Building a System of Care in Child Welfare:

North Carolina

MRS/SOC is System Reform

-From intake to permanency.

-3 key components to this reform:– Policy reform– Philosophy reform– Shift in Focus

“It takes a village---”

•Families are unique and distinctive•One size still does not fit all•Families are more likely to engage and carry out a plan that they have truly taken part in planning-child and family teams•We won’t be involved forever, we need to build a support network of extended family and community partners

North Carolina’s Family Support and Child Welfare System

Family-centered practice and system of careprinciples are our foundation

-

Community Based Programs

Work First

Foster Care

Adoption

Safety PermanencyWell-Being

Self-Sufficiency

MRS

CPS

A proven framework for:

Organizing and coordinating services and resources into a comprehensive and interconnected network by:

•developing PARTNERSHIPS between individuals, families, and agencies

•building on individual and community STRENGTHS and making the most of existing resources.

•Improving the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of frontline service providers toward more FAMILY- CENTERED practices.

System of Care Supports MRS Implementation

System of Care History In NC, began in 1994 with

national mental health System of Care grants through SAMHSA (Pen-Pal, NC FACES, SOC NET, Mecklenburg CARES)

2003 NCDSS received System of Care Grant from the Children’s Bureau to expand SOC to other target populations including families in the child welfare system

System of Care

System of Care Guiding Principles/Values

• Interagency Collaboration

• Child and Family Partnership

• Individualized Strengths-based Care

• Cultural Competence

• Community-based Services & supports

• Accountability to results

MRS/SOC Success = Successful Partnering

Three critical levels of partnership:

State Community Family

Strategic Planning

• At both the state and local level

• Plan based on SOC principles

• Continuous evaluation

• Yearly planning retreats with TA

• Parallel process

State Level Contributions

• NCDSS merging MRS/SOC more completely- SOC values part of NCDSS mission-vision/ SOC incorporated into child welfare policy/ MRS/SOC regional meetings

• SOC principles driving the PIP: child, youth, and family involvement, interagency collaboration, cultural competency, court involvement, accountability to results

• Mandatory child and family team training for all child welfare staff• Mandatory Cultural Competency training • Guidance around engaging service providers using regional CPR • Policy requires that family members are involved in and compensated

for attending meetings, training, etc. and use of family co-trainers • All sections of NCDSS are involved in family centered practice training

and in the development of the section’s strategic planning• TA from National Resource Centers to strategically plan with CW

supervisors to strengthen child welfare supervision at the local DSS • Special projects coordinator position• Presentations at conferences/ Poverty Simulation• Strong ties to State Collaborative for Children, Youth, and Families

State Collaborative for Children, Youth, and Families

• NCDSS stakeholder group with family representation• Consensus of child and family team definition• Cross system child and family team curriculum with

blended funds• Website with blended funds• Charter and strategic plan• Cross agency Committees including technical

assistance and membership• System of Care Conferences/Training Events• Statewide SOC Conference with 350+

Community and Family Partnerships

Local County Collaborative groups

Child Serving Agencies , Community Resources and Families

One Unified Approach

Community CollaborativesIntegrating Resources &

Response*

Maximizing Resources for a Comprehensive System of Services/Supports:

Braided Funding & Blended ServicesFamily, Neighborhood & Community Involvement

Better outcomes

for families

and communit

ies

* John Franz, 1999

Local Collaborative$ $ $ $ $

Local SOC Efforts

• SOC coordinators at DSS• Family partners• Relationships with MH SOC regional

coordinators• Cross training• Community building events• Building local collaborative groups and

structures such as care review teams• Coordinating services and service planning

through child and family teams

SOC in NC: A Work in Progress