SAN LUIS OBISPO SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTYCOUNTY

Department of Social Services

Local Efforts to Achieve the Vision

Vision: A responsible and caring community: Safe, Resilient & Healthy

Mission: We partner with the community to enhance self-sufficiency while ensuring that safety and basic human needs are met for the people of San Luis Obispo County.

CWS Goal: To provide for the safety and stability of children who are at risk of abuse or neglect.

San Luis Obispo CountyDept. of Social Services

Children&

Families Family

CenteredTeam-Driven

Community

Family-Focused, Team DrivenPrinciples of Best Practice

Family Centered

Strength Based

Needs Driven

Solution Oriented

Community Based

Utilizing Strategies toAchieve AB636 Outcomes

C W S O IP- D if ferential R esp onse

-S tandardized A ssessm ents-P erm anency

F A M IL Y T O F A M ILY-TD M 's

-F oster Parent R ecru itm entand R etention

L IN K A G E S-C oord inated C ase P lans

-A f tercare p lans-R eduction of ch ild m altreatm ent

C O M M U N IT YP A R T N E R S H IP S

-F am ily R esource C enters-F am ily E ng agem ent

S T R A T E G IE S IN C H IL D W E LF A R E

S YS TE M IM P R O V E M E N T P LAN(S IP )

A B 63 6/C A L IFO R N IA C F S R

(C -C F S R )

F E D E R A L C F S R

Children&

Families

Family Well-BeingChild Safety

Child Well-Being

Child Permanency

DSS•Linkages•Family to

Family

AB636/

C-CFSR

Community

CWSOIP

Key Strategy: Linkages

“The CalWORKs & Child Welfare Partnership”

A strong partnership between CalWORKs and Child Welfare will ensure that DSS staff work together with families to prevent poverty, and enhance child safety and family well-being.

Staff effectively assess needs and link families to community-based resources early on so that families can be safe and strong.

Linkages: Why Should We Do This?

Children from families with annual incomes below $15,000 (as compared to children from families with annual incomes above $30,000) were over 22 times more likely to experience some form of maltreatment.

In 2004, nearly half (42%) of all substantiated reports were due to neglect; of these 53% consisted of children 5 years old or younger

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

CWS and Linkages Quarterly ReportWELL BEING & SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Welfare to Work Participation Rates

The Welfare-to-Work participation rate for San Luis Obispo County remains significantly higher than the Federal/State standard. (Note: There is a delay of 2 months in data reporting. Atascadero Services Area determined by CDS worker number.)

Linkages Outcome #2: WTW participation rates will increase.

Page 28 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New 02-01-06)Source Linkages Outcomes Report (data from CDS/GIS Download)

WTW Participation Rates - Atascadero Services Area Compared to County Rate

8.9

13.4

12.5

12.2

9.7

11.1

11.3

10.5

11.6

10.5

0%

3%

6%

9%

12%

15%

Jul-Sep 2004 Oct-Dec 2004 Jan-Mar 2005 Apr-Jun 2005 Jul-Sep 2005

Per

cen

t

Participation RatesAtascaderoServices Area

Participation RatesAll County

Federal/State Participation Rate 6.9 %

Key Strategy: Family to Family“Rebuilding Our Foster Care System”

9 Outcomes:1) Fewer children placed in foster care

However, if foster care placement is necessary:

2) More children placed in their own neighborhoods & communities

3) Fewer children placed in institutional care; shift resources to kinship care, family foster care & family-centered services.

Key Strategy: Family to Family

9 Outcomes (continued):

4) Shorter stays in placement5) More children reunified with their birth

families6) Fewer children re-entering placement7) Fewer moves when in placement8) More siblings placed together9) Reduce disparities associated with

race/ethnicity, gender, or age in these outcomes

Family to Family: Key Components to Meet the

Outcomes

• Team Decision-Making Meetings (TDM’s)

• Recruitment & Retention of Foster/ Resource Parents

• Self-Evaluation/Data Analysis• Building Community Partnerships

Family to Family: Why Should We Do This?

In January 2005, there were 373 children in foster care (SLO)

Between January 2004 and December 2004, 5% of children in foster care experienced 3 or more moves (SLO)

Most children in foster care (77%) were removed from their homes for neglect-related reasons i.e., not abuse (Calif.)

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

Children in Foster Care

CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE AS OF 11/30/2005

Templeton5.4%

Nipomo14.1% Morro Bay

0.7% Los Osos 1.8%

Guadalupe 1.8%

Grover Beach 8.0%

Cambria 1.4%

California Valley 0.7%

Avila Beach, 0.4%

Atascadero13.8%

Arroyo Grande14.1%

Oceano 4.0%

Shandon 1.1%

Paso Robles18.5%

Pismo Beach 2.5%

Santa Margarita1.8%

San Miguel 2.9%San Luis Obispo

6.9%

Placement City# of Children

Arroyo Grande 38Atascadero 39Avila Beach, 1California Valley 2Cambria 4Grover Beach 22Guadalupe 4Los Osos 4Morro Bay 2Nipomo 39Oceano 11Paso Robles 56Pismo Beach 7San Luis Obispo 22San Miguel 8Santa Margarita 5Shandon 3Templeton 15Other Counties/States 59Total 341

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

Children in Foster Care

4 to 5 Years3.2%

3 to 4 Years5.3%

5 Years or More12.3%

0 to 1 Year49.6%

1 to 2 Years16.4%

2 to 3 years13.2%

San Luis Obispo County’s goal is to transition children out of foster care and into safe and stable families sooner than in the past.

LENGTH OF TIME IN FOSTER CARE

FOR CHILDREN IN CARE AS OF 11/30/2005

Length of Stay# of

ChildrenPercent of Total

0 to 1 Year 169 49.6%1 to 2 Years 56 16.4%2 to 3 years 45 13.2%3 to 4 Years 18 5.3%4 to 5 Years 11 3.2%5 Years or More 42 12.3%TOTAL 341

PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN WITHIN THEIR HOME COMMUNITY

FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE AS OF 11/30/2005

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

Children in Foster Care Family-to-Family Outcome: More children placed in their own community.

33.7%

14.1%

52.2%

Ideal Placement Codes are based on Service Area as opposed to individual cities. All cities in the county are included in one of the six service areas. For instance, children from Grover Beach, Pismo Beach and Oceano are included in the Arroyo Grande Service Area. Note: Ideal Placement Codes are not appropriate in all cases.

35 39

53

33

32 27

14

25

3 8

7

10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Paso Robles ServiceArea

Atascadero ServiceArea

Morro Bay ServiceArea

SLO Service Area Arroyo Grande ServiceArea

Nipomo Service Area

Nu

mb

er

of

Ch

ild

ren

PlacedoutsideHomeCommunity

PlacedwithinHomeCommunity

Total Children Placed Within Their Ideal Service Area 178 52.2%

Total Children Placed Outside Their Ideal Service Area 115 33.7%

No Ideal Service Area Coded 48 14.1%

Key Strategy: CWS Outcome Improvement Project

California’s plan to “Build Upon the Best, Reinvent the

Rest”

San Luis Obispo County is one of 11 counties chosen by the State as an “Early Implementer” county

Began January 2004 5 years to implement key components Requires county & community leadership

CWSOIP: Key Componentsto Meet the Outcomes

Youth Permanency and Transition

Standardized Assessments Structured Decision-Making (SDM)

Differential Response

What is Differential Response? An important component of the CWS

Outcomes Improvement Project A new intake & response structure

that allows CWS and/or community responders to assess referrals of suspected child abuse or neglect

DR assesses the needs, resources and circumstances of each unique family and focuses on engaging and assessing families by utilizing 3 initial “response paths”.

SLO County Department of Social Services

Intake & Differential Response Structure

Reporting Party Calls in

(805) 781-KIDS

Reporting Party Calls in

(805) 781-KIDS

CWS IntakeRED Team

ReviewEvaluateDetermineIntake decides first face-to-face Response Path

CWS IntakeRED Team

ReviewEvaluateDetermineIntake decides first face-to-face Response Path

Path 3 CWS Only

High to Very High Safety Risk

Path 3 CWS Only

High to Very High Safety Risk

Path 2 CWS & Community

High to Moderate Safety Risk

Path 2 CWS & Community

High to Moderate Safety Risk

Path 1Community Only

NO known safety issuesLow Risk

Path 1Community Only

NO known safety issuesLow Risk

Subsequent Referrals

(Assessed by assigned CWS Social Worker)

Subsequent Referrals

(Assessed by assigned CWS Social Worker)

Written feedback

to Mandated Reporters

only.

Written feedback

to Mandated Reporters

only.

CWSOIP-Differential Response Why Should We Do This?

Every year in Calif., approx 650,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect are received. 92% are closed after initial contact and do not receive any support or services.

CWS Intake has become a revolving door where CWS SW’s respond to repeat referrals. About 1/3 of all referrals represent re-referrals.

DR/Path 1A Positive Affect on Outcomes

Before DR/Path 1

10/1/03-3/31/04(6 month period)

894 Children in referrals e’d out

288 Re-referred within 6 months

32% Continued CWS involvement

After DR/Path 1

3/1/05-8/31/05(6 month period)

1,036 Children in referrals e’d out

251 Re-referred within 6 months

24% Continued CWS involvement

Improved Outcomes:Reports Investigated

Year#of Reports Investigated

Children in Foster Care

Percentage

1998 1292 489 37%

1999 1764 423 23%

2000 2324 366 15%

2001 3246 327 10%

2002 3684 362 9.8%

2003 3638 437 12%

2004 3598 373 10.4%

New Referrals and Re-Referrals

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

CWS and Linkages Quarterly ReportSAFETY

Linkages Outcome #6: CWS re-referrals will decrease.

Breakthrough Series Outcome #1: Decrease in the number & percentage of CPS re-referrals.

In the current quarter, the rates for 6-month and 12-month re-referrals did not change significantly. It is possible that the high rate of 6-month re-referrals in the Atascadero/Linkages services area is due to increased child safety awareness on the part of ERS and community partner staff. This increase awareness (due to the Linkages project) could be causing more hotline reports of abuse or neglect. Ultimately we would expect the number of re-referrals to drop as we provide more after-care services to families.

New Referrals & Re-Referrals for Atascadero Service Area vs. other Service Areas - July 1, 2005 - September 30, 2005

66%

23%

11%

75%

11%14%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

% New Referrals % 6 Month Re-referrals % 12 Month Re-referrals

Per

cen

tag

e o

f C

hild

ren

wit

h R

efer

rals

Atasc. Service Area Other Areas

Page 8 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New 02-01-06)Source Business Objects Report

New Referrals & Re-Referrals for Atascadero Service Area vs. other Service Areas - October 1, 2005 - December 31, 2005

68%

23%

9%

74%

11%15%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

% New Referrals % 6 Month Re-referrals % 12 Month Re-referralsP

erce

nta

ge

of

Ch

ildre

n w

ith

Ref

erra

ls

Atasc. Service Area Other Areas

SAFETYSan Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

CWS and Linkages Quarterly Report

Recurrence of MaltreatmentSIP Goal: DSS to intervene as early as possible and to work longer with families to prevent recurrence of maltreatment.SIP Goal: Staff will engage the family in strength-based assessments, while maintaining priority of evaluating safety of children.SIP Goal: Remove barriers to ensure children/families receive appropriate priority for services across county systems.

The most recent quarter’s recurrence of maltreatment rate increased, however it should be noted that this rate is still 6.9% lower than our rate in June 2003. San Luis Obispo County’s maltreatment rates are directly related to our high rate of referrals per 1,000 children in the population and our high rate of substantiations. In 2004 the state overall received 51.4 referrals per 1,000 children in the population, while San Luis Obispo County received 81.3 referrals per 1,000. During the same time period, the number of substantiated referrals per 1,000 children in the population was 11.5 for the state overall and 24.0 for SLO County.

Page 9 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New 02-01-06)Source State AB636 Report

Recurrence of Maltreatment within 6 Months

8.6 8.313.2 15.6

9 8.4 8.3 8.7

0

10

20

30

Sep-04 Dec-04 Mar-05 Jun-05

SLO State Fed

Baseline June 2003

SLO: 22.5%State: 9.7%Fed: 6.1%

Standardized Assessments

Structured Decision Making (SDM)

IntakeSafetyFamily Strengths and NeedsReunificationCalWORKs

OUTCOMES          First and foremost, children are protected from abuse & neglect          Children are safely maintained in their own homes whenever possible and appropriate          Children have permanency and stability in their living situations          The continuity of family relationships and connections is preserved for children          Families have enhanced capacity to provide for their children’s needs          Children receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs          Children receive adequate services to meet their physical and mental health needs          Youth emancipating from foster care are prepared to transition to adulthood 

DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSE     SDM-Structured Decision Making     Path response assessed at Intake     Response made to all families     Path 1 – Community Response (No known safety issues)     Path 2 – Child Welfare & Community Response (Moderate to high risk)     Path 3 – Child Welfare Response (High to very high risk)

FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS

     Network of neighborhood-based, co-located resources     Wide array of no/low-cost services     Community and family driven     Prevention focused      SAFE system of careU Understanding standardized assessments

(The CalWORKs & Child Welfare partnership)

     CalWORKs assesses for potential risk     Child Welfare assesses for self-sufficiency     Coordinated case plans     Aftercare plans     Reduction of child maltreatment

Best practice Principles     Family centered     Team driven     Strengths based     Needs driven     Solution oriented     Community based

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT    

Sharing results of SDM     Family team meetings     Family advocates     Youth and parent involvement      Utilizing the wisdom of families and the people they trust in assessment, safety and case planning processes

PERMANENCY     Achieving permanence (through strong family supports, reunification, adoption, guardianship) as quickly as possible for children and youth who have been separated from their families.     Using TDM’s (Team Decision-making Meetings) to reduce the number of placements into foster care.     Court Stakeholders/ Improvement

Child safety,

permanency&

Well-being

Permanency

• California Permanency for Youth Project (CPYP) technical assistance

• Permanency case managers• Local California Youth Connection

(CYC) chapter• Youth teaching foster/resource

parents and social workers

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

CWS and Linkages Quarterly ReportPERMANENCY AND STABILITY

FR Cases Exceeding Time Limits

The percentage of family reunification cases in San Luis Obispo County which have exceeded the mandated time limits has consistently been under the 10% threshold required for compliance since March 2005.

The county has been focusing on terminating parental rights within 12 to 18 months, as required by the Adoption & Safe Families Act. This has directly contributed to the high number of FR cases that have met the established FR time limits.

Page 23 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New 02-01-06)Source CWS/CMS FC1561-PMFRXDUR & CWS Monthly Summary (data from Business Objects)

FY2004-05

Open Cases

Cases >Time Limits

% of Caseload

Jul 152 20 13.2%Aug 158 15 9.5%Sep 154 15 9.7%Oct 163 25 15.3%Nov 171 24 14.0%Dec 169 23 13.6%Jan 161 21 13.0%Feb 165 24 14.5%Mar 159 14 8.8%Apr 160 12 7.5%May 153 13 8.5%Jun 172 14 8.1%

Average 161 18 11.3%FY

2005-06Open Cases

Cases >Time Limits

% of Caseload

Jul 181 13 7.2%Aug 175 10 5.7%Sep 173 10 5.8%Oct 187 8 4.3%Nov 201 7 3.5%Dec 205 12 5.9%JanFebMarAprMayJun

Average 187 10 5.4%

Percentage of FR Cases Exceeding Time Limits

13.2%

9.5% 9.7%

15.3%14.0%

13.6% 13.0%

14.5%

8.8%7.5%

8.5% 8.1%7.2%

5.7% 5.8%3.5%4.3%

5.9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May

Perc

enta

geFY 2004-05 FY 2005-06

Age of Children In Placement Four Quarter Comparison

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

0 to 3 4 to 6 7 to 9 10 to 12 13 to 15 16 17 18 or Older

Age in Years

As of 3/31/05 As of 6/30/05 As of 9/30/05 As of 12/31/05

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

CWS and Linkages Quarterly ReportAGE DISPARITY

Children in PlacementFamily-to-Family Outcome # 9: Reduce disparities associated with race/ethnicity or age.

San Luis Obispo County is working on decreasing the length of time teens spend in foster care and is focusing on supporting teens as they transition to adulthood. Over the most recent quarter the age of children in placement has remained relatively stable.

Note: Actual Number of Children shown in Red

Page 39 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New 02-01-06)Source Business Objects Report

303330318330320

As of 9/30/05

2005 AverageAs of 12/31/05

Total Children in PlacementAs of 3/31/05As of 6/30/05

62 6

8

38 4

3 43

39

42

43

46 49 49

65 70

65

20 23 25

18 17 18

15

7 7

79

74

46

43

46

67

24

23

7

San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services

CWS and Linkages Quarterly ReportPERMANENCY AND STABILITY

Placement of Children by Facility Type

San Luis Obispo County’s percentage of children in relative placements significantly exceeds the State average of 37%, while the percentage of children in group home placements is significantly below the average of 8%. The fact that our Foster Family Agency placement rate is lower than the State average of 34.5% is particularly impressive since our rate includes placements made into our FFA-contracted emergency shelter homes. These figures validate the success of the Family-to-Family project in our county.

Family-to-Family Outcome # 3: Fewer children in institutional and group care.

Page 12 of 424th Quarter 2005 (New 02-01-06)Source Business Objects Report

PLACEMENTS BY FACILITY TYPE

0.6

%

2.2

%

1.9

%

0.6

%

60.0

%

18.8

%

13.3

%

3.9

%

1.5

%

1.8

%

0.6

%

54.5

%

23.9

%

12.4

%

3.9

%

2.1

%

2.4

%

57.9

%

21.4

%

11.5

%

4.6

%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

RelativeHome

FFA FosterFamilyHome

GroupHome

GuardianHome

SmallFamilyHome

CourtSpecified

4/1/05-6/30/057/1/05-9/30/0510/1/05-12/31/05

Achieving the VisionWhat Will Success Look Like?

• Children are safer• Families are stronger• Youth are supported• Services are more responsive• Results are more fair and equitable• Children experience greater stability• Communities share responsibility for

child welfare• Families realize their potential• Outcomes are being met

Children&

Families

Family Well-BeingChild Safety

Child Well-Being

Child Permanency

DSS•Family to

Family•CWSOIP•LinkagesSchoolsDrug & Alcohol AB636/

C-CFSR

Community

This way to the Vision

Mental Health

Public Health

EOCFamily

Resource

Centers

SAFE

CASA,et

c