AG 1999 05 17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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PROGRAM NARRATIVE 13rte~' describe what the program expects to achieve and why. .,lta mtntmum, the narrottve should Include the followtng tt*formatton. (I) [denttfy the staff and their responstbdities in the program. (2) Describe the ph?sical facilittes in which the servtces wtll be delivered, ~3) d~scuss any areas of concern that could affect the success of the program (4) discuss why these resources used in the manner described should be expected to alter inappropriate behavtor, (5) descrtbe the referral, screemng and admissions procedures, (6) describe the means of worMng with .youth and famihes, (7) describe the daily program actt~,ities and, (8) describe the termination procedures. This large number of youth coming into our court system places a strain on the ability of the District Court Judges, Juvenile Court Counselors, and Social Services systems to be able to meet the particular problems for the foster care and group home placement service sin the county. All possible measures must be taken to prevent the inappropriate placement of children into foster care where possible. Many times intervention while the youth is in the home can reduce multiple disruptions in the child's life is placement in more than one facility becomes necessary. Also children who experience behavior or emotional problems often have disrupted out-of-home placements. The multiple placements further complicate the youth's ability to cope and may trigger greater disruptive behavior such as acting out, run away, etc. At that point, the task of reuniting the child with the family may become even more difficult. Some parents develop a tendency to "throw away" children once they are placed out of the home, leaving the child with no home to return to, resulting in long term foster care. Referrals to the Home-Based program by District Court Judges and Juvenile Court Counselors may help to insure that all community resources are fully utilized prior to custody being placed with Department of Social Services and out-of-home placement. To this end, Home-Based Services are another intensive measure for insuring the "reasonable efforts" part of Public Law 96-272 (Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980). This act requires that child welfare agencies make "reasonable efforts" to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of a child from his home, and to have implemented a pre-placement preventive services program designed to help children remain with their families All services offered prior to a child's placement in foster care are evidence of compliance with this mandate This must be done in order to receive federal foster care funds The program is presently staffed with two full-time social workers. One has a Master's degree in Christian Education and one has an MSW degree, the two social workers have a combination of seven years of home based experience. We are requesting an additional social worker for Home Based Services because of the new initiative on juvenile delinquency. This position does not require a local match. The new juvenile code that goes into effect July l, 1999 has increased the age of treatment fi.om 16 years of age to 18. With the increase in age limit for treatment, we anticipate an increase in referrals from the Office of Juvenile Justice. The first quarter of this year we have had an increase in serving adolescents who have recently reach their 16t~ birthday; which is 23% of our first quarter referrals. The total number of referrals for this quarter is 25. Out of the 25; eight had to be put on the "wait list". This number alone would support the request of an additional worker. However, the Office of Juvenile Justice is anticipating an increase in the number of referrals because of the following reasons: 1. Undisciplined age raised to 18 years of age; 2 Decrease in the number of youth that can be committed to Division of Youth Services 3. More emphasis being placed on Community Based Alternatives and 4. More emphasis is being placed on the Department of Social Services to monitor children who reside with their parents. 4