% to 76% Increase the percent of children who have permanency and stability in their living situations from
14% to 17% Increase the percent of families who have enhanced capacity to provide for their children's needs
from 26% to 31%

Table 7: Objective Measures* CFSP Goals 1, 2 and 3

FFY 2015 Dec 2016 Sept 2017 March 2018

March 2019

Sept 2019

Baseline Actual

Actual

Actual

PIP Target CFSP

Target

Safety Outcome 1

66 %

71 %

78%

86%

76%

Permanency Outcome 1

14 %

14 %

21%

19%

17%

Well-Being Outcome 26 % 1

23 %

19%

20%

31%

*Data Source State Quality Assurance Trend Chart; FFY 15: CFSR Baseline data December 2016: Data reported in last APSR. It was the most recent data the state had that included all regions (all zones) statewide September 2017: The last six months of FFY 17 (April 2017 September 2017). 94 foster care cases/32 family preservation cases/30 family support cases March 2018: The first six months of FFY 2018 (October 2017 March 2018). 90 foster care cases/30 family preservation cases/30 family support

CFSP Key Activity Provide Solution Based Casework training and certification to all child welfare case management and supervisory staff as part of the statewide implementation of Georgia's Comprehensive Practice Model to ensure child welfare staff have the necessary skills to effectively engage, partner and plan with families. July 2019

CFSP Action Steps
The Training unit and C3 Coordinator or staff members will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings. Starting July 2017 (ongoing)

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The Fidelity Team will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings starting July 2017 (ongoing)

Related PIP Goal PIP Goal III: In support of the Practice Model, establish a value-based case practice which supports safety, permanency, family and youth engagement, and community connections. Goal III: Strategy III: Well-Being Outcome I
Implement Solution Based Casework Practice Model Statewide
A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions No revisions to goals, objectives or interventions
B. Implementation Supports To support certification, Education and Training has 15 Practice Model Coaches to provide coaching and over the shoulder support to assist staff through certification process and implementation of the practice model.
C. Progress Benchmarks and Plans for Improvement The goal of Solution Based Casework (SBC), a component of the Georgia Comprehensive Practice Model, is to provide a family-centered practice framework which can be implemented from assessment through case closure. It provides a family-friendly interface that helps to organize complex issues and multiple partners into workable family and individual plans and objectives. It is anticipated that implementation of the practice will positively impact outcomes all throughout the child welfare continuum, but most prominently with safety, permanency and well-being outcomes.
Full implementation of the SBC practice model is best seen as being accomplished in three phases: The training phase, the case consultation phase, and the field practice/certification phase.
Training Phase SBC Initial Training is a 2- day training with a focus on the basic concepts of the model with practice on applications to assessment and case planning skills. All front-line staff their supervisors (team leaders) and immediate managers attend this training. SBC Supervisor Training is a follow-up 2-day advanced training, with a more in-depth review of the practice model concepts with a focus on their role as supervisors (team leaders) and mentors. Part of this time is spent on issues of coaching and mentoring staff toward implementing the ideas on new and existing cases. Case Consultations and concept integration are the primary focus. Supervisors and Coaches/ Managers take the SBC Qualifying Exam (QE) at the end of this training. When the Supervisor completes this training and demonstrates proficiency on the exam, they are ready to begin mentoring their Caseworkers in their own learning process.

Case Consultation Phase
Supervisors facilitate weekly Case Consultation meetings with their team where the SBC concepts are applied to a different case each week, for a period of about 2 months. Supervisors are trained in how to use a provided agenda that walks each case through the major SBC Practice Model concepts, thus providing good learning transfer across the whole team. During this phase of implementation, each caseworker, in conjunction with their Supervisor, will focus their new skills on new cases as they work on their SBC Caseworker Certification.

Certification Phase

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The third phase begins as caseworkers are assigned their first new cases toward the end of the Case Consultation Phase. Supervisors focus on getting the new case (or cases) started out within the new model and then following the case through all four milestones. As workers work the case, they will be submitting work products for review.
Supervisors will be attending the monthly Supervisor Seminars which will help organize the mentoring as well as get some group practice in scoring each product, one work product at a time.
Learning the practice model skills should be a day-to-day activity and part of each supervisory session. Superiors score the work products as well as enter each worker's progress on the SBC Implementation Website.
The SBC Certification Manual is used by the Supervisor to familiarize themselves (and the caseworker) with examples of the work product standards that will be used during the Certification Review. The examples in the SBC Certification Manual, as well as the Score Sheets can also be shared directly with the Caseworker during the mentoring process to help them improve their proficiency.
Once the Agency determines proficiency has been established, the caseworker is recommended to Social Services Associates, LLC for full recognition as an SBC certified caseworker
Roll-out of SBC was completed in Regions 1, 3, 13, and 14 in November 2016 and the regions remain in the certification and implementation phase. Roll-out of SBC was completed in Regions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 in October 2017 with the final roll-outs in regions 10 and 12. Staff was trained, and the regions are now in the certification and implementation phase. Fidelity reviews of work of SBC certified staff were completed in Regions 1, 3, 13, and 14 from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017. Fidelity reviews are to be completed in Regions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 to assess effectiveness of implementation.
Frontline case managers and supervisors are required to complete the 2.5-day OCP765- Solution Based Casework for Staff training. Supervisors are required to complete the 2-day OCP766- Solution Based Casework for Supervisors training. Once staff complete the initial training, there is a 6-month certification process for assessment, ongoing and foster care staff. Ten SSCM's and 3 SSS's have been certified in the South District. Education and Training Unit provided 91 OCP765 classes and 29 OCP766 classes.
During the review period, 1,673 staff completed OCP765 and 394 staff completed OCP 766.
CFSP Action Step The Training unit and C3 Coordinator or staff members will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings. Starting July 2017 (ongoing) The state completed training as scheduled and remains in the implementation phase. One sufficient gap in progress has been in the certification phase. The state significantly underestimated the length of time and required effort in getting staff certified. Upon reviewing data, time between training and certification was significantly behind schedule. The goal was to have 100% of staff certified by June 2018. As of March 31, 2017, the state was only at 15% of staff certified. To address this issue the state conducted a series of road shows across the state to meet with county and regional leadership to discuss successes and barriers to implementation.
As of March 2018, CFSR results and fidelity reviews reflect the agency's slow progress in integrating SBC into day-to-day practice. While each region is assigned a practice model coach, in hindsight, early

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effort should have been placed in developing "champions" in each county office. This could have provided additional support to counties during implementation and certification.

CFSP Action Step The Fidelity Team will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings starting July 2017 (ongoing) The Fidelity Team participates in the monthly PACCC meetings and provides updates regarding the state's fidelity review process and progress. The first reviews were done in October 2016, but there weren't enough work products at the time to relay a detailed assessment of progress. Reviews were also stalled briefly due to the development of a SHINES enhancement to include SBC language in the family agreement. The team was able to begin discussing review specifics after looking at certified workers in the metro district in January 2018 and in the north district in February. The team presented updates on these review at the March State CQI meeting and is slated to present again at the May and June meetings (no meeting will be held in April).

D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand and Strengthen the Range of Existing Services
Education and Training is working with Online Training and Instructional Systems (IOTIS) for delivery of a new learning management system (LMS) that will be more user friendly, provide a wider array of reports, better track foster parents and private provider training hours. The target date for the new LMS for system that roll out for community partners is July 2018 and January 2019 for DFCS.

Foster Care Essentials and CPS Essentials courses are being revised with an anticipated completion date of June 2018 for Foster Care and October 2018 for CPS Essentials. Revisions to Resource Development Training will be completed in September 2018. Putting the Pieces Together Supervisor Training revisions have begun and are to be completed by June 2019. IMPACT Training will be rewritten beginning in Summer 2018 and to be completed by June 2019.

Further Implementation of the Supervisor Mentor Program is planned. The enhanced Supervisor Mentoring Program began in February 1, 2018. This will provide much needed support and help new supervisors perform effectively in their roles. A formalized evaluation process will be developed to monitor success and the need for modification.

The Employee Selection Protocol is currently being revised and will be implemented in 2019 (see the workforce development section of the C3 section of this report for more details). Education and training will continue to provide support to staff during the SBC implementation and certification phase as well as training as needed. Practice model concepts and framework is being interwoven into the New Worker Academy curriculum and the training will be offered the last three working days of each month to new staff. Supervisor Seminars are offered each month by the practice model coaches to assist frontline supervisors with the skill development needed to drive the practice.

E. Feedback Loops The agency continues conducting roadshows with stakeholders to gather feedback about the agency and implementation of SBC. Some jurisdictions are helping to hold staff accountable for changes with SBC. While there are some who have expressed they do not see any change in practice and have expressed confusion, many regions are working hard to educate and encourage staff. In addition to PACC meetings, each district has weekly SBC implementation calls to discuss success and barriers. In the north district, the calls have become intensely popular. Every Wednesday they begin an "all invited" conference call that wakes up the staff like an early morning radio show beginning at 7:30 am for the Starting Line-Up, which rolls into the 8:00 am Coaches Corner and then 8:30 am Primetime. The Starting Line-Up is led by a leader in the agency who provides insight to help staff grow, learn and

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develop leadership skills. During the Coaches Corner, practice model coaches engage in a question and answer session discussing the required elements of certification, SBC practice and implementation. Foster parents and other caregivers, case managers, supervisors, and youth share their experiences during the Primetime hour. This is often an opportunity for SBC successes to be celebrated. The north district director said that they are "seeing staff certifications, unit certifications, positive family outcomes and community partnerships because of the common thread among the people who join these calls and that is compassion for others!"

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SAFETY (A)

Table 8. CFSP Goal 1a

CFSP Goal 1a Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect.

Objectives By September 2019

Key Strategies

Key Activities

Item 1 - Increase the timeliness of initiating investigations from 66% to 76% (PIP goal of 72.4 % met)
S1b Investigations do not exceed 30 days (special investigations) and 45 days for investigations: Increase the percent of investigations that do not exceed the required number of days to complete from 36% to 80%

Improve the timeliness, quality and utilization of child and family assessments throughout the child welfare continuum

Implement an Initial Safety Assessment (ISA) to ensure all children/families receive timely initial safety assessments and cases are appropriately tracked to either investigations or family support. April 2018

S1c Family Support cases do not exceed 60 days: Increase the percent of family support cases that do not exceed 60 days from 53% to 85%

S1d Present Danger assessments completed timely in

investigations (timeliness of initiating investigations): Increase the percent of present danger

Action Steps
Develop and implement training to support the ISA process: Develop a one-day
classroom training Develop Live Case
Learning Instruction on
what/how to document (where and by whom) with an emphasis on the person detail page and reminding staff to merge and relate Assess participants' knowledge of Maltreatment Codes Develop test items based on common errors such as using "lack of supervision" as a catch all when applying maltreatment codes Create a checklist for supervisors Create a checklist for case managers Utilize various training delivery methods, such as classroom, WebEx, and/or a combination of methods

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assessments that are completed timely in investigations from 17% to 40%
S1e Recurrence of maltreatment: Reduce recurrence of maltreatment from 8% to 5%
S1f Re-entry into Foster Care: Reduce reentries into Foster Care from 7.5% to 5%
S1g Maltreatment in Foster Care: Reduce maltreatment of children in Foster Care from 1.084 victimizations (per 10,000 days in care) to no more than .75 victimizations (per 10,000 days in care)

Create Transfer of Learning (TOL) activities
March 2018
Develop and implement an ISA fidelity monitoring and review process. March 2018

Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect
Key Strategy: Improve the timeliness, quality and utilization of child and family assessments throughout the child welfare continuum
Objective Measures: Item 1 - Increase the timeliness of initiating investigations from 66% to 76% S1b Investigations do not exceed 30 days (special investigations) and 45 days for investigations: Increase the percent of investigations that do not exceed the required number of days to complete from 36% to 80% (As of April 21, 2017, the policy is 45 days for all investigations) S1c Family Support cases do not exceed 60 days: Increase the percent of family support cases that do not exceed 60 days from 53% to 85% S1d Present Danger assessments completed timely in investigations (timeliness of initiating investigations): Increase the percent of present danger assessments that are completed timely in investigations from 17% to 40% S1e Recurrence of maltreatment: Reduce recurrence of maltreatment from 8% to 5% S1f Re-entry into Foster Care: Reduce reentries into foster care from 7.5% to 5%

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S1g Maltreatment in Foster Care: Reduce maltreatment of children in foster care from 1.084 victimizations (per 10,000 days in care) to no more than .75 victimizations (per 10,000 days in care)

Table 9: Objective Measures, CFSP Goal 1a

FFY 2015 (Items 11d) FFY 2017 (Items 1e1g) Baseline

Dec 2016 Actual

Sept 2017 March 2018

Actual

Actual

Item 1

66 %

71%

78%

86%

March 2019

Sept 2019

PIP Target CFSP Target
72.4% met 76 %

S1b. Investigations 36 %

85.5%

72.73% 64.13

80 %

S1c. Family

53 %

76.4 %

87.29% 88.09%

85 %

Support

S1d. Present

17 %

5.99%

4.22%

40 %

Danger

S1e. Recurrence of 8 %

5.28%*

3.57**

5 %

Maltreatment

S1f. Foster Care 7.5 %

8.67%*

5.30%***

5 %

Re-entry

S1g. Maltreatment 1.084 per

0.6684

0.4724

.75 per

in Care

10,000 days

10,000

Victimizations

in care

days in

care

NOTE: Georgia is no longer tracking the original CFSP 1a measure: Timeliness of initiating family

support cases.

FFY 16 percentages for 1e, 1f and 1g were not yet available as NCANDS for FFY 16 was not yet

published.

*FFY 2017

**First incident October 2016 March 2017

***First removal between October 2015 March 2016

Data Sources: Quality Assurance trend reports, SHINES data

Response Time Data
Family Support response times
(Cases with intake in FFY 2017, including those tracked to Family Support prior to ISA implementation): 87% timely. A total of 84,633 Family Support cases were closed in FFY 2017.

Table 10. Percent timely response for intakes assigned to Initial Safety Assessment (ISA)

(State began doing ISAs August 6, 2016)

Required response time FFY 2016 August FFY 2017

FFY 2018

and September 2016

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Immediate

86.0 %

24-hour

78.0 %

72-hour

77.0 %

All required response

78.7 %

times

Total number assigned to 15,459 ISA

Data Source: SHINES reports

October 2016 September 2017 91.45% 86.41% 86.34% 87.0 %
84,633

October 2017 March 2018 95.1% 92.5% 93.4% 93.2%
45,370

Investigations with an intake in FFY 2017: 58.46 % timely (34,567 investigations)

Table 11. Investigation times for investigations with an intake in FFY 2017*

Less than 30 days 30 days

Regular Investigation s 61.77%

Special Investigations

30 Days**

45 Days***

17.02%

60.95

82.98%

All Special Investigation s

All Investigation s

31 to 44 days

45 days

More than 45 38.23% days Percent timely 61.77%

17.02%

39.05% 60.95%

36.14%

58.46%

Total number 30,106

2,520

1,941

4,461

34,567

of

investigations

*Time it took to complete the investigation

**Required response time between October 2016 and April 21, 2017 was 30 days

***Required response time after April 21, 2017 is 45 days. This percentage is for response times

between April 22 September 2017.

Data Source: SHINES data

Additional Safety Data

Table 12. Time to close for Family Support cases

0 to 30 days

FFY 2016 21.3 %

FFY 2017 October 2016 March 2017
19.1 %

FFY 2018* October 2016 September 2017 21.46%

FFY 2018* October 2017 March 2018
22.99%

31 to 60 days

55.0 %

64.3 %

66.68%

65.71%

61 days or more

23.6 %

16.6 %

11.85%

11.30%

Percent timely

76.4 %

83.5 %

88.15%

88.79%

Total number

34,219

32,058

55,272

26,733

*Data reflect timeliness for family support stages that started during the report period.

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Data Source: SHINES data

CFSP Key Activity Implement an Initial Safety Assessment (ISA) to ensure all children/families receive timely initial safety assessments and cases are appropriately tracked to either investigations or family support. April 2018

CFSP Action Steps Develop and implement training to support the ISA process: Develop a one-day classroom training Develop Live Case Learning Instruction on what/how to document (where and by whom) with an emphasis on the person detail page and reminding staff to merge and relate Assess participants' knowledge of Maltreatment Codes Develop test items based on common errors such as using "lack of supervision" as a catch all when applying maltreatment codes Create a checklist for supervisors Create a checklist for case managers Utilize various training delivery methods, such as classroom, WebEx, and/or a combination of methods Create Transfer of Learning (TOL) activities Develop and implement an ISA fidelity monitoring and review process. March 2018

Related PIP Goal Goal I: Improve the timeliness, quality, and utilization of child and family assessments throughout the child welfare continuum. PIP Goal I, Strategy I: Implement an Initial Safety Assessment (ISA) to ensure all children/families receive timely initial safety assessments and cases are appropriately tracked to either investigations or family support.

A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions Although there have not been any changes to the implementation of ISA for staff thus far, the state recognizes that this strategy does not get to the root of some other concerning issues. Therefore, the PIP goal regarding fidelity monitoring and the review process has been adjusted. The new process will include a monthly review of assigned intakes (family support services and investigations), foster care, and family preservation cases from all counties conducted by the regional staff. Additionally, the state has requested that PIP Goal I, Strategy 1 be renegotiated.

Georgia has learned that strong assessments alone do not guarantee appropriate referrals will be made for services, nor that services, when provided, will be effective. Early fidelity reviews did not capture monthly assessments that occur in ongoing cases or whether prescribed services have been having the desired impact. However, reviews thus far have been able to determine if policy is being followed as a case moves from the ISA toward a track assignment. It appears evident that thorough case reviews by safety field program specialists that focuses equally on the initial work with a family and subsequent monthly contacts and assessments will lead to better outcomes. The new fidelity review process includes monthly review, by regional staff, of assigned intake (family support services and investigations), foster care, and family preservation cases from all counties.

B. Implementation Supports

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There have been sufficient supports during implementation of ISA including training, coaching, and policy development.
C. Progress Benchmarks and Plans for Improvement Georgia completed the implementation of Initial Safety Assessment practice and commensurate fidelity reviews during PIP quarter one. In 2017, the following chapters of the Child Welfare Policy Manual were updated to improve the quality, utilization and timeliness of child and family assessments in alignment with Georgia's Practice Model:
Chapter 4: Initial Safety Assessment was updated to resolve ambiguity in conducting a comprehensive assessment of child safety and assigning cases to investigation when a child has injuries.
Chapter 5: Investigations was updated to remove the initial response time to assess child safety from investigation, as this occurs as part of the ISA, and removes the completion of the initial Present Danger Assessment (PDA), as this occurs as part of the safety assessment in ISA. Purposeful Visits was created as a new policy section and requires assessing child safety and making a safety decision at every contact with the child(ren) and family.
Chapter 7: Family Support Services was updated to remove the initial response time to assess child safety from FSS as this occurs as part of the ISA, and removes the completion of the initial Present Danger Assessment (PDA) as this occurs as part of the safety assessment in ISA. The policy aligns the assessment of family functioning with Georgia's Practice Model and updates the requirement for completion of the FSS assessment to within 60 calendar days from the date of intake.
Chapters 5 (Investigations) and 7 (Family Support Services) were updated to create a new policy section on Purposeful Contacts, requiring that any contact with the child and family is purposeful. Child safety should be assessed, and a safety decision made at every contact with the child and family.
D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand and Strengthen the Range of Existing Services
As Georgia recognizes that the new ISA and fidelity review process is not producing the appropriate safety assessments sought to ensure the safety of children served, it is enhancing the review and tracking process, assessments with families, and safety practices overall. Thorough case reviews by safety field program specialists who focus on the initial work with a family but also equally upon subsequent monthly contacts and assessments, will lead to better outcomes. Therefore, teams of staff at varying levels are working together examining trends identified in the state's gap analysis.
A new LENSES dashboard report will be activated August 2018 which allow for quicker and easier monitoring of timeliness and provide accurate, case-specific data. A service directory of available providers statewide and the services they provide has been linked to the state's SACWIS system, making it accessible to case manager statewide. In the coming months, the state will work to refine the directory, entering additional data, updating provider changes, informing internal and external stakeholders of its existence and getting feedback from users on how the directory may be improved.
The State is seeking input and guidance from DBHDD, DPH and other relevant partners, stakeholders, and court representatives to form a quality substance abuse protocol that addresses drug testing in substance abuse cases, family treatment court services, and service providers. The protocol will include guidance on the assessment of cases involved with substance abuse, decision making and safety threat determinations. In addition, guidelines are being crafted to assist staff in determining court barriers to be referred to the Court Improvement Project.

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A regional review will be done on new safety resource placements by regional staff to ensure safety resources are only initiated when immediate safety threats cannot be mitigated in the home and when there are no safety-related services that can mitigate the threats while the child remains in their home. Along with focusing on the appropriateness of the placement, the state will also be monitoring to see if the minimal 45-day timeframe is being adhered to (with minimal exceptions). When there are exceptions, the state will be checking to make sure all identified barriers have been clearly documented.
Reviews will be staffed with the case manager and supervisor, and documentation of the staffing will be completed in SHINES. Findings from the reviews will be shared at supervisor and case manager summits and conferences, and training will be provided to address areas of deficiency. Feedback from staff regarding identified barriers, concerns, or success will also be received and shared during summits. Review results will be given to the state-level Safety Services Unit and the review tool will be updated to capture areas of concern.
E. Feedback Loops Internal partners have been involved in the reviewing of potential barriers and identifying of trends from CFSR QA reviews which led to the changes made to the QA review and tracking process. Information regarding the state's progress on ISA implementation is shared through agency leadership meetings, regional summits, and county trainings. This interaction has had a positive impact, allowing for consistent communication with front line case managers up through senior leadership. Information is regularly shared through agency leadership meetings, regional summits, and county trainings.

SAFETY (B)

Table 13. CFSP Goal 1b

Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect.

Objectives By September 2019

Key Strategies

Key Activities

Item 2 - Ensure services to protect children in home and prevent removal or reentry in 71% of cases PIP = 68% by April 2019
S1h Sleep-Related

Implement a comprehensive, research-based Safe to Sleep Campaign in partnership with community partners and providers

Provide consistent messaging, training and resources to families to prevent infant sleep-related deaths. September 2019 (ongoing)

Deaths: Reduce the number of sleeprelated deaths for children who are currently receiving or previously received services from DFCS to less than 56

Georgia Annual Progress and Services Report - June 2018

Action Steps
Develop a collaborative partnership between DFCS and other childserving agencies including the Department of Public Health (DPH), Office of Prevention and Family Support and the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel to drive outreach activities and distribute Safe to Sleep campaign resources. September 2017
Produce and distribute material resources that support safe sleep
73

messaging as part of community outreach such as kits, play yards, flyers, and displays to families and partner agencies. June 2017 (ongoing)

Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect.
Key Strategy: Implement a comprehensive, research-based Safe to Sleep Campaign in partnership with community partners and providers
Objective Measures: Item 2 - Ensure services to protect children in home and prevent removal or re-entry in 71% of cases S1h - Reduce the number of sleep-related deaths for children who are currently receiving or previously received services from DFCS to less than 56

Table 14: Objective Measures, CFSP Goal 1b

CFSR Safety 2

FFY 2015 Dec 2016 (Item 1h) Baseline Actual

Sep 2017 Actual

March 2018 Actual

Item 2 Ensure services

59 %

78 %

44%

50%

March 2019 PIP Target
68%

Sept 2019
CFSP Target
71 %

S1h. Sleep-related

<66

<60

<56

deaths

Data sources: Quality Assurance trend reports,

CFSP Key Activity Provide consistent messaging, training and resources to families to prevent infant sleep-related deaths. September 2019 (ongoing)

CFSP Action Steps
Develop a collaborative partnership between DFCS and other child-serving agencies including the Department of Public Health (DPH), Office of Prevention and Family Support and the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel to drive outreach activities and distribute Safe to Sleep campaign resources. September 2017
Produce and distribute material resources that support safe sleep messaging as part of community outreach such as kits, play yards, flyers, and displays to families and partner agencies. June 2017 (ongoing)

No Related PIP Goal A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions
There have been no revisions to this goal.

B. Implementation Supports

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74

There have been sufficient supports during implementation of this goal.

C. Progress Benchmarks and Plans for Improvement Children less than one year old are of the greatest risk for deaths related to maltreatment. Many of these deaths are at the hands of secondary caretakers who often are not related to the child. A large subset of this grouping are maltreatment deaths related to co-sleeping where the caretaker appears to have been impaired. During 2015, it was determined that many sleep-related deaths could possibly be reduced by placing a focus on how families put their babies down to sleep. A practice adjustment was made in 2016 requiring case managers handling cases involving infants to determine that an appropriate sleeping arrangement existed; that a discussion about the ABC's of Safe Sleep would take place with all caretakers, and that case managers would document their efforts.
In FFY 2017 and FFY 2018, the Safe-to-Sleep displays were placed in DFCS county offices and community agencies lobbies or visiting areas, located in high risk localities, as a visual model of a safe infant sleep environment for caretakers. Prevention and Community Support has developed concrete strategies to connect to safety, permanency and well-being through intentional efforts to support training and educational opportunities for child welfare staff which include efforts for the safe sleep campaign. Regional champions were created to help ensure staff are actively and developing plans of safe care for appropriate families. A Frequently Asked Questions document was also developed to further facilitate staff understanding of needed actions. In the Fall of FFY18, 75 pack-n-play cribs were distributed to the two counties with the highest rates of sleep related deaths for use in their Districts and an additional 50 pack-n-play cribs to the North District of the State. An instructional sheet was developed, along with help from DPH's Safe Sleep Coordinator, to be completed with families when they distribute the pack-n-plays. Safe-to-sleep materials were also provided to the two identified counties and any other county that requested it.
See Section D (CAPTA) of this report for more information on how the state is addressing the needs of infants and families affected by substance abuse and opioids. Staff attended the Opioid Treatment Providers of Georgia Conference in November 2017 and other conferences (GCCF; Georgia PROUD) that provided workshops related to this topic and other subjects related to child safety. Child Abuse Registry trainings were also offered to staff in FFY 18.
D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand and Strengthen the Range of Existing Services
Throughout the remainder of this CFSP period, there will be ongoing collaboration between the Division, the Department of Public Health and the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel to increase training, resources and educational information for staff members, providers and community-based organizations supported by each agency. Community outreach will be led by community educators who provide education on safe to sleep strategies within counties at a greater risk of sleep related deaths as identified by the Division. The State will work to increase resources related to safe to sleep for caretakers with infants age 0 to 5 by increasing partnership involvement to develop additional safe to sleep efforts statewide. Pack-n-play cribs will continue to be distributed statewide, along with safe to sleep materials. DPH provides many supports to help prevent sleep related deaths throughout the state, therefore DFCS has begun very intentional conversations on how to supplement their current efforts, for example focusing some of our future efforts on the Georgia Pediatric Association.

E. Feedback Loops There are regular monthly meetings between DFCS and the partner agencies that have led the push to educate communities about the importance of safe sleeping. Collaborative interactions among the partners within the Child Health Injury Prevention including DPH, DFCS Prevention and Community

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Support and the Georgia Child Fatality Review are frequent and productive. The Safe Sleep Coalition has dissolved; however, DFCS is working with DPH and GBI to resume that coalition and its meetings.

SAFETY (C)

Table 15. CFSP Goal 1c

Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect

Objectives

Key Strategies

By September 2019

Key Activities

Item 3 - Ensure risk assessment and safety management of 51% of cases PIP 48.5% by April 2019

Implement monitoring activities to ensure the appropriate use of safety resources

Conduct monthly cadences of cases with children in Safety Resources over 45 days (ongoing).
Review cases prior to cadences to ensure Safety Resources meet the approval standards outlined in agency policy (ongoing).

Report court-related barriers to regional CQI teams to address with court partners as needed and to the Court Improvement Project (CIP) for review and determination of their involvement in removing the barriers (ongoing).

Starting June 2017 (ongoing)

Action Steps
Update the Georgia SHINES Safety Resource Report to include the option of pulling by supervisor and include the assigned worker. Supervisors and county directors will use the report to monitor, identify and remove barriers, and to reduce the number of cases over 45 days.
Develop a Safety Resource Approval Checklist for supervisors to be used to ensure all elements are included in the Safety Resource Assessment for approval.
Identify and remove barriers to the Relative Care Assessment (RCA) and Safety Resource assessment and approval process.

Update Georgia SHINES to produce a report to track the completion of the RCA/Safety Resource assessment and other requirements.

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Supervisors and county directors will use the report to monitor, identify and remove barriers, and to improve the timely completion of RCA/Safety Resource assessment.
December 2017
Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect
Key Strategy: Implement monitoring activities to ensure the appropriate use of safety resources
Objective Measures: Item 3 - Ensure risk assessment and safety management of 51% of cases

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Table 16. Objective Measures, CFSP Goal 1c

CFSR Safety 2

FFY 2015 Dec 2016 Sept 2017

Baseline Actual

Actual

Item 3

43%

47%

Ensure risk

assessment and

safety

management

Data source: Quality Assurance trend reports

33%

March 2018 Actual
29%

March 2019 PIP Target
48.5%

Sept 2019
CFSP Target 51%

Table 17. Time in a Safety Resource (Percent of Children)

1 to 14 days

FFY 2016 17.1%

October 2016 September 2017 21.29%

October 2017 March 2018 26.42%

15 to 30 days

17.1%

16.06%

16.86%

31 to 45 days

25.5%

19.26%

17.31%

More than 45 days

40.3%

43.39%

39.41%

Total number of children

2,792

3,593

1,548

Note: The FFY 2017 data include children whose placement in a safety resource began in FFY 2017. The FFY 2018 data reflect five months instead of six because to get an accurate count, only cases that could have gone over 45 days can be included. It is not yet known whether cases opened in March 2018 will eventually go more than 45 days. Data source: SHINES data

Table 18. Objective Measures, CFSP Goal 1c

CFSR Safety 2

FFY 2015 Baseline

FFY 2016 Target

Item 3

43%

45%

Ensure risk

assessment and

safety management

Data source: Quality Assurance trend reports

Actual
Jan-Jun 2016 45%

FFY 2019 Target Jul-Dec 2016

47%

51%

CFSP Key Activities
Conduct monthly cadences of cases with children in Safety Resources over 45 days (ongoing). Review cases prior to cadences to ensure Safety Resources meet the approval standards
outlined in agency policy (ongoing).
Report court-related barriers to regional CQI teams to address with court partners as needed and to the Court Improvement Project (CIP) for review and determination of their involvement in removing the barriers (ongoing). Starting June 2017 (ongoing)

CFSP Action Steps
Update the Georgia SHINES Safety Resource Report to include the option of pulling by supervisor and include the assigned worker. Supervisors and county directors will use the report to monitor, identify and remove barriers, and to reduce the number of cases over 45 days.

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Develop a Safety Resource Approval Checklist for supervisors to be used to ensure all elements are included in the Safety Resource Assessment for approval.
Identify and remove barriers to the Relative Care Assessment (RCA) and Safety Resource assessment and approval process.
Update Georgia SHINES to produce a report to track the completion of the RCA/Safety Resource assessment and other requirements.
Supervisors and county directors will use the report to monitor, identify and remove barriers, and to improve the timely completion of RCA/Safety Resource assessment. December 2017
Related PIP Goal PIP Goal I: Improve the timeliness, quality, and utilization of child and family assessments throughout the child welfare continuum. Goal I: Strategy II: Safety Outcome 2 Implement monitoring activities to ensure the appropriate use of safety resources.

A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions As there has been a steady decline in Georgia's performance on CFSR Item 3 (33% September 2017; 29% March 2018), the State has requested an adjustment to the PIP strategy and an extension to the target completion date from PIP Quarter 1 to PIP Quarter 8. The state has requested additional time for implementation of the safety resource supervisor checklist, understanding that a checklist alone without additional monitoring of utilization does not guarantee appropriate use of safety resources, nor will it guarantee that services are initiated or effective. As the Agency works to spread the use of the checklist, it will also work to ensure that staff are engaging families and properly identifying initial safety threats.

Additionally, Georgia has requested an extension for the completion of a new relative care assessment from Quarter 3 to Quarter 6 and that the following PIP activities be combined as they are reflective of the same work and therefore redundant.
Goal I, Strategy II, Outcome 4: Identify and remove barriers to the Relative Care Assessment (RCA) and Safety Resource assessment and approval process
Goal I, Strategy II, Outcome 5: Update GA SHINES to produce a report to track the completion of the RCA/Safety Resource assessment and other requirements. Supervisors and County Directors will use the report to monitor, identify and remove barriers, and to improve the timely completion of RCA/Safety Resource assessment

B. Implementation Supports Part of the delay in the implementation is the time needed for conversion and modifications to existing reports in SHINES. A new LENSES report is on track to be implemented by August 2018. There have been sufficient supports for implementation of ISA with training, coaching, and policies.

C. Progress Benchmarks and Plans for Improvement Georgia has made some progress in safety management, and a resource directory has been created and uploaded into the SHINES portal to assist with the provision of safety services. Georgia has seen a reduction in the number of safety resources over 45 days, however, some course correction is in order. Cadences and reviews of just the cases that are over 45 days will not provide for a timely review to determine if the safety resource was initiated appropriately. The current review process does not capture the appropriateness of services and family engagement. There also needs to be additional scrutiny of court-related barriers that may be precluding timely dispositioning. A more detailed case

review process that focuses on the appropriateness of the initial removal, identified barriers, proper

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79

assessments, and family engagement will help lead the state to better outcomes. Timely identification of court barriers will allow for timelier interventions and resolution.
Georgia SHINES competed the following tasks to improve tracking/monitoring of safety resources: updated the SHINES Safety Resource report and added new value for External Documentation. A new LENSES dashboard is underway specifically to support tracking safety resources from initial contact to completion of assessment. Additionally, the dashboard will contain metrics on contacts and timeliness to closure of safety resource. The dashboard is on schedule for deployment in July.

D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand and Strengthen the Range of Existing Services
Georgia is working to adopt specific steps for making referrals to the Court Improvement Initiative which strengthen the Agency's partnership with the courts but also provide for consistency throughout the judicial process. Georgia will send statewide notification of how to access the new resource directory, and a maintenance plan will be created to make sure information on the directory is accurate and up to date so that families can obtain timely, appropriate services. The state CQI team will work with regional staff and state Safety Services Section as needed to document and ensure court barriers are addressed timely.

E. Feedback Loops Court related barriers, as they arise or are uncovered, will be sent to the Safety Services Section who will then review the information with legal services and notify the Court Improvement Project CIP) as applicable. Responses from the CIP will be shared with C3 coordinators for discussion in their respective region. Barriers will be monitored for trends and resolutions that may be shared throughout the state. Regarding the service directory, information is shared through agency leadership meetings, regional summits and county trainings. C3 coordinators help to promote the use of the directory among their constituents. See the Feedback Loop section of this report for a more detailed description of how information and communication flows through the agency and to external stakeholders.

__________________________________________________________________________________ __________________

SAFETY (D)

Table 19. CFSP Goal 1d

Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect.

Objectives

Key Strategies

Key Activities

By September 2019

Item 3 Ensure risk Improve the quality

Office of Provider

assessment and safety assurance process

Management (OPM)

management of 51% of regarding the

will develop and

cases

implementation of

require a quality

(PIP 48.5% by April

safety policies and IV-E assurance plan for all

2019)

requirements for

child caring institutions

provider agencies

S1i - Increase the number of

Enhance the state's SHINES system so that

CCI sites that

it generates automatic

have a quality

alerts regarding the

Georgia Annual Progress and Services Report - June 2018

Action Steps
Upload quality assurance plans to GA+SCORE OPM December 2017
Review data from comprehensive reviews to determine safety requirement compliance, safety
80

assurance plan from 56% to 100%
(IV-E PIP goal of 25% per quarter; 100% by year end)
S1j - Increase the percent of CCIs in compliance with staff safety screenings and criminal records checks via desk reviews from 94% to 100%.
(IV-E PIP goal of 25% per quarter; 100% by year end)

change in status in the license or reimbursement eligibility of a foster/adoptive home.

screenings and criminal records checks December 2017
Develop a function and design component in SHINES to establish an alert system that will auto-generate once a status has been changed to a foster/adoption home November 2017

Ensure the autogenerated alert/task notice indicates completion of safety checks and whether home approval standards are present November 2017

Safety: Families and individuals are free from abuse and neglect.
Key Strategy: Improve the quality assurance process regarding the implementation of safety policies and IV-E requirements for provider agencies
Objective Measures: Ensure risk assessment and safety management of 51% of cases Increase the number of CCI sites that have a quality assurance plan from 56% to 100% Increase the percent of CCIs in compliance with staff safety screenings and criminal records checks via desk reviews from 94% to 100%

Table 20. Objective Measures, CFSP Goal 1d

CFSR Safety 2

FFY 2015 (Item 3) FFY 2017 (S1i and S1j) Baseline

Dec 2016 Actual

Sept 2017 Actual

March 2018
Actual

Item 3 Ensure risk assessment and safety management

43%

47%

33%

29%

March 2019

Sept 2019

PIP Target CFSP

Target

48.5%

51%

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S1i - Increase the 56%

84.1%

86.5%

number of CCI sites

that have a quality

assurance plan

S1j - Increase the 94%

13.2%

64%

percent of CCIs in

compliance with

staff safety

screenings and

criminal records

checks via desk

reviews

Data sources: Quality Assurance trend reports, GA+SCORE data

100% 100%

CFSP Key Activity 1 Office of Provider Management (OPM) will develop and require a quality assurance plan for all child caring institutions

CFSP Key Activity 2 Enhance the state's SHINES system so that it generates automatic alerts regarding the change in status in the license or reimbursement eligibility of a foster/adoptive home.

CFSP Action Steps
Upload quality assurance plans to GA+SCORE OPM December 2017
Review data from comprehensive reviews to determine safety requirement compliance, safety screenings and criminal records checks December 2017
Develop a function and design component in SHINES to establish an alert system that will autogenerate once a status has been changed to a foster/adoption home November 2017
Ensure the auto-generated alert/task notice indicates completion of safety checks and whether home approval standards are present November 2017

Related IV-E PIP Goal Increase the percent of CCI sites that have a quality assurance plan by 25% each quarter; achieving 100% by December 2018.
Increase the percent of CCIs in compliance with staff safety screenings and criminal records checks via desk reviews by 25% each quarter, achieving 100% by December 2018.
A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions There have been no revisions to the goals, objectives and interventions

B. Implementation Supports Updating of GA SCORE to more accurately capture data and create reports is needed to help continue supporting the IV-E PIP. Additional funding is needed to finance the additional system updates.

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C. Progress Benchmarks and Plans for Improvement One of the revelations of the state IV-E audit was that safety requirements were not satisfactorily met by the state licensing agency for caregiver staff of child caring institutions (CCI) in which children are placed. The following policy violations were found: (1) no evidence of a criminal records (background) check (CRC) for all staff of the facility, (2) CRCs not completed prior to the child's placement, (3) initial CRCs accepted that were greater than 12 months old, and (4) the required five-year CRC re-check was not completed timely, if at all. Of the eleven error cases, nine had violations in one or more of the listed safety requirements related to criminal record checks. The IV-E PIP strategies have been effective motivators for the State to ensure provider compliance with the IV-E staff safety check requirement. By December 21, 2017, OPM had successfully achieved all IV-E PIP goals; for most items, ahead of schedule.

By January 1, 2018, 99% of providers were found to be in compliance with the IV-E requirements. This is a significant increase from the 39% that were complying as of July 1, 2017. As of March 31, 2018, OPM only had one RBWO provider on suspension due to non-compliance with the IV-E safety check requirement. This is notable given that a year ago, 87 providers were on suspension due to noncompliance with the IV-E safety check requirement.

Of the 222 providers (159 CCI, 10 TLP, and 53 ILP), 84% had a quality assurance plan uploaded into the database system in September 2017. That percentage increased to 86.5% in March 2018. The percent of providers who were found to be safety compliant as per the desk reviews increased from 13% to 64% over that same period. The transitional living providers had 100% of their plans uploaded by March 2018.

Table 21. All Desk Reviews completed by 3/31/2018

Providers

Program Count

Any safety review

Percent

All

222

CCI

159

TLP

10

ILP

53

Source: Georgia SCORE

205

92.3%

151

95.0%

9

90.0%

45

84.9%

Any compliant safety review
142
94
8
40

Percent
64.0% 59.1% 80.0% 75.5%

Table 22. Quality Assurance Plans uploaded by 3/31/2018

Providers

Program Count

Uploaded QA Plan

Percent

All

222

CCI

159

TLP

10

ILP

53

Source: Georgia SCORE

192

86.5%

139

87.4%

10

100.0%

43

81.1%

D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand and Strengthen the Range of Existing Services
Since April 1, 2017, the Office of Provider Management completed 675 audits on private provider staff to ensure their compliance with the IV-E requirement. Because these 100% audits have proven effective in keeping providers engaged and accountable, the state will continue with this process

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indefinitely. OPM will continue to monitor the corrective action plans submitted by providers and do quarterly safety check desk reviews.
E. Feedback Loops OPM conducted five webinars on February 22 and March 1, 2017 with providers to discuss the quality assurance plan and the requirements for uploading all safety screenings for staff. OPM & Rev Max conducted cross training on April 20, 2017 and conducted a training for RBWO providers on the IV-E requirements and safety screenings on May 16, 2017. During this meeting, OPM presented data to the providers highlighting the number of providers that were out of compliance, the number placed on suspension and therefore unable to accept additional placement. OPM leaders explained compliance mandates and consequences for lack of compliance; and they responded to questions from the attendees.
A monthly Risk Management meeting is held between DFCS, Rev Max, RCCL, DJJ, Pro Unit and the Fiscal Director. In this meeting, key issues related to IV-E PIP are shared and discussed as needed. In addition, a monthly Provider Leadership Meeting is held with providers. Updates regarding the status of both the IV-E and CFSR PIP are disclosed, and providers have the opportunity to share feedback. From these meetings, OPM has had the opportunity to address questions and concerns the providers may have had as well as provide clarification about the requirements as needed.

PERMANENCY (A)

Table 23. CFSP Goal 2a

Permanency: Families and individuals are healthy and stable

Objectives By September 2019

Key Strategies

Key Activities

Action Steps

Item 4 Stability of foster care placement: Increase percent of cases where there was stability in the foster care placement from 68% to 76% PIP = 74.1% by April 2019

Increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources

Item 5 Permanency goal for the child: Increase percent of cases where appropriate permanency goals were established timely from 36% to 80% PIP = 48.7% by April 2019

Item 6 - Achieving reunification, guardianship, adoption or other planned permanent living arrangement: Increase the percent of cases where the state has made

Implement a statewide Foster Care Recruitment campaign to provide information about Foster Care to prospective foster parents and build awareness about the need. September 2019

Distribute the State Diligent Recruitment Plan to DFCS and CPA resource development supervisors and case managers March 30, 2017
Facilitate at least two joint meetings annually for DFCS and CPA resource development supervisors and case managers for reviewing, planning and strategizing the execution of the state Diligent Recruitment Plan July 30, 2017.

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concerted efforts to achieve appropriate living arrangement for the child from 27% to 43% PIP = 32.6% by April 2019
P1a. Increase the stability of placement for youth in Foster Care by reducing the rate of placement moves from 5.84 moves (per 1,000 days in care) to no more than 4.12 moves (per 1,000 days in care)
P1b. Increase the percentage of children in Foster Care with adoptions that finalize (within 24 months of entering care) from 28% to 52%
P1c. Increase the total number of approved Foster Caregiver resources (foster and relative) from 4,544 to 5,112
P1d. Increase the percentage of children in Foster Care who achieve permanency within the first 12 months of entering care from 47% to 60%

Office of Providers Management section will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings. Start by October 2017 (ongoing).

Implement the Partnership Parenting Model to provide support to both resource and birth Parents. By May 2017

Update and publish the Partnership Parenting Model May 2017

Permanency: Families and individuals are healthy and stable

Key Strategy: Increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources

Objective Measures: Item 4 Stability of foster care placement: Increase percent of cases where there was stability in the foster care placement from 68% to 76%

Item 5 Permanency goal for the child: Increase percent of cases where appropriate permanency goals were established timely from 36% to 80%

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Item 6 - Achieving reunification, guardianship, adoption or other planned permanent living arrangement: Increase the percent of cases where the state has made concerted efforts to achieve appropriate living arrangement for the child from 27% to 43%

P1a. Increase the stability of placement for youth in Foster Care by reducing the rate of placement moves from 5.84 moves (per 1,000 days in care) to no more than 4.12 moves

(per 1,000 days in care)

P1b. Increase the percentage of children in Foster Care with adoptions that finalize (within 24

months of entering care) from 28% to 52%

P1c. Increase the total number of approved Foster Caregiver resources (foster and relative)

from 4,544 to 5,112

P1d. Increase the percentage of children in Foster Care who achieve permanency within the

first 12 months

of entering care from 47% to 60%

Table 24. Objective Measures, CFSP Goal 2a

CFSR Permanency 1

FFY 2015 Dec 2016 (4, 5, 6) Baseline % Actual

Sept 2017 Actual

March 2018 Actual

Item 4 Stability of Foster Care Item 5 Permanency goal for the child Item 6 Reunification, guardianship, adoption or other planned permanent living arrangement

68 % 42 % 27 %
FFY 2017 (P1a 1d) Baseline

67% 43 % 30 %
Dec 2016 Actual

85% 38% 37%
Sept 2017 Actual

74% 41% 32%
March 2018 Actual

P1a. Placement

5.84

5.67

6.93

moves

P1b. Timely

28 %

adoptions

P1c. Approved

4,544

foster care

resources

P1d. Permanency 47 %

within 12 months

Mar-Sep 2017: 7.51

Data sources: Quality Assurance trend reports, SHINES data

March 2019 PIP Target
74.1%

FFY 2019
CFSP Target
76 %

48.7%

51 %

32.6% met 43 %

March 2019 PIP Target

Sept 2019
CFSP Target 4.12

52 %

5,112

60 %

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86

CFSP Key Activity 1 Implement a statewide foster care recruitment campaign to provide information about foster care to prospective foster parents and build awareness about the need September 2019
CFSP Action Steps Distribute the State Diligent Recruitment Plan to DFCS and CPA resource development supervisors and case managers March 30, 2017 Facilitate at least two joint meetings annually for DFCS and CPA resource development supervisors and case managers for the purpose of reviewing, planning and strategizing the execution of the state Diligent Recruitment Plan July 30, 2017. Office of Providers Management section will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings. Start by October 2017 (ongoing).
CFSP Key Activity 2: Implement the Partnership Parenting Model to provide support to both resource and birth parents May 2017
CFSP Action Steps: Update and publish the Partnership Parenting Model May 2017
Related PIP Goals PIP Goal III: In support of the Practice Model, establish a value-based case practice which supports safety, permanency, family and youth engagement, and community connections. Goal III: Strategy I: Permanency Outcome 2: Build and execute a robust, sustainable system for the achievement of timely permanency. The strategy includes practice model case consultation methods, mentoring of field staff, ongoing tracking of outcomes and full Permanency Roundtables for cases without viable permanency options.
PIP Goal V: Increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources. Goal V: Strategy I: Systemic Factor Foster/Adoptive Parent Licensing, Recruitment and Retention Enhance the skills of DFCS and Child Placing Agency (CPA) resource development staff by increasing their job knowledge and their partnering efforts in the area of diligent recruitment.
A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions The objective measures, strategies, deadlines, or PIP quarters have not changed since the last APSR.
B. Implementation Supports Additional supports are needed to fully implement the Partnership Parenting Model. Supports are needed for training and potential updates in the SACWIS system to capture when key activities have been held.

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87

C. Progress Benchmarks Timeliness of placements

Table 25. Initial Placement Entry Timeliness (from Removal to Entry of Initial Placement) FFY 2018 (Oct to May)

Within a Day

13.36%

1+ to 2 Days

8.07%

2+ to 5 Days

19.14%

5+ to 15 Days

35.88%

15+ to 30 Days

11.91%

Over 30 Days

11.63%

Legal Status Entry Timeliness (includes new and changes in legal status) FFY 2018 Oct to

May

Up to 72 Hours

43.95%

4 days to 1 week

16.72%

1 to 2 weeks

9.18%

15 to 30 days

8.89%

Over 30 days

21.13%

Error-Entry before Status Date

0.13%

It is one thing to find a child a place to call home, it is another thing to do it in a timely fashion. Supervisors in the regions conduct consultations at various stages of a case to acquire timely permanency, but all regions are required to have a high-level staff person (above supervisor rank) do consultations on cases where the child has been in care 12 months. One region calls these consultations SWOTs. PIP Goal III, Strategy I: Permanency Outcome 2 requires the state to build and execute a robust, sustainable system for the achievement of timely permanency. The strategy includes practice model case consultation methods, mentoring of field staff, ongoing tracking of outcomes and full permanency roundtables for cases without viable permanency options. Georgia elected to use the SBC case consultation action plan template for its consultations and completed development of the template August 2017. A list of children who have a case consultation due is sent to the field monthly. Field program specialists track the information and trends stemming from the consults and share this information with the C3 coordinators for reporting.
In addition to the case consultations and tracking methods, other tools have been developed and provided to the field to ensure clarity and transparency regarding the time frame in which a case is worked when children cannot remain safely within their families and as a result must enter foster care. A permanency timeline and a practice guide on how to use the timeline have been provided to staff for use with families who have a reunification case plan. The purpose of the permanency timeline is to assist families in understanding and knowing important court dates and other critical points in their cases. The sharing of this information in this manner is a supportive and collaborative process with families that helps to facilitate a safe and timely reunification. The permanency timeline is also a way for the agency to be transparent with families regarding the federal requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) for filing termination of parental rights for children. In FFY 2017, Georgia finalized 1,233 adoptions of children from foster care, compared to 1,036 in 2016 and 848 adoptions in FFY 2015.

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88

Georgia has been using strategies such as family team meetings and permanency roundtables to help ensure timely permanency for children in care. Staff have been working diligently to ensure family team meetings are being held and that they have the right people at the table, engaged and working together to develop a plan of care for the family. There were 4,023 FTMs held statewide in FFY 2017. For cases without viable permanency options, the state has been conducting full permanency roundtables along with practice model case consultation methods, mentoring of field staff, and ongoing tracking of outcomes.

Table 26. Family Team Meetings

Region

FFY 2017 October 2016 September 2017 Number of FTMs Percent of FTMs

01

137

6.5%

02

100

7.9%

03

308

20.1%

04

255

15.8%

05

206

12.4%

06

222

20.9%

07

122

16.2%

08

193

19.7%

09

121

15.4%

10

268

27.2%

11

309

19.2%

12

224

18.2%

13

623

27.5%

14

935

40.2%

State

4023

19.9%

FFY 2018

October 2017 June 2018

Number of FTMs Percent of FTMs

120

6.0%

68

5.3%

363

27.9%

202

13.0%

143

9.2%

89

9.0%

81

8.9%

104

11.2%

37

5.1%

120

12.5%

207

13.5%

158

12.1%

315

15.8%

711

33.0%

2718

14.2%

Table 27. Roundtables FFY 2017 (October 2016 June 2017)

Region

Roundtables

Children

01

3

2101

02

5

1259

03

207

1536

04

38

1617

05

5

1666

06

44

1061

07

16

754

08

21

982

09

2

786

10

93

987

11

6

1611

12

58

1230

13

2

2265

Georgia Annual Progress and Services Report - June 2018

Percent 0.14% 0.40% 13.48% 2.35% 0.30% 4.15% 2.12% 2.14% 0.25% 9.42% 0.37% 4.72% 0.09%
89

14

19

State

519

2323 20178

0.82% 2.57%

Table 28. Roundtables FFY 2018 (October 2017 June 2018)

Region

Roundtables

Children

01

3

2014

02

7

1273

03

0

1299

04

6

1559

05

2

1552

06

0

991

07

1

907

08

0

931

09

2

729

10

6

959

11

0

1537

12

0

1302

13

1

1997

14

1

2157

State

29

19207

Percent 0.15% 0.55% 0.00% 0.38% 0.13% 0.00% 0.11% 0.00% 0.27% 0.63% 0.00% 0.00% 0.05% 0.05% 0.15%

In addition to launching the Foster Georgia Inquiry Line (see Planned Activities and Activities to Expand Strengthen the Range of Existing Services section below), the CRRU has been executing recruitment activities statewide to reinforce awareness of the need for foster, adoptive and relative caregivers (specifically for teens and siblings and any other targeted groups based on regional needs) through traditional local/regional media and social media. This includes development and distribution of targeted recruitment campaigns to engage the faith community, to recruit caregivers for older youth, and to recruit caregivers for sibling groups. Embracing of the LGBTQ community includes participation in the Atlanta Pride events in October 2017.

As of March 2018, there were 4,953 caregivers in the state. The state has strengthened partnerships with CPAs and CCIs to support recruitment efforts and monitor the progress of the Regional Placement Resource Engagement meetings. There has been continued partnership with the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association, and support of their annual education conference. Georgia supported nearly 960 caregivers and staff to attend this year's conference through scholarships. Scholarships were also provided to 50 private agency caregivers as well. The conference was held February 23 25, 2018. The conference provides caregivers with training and educational opportunities to increase their capacity to protect. It also provides them with opportunities to fellowship and engage with peer caregivers, as well as Division leadership.

The State's Diligent recruitment plan has been shared repeatedly to DFCS and CPA Resource Development supervisors and case managers. The plan has been posted on the fostergeorgia.com website underneath the RD Staff portal. All staff have been provided the login credentials to access the plans. These plans have also been shared on the gascore.com website for access by CPA providers.

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The first joint meeting for 2017 was held on April 13, 2017 at Hephzibah Children's Home in Macon, GA from 9:30A-3:00 PM. A second meeting will be completed before the end of 2017. During the meetings, the participants had table discussion to identify ways in which they could collaborate to execute components of the Diligent Recruitment Plan, and how they could give additional support to birth families to support reunification. The teams discussed the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding for their Regional Placement Resource Engagement Meetings, and how this could provide structure to their partnership. A second joint meeting was held on December 12, 2017 from 10A 3:30PM. Invitations were sent to both DFCS Regional RD Leads and to all Private Agency Partners. There was a total of 178 attendees, and 12 of them were representatives from the DFCS Regional teams. Meetings for 2018 have been tentatively scheduled for April 18, 2018 and October 9, 2018.

The Partnership Parenting model has been implemented in the IMPACT Pre-Service training model and was added into the Resource Development policy in 2014. However, the Partnership Parenting model has not been implemented in full fidelity. The Division will need to assess the addition of the remaining components of the model to support the introduction of the birth parent and foster caregivers, and the use of the model to support children with concurrent plans. This strategy is not having the intended effect because it has not been fully incorporated into practice across all program areas.

As the State aimed to enhance the skills of DFCS and Child Placing Agency (CPA) resource development staff by increasing their job knowledge and their partnering efforts in the area of diligent recruitment, there needed to be an assessment and revision to the resource developer's job description, and implementation of new performance management expectations. Job descriptions for all resource development positions were distributed to DFCS field leadership for use in Performance Management documents. The final version of the resource development job descriptions was reviewed with the regional teams at the Statewide Resource Development Quarterly meeting held June 28, 2017. They were discussed again during the monthly statewide cadence on July 18, 2017 with the RD team leads as a reminder to include the language in PMF development. A reminder email was sent on September 19, 2017 to the regional directors, county directors, and regional resource development team leads to include the language in Performance Management documents and expectations. The performance management expectations are being utilized for the development of performance evaluations for resource development staff. The job description has not been used universally for announcements with vacancies related to resource development. Continued communication with leadership and Human Resources will be held to ensure the developed job descriptions are to be used for future announcements.

In 2017, the following chapters of the Child Welfare Policy Manual were updated to increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources in alignment with Georgia's Practice Model:

Chapter 12 (Adoption Assistance) and 16 (Room, Board, Watchful Oversight) were updated to establish the Universal Application as the single document for requesting RBWO placement and

as one of the criteria required when renegotiating an adoption assistance rate.

Chapter 14 (Resource Development) was updated to remove the requirement for additional drug screening for the purpose of adoption since relatives submit to drug screening as part of

the Relative Care Assessment, and to eliminate the 30-Day Grace approval status for family

foster homes.

Chapter 19: Case Management was updated to include a requirement for screening routine caregivers who provide care to a child in an active DFCS case (Initial Safety Assessment,

Investigation, Family Support Services, Family Preservation Services, Foster Care). Routine

caregivers are individuals who provide care more than once a week, usually at designated

times.

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D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand Strengthen the Range of Existing Services July 2017, the Division was allocated $2,861,585.00 in State funds by the Georgia's State Legislature for staff allocation to aid in the development of a support program for prospective and existing foster, adoptive, and relative foster caregivers. This funding supported the onboarding of 50 caregiver support service workers known as "caregiver support technicians" and five caregiver support program supervisors. The CRRU established the supporting job descriptions and performance management expectations, and training requirements for the caregiver support staff. The positions were allocated regionally, and the prospective staff candidates were vetted and onboarded by the regional RD team leads, in collaboration with Department of Human Services.

The goal of the Caregiver Support Services program is to increase the overall retention of foster, adoptive, and relative caregivers. As of March 31, 2018, the Division had filled 52 of the 55 allocated positions. The support program staff will be responsible for establishing, maintaining, and leveraging community partnerships necessary to support caregivers, and to keep prospective caregivers engaged during the onboarding process. The support staff will, ideally, contact newly approved caregivers within the first 48 hours of their initial placement, and make telephone contact with existing caregivers within 72 hours of a new placement. They will be available to provide direct assistance to caregivers who need support in obtaining services to support the children entering Georgia through an ICPC placement. They will serve as a liaison between caregivers, case managers, providers and other external partners, and assist caregivers with the documentation/applications for services.

It is the anticipated expectation that having this structure in place will allow the agency to achieve the following outcomes:
Reduction in placement moves for children in foster care (Placement Stability increases) Improved quality of service and reduced attrition Retention of current caregivers through satisfaction of services Increase in referrals from current foster caregivers Caregivers needs will be identified and addressed more readily and consistently

Permanency leads will facilitate and/or participate in ICPC Roadshows for field staff from December 2018 through March 2019. The roadshow outlines the incoming and outgoing processing of adoptions, licensed or approved foster homes, parents and relatives (when the parent or relative does not have legal authority to place the child), and group homes/residential placements. The anticipated audience includes all permanency staff in the state of Georgia. The face-to-face interaction at roadshows enables relationship building between state office and field staff, clarifies expectations, and allows state office staff to hear the needs in the field first-hand. Data trends following the roadshows are positive. In one month there was a demonstrated decrease in overdue incoming ICPC cases (from 215 to 156) and an increase in request submissions (from 70 to 118).

An instrumental recruitment strategy that the Division has sustained for several years is the Homes for Georgia's Kids (HGK) foster and adoptive parent inquiry line (877-210-KIDS). It is the first point of contact to obtain information about becoming a foster or adoptive parent. Georgia currently outsources the inquiry line with Bethany Christian Services for continued management of the toll-free line until state acquisition is secured. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was submitted to the Office of Procurement and Contracts (OPC) for the solicitation of potential vendors for the development of the Hosted Contact Center which would support the inbounding calls platform for the inquiry line. The RFP was submitted to OPC on March 27, 2016 and was published on April 14, 2016. A review of the proposals was conducted and a vendor (Platform 28) was selected in August 2016. The contract was developed by OPC in December 2016 and was fully executed in March 2017. The kickoff meeting for the development of the scope of work for the project was held with the vendor April 12, 2017. A total of 499

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92

inquiries were processed by Bethany Christian Services from April to June 2017 during the transition period. The Foster Georgia Inquiry Line was successfully launched on June 27, 2017. Inquiries are also accepted and processed via the Foster Georgia website www.fostergeorgia.com. During the period under review, Georgia received and processed a total of 4,508 via the Foster Georgia Inquiry Line and Foster Georgia website. Total inquiries received via all three mediums was 5,007.
To make an inquiry to become a foster parent via the Foster Georgia Inquiry Line, foster parent callers are instructed to select "Option 1" via the IVR (Integrated Voice Response) system. A total of 4,458 calls have been serviced through this option, although not all calls resulted in an actual inquiry. To speak with a caregiver navigator for "warm line" support callers are instructed to select "Option 2". There has been a total of 549 calls received via this option.
The Foster Georgia Inquiry Line is to be functionally operated by five inquiry response case managers who process new inquiries, and five caregiver navigators who offer the "warm-line" support. The inquiry response case managers process all calls received and disposition them according to the call purpose. Not all calls received via this medium result in an actual inquiry, and not all inquiries result in the development of a Foster/Adoptive (FAD) Stage in the Georgia SHINES SACWIS system a call results in the development of the FAD stage, the IRCM processes the information in the SACWIS system, and assigns the home to the appropriate regional field staff to process through onboarding. Inquiries received at the local level are processed by field staff.
E. Feedback Loops Joint meetings have improved the communication and collaboration between the local DFCS Resource Development teams and the providers who service their demographic area. Joint meetings are planned in collaboration with representatives who support and advocate for the provider networks, the Office of Provider Management, and internal stakeholders from the Office of Residential Child Care and Licensing. Feedback from the meetings is shared with the Office of Provider Management and to Division executive leadership during other internal collaborative meetings. During the meetings, the participants had table discussions to identify ways in which they could collaborate to execute components of the Diligent Recruitment Plan, and how they could give additional support to birth families to support reunification. The teams discussed the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding for their Regional Placement Resource Engagement Meetings, and how this could provide structure to their partnership.

PERMANENCY (B)

Table 29. CFSP Goal 2b

Permanency: Families and individuals are healthy and stable

Objectives By September 2019

Key Strategies Key Activities

Item 7 Placement with siblings: Increase the percent or cases where the state has made concerted efforts to ensure siblings in foster care are placed together unless separation was necessary to

Strengthen the public and private agency placement operations system which includes the recruitment and retention of foster

Execute a contract with Chapin Hall to conduct the placement operations study of the state's

Georgia Annual Progress and Services Report - June 2018

Action Steps
Establish contact with Chapin Hall. June 30, 2017
Receive final report from Chapin Hall. September 30, 2017
93

meet the needs of one of the siblings, from 77% to 85%
Item 8 Visiting with parents and siblings in foster care: Increase the percent of cases where visitation between a child in foster care and his or her mother, father and siblings was of sufficient frequency and quality to promote continuity in the child's relationships with these family members, from 45% to 53%

and group homes and utilization of those resources. March 2019

Item 9 Preserving connections: Increase the percent of cases where concerted efforts were made to preserve the child's connections to his/her neighborhood, community, faith, extended family, Tribe, school and friends from 39% to 47%

Item 10 Relative placement: Increase the percent of cases where there were concerted efforts to place the child with relatives (where appropriate) from 46% to 54%

Item 11 Relationship of child in care with parents: Increase the percent of cases were concerted efforts were made to promote, support, and/or maintain positive relationships between the child in foster care and his or her mother and father or other primary caregivers from whom the child had been removed (via activities other than visitation) from 34% to 41%
P2a. Increase the percentage of monthly

public and private agency system September 2017
Develop a universal application for Room, Board, and Watchful Oversight (RBWO) provider placements to improve efficiency in obtaining timely and appropriate placements for children. March 2019

Determine acceptable recommendation December 31, 2017
Based on acceptance of recommendations, initiate implementation of recommendations. September 30, 2018
Utilize the Practice Matters, Provider Leadership, State CQI meeting and other partnership meeting venues to share information and discuss study results. December 31, 2018

Enhance the skills of DFCS and child placing agency (CPA) resource development staff by increasing their job knowledge and their partnering efforts in the area of diligent recruitment. March 2019

Develop a resource development curriculum and certification process for DFCS and CPA case managers. March 2019
Education and Training (E&T) Unit write the new worker curriculum and certification process for DFCS and CPA case managers with the assistance of the Office of Providers Management (OPM) section. March 31, 2017 Send draft curriculum to the C3 Coordinators, Field Program Specialist, CQI Specialists, CQI Facilitators, State CQI team and/or other direct service child welfare staff to review for feedback. April 30, 2017

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parent visits in Child Protective Services and Foster Care from 87% to 95% for birth mothers and 80 % to 95 % for birth fathers
P2b. Increase the percentage of relative placement for children in Foster Care from 25.6% to 50%

Share draft curriculum with ACF/Children's Bureau (CB) for review and feedback. May 30, 2017
Once the curriculum is finalized, the E & T unit and the OPM section will begin implementation. Start by June 2017 (ongoing)

Strengthen the caregiver approval process by reducing the paperwork burdens experienced by prospective caregivers and increasing the support they receive during the approval process December 2018

The E & T unit and the Office of Providers Management section will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings. Start by July 2017 (ongoing). Redesign the approval paperwork packet and eliminate redundancies in forms to be completed. December 2018
The Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit will establish a committee that includes the policy and training, GA SHINES units, regional and county staff to redesign the approval paperwork packet for resource development, including PDF fillable options and eliminate redundancies in forms to be completed. December 2016

Georgia Annual Progress and Services Report - June 2018

The draft paperwork packet will be sent to the C3 Coordinators, Field Program Specialist, the CQI Specialists, CQI Facilitators, State CQI
95

team, Resource Development Teams, Office of Provider Management, and CPAs to review for feedback. March 2017
The draft paperwork packet will be shared with ACF/CB for review and feedback. May 2017
Once final draft is completed, Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit will train Regional Resource Development Team. July 2017
Regional Resource Development Team will train the Regional staff, County Directors, supervisors and case managers to begin county implementation. September 2017
The Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit and the C3 Coordinators will report monthly the status of the region and counties improvement of services and implementation of the protocol. Starting October 2017 (ongoing)
Permanency: Families and individuals are healthy and stable
Key Strategy: Strengthen the public and private agency placement operations system which includes the recruitment and retention of foster and group homes and utilization of those resources.
Objective Measures:

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Item 7 Placement with siblings: Increase the percent or cases where the state has made concerted efforts to ensure siblings in foster care are placed together unless separation was necessary to meet the needs of one of the siblings, from 77% to 85%
Item 8 Visiting with parents and siblings in foster care: Increase the percent of cases where visitation between a child in foster care and his or her mother, father and siblings was of sufficient frequency and quality to promote continuity in the child's relationships with these family members, from 45% to 53%
Item 9 Preserving connections: Increase the percent of cases where concerted efforts were made to preserve the child's connections to his/her neighborhood, community, faith, extended family, Tribe, school and friends from 39% to 47%
Item 10 Relative placement: Increase the percent of cases where there were concerted efforts to place the child with relatives (where appropriate) from 46% to 54%
Item 11 Relationship of child in care with parents: Increase the percent of cases were concerted efforts were made to promote, support, and/or maintain positive relationships between the child in foster care and his or her mother and father or other primary caregivers from whom the child had been removed (via activities other than visitation) from 34% to 41%
P2a. Increase the percentage of monthly parent visits in Child Protective Services and Foster Care from 87% to 95% for birth mothers and 80 % to 95 % for birth fathers
P2b. Increase the percentage of relative placement for children in Foster Care from 25.6% to 50%

Table 30. Objective Measures, CFSP Goal 2b

CFSR Permanency 2

FFY 2015 (Items 7- 9) FFY 2017 (P2a) FFY 2016 (P2b) Baseline

Dec 2016 Actual

Sept 2017 March 2018

Actual

Actual

Item 7 Placement with siblings Item 8 Visiting with parents and siblings Item 9 Preserving connections Item 10 Relative placement Item 11 Relationship of child in care with parents

77 % 45 %
39 % 46 % 34 %

77 % 54 %

87% 45%

62%
62 % 58 %

62%
61% 38%

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78% 59%
57% 58% 44%

March 2019

FFY 2019

PIP Target CFSP Target 85 % 53 %
47 % 54 % 41 %
97

P2a. Mothers

87 %

P2a. Fathers

80 %

P2b. Relative

25.6 %

placement

Data sources: Quality Assurance trend reports, SHINES data

87.5 % 95 % 50 %

CFSP Key Activity 1: Execute a contract with Chapin Hall to conduct the placement operations study of the state's public and private agency system September 2017
CFSP Key Activity 2: Develop a universal application for Room, Board, and Watchful Oversight (RBWO) provider placements to improve efficiency in obtaining timely and appropriate placements for children. March 2019
CFSP Action Steps Establish contact with Chapin Hall. June 30, 2017 Receive final report from Chapin Hall. September 30, 2017 Determine acceptable recommendation December 31, 2017 Based on acceptance of recommendations, initiate implementation of recommendations. September 30, 2018 Utilize the Practice Matters, Provider Leadership, State CQI meeting and other partnership meeting venues to share information and discuss study results. December 31, 2018
Related PIP Goals Goal V: Increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources. Strategy III Permanency Outcome 1
Strengthen the public and private agency placement operations system which includes the recruitment and retention of foster and group homes and utilization of those resources.
Strategy IV: Permanency Outcome 1
Develop a universal application for Room, Board, and Watchful Oversight (RBWO) provider placements to improve efficiency in obtaining timely and appropriate placements for children.
A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions

B. Implementation Supports The State does not anticipate being able to execute on the recommendations provided by the Chapin Hall report quickly as they likely require significant funding as well as broad systemic change involving multiple internal and external stakeholders. Additionally, the current structure of the placement process will require a redesign.

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C. Progress Benchmarks Georgia executed a contract with Chapin Hall to conduct the placement operations study by the PIP Quarter 2 target and received the report by the PIP Quarter 3 target. Georgia completed the development and implementation of the universal application for Room, Board, and Watchful Oversight provider placements in Quarter 1, well ahead of the Quarter 8 target deadline.
The draft report from Chapin Hall was delivered to the state and discussions are ongoing to clarify several points. Some key points of clarity could change some of the recommendations in the report. However, the recommendations of the report are broad in scope with significant fiscal and systemic impacts.
D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand Strengthen the Range of Existing Services Implementation plans will be crafted in 2018 and into 2019 for recommendations determined to be fiscally and systemically viable. The scope of several key recommendations will take multiple years to implement.
In addition, the state must assure that all recommendations selected for implementation align with the current and upcoming guidance and requirements of the Families First Act which is a factor not included in the scope of the report.
E. Feedback Loops

CFSP Key Activity 3: Enhance the skills of DFCS and child placing agency (CPA) resource development staff by increasing their job knowledge and their partnering efforts in the area of diligent recruitment. March 2019

CFSP Action Steps:
Develop a resource development curriculum and certification process for DFCS and CPA case managers. March 2019
Education and Training (E&T) Unit write the new worker curriculum and certification process for DFCS and CPA case managers with the assistance of the Office of Providers Management (OPM) section. March 31, 2017
Send draft curriculum to the C3 Coordinators, Field Program Specialist, CQI Specialists, CQI Facilitators, State CQI team and/or other direct service child welfare staff to review for feedback. April 30, 2017
Share draft curriculum with ACF/Children's Bureau (CB) for review and feedback. May 30, 2017
Once the curriculum is finalized, the E & T unit and the OPM section will begin implementation. Start by June 2017 (ongoing)
The E & T unit and the Office of Providers Management section will report progress and/or barriers at the monthly State CQI meetings. Start by July 2017 (ongoing)

Related PIP Goal Goal V: Increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources. Strategy I: Systemic Factor Foster/Adoptive Parent Licensing, Recruitment and Retention

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Enhance the skills of DFCS and Child Placing Agency (CPA) resource development staff by increasing their job knowledge and their partnering efforts in the area of diligent recruitment.
A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions There were no revisions made or requested to be made to these goals, objectives and interventions since last APSR submission.
B. Implementation Supports Due to staff limitations within the Education and Training section there were no trainings offered for the remainder of 2017 after the September session. The next training was not offered until January 2018.
C. Progress Benchmarks The Resource Development Training Curriculum has been developed and implemented. The development of the training was indicated as completed by the Children's Bureau in December 2017. The training was written by the Education and Training Unit and was piloted from December 2016 to April 2017. Participants for the pilot included DFCS field and state office staff. Invitations to participate in the pilot were extended to private agency partners and although some accepted they did not participate in the pilot sessions.
The Resource Development Track training which is scheduled, coordinated, and facilitated by the Education and Training Section, rolled out September 14, 2017. There was a total of 13 participants for the first session. All participants were current members of the DFCS regional resource development teams. Modules covered were "Recruit" and "Retain." The two-week training was held in Macon, Georgia at the Methodist Home for Children campus. Due to a limited number of staff being trained, Georgia cannot determine whether the implementation of the activity has had the intended affect overall. However, based on feedback provided as a result of the pilot and completed training sessions, staff indicated that the core competencies of the courses are beneficial, and could improve their overall performance.
The Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit began to implement statewide-targeted recruitment campaigns February 2017. These targeted recruitment efforts are intended to engage specific factions of the community, utilizing data and visual aids to engage an identified audience. The initiative is to garner interest from specific populations of the community in becoming foster, adoptive, or relative caregivers for children in foster care. A campaign tool kit is developed and provided to the regional teams with instructions and guidance on use and implementation. The toolkit consists of:
Digital flyer for use on social media and other Web-based platforms A printable flyer with campaign visual messaging and elements Public service announcements template Sample letter for the intended audience Data Request Form to aid in the accuracy of statistical and numerical data provided at
recruitment events PowerPoint presentation for intended audience

D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand Strengthen the Range of Existing Services In May 2018, Georgia will offer The Ties That Bind, a training seminar for adoptive families. This training seminar hosts approximately 450-500 participants including adoptive children and adoptive parents.
The 2015-2019 Diligent Recruitment and Retention Plan was officially implemented January 2015. The state's goal was to increase foster and adoptive resources by 20% in 2016. The state achieved a

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246.7% increase in the number of approved relative foster homes, and an 11.51% increase in the number of non-relative foster home resources. In FFY 2017, the state increased approved relative foster homes by ______% and non-relative foster homes by ____%. The state continues to use 14 regional resource development teams to operationalize local recruitment efforts. The teams are comprised of at least one team lead and an average of 13 members. Quarterly meetings will be held with the teams to assess progress towards the goals of the diligent recruitment plan, barriers impeding success, and strategies to improve practice. These quarterly meetings will also be used to provide training opportunities to line staff to improve skill, increase knowledge base, and build awareness of state and local resources.
E. Feedback Loops Feedback was received by Education and Training directly from Resource Development Training course participants during the piloted sessions of each of the training modules. Feedback obtained from those pilot sessions was then incorporated into the training course revisions.
CFSP Key Activity 4: Strengthen the caregiver approval process by reducing the paperwork burdens experienced by prospective caregivers and increasing the support they receive during the approval process December 2018
CFSP Action Steps: Redesign the approval paperwork packet and eliminate redundancies in forms to be completed.
December 2018 The Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit will establish a committee that includes the policy
and training, GA SHINES units, regional and county staff to redesign the approval paperwork packet for resource development, including PDF fillable options and eliminate redundancies in forms to be completed. December 2016 The draft paperwork packet will be sent to the C3 Coordinators, Field Program Specialist, the CQI Specialists, CQI Facilitators, State CQI team, Resource Development Teams, Office of Provider Management, and CPAs to review for feedback. March 2017 The draft paperwork packet will be shared with ACF/CB for review and feedback. May 2017 Once final draft is completed, Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit will train Regional Resource Development Team. July 2017 Regional Resource Development Team will train the Regional staff, County Directors, supervisors and case managers to begin county implementation. September 2017 The Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit and the C3 Coordinators will report monthly the status of the region and counties improvement of services and implementation of the protocol. Starting October 2017 (ongoing)

Related PIP Goals Goal V: Increase and strengthen foster and adoptive resources. Strategy I: Systemic Factor Foster/Adoptive Parent Licensing, Recruitment and Retention

Enhance the skills of DFCS and Child Placing Agency (CPA) resource development staff by increasing their job knowledge and their partnering efforts in the area of diligent recruitment.

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Strategy II: Systemic Factor Foster/Adoptive Parent Licensing, Recruitment and Retention

Strengthen the caregiver approval process by reducing the paperwork burdens experienced by prospective caregivers and increasing the support they receive during the approval process. Strategy III: Permanency Outcome 1
Strengthen the public and private agency placement operations system which includes the recruitment and retention of foster and group homes and utilization of those resources.
A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions A workgroup was convened on December 13, 2016 to review and revise the onboarding paperwork packet. The workgroup consisted of Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit staff, inquiry response case managers, resource development team leads, and caregiver navigators (who also happen to be foster parents). Recommendations were made to reduce redundancies, and eliminate elements deemed unnecessary or inapplicable. The revisions were submitted to the Office of Communications Media and Graphics Design for aesthetic development and implementation of electronically fillable features.
B. Implementation Supports

C. Progress Benchmarks Sufficient progress has been made to launch the revised caregiver onboarding packet as early as Quarter 6 (PIP target quarter is Quarter 7). Feedback from a variety of stakeholders has been incorporated and form revisions are commencing. An initial iteration was developed and submitted to the CRRU director for review, wherein additional revisions were made, and a decision was made to create two packets, one for application, and one during the onboarding and assessment phase. The second iteration was returned to The Office of Communications on March 23, 2017 for a second revision. This iteration was returned on April 4, 2017 and shared that day with the regional resource development teams and the Permanency Unit for review and feedback. It was also sent to the Office of Provider Management where it was shared with RBWO providers via an e-blast on GA SCORE. They were given a Survey Monkey link to provide feedback on the packet for inclusion in the next iteration.

The application packet will include an introduction to the caregiver, a diagram of the onboarding process, and instructions on how to gather information necessary to begin the required preliminary safety screenings of the primary caregivers and other household members. The onboarding packet will contain assessments for both the primary and secondary caregiver (if applicable) and children who reside in the home. It will also include a couple's questionnaire and an ongoing training plan that will be completed in concert with the assessor conducting the family evaluation.

Final revisions were sent to the Office of Communications December 2017 and returned to CRRU February 23, 2018. A second workgroup was convened on March 3, 2018 to include representatives from CRRU, Office of Provider Management, Adoptions Unit, Education and Training, and Regional Resource Development Team Leads. The recommendations made by the workgroup were presented to Regional RD team leads during the Statewide Quarterly Meeting March 27-29, 2018. The finalized application and introductory packet will be in .pdf format with fillable options and will be rolled out for use in the field by May 30, 2018.

D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand Strengthen the Range of Existing Services Georgia is working to implement the SAFE Home Study Model which will also eliminate the inconvenience of excessive paperwork and extensive questionnaires. Georgia is scheduled to roll out the SAFE training in 2018. The SAFE Home Study will be piloted in collaboration with Education and

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Training, Policy Section, and the Office of Provider Management is being held to complete final review of remaining forms.
E. Feedback Loops Redundant questions were removed from the caregiver approval packet as a result of recommendations from internal and external stakeholders. Other feedback received will be used to amend the packet to lessen the burden to caregivers. The final packet will be returned to all parties for review after the final revisions are received from the Office of Communications. A workgroup meeting was held with representatives from Education & Training, Office of Provider Management, Policy Unit, and CRRU to review the SAFE Home Study model. During this meeting a cross-sectional review was conducted of the current forms used in the onboarding process, recently revised forms, and remaining forms to be revised. Input is regularly sought from Education and Training Unit, the Policy Unit and others on the revision of forms and policy updates in preparation of needed changes.

WELL-BEING (A)

Table 31. CFSP Goal 3a

Well-Being: Families and individuals have enhanced capacity to meet their physical, cognitive and

educational needs

Objectives

Key Strategies

Key Activities

Action Steps

By September 2019

Item 12 - needs and services of child,

Implement the Connected by 21

Develop and publish a Draft a project plan CB 21 five-year project delineating objectives,

parents and foster

(CB21) initiative, the plan. July 2016

outcomes and target

parents: Increase the extension of Foster

measures for strategies

needs and services of Care for youth ages

Commence

that address

child, parents and

18-21, to ensure that implementation of the employment, housing,

foster parents from

those youth in

CB plan.

education and health

26% to 30%

transition are

January 2017

concerns for older

PIP = 29.3% by April supported and self-

youth.

2019

sufficient.

July 2016

Achieve at least 20% of

Item 13 Child and family involvement in

the objective measures CB plan team select

of the plan by

priority objectives to

case planning:

September 2019.

achieve within the first

Increase child and

two years of

family involvement

implementation.

from 42% to 49%

September 2017

PIP = 47% by April

2019

Item 14 Worker visits with child: Increase

Implement a communications campaign directed at

frequency and quality

youth, caregivers and

of visits to children in care from 59% to 67%

staff informing them of the foster care program

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PIP = 64.5% by April 2019
Item 15 Caseworker visits with parents: Increase the frequency and quality of visits with parents from 31% to 38% PIP = 36.2 % by April 2019
Increase the number of Independent Living and Transitional Living Programs beds and other and nontraditional transitional living arrangement by 25%
Increase percentage of the number of youth opting in to CB21 services at 18 years of age who do not have an immediately executable safe and stable living arrangement to at least 85%
Increase the number of youth opting in to CB21 services at 18 years of age who do not have an immediately executable safe and stable living arrangement to at least 70% annually

18 to 21. September 2018 Develop a process whereby youth ages 17 years and older in foster care and particularly those who are emancipating will have in their possession official identification documents (birth certificate, SS card and state identification card or driver's license) under counter indicated based on disability or other issue. December 2017

Well-Being: Families and individuals have enhanced capacity to meet their physical, cognitive and educational needs

Key Strategy: Implement the Connected by 21 initiative, the extension of Foster Care for youth ages 18-21, to ensure that those youth in transition are supported and self-sufficient.

Objective Measures:

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Item 12 - needs and services of child, parents and foster parents: Increase the needs and services of child, parents and foster parents from 26% to 30%
Item 13 Child and family involvement in case planning:
Increase child and family involvement from 42% to 49%
Item 14 Worker visits with child: Increase frequency and quality of visits to children in care from 59% to 67%
Item 15 Caseworker visits with parents: Increase the frequency and quality of visits with parents from 31% to 38%
Increase the number of Independent Living and Transitional Living Programs beds and other and nontraditional transitional living arrangement by 25%
Increase percentage of the number of youth opting in to CB21 services at 18 years of age who do not have an immediately executable safe and stable living arrangement to at least 85%
Increase the number of youth opting in to CB21 services at 18 years of age who do not have an immediately executable safe and stable living arrangement to at least 70% annually

Table 32. Objective Measures, CFSP Goal 3a

CFSR Well-Being 1

FFY 2015 Dec 2016 Baseline Actual

Sept 2017 March

2018

Actual

Actual

Item 12 - Needs and

26 %

25%

services of child,

parents and foster

parents

Item 13 - Child and

42 %

42 %

family involvement in

case planning

Item 14 - Worker visits 59 %

57 %

with child

Item 15 - Caseworker

31 %

28 %

visits with parents

Data source: Quality Assurance trend reports

CFSP Key Activity 1 Develop and publish a CB 21 five-year project plan. July 2016 Commence implementation of the CB plan January 2017

19%
46% 58% 29%

27%
58% 55% 24%

March 2019 PIP Target
29.3%

Sept 2019
CFSP Target
30 %

47%

49 %

64.5% 36.2%

67 % 36.2 %

Achieve at least 20% of the objective measures of the plan by September 2019

CFSP Key Activity 2

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Implement a communications campaign directed at youth, caregivers and staff informing them of the foster care program 18 to 21. September 2018
CFSP Key Activity 3 Develop a process whereby youth ages 17 years and older in foster care and particularly those who are emancipating will have in their possession official identification documents (birth certificate, SS card and state identification card or driver's license) under counter indicated based on disability or other issue. December 2017
CFSP Action Steps: Draft a project plan delineating objectives, outcomes and target measures for strategies that address employment, housing, education and health concerns for older youth. July 2016
CB plan team select priority objectives to achieve within the first two years of implementation. September 2017
A. Revisions to Goals, Objectives and Interventions The target dates for the key activities and action steps will need to be re-established now that the legislation needed to solidify services for youth 14 18 has now become law.
B. Implementation Supports
C. Progress Benchmarks Since the previous year's APSR, the CB21 plan has been reviewed and approved by DFCS leadership. During the 2018 legislative session, CB21 legislation was passed and has been moved forward for signature by the Governor. The state is now on schedule to submit an implementation plan/overview to executive leadership by July 9, 2018. Meetings with DFCS staff, judicial partners, internal and external stakeholders and youth are forthcoming to begin formulating policies and the framework of the program.

D. Planned Activities and Activities to Expand Strengthen the Range of Existing Services During FY2018, GARYSE is continuing its partnership with Orange Duffle Bag Initiative (ODBI) to provide three coaching classes for at-risk high school students in foster care. The program is designed to assist participants in developing a comprehensive life plan to achieve a high school diploma or GED, enroll in a postsecondary institution, and gain relevant employment. Upon graduation, youth are provided with a laptop to help them further their education, and youth are connected with an advocate who will continue to help them overcome barriers effectively.

Through partnership with MAAC, four Summer Summit activities will take place in June/July 2018 for youth in care. The goal is to offer workshops and age-appropriate activities to approximately 500 youth.

The state will continue to host the Teens R 4 Me conference as a vehicle to strengthen engagement with older youth in foster care. This symposium seeks to guarantee teens are safe, healthy, educated, employable and connected as they transition out of care into independence. Additionally, it is an opportunity for youth to gain the necessary tools for a supportive and stable transition into young adulthood and beyond. The conference is also a means for those who work directly with youth to gain supports and guidance.

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E. Feedback Loops See the Collaborations section of this report for a description of the extensive level of partnering and frequent use of communication channels in Georgia to ensure older youth receive the support they need.

WELL-BEING (B)

Table 33. CFSP Goal 3b

Well-Being: Children receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs

Objectives By September 2019

Key Strategies

Key Activities

Action Steps

Item 16 Educational needs of the child: Increase the percent of children who have their educational needs met from 54% to 62%
WB2a. Increase the percentage of youth in Foster Care who successfully graduate from high school from 8% to 75%
WB2b. Increase the percentage of Educational Programming and Assessment Consultation (EPAC) referrals for youth in Foster Care from 46% to 90%
WB2c. Support the development of executive functioning for children in Foster Care by increasing the percentage of these children (ages 0-5) who are referred to Head Start, Early Head Start and Georgia's Quality Rated Childcare

Provide continuous Educational Academies to train DFCS staff, caregivers, and partners on the Division's educational policies, procedures and entitlements to promote successful educational outcomes for youth in Foster Care.

Educational Programming, Assessment and Consultation (EPAC) team will conduct quarterly Education Academies that provide information to staff and external partners (stakeholders and caregivers) regarding educational entitlements, local educational processes, and advocacy. Additionally, Education Academies will provide information and best practices for case managers and supervisors as they engage with the local school system and academic centers for youth on their caseload. March 2019

The Well-Being section will develop and/or revise webinar designed to support and enhance case manager, supervisor, and other direct service child welfare staff's understanding of educational support to youth in foster care. July 2017
The EPAC unit will work with the E & T unit to establish an on-line registration process. August 2017
The EPAC unit work with the C3 Coordinators, other direct service child welfare staff and the Office of Communications to inform staff of the required training. Starting September 2017 (ongoing)
The EPAC unit will provide the required web-based Education Academy quarterly.

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Programs (baseline TBD).

Streamline the educational assessment process to minimize the case management work process.

EPAC Education Specialists will partner with Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), and the youth's case manager to monitor educational assessment recommendations (within five business days). EPAC will monitor to ensure that the assessment recommendations include the documentation need to support youth who are in need of additional credit recovery. Starting May 2018 (ongoing)

Starting October 2017 (ongoing) The EPAC Education Specialists will partner with the school age children's case managers and the C3 Coordinators to establish a list of all children. January 2018
The EPAC Education Specialists will partner with Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), and the youth's case manager to establish the process that will be completed within their region to monitor educational assessment recommendations of youth in care being completed within five business days of identifying the need.