families united family group conferencing ... - child welfare

YMCA of San Diego County Families United Family Group Conferencing: Project Summary and Findings

Funded by the Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau

December 31, 2014

Prepared by Harder+Company for YMCA Families United Final Report for the Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau grant 90-CF-00027 1

Table of contents

Overview of Community, Population and Needs……………………..… 2 Overview of Program Model…………………………….………….………. 7 Collaboration…………………………………………….………….…………13 Sustainability…………………………………………….………….…………15 Evaluation……………………………………………….………….………….17 Conclusion…………………………………………….………….………….…30 Recommendations…………………………………….………….………....33


Overview of the Community, Population and Needs

YMCA of San Diego County The YMCA of San Diego County has extensive expertise in providing social services to child welfare involved populations. As the second largest YMCA in the nation, the YMCA of San Diego County offers an abundance of opportunities and services to the San Diego community and is an influential YMCA association within the national YMCA movement. Within the YMCA of San Diego County, child welfare services are coordinated by YMCA Youth & Family Services (YFS), the social service branch. YFS began providing essential social services in 1970 and now serves approximately 20,000 community members each year. YFS programs include transitional living facilities for vulnerable youth, shelters for runaway and homeless youth, independent living skills for former foster youth, workforce development services for youth and comprehensive counseling services for youth and families.. YFS is dedicated to improving the quality of human life and to helping all people realize their fullest potential through the development of the spirit, mind and body. YFS relies on effective community partnerships to enhance the quality of programs for youth and families and to connect with families in need. Local partners include the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), the County Office of Education, local school districts, the San Diego Workforce Partnership and other government and private entities that share our vision for San Diego’s future.

YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing

The YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing (YMCA Families United) project is a three year demonstration project launched in September 2011 operated by YFS and implemented in partnership with County of San Diego Child Welfare Services (CWS) and the San Diego field office of Casey Family Programs. YMCA Families United is one of six projects nationwide, funded by the Administrations for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, aimed at testing if/how Family Group Conferencing (FGC) positively impacts outcomes for families involved with CWS. FGC is a family-led process in which the CWS-involved families and invited participants come together to discuss how to implement and execute a plan for safety and stable placement for a child, based on the requirements of CWS. Key elements of the YMCA Families United FGC process are comprehensive preparation for the meeting by a trained FGC coordinator; allowance for private family meeting time, without service providers; and incorporation of the family’s own cultural practices. The YMCA Families United FGC model is an expanded version of CWS’ previous model, Family Unity Meetings. In this context, the YMCA’s FGC coordinators facilitate FGC meetings and provide additional education, resources, and ongoing support to assist the family in achieving their identified goals.

YMCA Families United served communities across the populous San Diego County. Through its partnership with CWS, YMCA Families United implemented FGCs to serve families and youth in both rural and urban settings, and in both Spanish and English. The project served families in all of the HHSA county regions. The information below shares a brief profile of San Diego County and the regions targeted by the project.

San Diego County San Diego County, the nation’s fifth most populous county, is home to over 3,100,000 people. The county is a relatively expansive region. San Diego County is 4,261 square miles, larger


than both the state of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The county’s youth population exceeds 770,000. The county is home to a diversity of communities. The majority of residents are Caucasian or Hispanic, though large Asian and Pacific Islander, African American, and immigrant/refugee communities also live in the region. In San Diego County, 49% of residents are Caucasian, 31% Hispanic, 11% Asian and Pacific Islander, 5% African American, and 4% Other. Thirty-three percent of households in the county make less than $30,000 a year.

Given San Diego County’s size and diversity of communities, the YMCA Families United project strove to implement and evaluate the efficacy of FGCs on multiple sub-communities in the region, contributing to knowledge about how best to support diverse family groups. While referrals into the FGCs were lower than anticipated, YMCA Families United was able to implement FGCs across all six HHSA regions. The HHSA regions included Central, North Central, South Bay, East, North Inland, and North Coastal.

Families United FGC Regions Using data on population density, number of children in out-of-home care, the needs of both urban and rural communities, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the target population, YMCA Families United divided the six HHSA regions into four FGC regions. To do this, Central/North Central were combined into one region and North Inland/Coastal into another. Central Region

The Central Region includes downtown San Diego and the surrounding areas of the urban core. It

includes both inland and coastal communities, as well as three military installations and two major

universities.

Total population: 1,436,632

Total population under 18 years: 317,877 (22% of total population)1

Average number of children in out-of-home care per month: 868 (35% of all children in out-of-

home care countywide)

South Bay Region The South Bay Region shares an international border with Mexico, and includes the busiest international crossing in the United States.

Total population: 386,303 Total population under 18 years: 107,347 (28% of total

population) Average number of children in out-of-home care per month:

602 (25% of all children in out-of-home care countywide) East Region

The East Region has a mixture of urban and rural communities and is home to four incorporated cities and numerous distinct unincorporated neighborhoods. There are also eight Native American reservations within the region.

Total population: 523,801 Total population under 18 years: 123,031 (23% of total population) Average number of children in out-of-home care per month: 467 (19% of all children in out-of-


1 San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), June 2010.


North Region

The North Region includes both urban and rural areas, stretching north to the border of Orange County and east to Riverside County. Camp Pendleton, the U.S. Marine Corps' largest installation, is located here.

Total population: 877,696 Total population under 18 years: 222,108 (25% of total population) Average number of children in out-of-home care per month: 525 (21% of all children in out-of-


Population Under 18 According to the most recent California Outcomes and Accountability System Child and Family Services Review 2011 County Self-Assessment Report County of San Diego,2 the population under age 18 is estimated at 724,168. Race/Ethnic data breakdowns are provided in the table below.

Primary Issues Addressed Family engagement can be a challenge when working with child welfare involved families who are under a great deal of stress and who have complex familial relationships. Since the mid-1990s, communities around the world have attempted to utilize different models of Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) in order to promote family participation in child welfare proceedings and overcome institutional racism, paternalistic practices, and disproportionality. The purpose of FGDM is to involve family groups in decision making about children who need protection or care. FGDM can be initiated by child welfare agencies whenever a critical decision about a child must be made; however, FGDM processes are not to be led by professionals. Instead, FGDM actively seeks the leadership of family groups in creating and implementing plans to support the safety, permanency, and well-being of children in the family. The values associated with FGDM include:

children have the right to maintain kinship and cultural connections; children and parents belong to a wider family system that nurtures and is responsible for them; the family group is the context for child protection resolutions; all families are entitled to the respect of the state; the state has a responsibility to recognize and support the family group’s protective capacities; family groups know their own histories and use that information to create thorough plans; active family group participation and shifting the balance of power between family groups and

agency personnel is essential for good outcomes for children; and the state has a responsibility to defend family groups from unnecessary intrusion.

2 http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/hhsa/programs/cs/documents/San_Diego_2011_CSA_Report.pdf

Exhibit 1: 2010 Population Under Age 18 by Ethnicity, San Diego County*

Race/Ethnicity Number Percent

Hispanic 329,986 45.6%

White 245,644 33.9%

Asian/Pacific Islander (P.I.) 66,900 9.2%

Black 35,095 4.8%

Native American 3,204 0.4%

Other 43,339 6.0%

Total 724,168 100.0%

*Source: http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/hhsa/programs/cs/documents/San_Diego_2011_CSA_Report.pdf.

http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/hhsa/programs/cs/documents/San_Diego_2011_CSA_Report.pdf




The processes that must be followed to ensure exemplary practice in FGDM include coordination by an independent facilitator, child welfare recognition that the family group is their key decision-making partner, family groups having the opportunity to meet on their own to develop plans, preference being given to a family group’s plan over any other plan as long as agency concerns are adequately addressed, and referring agencies provide the services and resources necessary to implement the agreed-upon plans. Through its implementation of FGC, YMCA Families United aimed to build on existing research in the field and guidelines established by the American Humane Association.

Population to be Served In its initial proposal submission, YMCA Families United proposed to serve families with children and youth at risk of entering or re-entering foster care who will participate in a CWS TDM meeting around placement stability who need ongoing assistance to achieve permanency, safety, and well-being. TDMs were being conducted by CWS for any family facing a placement decision, including imminent risk, emergency removal, placement moves, and exits from placement. To participate in YMCA Families United FGC, families needed to fall under the imminent risk category, have two or more family members available to attend, give their consent to participate, and be able to be safely convened as determined by the YMCA Families United Coordinator. While the needs of this population may vary greatly from family to family, needs most commonly affecting placement stability can be identified. According to informal interviews with County TDM Facilitators at the time of grant application, the top five issues affecting placement for children and youth at risk of entering or re-entering foster care included:

domestic violence between biological parents/primary caregivers; substance abuse among biological parents/primary caregivers; difficulties of relatives and/or foster parents to manage the challenging behavior of children and

youth; a lack of adherence to CWS rules by relatives and parents; and an overall lack of supportive services for caregivers, both relative and non-relative.

These ideas are corroborated in the California Child and Family Services Review (C-CFSR) Peer Quality Case Review (PQCR) report for San Diego County, especially regarding preparation and support for relatives.3

Changes to the Proposed Service Recipients Once the Children’s Bureau grant was awarded, the YMCA program staff convened representatives from CWS, Casey Family Programs, and Harder+Company Community Research and invited them to form part of a YMCA Families United Advisory Group that would serve as an advisory body to the YMCA Families United project throughout the funding period. The Advisory Group developed key processes and procedures to ensure the success of the project. This included the refinement of project roles and responsibilities, a review and update to the logic model, development of work plans, and development of contracts and memorandum of agreements for the involved agencies. As the Advisory Group moved collaboratively from program design to concrete implementation, CWS partners found that the proposed population (i.e., dependency cases) was not the ideal population to receive the proposed services. YMCA Families United staff and key partners held a series of meetings to identify solutions, which included in-depth discussions during the Children’s Bureau Grantee Kickoff meeting held in November 2011. CWS strongly recommended that the target population for this project shift from dependency to voluntary cases. Voluntary cases are those families with substantiated CWS referrals based on the findings from the emergency response social worker. The voluntary case is asked

3County of San Diego. Health and Human Services Agency Child Welfare Services. California Child and Family Services Review,

Peer Quality Case Review (PQCR) Report. May 2011.


to follow and complete a case plan developed by the assigned social worker. If the individual does not comply with the voluntary case plan, court proceedings are filed by CWS for a dependency hearing. This shift from dependency to voluntary population would ensure that the YMCA Families United project provided services to families that otherwise had scarce access to support services. The families served by CWS voluntary services were deemed the most underserved by CWS staff and also identified as the families for whom this intervention could have a greater preventive impact. In making the shift to the target population, CWS strengthened its commitment to collaborate with the YMCA Families United project which in turn increased the potential to sustain this project beyond the funding provided by the Children’s Bureau. Given this information, YMCA Families United project staff consulted with James Bell & Associates (JBA), the cross-site evaluator, and the Children’s Bureau Program Specialist and received support and approval to make this change.


Overview of the Program Model

Project Goals & Objectives The YMCA Families United key interventions and activities centered principally around three key themes: (1) capacity and relationship building with CWS staff, (2) providing FGC services to families involved in child welfare services, and (3) developing strong partnerships with community service providers to improve systems of care (see logic model, next page).

Capacity and Relationship Building with CWS Staff YMCA Families United staff built into their implementation plan various outreach and training activities. These activities supported CWS voluntary staff to engage and build their capacity on the YMCA Families United FGC model, the available services and FGC eligibility process. At the same time, CWS leadership staff facilitated the participation of the YMCA FGC Coordinators in County training aimed at building their understanding of CWS services and models of practices. Through these activities, it was expected that there would be:

increased awareness among CWS staff about the FGC model and its application; coordination between CWS and YMCA Families United staff in the delivery of the FGC

intervention; and integration of the model within the CWS practice framework.

FGC Services to Families YMCA Families United aimed to respond to the needs of voluntary families through the use of FGC meetings and follow-up support services. The meetings and support services aimed to address the presenting issues that directly affected the families’ CWS involvement and placement stability. In particular, the project expected that as a result of their participation in FGCs, families would:

feel an increased sense of empowerment within the family system; understand the major protective issues causing CWS involvement; have more access to informal and formal resources; strengthen the support network and improve communication among family members to ensure

a healthy living environment for the child/youth; enhance the accountability within the family structure; and strengthen protective factors that would prevent child from entering/reentering the CWS

system and improve safety of children.

Partnership Building with Service Providers YMCA Families United staff developed internal resource and referral guides used to address the needs of families identified during the course of the FGC intervention. These guides were used to coordinate the services for families and directly engage with service providers on behalf of families. The goal was to strengthen the network of care in order to improve services to families.

Logic Model The project logic model is depicted in Exhibit 2. The YMCA Families United project used a multi-faceted and collaborative approach that bridged gaps in services. The improved service delivery system included enhanced and coordinated services for voluntary families along with system capacity building, including staff development, cross training, and interagency collaborative management and program development. Through this intervention, the program vision was to strengthen families’ capacity to care for children in a way that promotes placement stability, safety, and well-being, therefore preventing entry or reentry into the foster care system. The key inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes remained


the same throughout the life of the grant while the population of interest and the method for engaging families shifted. Instead of targeting dependency families via TDM meetings, participants were referred by social workers from voluntary services.

Exhibit 2: YMCA Families United Logic Model

Service Model As indicated earlier, the YMCA Families United model expanded upon the previously existing CWS staff-led FGDM model, called Family Unity Meetings. In this case, the YMCA Families United Coordinators, serving as external and neutral facilitators, further engaged families in the decision-making process to address the issues that led to their involvement with child welfare services. The YMCA Families United model was based on the Guidelines for Family Group Decision Making in Child Welfare, created by the American Humane Association and the FGDM Guidelines Committee, to capture the current state of knowledge regarding FGC.4 The Policies and Procedures Manual (Appendix A) outlines the Role of the Coordinator, the Referral Process, Preparation, Conducting the Meeting, Follow-up, and Administrative Support. It also documents guiding values that underlie the FGC process and are essential to its success. Trainings provided by American Humane for YMCA program staff and key CWS staff prior to the launch of services ensured fidelity to the FGC model.

4 A Professional Publication of American Humane Association, the FGDM Guidelines Committee (2010). Guidelines for Family Group Decision Making in Child Welfare. www.fgdm.org.

http://www.fgdm.org/


Participant recruitment and enrollment protocols that adhere to the randomized control trial (RTC) design in the original proposal were developed during the first year of the project and continued to be used by YMCA Families United staff throughout the grant period. This project used a staggered regional roll-out design whereby every three months a new region was activated to receive YMCA Families United services with the goal that all regions would provide services within the first year of project implementation.

The Role of the YMCA Families United Advisory Group From the onset of grant funding, the YMCA Families United project convened an Advisory Group to advise on all project related activities. The Advisory Group guided the project from conceptualization to concrete implementation while also troubleshooting issues and informing decisions. The Advisory Group, facilitated by the YMCA Families United Project Director, met on a monthly basis throughout the life of the grant and was comprised of representatives CWS, the San Diego field office of Casey Family Program, and Harder+Company Community Research.

Outreach and Training Activities The YMCA Families United project created opportunities for CWS voluntary staff to participate in training and outreach activities. Exhibit 3 includes trainings provided during the course of the project. In addition to the trainings listed on Exhibit 3, , an outreach presentation was provided to the region’s voluntary CWS staff prior to YMCA Families United services beginning in each region. At that time, CWS staff received a detailed orientation on the rationale and goals for the project. The outreach session included a video demonstration of the intervention followed by a question and answer session where CWS staff could address any concerns related to the project or their participation.

Role of CWS Voluntary Staff CWS voluntary supervisors or an appointed senior social worker were responsible for referring participants to the project. CWS voluntary supervisors completed a referral form and submitted it to the YMCA Families United Coordinator. The Coordinator was responsible for contacting the CWS Voluntary Services worker assigned to the case via phone to discuss the YMCA Families United project and plan for engaging the family. More specifically, CWS voluntary staff’s role included:

coordination with YMCA Families United Coordinators to schedule a joint family visit to consent and enroll the family;

collaboration with the YMCA Families United Coordinators to discuss the services and supports provided for the family during the Voluntary Services case;

attendance at initial family conference. The role of the CWS staff at the meeting is to clarify the CWS protective issues that prompted the voluntary case to be opened; and

collaboration with the YMCA Families United Coordinators to discuss family progress/issues towards completing family plan.

Exhibit 3: YMCA Families United Trainings

Training Topic

American Humane Family Group Conference (6 days)

Bowen Family Systems

Domestic violence (3 days)

Engaging fathers involved in CWS

Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma Conference

Integrating primary care and behavioral health

Motivational Interviewing (introductory & advanced)

National Institute of Health Office of Extramural Research

North Carolina Family Assessment Scale

Programs and resources in San Diego County

Safety Organized Practices training and facilitation

Supportive Father Involvement Curriculum

Team Decision Making Facilitator Training (4 days)

Visitation issues with CWS-involved families


Consenting and Enrolling Participants In order to participate in the YMCA Families United project, the families had to meet the following criteria:

have an open CWS voluntary case; be screened for safety (if domestic violence was present, additional screening was needed to

ensure they were appropriate for the service); and have a minimum of two family members to contact (attend/participate?).

Upon receiving a CWS referral, YMCA Families United Coordinators contacted the assigned CWS social worker to obtain additional information on the participant and coordinate a home visit. Before the involvement of the YMCA Families United staff, however, CWS staff had to ensure that the participant signed the CWS voluntary plan. CWS policy requires social workers serving voluntary families to have a signed voluntary case plan in place within 30 days from the time the case is opened. Once the participant signed the county voluntary plan, a joint home visit was scheduled with CWS and Families United staff.5 At the home visit, the Coordinators administered the IRB approved consent form. After consent was obtained, the Coordinator notified the person assigned to randomize participants that a new participant had been consented. The person conducting the randomization never had direct contact with the participant and did not receive any identifying family information, except for a unique project identification number. By having a person who had no contact with the family conduct the randomization, it reduced bias in the selection. Once the participant was randomized, the YMCA Families United Coordinator was notified of the outcome and then contacted both the participant and the CWS social worker. Participants randomized into the control group received traditional CWS voluntary services while intervention group participants received the YMCA Families United services as well as the traditional CWS services. For those voluntary families randomized into the intervention group, the aim is to have YMCA Families United services support the family to achieve the goals of the voluntary case plan while also strengthening the family’s informal and formal support system. Exhibit 4 (next page) depicts the participant eligibility flow.

5As of February 2013, the Advisory Group determined that Coordinators could schedule the first home without the presence of

the CWS worker. This decision was made to reduce the number of referrals “on hold” due to challenges in scheduling.


Exhibit 4: YMCA Families United Project Eligibility Flow Diagram

Family Group Conferencing Services YMCA Families United services were organized into three phases: planning/preparing for the meeting, conducting the meeting, and planning for closeout. Exhibit 5 depicts the key activities performed by the YMCA Families United Coordinators at each phase of the intervention.

Exhibit 5: YMCA Families United Service Model

Phase 1: Once participant was randomized into the intervention group, the Coordinators contacted the family to begin the FGC preparation process which included engagement of the primary caregiver and child, assessment of the family’s needs and available family members via rapport building and the use of motivational interviewing, creation of family diagrams and ecomaps, engagement with additional family and community members, recruitment of community service providers with expertise in needed areas,

• Engage family

• Assess needs

• Identify services/ resources

• Meeting logistics

• Prepare family for meeting

Phase 1: Planning

• Welcome

• Ground rules

• Present issue

• Information sharing

• Private family time

• Reconvene all attendees

• Review family plan

• Discuss next steps

Phase 2: Meeting

• Monitor family plan

• Provide information and referrals as needed

• If needed, plan for additional meetings

• Discharge planning

Phase 3: Closeout


and logistical planning of the FGC meeting. This phase of the intervention took the longest. On average Coordinators spent five months in the planning phase. Phase 2: At the meeting, family members and service providers participated in the FGC which consisted of welcoming, introductions, ground rules, a brief discussion of family background and presenting issues, information sharing, private family time, solidification of the family plan, and closing. YMCA Families United Coordinators responded to the family’s needs by supporting them to create a plan that utilized both the formal and informal resources available to them. The plan created by the family also included the goals identified in their CWS voluntary plan. The YMCA Families United Coordinator drew on expertise and resources in the areas of domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, trauma and its effects on children, child welfare and court systems, family dynamics, and support services for relative caregivers to support the families in developing their family plan. Phase 3: After the meeting, the YMCA Families United Coordinators monitored the family’s progress toward their goals. Coordinators followed up with individual members, monitored individual members’ progress on the family plan, and helped the family overcome obstacles by coordinating follow-up meetings and providing further advocacy, assistance, information, and referrals, as needed.

Data Tracking and Management: Social Solutions Efforts to Outcomes (ETO™) Database A key component of the YMCA Families United project was the development of a database tailored for program and evaluation needs. Harder+ Company worked closely with YMCA staff to develop the YMCA Families United database. The database was developed and piloted for use by YMCA Families United staff to track all participant-level activities.


Collaboration

Collaboration with local organizations, county agencies, and other Children’s Bureau grantees was key to the project success. Child Welfare Services The CWS Policy and Program Support division played a vital role in developing the proposal and continued to support the project throughout the planning and implementation phases. Adding FGC to existing County services furthered the County’s goal to provide a continuum of family-centered services that prevent the entry and reentry of children into the child welfare system. CWS provided staff to participate in the planning phase to refine the implementation plan, and then to support the project on an ongoing basis as part of the Advisory Group. CWS collaborated with the YMCA to cross-train CWS voluntary and YMCA Families United FGC staff to maximize their effectiveness and improve their professional capacity.

Casey Family Programs Casey Family Programs was the only entity in San Diego County conducting FGC at the time of the grant application and served as a consultant to the YMCA in preparing the proposal. Prior to the grant being awarded, YMCA staff, including the YMCA Families United Project Director, attended FGC trainings led by Casey Family Programs. As part of the application process, Casey Family Programs provided a letter of support to the YMCA expressing commitment to participate actively in program planning and implementation, and also to offer training, consultation, and staff support.

Harder+Company Community Research Harder+Company Community Research served as the independent evaluator on the YMCA Families United project. Staff was involved in each step of proposal development, led the evaluations, and managed the project database. Additionally, Harder+Company Community Research participated as Advisory Group members from the project’s conception to its completion.

Family Connections Hawaii Family Connections Hawaii served as a resource to YMCA staff in the planning of the FGC project and continued to inform program implementation. YMCA Families United staff consulted with the agency on their Early ‘Ohana Intervention (FGDM) as well as with the project evaluator, The Catalyst Group, to discuss lessons learned and outcomes to date. This partnership continued during the grant funding period and included a site visit by YMCA Families United staff to Hawaii where they spent two days observing and learning the Hawaiian model. The Early ‘Ohana Intervention is designed to serve families who have been assessed by CWS as in need of placement or placed in foster care due to imminent harm.

Other Collaborations The YMCA and CWS had existing collaborations with community agencies to support a wide array of child and family needs. This included providers of the following services: child care, , kinship support services, financial assistance, legal assistance, housing, substance abuse prevention and treatment, parenting education, and mental and physical health. YMCA Families United Advisory Group The Advisory Group meetings helped to bring the planning, implementation, and sustainability issues of the project to the forefront. This is of increasing importance given the current budget and financial climate both at the county and state levels. While there are sure to be continued fiscal challenges, the collaborative approach of the YMCA Families United project seems to be an approach that can be


incorporated into social work practices. The Advisory Group meetings reinvigorate collaboration and sustainability planning by achieving the following outcomes:

The meetings served to network ideas and troubleshoot implementation issues. They provided a venue to gain perspectives on project obstacles and challenges.

Information gathered from the project implementation was used to strengthen partnerships between the agencies and gain common ground on how practices and services provided are conducted.

Through attending the Grantee meetings, the working relationships between the various agency representatives were enhanced and cemented.

Advisory Group members succeeded in efforts to strengthen referral, linkage, and communication between systems despite challenges. The project was impacted by staff departures and turnover, low referral numbers, and myths and misunderstanding about the randomization process. Nonetheless, the meetings were an important conduit to problem solve issues and minimize impact on services.

Feedback from Advisory Group members indicated that collaboration among partner agencies was strengthened over the life of the grant. These years of working together have opened the communication lines and established a network of communication system-wide. Valuable lessons were learned in how services may be streamlined between the CWS agency and community partners for future services, and the learning experiences and lessons gleaned from this process will still be in place after the grant period.


Sustainability The YMCA Families United project approach to coordinating services and partners was designed to take full advantage of existing resources, as evidenced by the degree to which all partners leveraged staff time and expertise in support of project activities and goals. The project’s use of well-respected promising practices, cross-training opportunities, and parent development and child treatment practices is an obvious strength. A focus on systems change and capacity building, along with the implementation of direct services targeting a specific population of children and parents, offers considerable potential for replication and sustainability. The integration of FGC services into the traditional CWS service array is critical to sustainability as the project was not able to secure funds to continue providing services independently and thus terminated services at the end of this grant. However, there is an opportunity to continue to offer these services via public funding. Currently, the County of San Diego is examining how funding can be provided to support the practice of FGC for specific CWS populations.

Knowledge and Capacity of FGC The YMCA Families United project effort to expand the regional knowledge and capacity to conduct FGC services has been an important contribution. Due to its efforts, CWS staff across the county has a direct understanding of the model and its application.

Expanding the Application of FGC Practice Through its challenges enrolling families, the YMCA Families United project had an opportunity to creatively explore other populations that could benefit from the FGC intervention. With approval from the Children’s Bureau, other populations served by the expansion of services included youth being served by CWS Continuing Services (also known as youth in residential care). The San Diego Casey Family Programs office in collaboration with CWS is piloting Permanency Round Table (PRT) Services to youth that have been in residential care for three years or more. PRTs provide a forum to reassess (via family finding or revisiting viable family members) any family connections that can be reevaluated or explored for the purpose of:

exiting the youth from residential care or

expanding the youth’s support network to increase healthy family connections and permanency.

The Casey Family Programs representative on Families United Advisory Committee led the PRT collaboration in San Diego. The Casey Family Programs representative proposed utilizing FGC as an intervention that could be part of the PRT plan. The YMCA Families United project began receiving referrals for PRTs in February 2014 and received 8 referrals from the first round of PRTs. The YMCA Families United project provided four FGCs to the PRT population and found that FGC was an effective support to the PRT process. After Casey Family

Expanding FGC Practice

FGC strengthens families and children facing

difficult circumstances. A YMCA Families United

project Coordinator, Robin Neal Pepper, wrote

about the benefits of FGC for a foster youth with a

long history of child welfare custody. While the

FGC model was developed to be used by families

whose children are at risk of being taken into

custody, Ms. Pepper explains that the FGC model

can be applied to other circumstances—such as in

Permanency Round Table (PRT) cases. PRT cases

are children who have remained in the child

welfare system permanently after their parents’

parental rights are terminated. In this case, Ms.

Pepper writes about a 14 year-old participant who

had lived in foster care since he was 6 years old

without any contact with his family. Through the

FGC, the 14-year old was able to be reunited with

family for the first time in over 12 years.


Programs completed the family finding piece, the YMCA Families United Coordinators would then consult with the case carrying residential social worker and contact the newly identified family members to try to reconnect them to the youth or even have them meet the youth for the first time. As the Advisory Group reflected on their participation in this demonstration project, there was unanimous agreement that the most recent efforts to expand services to additional populations were correct; however, these changes were too close to the end of the grant funding period to produce the desired increase in population to be served. As part of the sustainability planning, ongoing conversations are taking place between the YMCA and CWS staff to identify funding to support FGC services for the CWS residential population.


Evaluation

Methodology The project employed a mixed methods approach for its process and outcome evaluation. See evaluation Exhibit 6 below. The process evaluation assessed the implementation of the project, fidelity to the proposed model, integration of FGC within the CWS voluntary unit services, and the accomplishments of project goals. The outcome evaluation utilized a randomized controlled trial design to assess the effectiveness of YMCA Families United FGC services compared with the typical CWS voluntary services. At the participant level, the evaluation examined whether the FGC intervention led to better outcomes for families involved in the child welfare system by:

strengthening parent/caregiver capacity to care for children in a way that promotes safety, permanency, and well-being; and

preventing entry and re-entry into the child welfare system.

Primary and Secondary Data Sources The final selection of tools for this project was informed by input from James Bell & Associates, the cross-site evaluators for this grant funding and the YMCA Advisory Group members. Exhibit 6(?) provides an overview of the evaluation question, the level of impact (participant vs. system) and type (process vs. outcome) along with the tools/data sources.

Exhibit 6: YMCA Families United: Evaluation Question and Data Source

Evaluation Questions Process Outcome Data Source

Sys

tem

How well can the FGC intervention be successfully integrated into the CWS voluntary case process?

Interviews with CWS and YMCA staff

YMCA Toolkit How does the integration of FGC influence overall practice in CWS?

Fa

mil

y/ C

hil

d

What is the effectiveness of a FGC intervention compared with the traditional CWS services in…

Secondary CWS data

FGC Fidelity Coordinator Checklist

Referral data Demographic

data Family

Outcome Survey

Friends Protective Factors Survey

NCFAS-G-R

decreasing the number of children who enter/reenter the formal foster care system?

increasing the capacity of families to care for their children?

strengthening family connections, including with fathers and paternal relatives?

increasing placement stability for children in or at risk of being in formal foster care?

increasing family capacity to advocate for their needs?

increasing family knowledge of available resources and capacity to access services?

Are there placement issues for which FGC is more effective?

Are there placement issues for which FGC is more effective?


Evaluation Participants Parent Served by CWS Voluntary Services. Although information is collected on the child(ren),

the target of all interventions is the parent. To be considered served by the intervention, the participant will have participated in at least one FGC meeting.

Advisory Group Members. These advisors are involved with the program implementation and will be assessed via a key stakeholder interview.

CWS Staff. These represent the CWS staff directly involved in referring participants and participate in an FGC. CWS staff includes CWS voluntary services supervisors and line workers/case workers.

Data Collection Procedures Prior to YMCA services beginning in each region, the YMCA Families United staff conducted an outreach presentation to the region’s voluntary CWS staff. At that time, CWS staff learned of the project goals and their role. Once the outreach presentation was completed, the CWS voluntary supervisors were responsible for referring participants to the project. Upon receiving a CWS referral, YMCA Families United Coordinators were responsible for coordinating the home visit and obtaining informed consent. After consent was obtained, the participant was randomized (by a neutral process) into the intervention or control group. Participants who were randomized into the control group received traditional CWS voluntary services while intervention group participants received the Families United services as well as the traditional CWS services. All eligible participants were contacted at 12-months post program enrollment and asked to complete a battery of questionnaires over the phone. All participants who consented to participating in the study were kept in the evaluation study for the duration of the project. All project and evaluation data is being entered into the project database (ETO™). All participants who consented to participate in the project received a $20 gift card incentive at the time of signing the consent form and another $20 gift card when they completed the follow-up interview. Social Solutions Efforts to Outcomes (ETO™) Database A key component of the YMCA Families United project was the development of a secure online database tailored for program and evaluation needs. All data collection forms used for participant level data were built in the project’s database and entered by YMCA Families United staff.

Study Approval Process IRB Submission. Evaluation staff prepared all IRB documents and submitted to Western IRB

(WIRB) for review and approval. WIRB approved the study on March 30, 2012 and renewed the approval annually for the duration of the grant.

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). CWS required an MOA to be in place prior to initiating referrals to the YMCA Families United project. The MOA has been in place since May 2012 and updated in this reporting period to include court-dependent populations. The MOA addresses issues related to confidentiality, training, data sharing, and overall participation by CWS staff in the FGC process. As stated in the Evaluation Planning section, the MOA was modified to expand the eligibility of families to include court-dependent families.

Major Changes to Evaluation Plan There were no changes in the evaluation plan. Evaluation participants are those individuals receiving voluntary services from CWS. Aside from expanding to court-dependent populations (for which IRB approval was obtained), the YMCA requested and received approval from the Children’s Bureau to expand their services to other populations in order to expand the practice of FGC and build capacity among staff. This evaluation is limited to findings related to voluntary families.

Training on Evaluation Components


All evaluation and program staff with direct participant contact completed the National Institute of Health Office of Extramural Research6 online training titled Protecting Human Research Participants and have a certificate of completion on file. This certification ensures all staff has a basic understanding of the ethical obligation to protect the rights and welfare of individuals who consent to an evaluation study. In addition, from the grant proposal to program planning and implementation, evaluation staff provided regular consultation and training related to research and evaluation practices. Since the evaluation team was part of the Advisory Group and also was responsible for building and managing the project database, evaluation topics and project data were discussed regularly with project staff and key partners. At the end of the grant funding, Advisory Group members were quiet adept at discussing evaluation issues and informing project-related decisions with evaluation implications.

Data Analysis All data from the ETO database including basic demographic information and service records for the intervention were extracted, merged with outcome data from the 12-month follow-up interviews using a common non-identifying number, and imported into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for statistical analysis. In addition, a data template was developed for de-identified data to extract from the local CWS data system and provided to the evaluation team. CWS staff provided the data extraction and data were merged with the project data using a common identifier established by CWS staff. All data were cleaned and checked for accuracy before a final analytic dataset was created and analyzed. The analysis of the data used the following main steps:

Step 1: Descriptive statistics of study participants at baseline. An initial set of descriptive analyses to identify the demographic backgrounds of all participants.

Step 2: Intervention and comparison group differences. Using essentially post-only outcome data, we compared the intervention and comparison group participants on their rates of safety, permanency, and well-being.

Evaluation Results: Participant Impacts

Referrals The YMCA Families United project employed three full-time Coordinators whose primary role was to provide FGC services to participants. Because the local CWS agency is organized and managed via regional managers, the project used a staggered regional roll-out design whereby every one to three months a new region was activated to receive YMCA Families United services. This process allowed time for YMCA Families United project staff to focus on regional needs and troubleshoot any referral process issues prior to launching the next region. Prior to the referral process being opened, CWS management emailed a Project Special Notice informing staff of the start of the YMCA Families United project and their expected role in the project. In addition, as regions were being rolled out, YMCA Families United staff conducted an in-person orientation/overview of the project scope and the roles of CWS staff within the project to ensure that CWS staff understood the referral process. A referral process was implemented whereby all project referrals were submitted electronically to the

6 https://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php

Exhibit 7: Referrals by Region

Region Number (n=577)

First Referral

Central 175 July 2012

East 50 Aug 2012

https://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php


Coordinators by CWS voluntary services staff stationed at one of the CWS regional offices. The project began accepting referrals in July 2012 from the Central Region followed by East, South, and North Regions, respectively. Exhibit 7 lists the total number of referrals received by region. By January 2013 (one month after the anticipated date), all regions were active and providing referrals. Out of the 577 referrals, one-third (33.3%) were received from the North Region, the last region to be rolled out into services. Central had the second highest percentage of referrals (30.3%) followed by the South (28.4%) Region. The East Region with no new referrals since November 2013 had the lowest percentage of referrals (8.6%). Despite repeated efforts from Advisory Group members, including the CWS partner, the project struggled with sustaining the participation of the East region. Exhibit 8 displays the number of referrals received by quarter (three month periods) since project services began (July 2012). As can be observed, the number of referrals increased steadily for the first year of services (July 2012 to June 2013), decreased for two quarters and then increased steadily until the last quarter of the funding cycle.

The numbers of referrals received were not enough to support the project’s annual targets (i.e., 120 interventions and 120 control group per year). As was described previously, the Advisory Group made efforts to increase the number of referrals including obtaining approval from the Children’s Bureau Project Officer to expand program services towards court-dependent families. Despite successfully obtaining approval to expand the referral populations, receiving a steady volume of referrals remained a challenge for this project. Exhibit 9 provides an overview of the YMCA Families United project participant flow from referral to enrollment. As was described earlier, referrals were made by regional CWS staff to YMCA Coordinators. Once a referral was made, the YMCA Coordinator contacted the assigned social worker to attempt to schedule a joint visit to consent the participant. Based on the referral pattern, YMCA Coordinators were able to make contact with fifty nine percent (59%) of the participants (340 out of 577 referred). Once contact was made with participants, over sixty percent of participants (62%) agree to sign the consent form and participate in the project. Out of those that agreed to sign the consent form and were assigned

South 164 Oct 2012

North 188 Jan 2013

Total 577 --

26

55

86

101

57

53

82 83

34

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Jul to Sep

2012

Oct to

Dec 2012

Jan to

Mar 2013

Apr to

Jun 2013

Jul to Sep

2013

Oct to

Dec 2013

Jan to

Mar 2014

Apr to

Jun 2014

Jul to Sep

2014

Exhibit 8: Referrals to the YMCA Families United Project by Quarter


to the intervention group7, close to half (49%) remained engaged in services (i.e., participated in a family group conference). Exhibit 9 also includes reasons why 55 out of the intervention group participants dropped out of the project after initiating services.

Exhibit 9: Status of Participants Referred to the YMCA Project

7 Only voluntary families were randomized. Court-dependent, residential (PRT), and participants served by other YMCA

programs were not randomized.

Referred (n=577)

Conducted home visit to introduce consent

(n=340)

No home visit Case closed

(n=237)

Closed by CWS (n=101) Dependency (n=18) Refused (n=34) Unable to contact (n=71) Moved away (n=9) Not eligible (n=4)

Refused consent (n=128)

Agreed to consent (n=212)

Intervention (n=115)

Control (n=97)

FGC conducted (n=60) Voluntary (n=50) Court Dependent (n=3) PRT (n= 4) Other YMCA (n=3)

Closed cases (n= 55) Closed by CWS (n=4) Refused (n=20) Unable to contact (n=29) Moved away (n=2)

After a participant (control and intervention) had been enrolled in the project for one year, evaluation staff contacted them to conduct follow-up phone interviews. A total of 74 (50 control and 24 intervention) participants were within the time frame to receive the follow-up interview. Evaluation staff was able to contact and conduct the follow-up interview with nearly half of the eligible participants (47.3%; n=35).


Demographic Profile of CWS Voluntary Population Although the project completed another 10 FGC’s with the expanded populations (court dependent=4; PRT=4; and other YMCA services=3) only the voluntary population was randomized and included in this analysis. Exhibit 10 displays the race/ethnicity of the intervention (i.e., those participants from voluntary services that completed an FGC) and control group participants. Latinos/Hispanics were the largest ethnic group to participate in the project and were overrepresented in comparison to the general county population (45.6%). The average age of the intervention group was 34.2 years (range 22-62 years) compared to 32.6 years (range 18-54) for the control group. Ninety percent of the participants in the intervention and control groups were female (90% intervention vs. 89.5% control). There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups on key demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, or ethnicity).

A similar demographic pattern was observed among the intervention and control group participants as it relates to the children for whom the voluntary case was opened. There were a total of 315 children associated with the voluntary case being opened (115 in intervention and 200 in control group). The average age of the children was 4.2 years (range 1 month to 17 years) for the intervention compared to 3.48 years (range 1 month to 18 years) for the control group. Slightly more than half of the children were male (56.5% intervention vs. 55.0% control group). In terms of race/ethnicity, sixty percent (69.6% intervention vs. 60.0% control) were Latino/Hispanic followed by Caucasian (17.4% intervention vs. 29.5% control). Asian and African American represented less than 15% of the children. When comparing the reasons why the voluntary cases were opened, there was no significant difference between the intervention and control group participants (see Exhibit 11, next page). The most common reason why voluntary cases were open was due to issues of neglect (44.7% intervention vs. 46.9% control) followed by emotional abuse (21.3% intervention vs. 20.8% control). Ten percent (10.8%) of the intervention and 21.9% of the control group participants had more than one allegation of abuse (e.g., reported both neglect and emotional abuse). At the time the referral was made, all children were under the care of the participant. These data are in alignment with the most recent county allegations data8 which indicate a similar percentage of allegation by type.

8 http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/hhsa/programs/cs/documents/San_Diego_2011_CSA_Report.pdf

70.0%

22.0%

4.0% 4.0%

55.8%

33.7%

3.2%

7.3%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

Latino/Hispanic Caucasian Asian AfricanAmerican

Exhibit 10: Race/Ethnicity of Voluntary Population

Intervention (n=50)

Control (n=97)



Effectiveness of Family Group Conferencing on Voluntary Population A key aim of the outcome evaluation was to utilize a randomized controlled trial design to examine whether the YMCA Families United FGC intervention leads to better outcomes for families involved in the child welfare system by (1) strengthening parent/caregiver capacity to care for children in a way that promotes permanency and well-being, and (2) prevents entry and re-entry into the child welfare system. Using a post only analysis, participants randomized into the intervention were compared to control group participants after one year following services. A total of 24 intervention and 50 control group participants had met the one year threshold by the end of the funding period (September 2014) and are included in the analysis displayed in Exhibits 12 to 14. YMCA Families United project data was matched with CWS county data via a unique identifier to complete these analyses. At one year post services, all of the control group

participants had their case closed in CWS compared to 23 out of 24 (95.8%) of the intervention group (Exhibit 12) participants. The most commonly documented reason in the CWS data system for exiting/closing the voluntary case was family being stabilized (Exhibit 13) with 75% of the intervention and 72% of the control group participants indicating this trend. Data also indicated that 25% of the intervention and 22% of the control group had an exited/closed status because the time limit had exceeded. CWS voluntary services has a

Exhibit 12: CWS Status

CWS Case Status Intervention

(n=24) Control (n=50)

Closed Voluntary Case 95.8% 100.0%

Closed Court Case 0.0% 0.0%

Open Court Case 0.0% 0.0%

Open Voluntary Case 4.2% 0.0%

Total 100% 100%

Exhibit 13: CWS Exit Reason

Exit Reasons Intervention (n=24)

Control (n=50)

Exceeded time limit 25.0% 22.0%

Family stabilized 75.0% 72.0%

Service provided by other agency 0.0% 2.0%

Refused Services 0.0% 4.0%

Total 100% 100%

44.7%

21.3%

17.0%

6.4%

10.8%

46.9%

20.8%

7.3% 3.1%

21.9%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

Neglect Emotionalabuse

Physicalabuse

Sexualabuse

More thanone

Exhibit 11: Reason Referral was made to CWS Voluntary Services

Intervention (n=50)

Control (n=97)


limited amount of time (usually 90 days) to initiate and complete services. Thus, a case that is closed due to exceeding time limits does not necessary suggest that the services were not effective. It could be that the participant met most of its (his or her?) voluntary plan goals and there was not sufficient evidence to continue to keep the case open. As it relates to child safety, measured by reoccurrence of CWS case within 12 months of the YMCA Families United project referral date (Exhibit 14), three intervention (12%) and three control group participants had a reoccurrence within 12 months (6%). No statistical significance was found between the intervention and control groups as it relates to these three key variables (i.e., CWS exit status, exit reason, and reoccurrence). Limitations to these findings include the small sample sizes especially for the intervention group where only 24 cases had met the time limit for the 12 month follow-up.

In addition to the matching YMCA Families United project with CWS county data, the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS)[1] was matched for the 50 participants in the intervention group. NCFAS requires formal training which was provided to the YMCA Coordinators prior to services being launched. The tool was used by YMCA Coordinators to assess family functioning and need at time of planning and closing out the participants who completed an FGC meeting. The NCFAS includes eight domains.

Environment (e.g., housing, hygiene, and environmental risks) Family health (e.g., parental health and stress) Family interactions (e.g., bonding and communication) Family safety (e.g., presence of abuse-physical, emotional and others) Parental capabilities (e.g., supervision of child, disciplinary practices, and overall parenting

practices) Self-sufficiency (e.g., income, food and nutrition, and transportation) Social community (e.g., relationships with community support systems) Child well-being (e.g., child behavior, child’s relationships with others, and parent motivation to

maintain family)

Based on NCFAS, which relies on the clinical judgment of the YCMA Coordinators (all masters levels therapists and trained in the administration of this tool), participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all the domains and suggests effectiveness of the FGC intervention in building and strengthening parental resources and supports.

Family Group Conference Service Profile As was described previously, participants randomized into the intervention group received FGC services while the control group received traditional CWS services. Each participant in the intervention group was assigned a dedicated YMCA Coordinator. The Coordinator was responsible for planning for the FGC, facilitating the FGC meeting, and closing out the case. On average participants received one FGC meeting, although additional FGC meetings were held as needed to monitor progress and ensure plan completion. The FGC planning time ranged from 2 to 7 months with an average of 4.2 months. The average meeting duration was 4.6 hours with a range of 2 to 7 hours. All FGC meetings had a combination of family, friends, and other support networks and were always attended by a CWS staff whose role was to voice the concerns of the county and ensure the family plan developed aligned with the CWS voluntary plan. All FGC meetings were successful in developing a working family plan that aligned with CWS

[1]

http://www.nfpn.org/assessment-tools

Exhibit 14: Recurrence within 12 month

Child Intervention

(n=24)

Control

(n=50)

YES 12.5% 6.0%

NO 87.5% 94.0%

Total 100% 100%

http://www.nfpn.org/assessment-tools


requirements. On average there were 6.3 family/friends and 2.4 service providers, including CWS staff in attendance per FGC meeting. Childcare was provided for families during the FGC meetings. On average 4.6 children were present during all or part of the FGC meetings. The caption below was written by one of the YMCA Coordinators and is representative of the participants who received an FGC meeting.

Fidelity Results The YMCA Families United project approached fidelity from various vantage points. First, it ensured that all staff responsible for delivering or supervising FGC interventions was fully trained in the model. All YMCA Coordinators and supervising staff received 6 days of training provided by trainers at American Humane and the Kempe Institute, two reputable organizations in FGDM practices. Furthermore, the project benefited from Melissa Proctor, who is the local expert on FGDM and who served on the YMCA Families United project Advisory Committee. Melissa provided many opportunities for staff to hone in their experience through training, observations, modeling, shadowing, and directly supervising cases. Melissa was also available to provide consultation support for specific cases as well as addressing any fidelity issues with the project team during the monthly Advisory Group meetings. In addition, a detailed

A YMCA Families United Success Story

Allegations of neglect and abuse led to the voluntary case being opened. The children in this

family, 5 and 3 year-old boys, witnessed domestic violence incidents between their parents.

When the FGC Coordinator and CWS worker met with the client for the first time to offer

services, client was living at her mother’s apartment. Due to family conflict, the client was asked

to leave the premises and was forced to move in with a roommate. At this time, the client was

struggling with meeting her children’s most basic needs, like formula and diapers. She was

spending the little funds she had on paying for rent and food. Neither the maternal nor the

paternal side of the family was helping at this time due to previous family quarrels.

During the planning phase, my focus was redirecting both sides of the family to the children’s

well-being. Although both families agreed to get involved and participate in the FGC, they came

into the meeting with apprehension.

The FGC meeting occurred within two months of the referral being made. CWS staff was present

and informed the family of CWS’ safety plan needs. As the FGC transitioned to private family

time, both families were still on the defensive. All service providers left the room and the families

stayed deliberating how to resolve their issues. The meeting ended with the family developing a

sound plan that addressed all CWS concerns. At the follow-up meeting with the family, the plan

was working. Paternal family was assisting with diapers and formula for the children as well as

assisting mother in taking care of them. The children were being cared for by both families and

had quality time with all sides of their family. CWS assisted with transportation in the form of a

monthly bus pass. This allowed the client to take the oldest child to/from school and find a job.

The client was motivated and preparing to enter a vocational career.


and well-organized policies and procedures manual was developed specifically for this project that detailed all aspects of the FGC model, including roles and responsibilities for each individual involved. Finally, at the completion of each FGC case, Coordinators were responsible for completing a fidelity checklist. Findings indicate that Coordinators maintained fidelity to the model and to the FGC practice 100% of the time. The fidelity checklist contained the following items:

Engage 26 participant initial face-to-face meeting with social worker or as specified in protocol Randomized selection done by the assigned staff (never a Coordinator) Participant notified of randomization status, per protocol Home visits conducted as specified in protocol Followed protocol in finding and contacting family to participate in FGC Led FGC meeting logistics Facilitated FGC meeting Monitored Family Plan Progress Monitored for Termination Meetings/ contact with family for termination

Evaluation Results: System Impacts The overall system level objective of this three year demonstration project was to integrate FGC into existing CWS practices, in turn furthering the county’s goal to provide a continuum of family-centered services that prevent the entry and reentry of children into the child welfare system. Therefore, the system level evaluation questions were designed to better understand the internal work processes of CWS and how to best integrate a FGC model into that system. The evaluation questions to be answered at the end of this project funding are twofold: “How well can the FGC intervention be successfully integrated into the CWS voluntary case process?” and “How does the integration of FGC influence overall practice in the child welfare system?” The project was successful in building a strong partnership with CWS leadership who played a critical role in the Advisory Group. Relationships were also built with regional CWS staff that allowed for a referral process to be put in place that minimized burden on staff and families. In addition, cross-training opportunities were provided where YMCA and CWS staff could share learnings and build relationships. However despite those efforts, the project was consistently challenged in meeting its referral targets that were critical for the evaluation of program impact.

The YMCA had originally anticipated serving 120 families per year through a regionalized service delivery model. However, numerous barriers contributed to low project enrollment. These include obstacles relating to outreach to CWS staff, recruitment of families, and sustained key stakeholder engagement. Given the low enrollment numbers, the YMCA Advisory Committee asked that Harder+Company develop an evaluation to capture the perspective of CWS workers regarding the implementation of the project.

The Advisory Group confronted several barriers in project implementation that affected the project’s ability to meet the participant enrollment targets. Understanding where barriers lie in integrating the FGC intervention with CWS is increasingly important for the success of this project as well as other groups attempting to incorporate FGDM models into public sector services. To this end, the evaluation team designed a qualitative study aimed at understanding the system barriers impacting the low FGC enrollment numbers. The evaluation team worked collaboratively with CWS management staff to generate a list of CWS voluntary services staff. This information was used by the evaluation team to recruit participants. A total of 38 staff, representing over half of all CWS voluntary staff members, were interviewed for this report brief using a structured interview protocol. The interview protocol was designed to capture stakeholders’ perception of the FGC model and its integration into the CWS system


at large. In particular, due to the regionalized approach to CWS services, YMCA project staff was interested in learning about any regional differences in the approach to the FGC model that may have hindered the implementation. All interviews were conducted over the phone, recorded, and transcribed. A structured analysis of all CWS interviews was conducted to identify crosscutting themes and situational influences and constraints associated with the themes that emerged. The key findings presented in this report are trends based on the interviews conducted with CWS staff at Year 2 of project implementation.

Key Findings from Qualitative Study with CWS Voluntary Staff While caseworkers and supervisors indicated being aware of the FGC model, some challenges limited their ability to fully engage and support the YMCA’s implementation of the FGC model. This section provides summary findings organized by challenges/barriers and bright spots/opportunities as reported by CWS voluntary services staff. Challenges

Caseworkers reported difficulty finding the time to read YMCA Families United project-related emails or attend outreach events. According to interviewees, e-mails detailing updates and program guides are discarded or ignored due to the large amount of information competing for CWS staff’s attention. For example, a Project Special Notice was written and emailed to all voluntary workers by CWS management informing staff of the start of the project and their expected role in the project. However, twenty-eight out of 38 interviewees (73.7%) recalled receiving a special notice. When asked about receiving the FGC special notice, one respondent replied, “I’m sure I did. I usually print the notices, I don’t know if I read them all, but I’m sure I did.” Another staff member echoed this sentiment, affirming that, “Yes, I did get the e-mail, but I don’t remember if I read it thoroughly or if I just glimpsed at it or what I did with it.”

Caseworkers also reported low participation in the YMCA Families United FGC project outreach information meetings and events. More specifically, out of the 39 interviewees who commented on YMCA outreach activities, only 22 interviewees (56%) said they participated in FGC outreach activities conducted by YMCA staff. Another 14 (36%) stated that they had not participated and three (7.7%) were unsure of their participation. These outreach events were the primary mode used by YMCA staff to provide a comprehensive introduction to the FGC model, explain the referral process, and provide details of the role CWS voluntary staff play in the project. In addition to conducting outreach events, YMCA project staff hosted FGC trainings aimed at building capacity to participate and lead a FGC meeting. As these trainings were planned, voluntary CWS staff were invited to participate.

While the family-centered FGC approach encourages the scheduling of FGC meetings at times convenient for families, specifically evenings and weekends, CWS staff have set hours with very low incentives to participate in weekend meetings. This adds to the list of difficulties to overcome when scheduling the FGC meeting.

Staff turnover limits knowledge retention about the FGC model and referral process. Some interviewees reported that training gaps are further compounded by staff turnover. According to one supervisor, “[we] have a significant amount of fast transition. Not necessarily leaving the county, but there’s a lot of people who move from program to program, so those voluntary workers that got the initial training may now actually be in different programs and I have different voluntary workers. I feel there needs to be an annual refresher at least just to bring the other ones on board."

Interviewees reported misperceptions about how clients would be randomized into the control or intervention group, stating that most of their clients had been randomized into the control group and therefore did not benefit from FGC services. Interviewees also expressed frustration at the selection process. As one caseworker put it, “I can only say so much to them [the families] because there’s a little standard saying that we need to tell our clients, and then we can’t say


anything else. So I don’t know how I could be motivated to get them to participate.” Another caseworker reluctantly refers families because, as s/he phrased it, “I get their hopes high and they’re happy somebody is coming into their lives to help them out and then not to be selected. I think it takes away their motivation.”

Out of the 29 interviewees who provided an answer to the question asking whether or not their clients had been selected to participate in an FGC, 23 (79%) responded yes. However, even though a majority of interviewees indicated that their clients were selected, interviewees noted challenges regarding initial engagement of these clients. A few of these challenges included difficulty contacting clients (e.g., missing or wrong phone numbers) or scheduling conflicts when attempting to coordinate a meeting with the family, the CWS worker and the YMCA staff. For instance, as one supervisor noted, “I think the first challenge was trying to coordinate the time to meet. I think the [CWS] workers are finding some problems with making the arrangements to get the [YMCA] staff at the appointments with them.” As a CWS worker confirmed, “We have problems getting a hold of them; they’re missing in action. I get e-mails from the people assigned saying, do you have another phone number? Do you have another address? I tell them I can’t get a hold of them either, and you’re going to have to stand by to see if I ever get a hold of them and if I do, I’ll let you know.”

Bright Spots Interviewees also highlighted areas where the YMCA Families United model was doing well.

Although interviewees reported mixed results in their understanding of FGC as it related to the YMCA’s implementation of the model, overall, interviewees had a basic understanding of the FGC approach. They reported a positive view of the intervention and expressed enthusiasm about the availability of the service. Nearly all interviewees provided a thorough and accurate description of the FGC approach suggesting that the outreach activities conducted in Year 1 of the project were successful in increasing the level of knowledge of CWS staff. However, it was also reported that some interviewees had prior knowledge of FGC due to their participation in a similar FGC program funded by Casey Family Services and/or a previous CWS service which used an FGC model known as Family Unity Meetings.

When CWS workers attended YMCA Families United project outreach events, their understanding of the project almost always increased. Almost all interviewees who attended an outreach event (99%) stated that their knowledge of the project increased after participating. One CWS worker stated, “That’s what pretty much gave me the understanding that I have, that I understood some would be controlled, others wouldn’t be, that’s the understanding that I received at that meeting.” Furthermore, according to one respondent, “It was a good opportunity to meet with the YMCA worker and helpful to become more aware of what their goal is for the family.”

The feedback from CWS stakeholders on how to improve the implementation of this project centered on creating a larger network of responsibility to ensure that the referral makes it from CWS supervisors to the YMCA Families United project staff. Below are the actions taken by the Advisory Group in response to these findings in an effort to increase project enrollment.

Provided ongoing trainings on the YMCA FGC model and referral process. CWS workers recommended ongoing, follow-up trainings on FGC as a way to ensure staff is up-to-date on the referral process. Interviewees shared that ongoing trainings, as well as continued dissemination of the “video” used by YMCA Families United staff during outreach, would help to improve their knowledge of FGC.

Built opportunities for collaboration. Nearly all interviewees (99%) recommended co-locating a YMCA Families United Coordinator at the regional office as a way to improve communication and collaboration between organizations. In addition, they suggested holding meet-and-greets


between CWS and YMCA staff to build trust and encourage collaborative work. These meetings can also be used to share or communicate project updates, roles and responsibilities, and project benefits to caseworkers and families.

Modified client population. Caseworkers indicated that voluntary families may not be as motivated to participate in the project because their issues that led to the case being open have not had significant negative impacts. They suggested that continuing families may be more motivated to engage in the process if that may lead to faster reunification with their children.

Findings from this qualitative study with CWS workers and information learned via the Advisory Group meetings highlighted the difficulties in integrating a new practice into a large, regionalized CWS system. This task was especially daunting as the project only had three years to accomplish this work. The Conclusions and Recommendations sections provide key learnings and actionable steps to inform others in implementing similar models. Although the YMCA Families United practice is not currently integrated into the CWS system, a seed was planted and there is optimism among the Advisory Group members that the knowledge gained through this project can be leveraged in the near future.


Conclusions The YMCA Families United Family Group Conference project is one of six federally funded projects aimed at testing if and how the Family Group Conferencing (FGC) intervention positively impacts outcomes for families involved with Child Welfare Services (CWS). The project, led by the YMCA of San Diego County, was implemented in partnership with CWS and Casey Family Programs. The project implemented a FGC service model aimed at impacting child welfare involved populations; the model strove to impact child welfare involved families, child welfare staff, and the overall system of care. As part of this demonstration project, three clinically trained staff were hired and trained on the FGC model to provide families with FGC services across San Diego County. Key program components were:

Outreach: The YMCA Families United project conducted tailored outreach activities aimed at engaging and orienting CWS voluntary staff to the FGC service delivery model, providing detailed guides related to the referral process and role of CWS staff in the project, and creating opportunities for shared learning and collaboration across agencies and staff.

Direct Services: The YMCA Families United project trained staff on the FGC model so they could serve as coordinators, bringing together the family group and CWS social worker to create and carry out a plan that safeguarded children and other family members. The FGC process positions the family group to lead the decision-making. YMCA’s FGC Coordinators facilitated 2-5 FGC meetings per family and provided additional education, resources, and ongoing support to assist the family in achieving their identified goals.

Systems Collaboration/Integration: The YMCA Families United project staff built partnerships with CWS voluntary workers through Advisory Group meetings, outreach activities, cross-staff trainings, and the sharing of common CWS cases in order to build capacity for families’ to receive FGC services across the county.

The proposed evaluation aimed to measure two system level evaluation questions: 1) How well can the FGC intervention successfully integrate into the CWS voluntary case process, and 2) How does FGC’s integration into CWS voluntary case process impact overall practice in the child welfare system? The findings from a mixed method approach of qualitative and quantitative measures highlighted the challenges in successfully reaching the target participant enrollment goals of this project. Despite the early and ongoing engagement of key partners, important systemic barriers led to unexpected outcomes. Findings suggested that CWS staff positively regard the FGC approach and see the value of the services available to families via the YMCA Families United project. However, significant factors at the organizational, staff, and participant levels contributed to the low numbers of participants recruited and enrolled into the project.

The success of the YMCA Families United project strongly relied upon the successful collaboration between the YMCA and CWS staff. In order to successfully engage families in the FGC process and address the child safety issues that led to the family’s involvement with CWS, the YMCA Coordinators and CWS case workers must work together and share up-to-date information about the family’s needs and issues impacting the planning of the FGC meeting. The YMCA Coordinator then needs to work with the family to identify stakeholders and ensure that integral family members, community members, service providers, and CWS staff are in attendance at the FGC meeting. As was described above, the project faced many challenges in the launching of the project and ensuring that referrals flowed at a steady pace. The challenges faced in referring and recruiting participants, summarized by the findings from the qualitative study performed in Years 1-2, led the project Advisory Group to shift the focus from system transformation and integration to the development of a guide that would serve as a framework to inform effective collaboration (See Appendix B for a copy of the YMCA of San Diego County: A Practical Guide for Planning and Sustaining Demonstration Projects). This guide synthesizes the collective


knowledge and hands-on experience designing, implementing, and sustaining demonstration projects with system partners and child welfare populations.

The outcome evaluation examined whether the FGC intervention leads to better outcomes for families involved in the child welfare system by (1) strengthening parent/caregiver capacity to care for children in a way that promotes safety, permanency, and well-being and (2) preventing entry and re-entry into the child welfare system. Using a post only analysis, participants randomized into the intervention were compared to control group participants after one year following the intervention. No statistical significance was found for any of the variables of interest between control and intervention groups. Limitations to these findings include the small sample sizes, especially for the intervention group. In addition, further research is needed to determine whether the dosage of services (that is receiving on average one FGC meeting) is sufficient to impact the outcomes listed above. When one examines participant satisfaction, the positive impact of the project is clear. Data provided by families who took part in the FGC indicate that nearly 90% of participants receiving the FGC intervention felt very satisfied with the experience and 89% felt the intervention had helped resolve the issue that led to their involvement with CWS. Below we highlight our lessons learned with the aim of improving the experience of other grantees.

Implementation Drivers: Lessons Learned In the case of federally-funded initiatives that require highly rigorous evaluation within complex and dynamic settings, the challenges and opportunities of collaboration become particularly evident. Grantees have an opportunity, in such situations, to collaborate with funders, direct service providers, evaluators, and other community partners in order to develop creative and integrated program and evaluation practices that simultaneously inform program improvement and impact. Listed below are recommendations for individuals engaging in complex cross-sector evaluation projects. These recommendations are specific, concrete, and doable.

Build partnerships. Ensure your partners are an integral part of the team, not an outsider or an afterthought. Key cross-sector partners including Casey Family Programs, CWS, and other regional resources helped guide program planning and development, share expertise, and collaboratively address implementation challenges.

Allow time to develop a common language and shared understanding of each other’s work. Ensure all partners and project staff understand the purpose and usefulness of the project and the evaluation as part of shared vision and values. Assess the group’s strengths and areas where capacity needs to be built to effectively implement the project, including opportunities for cross-training. Become familiar with the existing literature (programmatic and evaluation) including the local expertise and knowledge (i.e., genuinely and intentionally learn and understand the service model and programmatic structures).

Allow for planning time. Ensure sufficient planning time prior to program implementation to create common nomenclature, referral processes, and service coordination protocols, and to identify best practice tools and curriculums, and train staff. Recognize that implementing a new process in CWS such as FGC will take time and require careful planning, especially critical when implementing three year demonstration grants.

Place a value on highly trained staff. Providing a high level of support and training for project staff, including opportunities to shadow and practice, strengthens fidelity to the model and its application. Providing ongoing supervision to address challenging participants also ensure the quality of the practice.

Standardize policies and procedures and use evidence-based practice models. Develop project standards of practice focused on participant needs, develop common-identifiers to integrate the various data tracking systems that inform the evaluation questions, and place value on identifying the best tools and practices to ensure objectivity and consistency in quality of services and data collected.


Be intentional in creating opportunities for communication, reflection, and learning. Create time and space to provide honest feedback (positive and challenging) to the project lead or other decision makers involved as the project moves into implementation and data becomes available. Partner with agencies that have experience with the same intervention or population and are invested in broader outcomes so they can support the research throughout the project.

Adapt the evaluation to improve outcome measurement. Due to the complex nature of the families served by CWS, ensure your project has flexibility embedded in the evaluation plan to ensure it is responsive to the programmatic changes. Be flexible with problem solving around data entry, programmatic barriers, etc. Engage your project officers when you are being successful and when you are finding challenges.

Cultivate interest and understanding on the importance of evaluation. Create the capacity, as well as the expectation, for evaluation to be central to the project work. Provide clarity on the requirements of the evaluation. Define what “success” looks like for each agency/party involved. This might expose differing values or priorities. Discuss the “non-negotiable” parts of the evaluation and the reason for their importance; however choose your battles and be flexible.

YMCA Families United Project: Impact on Families As described above, the number of families served by this intervention was lower than had been proposed. Although the findings did not demonstrate any significant difference between the intervention and control groups, the satisfaction survey data did indicate benefits experienced by families who received the intervention. In addition, during the latter part of the grant funding, the FGC services were expanded to include youth that have been in Residential Care for three years or more. Although the number of completed FGC meetings with these youth was small (n=4), the impact was evident. From the eight referrals received by the project, four resulted in FGCs. One youth was able to move out of residential care into a kinship placement with an aunt and another youth’s mother petitioned the court to have her parental rights reinstated so that the youth could potentially be reunified with his mother and exit the system as a result. The other two FGCs resulted in one youth meeting her paternal family for the first time (including her father) and tone recently emancipated youth reunifying with her siblings. There was potential to have many more successful FGCs, but due to time constraints and barriers that were a result of internal CWS complications, the project was only able to complete four FGCs. Thus, there is promising evidence that this intervention supports the reunification of child welfare involved families and thus suggests the need for further research.

YMCA Families United Project: Impact on Partner Organizations Finding from interviews with Advisory Group members and other CWS staff indicated that these key stakeholders very positively view the FGC approach and see the value of the services available to families via this project. The factors at the organizational, staff, and participant level that limited the success of this project can now be anticipated and overcome. CWS staff provided useful recommendations to address the identified barriers and work towards having a more coordinated and successful service delivery model.

YMCA Families United Project: Impact on Child Welfare Community Throughout the life of this grant, the local CWS agency demonstrated its commitment to this project. This project highlighted the internal barriers (organizational and staff) that must be anticipated by CWS when partnering with other organizations to conduct similar demonstration projects.


Recommendations The findings in this report reveal some important ways that processes could be adapted to improve the implementation of a demonstration project within a large and decentralized service delivery system. With this in mind, we offer the following recommendations to guide grantees, funders, and child welfare agencies in moving toward the vision of strengthened family capacity to care for children in a way that helps promote placement stability, safety, and well-being and prevents entry or reentry into the foster care system.

Build strong partnerships The current economic climate has created challenges for the ability of agencies to sustain programs and services on which participants, consumers, and families rely. With this in mind, community organizations are encouraged to explore innovative funding strategies such as partnering with one another to leverage joint funding opportunities that may be available from public sources and private foundations.

Allow for planning time Recognize that changing standard practices within large systems takes time and careful planning. Thus ensure sufficient planning time prior to program implementation to identify key partners, anticipate and plan for challenges, and assess where you can leverage existing resources and opportunities.

Share resources and leverage expertise to deepen knowledge of the intervention Agencies have an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and leverage existing expertise. For example, if a grantee is proposing an intervention that is new to their organization, proactively identify those organizations or individuals (locally or nationally) who can provide training or consult with staff so they can build their knowledge. In addition, agencies that serve similar populations could form partnerships to offer joint trainings.

Increase outreach to populations The project faced ongoing challenges in recruiting and engaging participants. To address this deficit, grantees may wish to identify new outreach strategies to overcome barriers within the CWS system as well as barriers in sustaining the engagement of participants once consent has been obtained.

Deepen involvement of participants A common concern encountered by YMCA Families United Coordinators was resistance by participants to engage other family members in the FGC process. Engaging other family members is a cornerstone to the intervention and often requires considerable effort and rapport building. Grantees may wish to strengthen outreach to create more ways to engage the families they serve in agency activities so that they can attest to the value of the service and champion the project.

Use data to inform implementation challenges Be proactive in developing and clarifying the role of each organization/agency and communicate regularly with one another so that the appropriate participants are being referred to services. By building trust, linkages can be strengthened and agencies can share knowledge about the adjunct resources that may be helpful in forming collaborations and closing gaps in service.

YMCA Families United

Family Group

Conferencing Policy and

Procedure Manual

Appendix A

2

Table of Contents

Project Overview

Mission Statement

Confidentiality and Boundaries

Cultural Competence

Efforts to Outcomes (ETO)

Outreach to CWS

Referral Process and Eligibility Assessment

Initial Contact with the Social Worker

Initial Meeting with the Referred Family

Participant Randomization and Contact

Project Services

Preparation Phase

The Meeting

Follow-Up

Termination of Services

Six Month Post Test

Appendix

Referral Form

Scripts for Initial Interactions

Informational Sheet for CWS Outreach

Project Flow Diagram

Consent Form

Sheet for First Visit with CWS Worker

Overview Sheet for Families

HIPPA

Authorization for Sharing Information

3

Fidelity Checklist

Genogram

Ecomap

SOS 3 Questions

3 Houses and Wizard/Fairy

Words and Pictures

Safety Circles

Gradients of Agreement

Family Plan

Satisfaction Tool

Motivational Interviewing Change Plan Worksheet

Interpreter Guidelines

4

Project Overview

Overview

The YMCA Families United project is one of six federally funded “projects of importance”

aimed at testing if and how Family Group Conferencing (FGC) positively impacts outcomes

for families involved with Child Welfare Services (CWS). It is a three year, federally funded

demonstration project operated by YMCA Youth & Family Services, and implemented in

partnership with San Diego County CWS. These services are free of cost to eligible families.

What is Family Group Conferencing (FGC)?

Family Group Conferencing (FGC) is a family-led process in which the CWS involved families

and invited participants come together to discuss how to implement and execute a plan for

safety and stable placement for a child, based on the requirements of CWS. Key elements of

the FGC process are comprehensive preparation for the meeting by a YMCA FGC

coordinator; allowance for private family meeting time, without service providers; and

incorporation of the family’s own cultural practices.

In an expanded version of CWS’s previous model, Family Unity Meetings, the YMCA’s FGC

coordinators will facilitate 2-5 FGC meetings and provide additional education, resources,

and ongoing support to assist the family in achieving their identified goals.

Who is eligible?

In order to participate in the YMCA Families United project, the family must be:

1. Involved in an open CWS Voluntary Services case

2. Screened for safety (if domestic violence is present, families will receive additional

screening to ensure they are appropriate for the service)

3. Have a minimum of 2 family members to contact

How are families referred?

CWS Voluntary Services Supervisors will complete a referral form and submit it to the YMCA

Families United coordinator. The Coordinator will contact the CWS Voluntary Services

worker assigned to the case via phone to discuss the YMCA Families United project and plan

for engaging the family.

What is the study?

In addition to providing FGC services, the YMCA Families United project is conducting an

evaluation to determine which families benefit most from FGC services. The YMCA Families

United Coordinator will discuss the process of enrolling in the study and review the consent

form with the family. Once the consent form is signed, eligible families are separated into

two groups: those who receive CWS services only, and those who receive both CWS

services and YMCA Families United services. The outcomes of families in both groups are

5

identified through a survey administered by YMCA evaluation staff to families in both groups

six months after they begin services.

What is the CWS worker’s role with the FGC project?

1) Provide background and demographic information about the client

2) Collaborate with YMCA FGC Coordinators and attend at least the initial family

conference, and any additional if necessary. The role of the CWS staff at the meeting

is to clarify the CWS protective issue that prompted the voluntary case to be opened

and the requirements of the CWS case plan. At the meetings, their role is to approve

the family’s plan.

3) Meet with the YMCA FGC Coordinator to discuss the services and supports provided

for the family during the Voluntary Services case.

4) Complete a brief survey about the project every 3-6 months. CWS staff are

encouraged to have additional communication with the YMCA FGC coordinator as

they find useful.

Mission Statement

The mission of the YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing Project is to strengthen

family capacity to care for children in a way that helps promote placement stability, safety,

and well-being and that prevents entry or reentry into the foster care system.

Confidentiality and Boundaries

Confidentiality

Coordinators are bound by certain legal and ethical guidelines. Therefore, they are expected

to use professional and ethical judgment regarding the protection of strictly confidential

client information, especially in the age of electronic transmission. If any questions arise

regarding confidentiality, please contact the Program Director immediately. Below are

summaries of guidelines for confidentiality.

YMCA employees are recognized as mandated reporters under Federal guidelines. Failure to

make appropriate reports may result in sanctions, such as termination of employment. The

limits to confidentiality should be disclosed to clients upon their consent to services.

SITUATION CONTACT FOLLOW UP

1. If staff has

reasonable suspicion

of a new allegation of

child abuse –

emotional, physical,

sexual, or neglect –

staff is mandated to

report that

Child Welfare Services:

1-800-344-6000 / 858-

694-5191

Adult Protective Services:

1-800-510-2020 /

Written child abuse

report (SS8572)

should be submitted

online or via fax (858-

467-0412) within 36

hours.

6

information to Child

Welfare Services. This

also applies to

suspicion of elder

abuse, which will be

reported to Adult

Protective Services.

1-800-339-4661

*See Appendix:

Suspected Child

Abuse, Form 8872

YMCA Incident Report

should be completed

immediately and

turned into Program

Director with an

attached copy of the

child abuse report.

2. If staff concludes

that the caregiver or

child is a danger to

himself/herself or

others, staff is

required to notify the

police, which may

lead to further

investigation,

assessment and

possible involuntary

psychiatric evaluation.

San Diego Police

Department

Non-Emergency = (619)

531-2000/(858) 484-3154

Emergency = 9-1-1

Notify Program

Director and complete


immediately.

3. If the relative

caregiver or child

makes a threat to

physically harm

another, staff is

legally mandated to

report the threat to

both the police and

the intended victim.

San Diego Police

Department

Non-Emergency = (619)

531-2000/(858) 484-3154

Emergency = 9-1-1

Notify Program

Director and complete


immediately.

Unless there are new allegations of child abuse or neglect, the information learned from

family members in the preparation phase is privileged. Coordinators do not share it with any

representative of the public child welfare agency or any other statutory system. If there is

any information obtained during the preparation phase that is relevant to the client’s open

CWS case and would be useful for the case-carrying social worker to know, the Coordinator

must obtain written consent from the client to disclose that information to the social worker.

All information shared at a family meeting is considered privileged so that it cannot be used

in any other manner outside of the family meeting. An exception is if the information in the

family plan will be used in court. If this is the case, inform the participants at the meeting

while discussing confidentiality and mandated reporter information.

7

Guidelines to protect confidentiality:

All hard client records will be stored and locked in filing cabinets at office location.

Office will be locked when not in use. If you are the last person in the office that day,

it is your responsibility to lock these cabinets.

Do not discuss clients in public or semipublic areas, such as support groups,

hallways, elevators, waiting rooms, restaurants, etc.

Only staff that requires access to client record in order to fulfill their work duties will

have access to keys to the cabinets housing the records.

Staff will ensure that doors to their office are shut prior to discussing clients for

consultation with supervisor as well as sharing information over the phone.

Discussion among staff will be conducted on a need to know basis only (i.e.

supervision, case consultations, etc.)

The less information you have, the fewer confidentiality problems you will encounter.

Staff should carefully choose what information to seek.

Staff should always lock computers upon walking away from them, even if it is only

for a very short period of time, to protect electronic records.

Staff should try not to discuss cases on emails. If it is absolutely necessary, be sure

to use ONLY first name and initial of last name. (Ex. John Smith = John S.)

Staff should take precautions to ensure information transmitted to other parties

through the use of computers, electronic mail, facsimile machines, telephones and

telephone answering machines, and other electronic or computer technology.

Do not store client information on cell phones.

Your thumb drive and the G drive should not contain ANY client information and

should only contain Master versions of documents. Your H drive can be used to store

client information.

When transporting client information to home visits or FGC’s, it is important to take

precaution in protecting client privacy rights in this process. Please take the following

steps when transporting identifying client information (name, DOB, address, phone

number, etc.):

o Transport information required for the visit only

o Transport client information between the office and client visits only

o Transport all client information in locked carrying cases

Procedures for sharing information:

Coordinators should adhere to the following procedures to ensure client’s privacy rights are

respected and confidentiality is maintained. Under no circumstances, except legal

requirements, should confidentiality be breached. Staff should understand that they will be

held professionally and personally liable.

SITUATION ACTION FOLLOW UP

1. If you receive a

telephone call from an

individual regarding a

particular client

Say “I am not able to

confirm or deny that this

person is a program

participant. May I have

Consult the “Authorization

for Sharing Information”

form to see whether the

client has consented to

8

your telephone number,

name and agency?”

sharing information with

this agency or individual.

If consent has been

authorized, return the call

to the individual and share

only necessary

information.

If consent is not

authorized, notify the

Program Director of the

situation.

2. If you receive multiple

telephone calls from the

same individual regarding

a particular client

Say “Thank you for calling

again. Unfortunately, I am

unable to confirm or deny

that this person is a

program participant. If you

would like to leave

information, I can take it

down but I am unable to

disclose any information.”

If the caller is providing

information regarding child

abuse, redirect him/her to

Child Welfare Services and

explain that they are the

agency that investigates

such allegations.

Notify the Program

Director of the situation

immediately.

3. If you are making a

phone call inquiring about

services to another

community agency

Generalize your client’s

circumstances and DO

NOT disclose any

identifying client

information (name, phone

number, etc.)

If you find out about a

services which may benefit

a particular client, provide

the agency contact

information to the client

and empower him/her to

complete a self-referral.

4. If you are making a

referral to another agency

on behalf of a client

DO NOT proceed until you

are clear that the agency’s

name is listed on the

“Authorization for Sharing

Information” form.

If the consent has been

authorized, proceed by

contacting the agency to

make the referral.

If the consent has not

been authorized, obtain

written consent from the

9

client or provide the

agency contact

information to the client

for self-referral.

Boundaries

Boundaries are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify for themselves what

are reasonable, safe, and permissible ways for other people to behave around them and how

they will respond when someone steps outsides those limits.

The Coordinator’s purpose is to convene and guide the FGC process and to ensure that the

agency representatives share all critical information with the family group that is essential

to the decision-making process. The Coordinator does not have a role in case decision

making for the family he or she is serving, and acts in a fair manner. It is not the

coordinator’s responsibility to provide direct services to the client or to take on any aspect

of the social worker’s role.

Please consult the “Guidelines for Family Group Decision Making in Child Welfare” by

American Humane Association for further clarification on the role of the Coordinator.

Cultural Competence

Understanding the specific cultural, language, social, and economic nuances of individuals

and families is especially important in today’s society. Staff should be sensitive to cultural

differences and recognize his/her personal biases. Staff should always act in a respectful

manner toward clients, recognize strengths that exist in all cultures, and should strive

toward increasing awareness and education about cultural diversity.

Efforts to Outcomes (ETO)

Coordinators are responsible for documenting all of their activities in the ETO database

including: caregiver and child demographics information, genogram assessments, consent

forms, NCFAS, all efforts completed on a client’s behalf, all referrals made on a client’s

behalf, all entity efforts, and all general administrative efforts including all outreach and

collaborative activities.

Outreach to CWS

Prior to receiving referrals from a new region within CWS, the Coordinator is responsible for

conducting outreach activities to CWS staff. Staff in the voluntary unit includes case-

carrying workers, the supervisor(s), and manager(s). Outreach presentations include a

PowerPoint presentation of an overview of the program and time for responding to

questions. Presentations can last from 1 to 1 ½ hours. Whenever conducting an outreach,

bring copies of:

Business cards

YFS brochures

10

Families United Referral Form


PowerPoint Handouts

Key Characteristics of Family Meetings (to help distinguish the difference between

TDM’s and FGC)

During the presentation, it is important to tell the social workers that they should not inform

the family about the services until the Coordinator has had an opportunity to engage the

family.

Referral Process and Eligibility Assessment

Receive the referral from the Voluntary Supervisor. The Voluntary Supervisor will fax the

form to the Centre Street fax number. Verify that the family is eligible. Use the following

questions to determine if a family is eligible for the service:

Does family have open CWS Voluntary Case?

Are there any safety issues that will affect the structure or process of the FGC

meeting?

Does family have at least 2 family members (in addition to primary client) who can

be contacted to participate in FGC meeting?

If there is any indication that there are safety concerns, it does not automatically mean the

client is ineligible. Assess the situation further to determine if it is still possible to work with

the family. In addition, we want to help the family discover their support system. If they

think initially think that they do not have family that could participate in FGC, they may

have other people around them who could act as the support system, so do not dismiss

them right away.

Once you receive a referral form, begin a new family record in ETO. Fill in as much as

possible with information from the referral from, including the 7-digit state ID. Proceed to

contacting the case-carrying social worker.

Initial Contact with the Social Worker

Contact the case carrying social worker via telephone. Give the social worker a brief

overview of the FGC process and remind them that they are not responsible for talking

about the FGC process to the family. Emphasize that you will discuss the process with the

families when you have had an opportunity to engage them. Verify and gather the following

information about the referred family:

Verify all of the information for the client

o Demographic info

o Contact info

o Current placement of child(ren)

o Identification of additional household members

The social worker’s availability and any additional contact info

11

Coordinate with the CWS Social Worker to schedule an in-person meeting with the referred

family (either TDM or Home Visit) that you will attend with the social worker. This should

happen as soon as possible so that you may consent the family and place them into the

control or intervention group. Here is a possible script to tell the worker:

Hello, this family may be eligible for additional services through the YMCA Families

United project. At the meeting, I will be an observer during the [TDM/home visit].

Once you are done with the [TDM/home visit], I will need about 5 minutes to tell the

family about the YMCA Families United services and read them a consent form that

tells them about my services and how they may be eligible for them.

Email “page to give to CWS staff at first meeting” (see appendix). In addition, provide the

worker with the script that he or she will say to the family at the initial meeting.

Record this contact with the social worker as an effort in ETO. Recording these steps in ETO

is important so that others may replicate our study in the future.

Initial Meeting with the Referred Family

What to bring

Bring these items to the first in-person meeting with the family.

2 copies of the consent form

o Have the family sign one

o Leave the other with the family

The page of Scripts

$20 Gift card for client

What to do at the meeting

The following is what should be accomplished at the first in-person meeting with the family:

Follow the scripts:

o First Meeting Social Worker to Family

Here with me today is [Name of YMCA staff] from YMCA Youth & Family

Services. She will be an observer during the (TDM/home visit). After we

finish our (meeting/visit), [Name of YMCA staff] will need about 5 minutes to

tell you about the YMCA Families United services, read you a consent form

that tells you about their services and how you may be eligible for these.

o First Meeting YMCA staff to Family (Face-to-face-- Brief summary of who

YMCA is and read Consent )

Hello, my name is [Name of YMCA staff] and I am a FGC Coordinator at the

YMCA Youth & Family Services. I have a consent form that I am going to read

to you and give you a copy to follow along. Once we finish reading the

consent form, I will give you opportunity to ask questions before you make a

decision about receiving the services I will offer you. If you choose to

participate, you may receive additional services. If you choose to *not*

12

participate, you will still receive your traditional CWS services. Choosing not

to participate will have no effect on your current scheduled services.

Give the consent form to the family. You may either read it verbatim or allow the

family to read it themselves. Use the Attestation Statement (last page of the consent

form) to verify that they understand the material. If the family consents, have them

sign it.

Answer any questions the family may have

Note of any concerns you may see during the meeting

Leave a copy of the consent form with the family

Remember to be observant of the environment, relationship dynamics, etc. because

you will be using this information for the NCFAS assessment.

Participant Randomization and Contact

What to do when you get back to the YMCA office

Immediately when you get back to the office, place the family’s consent form into a manila

envelope labeled only with “CONSENTED FAMILIES” and place it in a pre-selected drawer in

a locking file cabinet.

Without talking to the YMCA staff person who will assign the

control/intervention group, send an email to the staff person to alert them that a

new family has consented to the study. It is very important that you DO NOT talk to

the staff person so that you do not accidentally reveal any information about the

family which may bias the selection. There must be no identifying or qualifying

information about the family given to the staff person AT ALL. Even casual

comments about the family made to the staff person could present some bias.

Here is a draft of the email you may send to the staff person alerting them of the new

consented family:

Hi [YMCA Staff Person],

There is a new consented family for your randomization into the CONTROL or the

INTERVENTION group. Please find the envelope in the top drawer in the file cabinet,

complete the randomization steps, and let me know which group the family was

assigned.

Thank you!

If the family declined the consent form, track the family as “declined” in their family record

in ETO. It is still very important to record any families that decline participating in the

study.

Wait for the response from the YMCA Staff Person to see which group the family is placed

in. Randomization will be completed by a Families United administrative staff. It is critical to

follow these steps so that we can remove any bias from group selection. Please DO NOT

talk to the Families United Coordinator between when she/he places the consent

form into the drawer and when you do your randomization. When the administrative

13

staff receives the email from the Families United Coordinator that a new consented family is

ready to be placed into a group, please follow these steps to assign the family into a group

for the study:

Without talking to the Families United Coordinator, take the manila envelope from

the drawer and back to your desk.

Remove the consent form and note the 7-digit ID number. Before you proceed to

the next step, open the tracking log and add the new family’s ID number to the list.

Flip a coin.

OPTION A: If it lands on heads, the client will be placed into the

CONTROL group. Add an “X” to the tracking log in the CONTROL column.

Place the consent form into a manila envelope labeled “Control Group” in a

drawer designated for assigned consent forms in a locking file cabinet.

OPTION B: If it lands on tails, the client will be placed into the

INTERVENTION group. Add an “X” to the tracking log in the

INTERVENTION column. Place the consent form into a manila envelope

labeled “Intervention Group” in a drawer designated for assigned consent

forms in a locking file cabinet.

Once the group has been selected, send an email to the Families United Coordinator.

o OPTION A: Control Group

Here is a draft email for clients placed in the CONTROL group:

Hi [Name of Families United Coordinator],

I have randomly placed family YYYY [FILL IN THE FAMILY’s ID NUMBER] into the

CONTROL group. Please find their consent form in the Control Envelope in the

Consented Families drawer.

o OPTION B: Intervention Group

Here is a draft email for clients placed in the INTERVENTION group:

Hi [Name of Families United Coordinator],

I have randomly placed family YYYY [FILL IN THE FAMILY’s ID NUMBER] into the

INTERVENTION group. Please find their consent form in the Control Envelope in the

Consented Families drawer.

Once the randomization has been completed, the Coordinator will contact the family and

CWS worker within four business days to notify them of the results.

o Intervention Family – contact, explain services, schedule first meeting

o Control Family – contact, notification of control group status

Follow-up Phone Call YMCA Staff to Social Worker

Control Group (traditional CWS Services)

14

Hi, this is [Name of YMCA staff] from YMCA Families United. Last week we both saw

the [Name of Client] and he/she gave consent to be in our study. They have been

placed in the control group. As you may remember from the informational sheet I

gave you last week, this means they will be given traditional CWS services. They will

not receive any additional services from the YMCA Families United FGC project.

However, in six months, the family will be contacted by our evaluation staff to

answer a phone survey. Additionally, our evaluation staff will contact you in about

12 months to complete a survey about your experience with this project. Do you

have any questions? I will contact the family to inform them of the result. Thank you

for your participation, it is greatly appreciated.

Intervention Group (traditional CWS Services and YMCA FGC)

Hi, this is [Name of YMCA staff] from YMCA Families United. Last week we both saw

the [Name of Client] and he/she gave consent to be in our study. They have been

placed in the intervention group. As you may remember from the informational sheet

I gave you last week, this means they will take part in family group conferencing

meetings, and receive additional education, resources, and ongoing support to assist

the family in achieving their identified goals. These services are free of cost to

eligible families. As was indicated in the informational sheet I provided, I will be in

communication with you in order to coordinate your attendance to the initial family

conference. Your role at the meeting is to clarify the CWS protective issue that

prompted the voluntary case to be opened. As is necessary, we will discuss the

services and supports provided for the family during the Voluntary Services case.

Finally, you will be contacted by our evaluation team and asked to complete a brief

survey about the project in 12 months. Do you have any questions? I will contact the

family to inform them of the result and begin services. But first, there is some

information that I would like to gather from you about the client:

What are the concerns of the agency?

o Actual harm/safety issues vs. complicating factors

o Any domestic violence or sexual abuse concerns

Any restraining orders between participants

Get client’s prior CWS involvement history

o How many opened/substantiated cases

o Reason for case

Copy of SDM (if possible)

o Risk assessment

Signs of Safety materials (including safety maps, harm/danger statements, safety

goals)

Volatility and safety concerns of the worker in widening the circle

Case timelines

Following up with the family

After you have followed up with the CWS Social Worker, use the scripts to let the family

know which group they were placed into. Be sure to answer any questions the family may

have.

15

Control Group (traditional CWS Services)

Hi, this is [Name of YMCA staff] from YMCA Families United. Last week we met at

[home visit/TDM] and you gave consent to be in our study. You have been assigned

to the traditional CWS services group. As you may remember from the informational

sheet I gave you last week, this means they will be given traditional CWS services.

They will not receive any additional services from the YMCA Families United FGC

project. However, in 12 months, you will be contacted by our evaluation staff at

Harder+Company to answer some questions over the phone regarding your feelings

about the services you received through CWS, and about how your family is doing.

By participating and completing this phone survey, you will receive a $20 gift card.

Thank you again for your participation. The results of this study will be used to

improve future CWS services. Do you have any questions? You have a copy of our

consent form which has our contact information should you have any additional

questions. Thank you again for your participation.

Intervention Group (traditional CWS Services and YMCA FGC)

Hi, this is [Name of YMCA staff] from YMCA Families United. Last week we met at

[home visit/TDM] and you gave consent to be in our study. You have been assigned

to the intervention group. As you may remember from the informational sheet I gave

you last week, this means they will be given traditional CWS services and YMCA

Family Group Conferencing services. This means that I will be providing family

group conferencing services to you. At this time, I would like to schedule an in-

person visit with you to talk in detail about how the services will be provided. Also

please note that in six months from now, you will be contacted by members of our

program evaluation staff, Harder+Company, to answer some follow-up questions

regarding your feelings about the services you received through YMCA, and about

how your family is doing. By participating and completing this phone survey, you will

receive a $20 gift card. Thank you again for your participation. Thank you again for

your participation. The results of this study will be used to improve future services

to families involved with CWS. Do you have any questions? You have a copy of our

consent form which has our contact information should you have any additional

questions. [Schedule next in-person meeting]. If you have any questions prior to our

meeting, please contact me at [Give contact info] otherwise, I will see you on

[Date]. Thank you and I look forward to working with you.

Project Services

Interpreter Services

When working with clients whose primary language is one other than English or Spanish,

Coordinators may utilize interpreter services through Interpreter’s Unlimited.

In order to set up interpreter services for a home or office visit, Coordinators must:

Coordinate a time when the Coordinator and client can meet for a visit

Call Interpreters Unlimited at (800) 726-9891 and request and interpreter for the

date and time of the visit (1 week in advance if possible)

16

Attend visit and utilize interpreter according to Interpreter Guidelines in appendix

section

Submit invoice to Program Director upon receipt.

Preparation Phase

This is the most comprehensive and crucial phase of the FGC process. The average time

spent on preparation for each family is 4 to 6 weeks. It is important that this phase receives

as much detail and effort as possible, so that the actual family conference is productive and

successful. Here is a general outline of the preparation process.

At the next home visit with the family

Informational sheet for the Client (family)

Review the services and process and answer any questions

Inform family of confidentiality/privacy and mandated reporter role

Identify family members & community partners to attend meeting

o Genogram/Ecomap/Safety Circles

o Assess dynamics within relationships

o Obtain contact information for persons identified

Obtain client’s signature on the Authorization for Sharing Information form and list

all of the persons identified that need to be contacted, including the social worker

Obtain client’s signature for the HIPPA document

While meeting with the family, it is important to be observant to all details since you

will be using this information in the NCFAS assessment tool.

Identify support person

The following information should be gathered at subsequent home visits and/or phone calls.

Discuss agenda

o Signs of Safety Approach

What’s going well?

What are you worried about?

What needs to happen?

Discuss possible logistics and traditions/customs that they may want to incorporate

during the meeting

o Logistics

Location – where would everyone feel safe? Also, when discussing

location options, it is important to assess if the possible location will

have space for childcare if necessary, if it allows food, if there is space

for the professionals to convene during private family time, if there are

restrooms, accessibility, disability accommodations etc.

Time – What time doesn’t work for you?

Child-care – is it necessary?

Transportation – assess need; what can the Y provide?

Food – what would you like to have (i.e., cater, cook yourself and the

Y provides money; allergies)?

17

Please see the budget to determine how much money is allocated for

each portion of the FGC. If there are limitations, know these in

advance and discuss them with the family (e.g., $200 max for food).

o Expense reports and cash advances…

Meet with the child(ren)

o How do you want to participate?

o Signs of Safety

3 Houses/Wizards & Fairies

Safety House

How do you escape your worries?

o Who do you want there?

Identify support person if necessary

Continue to talk with the social worker in order to provide and get updates and to discuss

anything else that needs to be on the agenda. Address the following issues while preparing

the social worker:

Who else from the agency may need to actually attend the FGC in order to ensure

that the family has all of the info they need and a decision can be made?

o Willingness to support the family’s plan as long as it satisfies the agency’s

concerns

o What does the agency need to see in order to accept the plan?

Case plan goals and “bottom line” issues

Contact info on current service providers

After approximately 2-3 home visits with the family, the Coordinator should complete the

NCFAS assessment in ETO. If you do not have enough information when you initiate the

assessment, you can continue to edit the assessment as you receive additional information.

Contact additional family members, community partners, and service providers and prepare

them for the FGC.

If possible, have home visits with significant participants (i.e. family or friends).

Otherwise, first contact by phone, then via email/letter

o Explain process and purpose

o Inform of who will be attending

o Discuss agenda (anything you would like to add?)

o Get schedules (when are you not available?)

o Have pre-meetings if necessary

Research/identify possible resources/services to incorporate in the plan

Contact SW for input about agency services/resources

Each area noted should have a resource/ referral listed. If no, list why not.

Resources provided as needed

Communicate resources/services to family

Schedule the meeting

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Schedule interpreter services if necessary

In order to avoid not getting any information to invited participants, confirm with

each participant individually if they will be attending the meeting.

Prep Social Worker

Re-clarify role and purpose for attending the meeting

Make sure they come prepared to discuss the actual protective issues and what CWS

can offer

Review the information the social worker will share at the meeting to make sure it is

accurate, appropriate, and concise.

Complete Fidelity Checklist for the prep phase

The Meeting

The Coordinator should arrive to the meeting location at least 30 minutes prior to the start

time of the meeting in order to ensure that everything is set up properly. Be sure to bring

any materials including:

Flip chart and markers

Tissue

Paper and pens to write the family plan and take notes

Food, drinks, and other supplies

Introductions – let family decide how they want to do this

Name and relationship to the child(ren)

Explain purpose and process: private; mandated reporter; logistics; re-clarify roles

o Discuss guidelines

Information Sharing

SW states agency’s concerns; clarifies as necessary

Service Providers share info

Allow family to ask questions

Review agenda

Private Family Time

Reconvene/Plan Sharing

Hash out details of plan if necessary

Consensus – use gradients of agreement if there isn’t consensus (see appendix)

o If the family is unable to make a decision after private family time, check to

see if they had all of the necessary information and if they had all of the right

people attending the meeting

Discuss follow-up meetings

Provide evaluation forms to the parent(s)/caregiver(s) (Satisfaction Tool)

Close meeting (cultural considerations)

Follow-Up

Complete Fidelity Checklist

19

Send thank you to case worker and their supervisor

Write and distribute plan to attendees and non-attendees who wanted to be there

Check-in with SW

Check-in with family

o Monitor plan progress

o 2nd 2 week (1 month post FGC) if barriers to achieving goals, then FGC

Coordinator to assist family/member in accessing resources to overcome

barrier.

o 3rd 2 week: Evaluate for termination of services or FGC to develop new plan.

o Assess if additional meetings are needed

o Use MI Change Plan worksheet if necessary (see appendix)

o Identify any necessary additional information and resources

Termination of Services

Last meeting

Complete closing NCFAS

Complete Fidelity Tool

Twelve-Month Post Test

Post Test Survey conducted by Harder and Co.

20

Appendix

Referral Form

YMCA FAMILIES UNITED FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCING PROJECT

REFERRAL FORM Fill out form and fax to 619-543-9491, Attention Families United Project

Overview

YMCA Families United is a federally funded demonstration project aimed at testing if and

how Family Group Conferencing (FGC) positively impacts outcomes for families involved

with Child Welfare Services (CWS). The program, operated by the San Diego YMCA Youth

and Family Services, is being implemented in partnership with County of San Diego CWS.

Referring Party Information

Date of Referral:______________________

Voluntary Supervisor Name: _________________________________________________

Phone: _______________________ Fax:_________________ Email:________________

Assigned Social Worker Name:________________________________________________

Phone: ____________________ Fax:__________________ Email:___________________

Region of County: Central Midcity Central Mills East North Central

North Coastal North Inland South

Client Information

Primary Caregiver (Client):________________________ 7 Digit State ID:________

Address:_____________________________________ Phone:_____________________

Primary Language:_______________________ DOB:______________ Gender:________

Type of Voluntary Case: Physical Abuse Neglect Sexual Abuse Emotional Abuse

Does Caregiver have additional family to contact? Yes No

Target Child(ren) Information (CWS Involved Only)

Name: ______________________ Age:_____ Gender:____ Relationship to Client:________________ Name: ______________________ Age:_____ Gender:____ Relationship to Client:________________

21


YMCA FAMILIES UNITED

FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCING PROJECT

Overview

YMCA Families United is a federally funded demonstration project aimed at testing if/how

Family Group Conferencing (FGC) positively impacts outcomes for families involved with

Child Welfare Services (CWS). The project, operated by the San Diego YMCA Youth and

Family Services, is being implemented in partnership with San Diego County CWS.




safety and stable placement for a child based on the requirements of CWS. Key elements of


Coordinator; allowance for private family meeting time, without service providers; and

incorporation of the family’s own cultural practices. In an expanded version of CWS’s

previous model, Family Unity Meetings, the YMCA’s FGC coordinators will facilitate 2-5 FGC

meetings and provide additional education, resources, and ongoing support to assist the

family in achieving their identified goals. These services are free of cost to eligible families.

Who is eligible?


4. Involved in a CWS Voluntary Services case

5. Screened for safety (if domestic violence is present, families will receive additional

screening to ensure they are appropriate for the service)



CWS Voluntary Services Supervisors will complete a referral form and submit it to the YMCA

Families United coordinator. The YMCA Families United coordinator will contact the CWS

Voluntary Services worker assigned to the case via phone to discuss the YMCA Families

United project and plan for engaging the family.

What is the study?

In addition to providing FGC services, the YMCA Families United project is conducting an

evaluation to determine which families benefit most from FGC services. The YMCA Families

United Coordinator will discuss the process of enrolling in the study and review the consent

form with the family. Once the consent form is signed, eligible families are separated into

those who receive CWS services and those who receive both CWS services and YMCA

Families United services. The outcomes of families in both groups are identified through a

22

survey administered by YMCA evaluation staff to families in both groups six months after

they begin services.


1) Communicate with YMCA FGC Coordinators and attend the initial family conference.

The role of the CWS staff at the meeting is to clarify the CWS protective issue that

prompted the voluntary case to be opened.

2) Meet with the YMCA FGC Coordinator to discuss the services and supports provided

for the family during the Voluntary Services case.

3) Complete a brief survey about the project every 3-6 months. CWS staff are

encouraged to have additional communication with the YMCA FGC coordinator as

they find useful.

The following page provides an overview of project eligibility, services, and study.

Project Flow Diagram

YMCA Families United Project Eligibility Flow Diagram:

Overview: Voluntary Cases* are eligible for this project.

Study will randomize clients: 120 interventions, 120 control (n=240 total)**

* Voluntary cases are those families with substantiated referrals based on the findings from the Emergency

Response Social Worker. The family is given a case plan to follow and complete. If family does not comply, court

proceeding are filed for a dependency hearing

** The program will be rolled out across the county by region (and within that region, by specific offices) to

encourage standardization of programmatic steps. We will use implementation science tenants to encourage and

track fidelity to the design.

CWS Supervisors

refer voluntary

cases to YMCA

YMCA conducts initial assessment of

eligibility

YMCA contacts CWS to gather additional eligibility information and/or set up a joint

meeting

Consent

signed

Joint (CWS/YMCA) Family Visit for eligible families

(TDM or home visit)

YMCA randomizes and

contacts both control/intervention

families to notify

Families recieves FGC and usual

services 12 month post

consent, survey conducted

Families recieve services as usual

only

24

Consent Form

Administration for Children, Youth and Families Children's Bureau

S-2011-ACF-ACYF-CF-0181

20120409

RESEARCH SUBJECT INFORMATION AND CONSENT FORM

TITLE: YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing: Evaluation of an

Administration for Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau

funded project.

This consent form contains important information to help you decide whether to

participate in a research study.

The study staff will explain this study to you. Ask questions about anything that is not clear

at any time. You may take home an unsigned copy of this consent form to think about and

discuss with family or friends.

Being in a study is voluntary – your choice.

If you join this study, you can still stop at any time.

No one can promise that a study will help you.

Do not join this study unless all of your questions are answered.

After reading and discussing the information in this consent form you should

know:

Why this research study is being done;

What will happen during the study;

Any possible benefits to you;

The possible risks to you;

Other options you could choose instead of being in this study;

25

How your personal health information will be treated during the study and after the

study is over;

Whether being in this study could involve any cost to you; and

What to do if you have problems or questions about this study.

Please read this consent form carefully.

Consent to Participate in a Research Study

YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing Project

TITLE: YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing: Evaluation

of an Administration for Children, Youth and Families Children’s

Bureau funded project.

PROTOCOL NO.: S-2011-ACF-ACYF-CF-0181

WIRB® Protocol #20120409

SPONSOR: Administration for Children, Youth and Families Children's

Bureau

INVESTIGATOR: Danielle Zuniga, MA

08 Ruffin Road

San Diego, California 92123

United States

SITE(S): YMCA of San Diego

4080 Centre Street

San Diego, California 92103

United States

STUDY-RELATED

PHONE NUMBER(S): Danielle Zuniga, MA

619-543-9850 ext 141

Cristina Magana, MA

619-398-1980

STUDY-

COORDINATOR(S): Cristina Magana, MA

619-398-1980

26

This research study is about if/how Family Group Conferencing (FGC) positively impacts

outcomes for families involved with Child Welfare Services (CWS). The study is being

conducted by the YMCA of San Diego County and Harder + Company Community Research.

Research studies include only people who choose to take part. Please take your time to

make your decision about participating, and discuss your decision with your family or

friends if you wish. If you have any questions, you may ask the researchers.

You are being asked to participate in this study because you are receiving services from

Child Welfare Services in San Diego County.

Why is this study being done?

The reason for this study is to understand if YMCA’s approach in providing Family Group

Conferencing services strengthens a caregiver’s capacity to care for children in a way that

promotes safety and well-being while also providing home stability. Additionally, it aims to

bring more involvement of family members in making decisions about children who need

protection or care, and hopes to use the leadership of family members in creating and

implementing plans for supporting the family. To accomplish this, YMCA staff will provide

Family Group Conferencing services to parents and their families selected to be in the study.

The Administration for Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau is paying for this

study.

How many people will take part in this study?

About 720 parents will take part in this study over a three year period. 360 parents will

receive traditional Child Welfare Services (CWS) while the other 360 will receive Family

Group Conferencing services.

What will happen if I take part in this research study?

If you are eligible and agree to take part in the study, you will be randomly assigned to the

intervention (YMCA Family Group Conferencing services) or control group (continue to

receive traditional CWS services). The activities for each group are described below:

If you are assigned to the INTERVENTION group:

You will be contacted by phone and notified that you were assigned to the

Intervention Group. Your YMCA Coordinator will schedule a home visit where s/he

will talk about your needs related to your open CWS case. During that home visit,

you will receive a detailed explanation about what a Family Group Conference is and

how one will be planned for your family. A minimum of one Family Group Conference

will be provided where you, family members, friends, and your CWS social worker,

and YMCA Coordinator will be present. At that conference, which may last up to 3

hours, ways in which the Family Group Conference project can support you and your

family to make sure your child(ren)’s needs are met will be discussed, so that future

involvement with CWS can be prevented. You will also be provided referrals and

support based on the identified needs during the time that you are receiving services

from YMCA. It is anticipated that most participants will receive approximately three

27

months of services from the YMCA Family Group Conferencing project.

After each Family Group Conference, you will be asked to complete a 20 question

survey about your experience with the Family Group Conference. Additionally six

months after your services have ended with the YMCA Family Group Conferencing

project, you will be contacted by phone to complete a 40 minute phone interview.

During that call, you will be asked about specific needs you and you children may

have. You may also be asked about how you and your child(ren) are interacting and

about ways in which you are caring for and protecting your child(ren).

If you are assigned to the CONTROL group:

You will receive the traditional case management services from CWS.

Six months from when you sign this consent form, you will be contacted by phone to

complete a 40 minute phone interview. During that call, you will be asked about

specific needs you and your children may have. You may also be asked about how

you and your child(ren) are interacting and about ways in which you are caring for

and protecting your child(ren).

Where will the study take place?

Your meetings with the YMCA Family Group Conferencing Coordinator will take place in your

home, at a private YMCA office, and over the phone, as is appropriate.

How long will I be in the study?

The study is expected to last three years. It is anticipated that most people that participate

in the study will be involved for about six months.

Can I stop being in the study?

Yes. You can decide to stop at any time. Just tell the YMCA Coordinator right away if you

wish to stop being in the study.

Also, the YMCA Coordinator may stop you from taking part in this study at any time if he or

she believes that it is in your best interest, or if the study is stopped.

What side effects or risks can I expect from being in the study?

Some of the questions asked are personal and may make you feel uncomfortable. The YMCA

staff are trained staff members who have experience in serving families involved with CWS.

Special care will be taken to try to reduce any discomfort that may be caused by the

questions. Also, you are free to refuse to answer any question and you may stop your

participation at any time.

YMCA Family Group Conferencing staff and CWS have a signed Memorandum of

Understanding and Confidentiality agreement which allows CWS to refer families to YMCA

for services. This allows study staff from both agencies involved in your case to share

information related to your case. This information includes identifying information such as

28

name, date of birth, family information, and contact information. All study staff accessing

your information have received training related to protecting client information. Please note

that study staff have an obligation to report suspected child abuse and neglect as required

by the state.

New Findings:

You will be told about any new information that might change your decision to be in this

study.

Are there benefits to taking part in the study?

There is no promise of direct benefits to you from participating in this study. You may find

that participating may help your family; however this cannot be guaranteed. This study is

part of a national group of funded programs to test new approaches to supporting families

and their children. The information that you provide may help to improve the quality of

programs that are offered to families in San Diego County and elsewhere.

What other choices do I have if I do not take part in this study?

You are free to choose not to participate in the study. If you decide not to take part in this

study, there will be no penalty to you.

What information about me will be kept private?

We have put in place many processes and procedures to ensure that the personal

information gathered for this study is kept private. However, we cannot guarantee total

privacy. Your personal information may be given out if required by law. If information from

this study is published or presented at scientific meetings, your name or other personal

information will not be used.

What are the costs of taking part in this study?

There are no costs for being in this study.

Will I be paid for taking part in this study?

You will not be directly compensated for participating in this study. However, your name

will be entered in a drawing to win a $75 gift card when you enter the study. The drawing

will take place twice per year (September and March) beginning in June 2012 and ending on

July 2014. You will be notified by phone if you are a winner within 5 days of completing the

drawing.

What are my rights if I take part in this study?

Taking part in this research study is your choice. You may choose either to take part or to

not take part in the study. If you decide to take part in this study, you may leave the study

at any time. No matter what decision you make, there will be no penalty to you in any way.

Who can answer my questions about the study?

29

You can talk to the researchers about any questions, concerns, or complaints you have

about this study or if at any time you feel you have had a research-related problem. Please

feel free to contact either Danielle Zuniga at 619-543-9850 ext. 141 or Cristina Magana, at

619-398-1980. Either person can answer any questions related to the study or to your

participation.

If you wish to ask questions about the study or your rights as a research participant to

someone other than the researcher or if you wish to voice any problems or concerns you

may have about the study, please contact the Western Institutional Review Board® (WIRB®)

at:

3535 Seventh Avenue, SW

Olympia, Washington 98502

Telephone: 1-800-562-4789 or 360-225-2500

E-mail: [email protected]

WIRB is a group of people who perform independent review of research.

WIRB will not be able to answer some study-specific questions, such as questions about

appointment times. However, you may contact WIRB if the research staff cannot be

reached or if you wish to talk to someone other than the research staff.

You will be given a copy of this consent form to keep.

By signing this consent form, you have not given up any of your legal rights.

30

Consent

I have read the information in this consent form (or it has been read to me). All my questions

about the study and my participation in it have been answered. I freely consent to be in this

research study.

I authorize the release of my research records for research or regulatory purposes to the

sponsor, DHHS agencies, and WIRB®.

_________________________________________ ______________

Name of Participant (printed) Date

_________________________________________ ______________

Signature of Participant Date

---------------- Use this witness section only if applicable --------------

If this consent form is read to the subject because the subject is unable to read the form,

an impartial witness not affiliated with the research or investigator must be present for the

consent and sign the following statement:

I confirm that the information in the consent form and any other written information was

accurately explained to, and apparently understood by, the subject. The subject freely

consented to be in the research study.

_________________________________________ ______________

Signature of Impartial Witness Date

Note: This signature block cannot be used for translations into another language. A

translated consent form is necessary for enrolling subjects who do not speak English.

31

Attestation Statement

I confirm that the research study was thoroughly explained to the subject. I reviewed the

consent form with the subject and answered the subject’s questions. The subject appeared

to have understood the information and was able to answer the following questions

correctly:

1. What is the purpose of this study?

2. If you decide to be in the study, what will you be asked to do?

3. What is the possible benefit of participating in this study?

4. What are the possible risks of participating in this study?

5. If you decide not to participate in this study, what options do you have?

6. Will participating in this study cost you anything? If so, what will you have to pay for?

7. Do you have to be in this study?

8. If you decide to be in the study, can you leave the study when you want to?

________________________________________ __________________

Printed Name of Person Conducting the Position

Informed Consent Discussion

________________________________________ __________________

Signature of Person Conducting the Date

Informed Consent Discussion

32

Sheet for First Visit with CWS Worker

YMCA FAMILIES UNITED FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCING PROJECT:

Informational Sheet for CWS Staff

Overview

YMCA Families United is a federally funded demonstration project aimed at testing if/how Family

Group Conferencing (FGC) positively impacts outcomes for families involved with Child Welfare

Services (CWS). The project, operated by the San Diego YMCA Youth and Family Services, is being

implemented in partnership with San Diego County CWS.


Family Group Conferencing (FGC) is a family-led process in which the CWS involved families and

invited participants come together to discuss how to implement and execute a plan for safety and

stable placement for a child based on the requirements of CWS. Key elements of the FGC process are

comprehensive preparation for the meeting by a YMCA FGC Coordinator; allowance for private family

meeting time, without service providers; and incorporation of the family’s own cultural practices. In an

expanded version of CWS’s previous model, Family Unity Meetings, the YMCA’s FGC coordinators will

facilitate 2-5 FGC meetings and provide additional education, resources, and ongoing support to assist

the family in achieving their identified goals. These services are free of cost to eligible families.

Who is eligible?


7. Involved in a CWS Voluntary Services case

8. Screened for safety (if domestic violence is present, families will receive additional screening

to ensure they are appropriate for the service)



CWS Voluntary Services Supervisors will complete a referral form and submit it to the YMCA Families

United coordinator. The YMCA Families United coordinator will contact the CWS Voluntary Services

worker assigned to the case via phone to discuss the YMCA Families United project and plan for

engaging the family.

What is the study?

In addition to providing FGC services, the YMCA Families United project is conducting an evaluation

to determine which families benefit most from FGC services. The YMCA Families United Coordinator

will discuss the process of enrolling in the study and review the consent form with the family. Once

the consent form is signed, eligible families are separated into those who receive CWS services and

those who receive both CWS services and YMCA Families United services. The outcomes of families

in both groups are identified through a survey administered by YMCA evaluation staff to families in

both groups six months after they begin services.


1. Coordinate with YMCA FGC Coordinators and attend the initial family conference. The role of

the CWS staff at the meeting is to clarify the CWS protective issue that prompted the

voluntary case to be opened.

2. Meet with the YMCA FGC Coordinator to discuss the services and supports provided for the

family during the Voluntary Services case.

3. Complete a brief survey about the project every 3-6 months. CWS staff are encouraged to

have additional communication with the YMCA FGC coordinator as they find useful.

33

What is the YMCA’s staff role during the first family meeting?

The coordinator’s role during the initial meeting with the social worker is to be an observer during the

(TDM/home visit). Once TDM/home visit ends, the coordinator will need about 5 minutes to tell the

family about the YMCA Families United services and read them a consent form that tells them about

the services and how they may be eligible for the services.

What happens once a family is read the consent form?

Services CWS Role YMCA Role

Families

Decline

If the family decides NOT to participate,

the family will receive traditional CWS

services and will not be contacted further

by YMCA staff for the purpose of this

study.

CWS staff will

continue with their

traditional services.

None. No further

involvement with the

family.

For those families that agree to participate in the YMCA services, families and the social workers will

be notified by phone within 4 business days by the YMCA Coordinator of the additional services the

families will receive through the YMCA Families United project.

Family Agrees Services CWS Role YMCA Role

Treatment

as Usual

The family will take part in

traditional services through

CWS.

CWS staff will

continue with their


YMCA will coordinate with

H+C who will contact the

families at 6 months and

administer a phone survey.

Intervention The family will take part in


CWS. In addition, they will be

screened by YMCA Families

United to determine family

needs and problem areas.

Families will be invited to

family group conferencing

meetings, facilitated by YMCA

Families United. Families

will receive additional referral

and support services to ensure

they can successfully complete

their family plans.

CWS staff will

continue with their


Additionally, they will

be asked to

participate in a Family

Group Conference

facilitated by YMCA

staff. CWS staff will

also receive updates

from YMCA staff on

the family’s progress.

CWS staff will

complete a survey at

3 month and 6 month

intervals.

YMCA staff will engage the

families in services which

will include screenings of

needs, family group

conferencing, and ongoing

support to ensure the

family meets the family

plan. YMCA will coordinate

with H+C who will contact

the families at 6 months

and administer a phone

survey.

34

Overview Sheet for Families

YMCA FAMILIES UNITED FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCING PROJECT:

Informational Sheet for Clients

Overview

YMCA Families United is a federally funded project aimed at testing if and how Family

Group Conferencing (FGC) positively impacts families involved with Child Welfare Services

(CWS). YMCA Youth & Family Services of San Diego County is partnering with CWS to

implement the project.




safety and stable placement for a child based on the requirements of CWS. Key elements of


Coordinator; allowance for private family meeting time, without service providers; and

incorporation of the family’s own cultural practices. The YMCA FGC coordinators will

facilitate between 2-5 FGC meetings and provide additional education, resources, and

ongoing support to assist the family in achieving their identified goals. These services are

free of cost to eligible families.

What is the study?

In addition to providing FGC services, the YMCA Families United project is evaluating to

determine which families benefit most from FGC services. The YMCA Families United

Coordinator will discuss the process of enrolling in the study and will review the consent

form with the family. Once the consent form is signed, eligible families will be separated

into two categories: those who receive CWS services only, and those who receive both CWS

services and YMCA Families United services. Six months after the family begins services,

YMCA evaluation staff will administer a survey to both groups in order to identify the

outcomes.

What happens once a family is read the consent form?

For those families that agree to participate in the YMCA services, families and the social

workers will be notified by phone within 4 business days by the YMCA Coordinator of the

additional services the families will receive through the YMCA Families United Project.

Family

Agrees

Services CWS Role YMCA Role

Treatment

as Usual

The family will take part in


CWS.

CWS staff will

continue with their


YMCA will coordinate

with Harder & Company

(H+C) who will contact

the families at 6 months

and administer a phone

survey.

Intervention The family will take part in CWS staff will YMCA staff will engage

35


CWS. In addition, they will

be screened by YMCA

Families United to

determine family needs

and problem areas.

Families will participate in a

Family Group Conference,

facilitated by YMCA staff.

Families will receive

additional referral and

support services to ensure

they can successfully

complete their family

plans.

continue with their


Additionally, they

will be asked to

participate in a

Family Group

Conference

facilitated by YMCA

staff. CWS staff will

also receive

updates from YMCA

staff on the family’s

progress.

the families in services

which will include

screenings of needs,

family group

conferencing, and

ongoing support to

ensure family meets

family plan.

YMCA will coordinate

with H+C who will

contact the families at 6

months and administer

a phone survey.

If you have any questions, please contact Danielle Zuñiga, YMCA Families United Program

Director, at (619) 543-9850, ext. 141.

36

HIPPA

HIPPA Packet and Acknowledgement of Receipt

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

Effective date:_______________

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE

USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS

INFORMATION.

PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact_______________

WHO WILL FOLLOW THIS NOTICE.

This notice describes our agency’s practices and that of:

Any mental health care professional authorized to enter information into your agency chart.

All projects and programs of YMCA of San Diego County, DBA Youth & Family Services.

All employees, staff and other agency personnel.

All these entities, sites and locations follow the terms of this notice. In addition, these entities,

sites and locations may share medical information which each other for treatment, payment or facility operations purposes described in this notice.

County contract monitors.

Understanding your health record

A record is made each time you visit YFS for mental health services. Your symptoms, diagnoses,

treatment, and a plan for future care are recorded. This information is most often referred to as your “mental health record”, and serves as a basis for planning your care and treatment. It also serves as a

means of communication among any and all other health professionals who may contribute to your care. Understanding that information is retained in your record and how that information may be used will help

you to ensure its accuracy, and enable you to relate to who, what, when, where, and why others may be

allowed access to your health information. This effort is being made to assist you in making informed decisions before authorizing the disclosure of your mental health information to others.

Understanding your health information rights

Your mental health record is the physical property of this agency, but the content is about you, and therefore belongs to you. You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of

your information, and to request amendments be made to your mental health record. Your rights include

being able to review or obtain a paper copy of your health information, and to be given an account of all disclosures. You may also request that communications of your health information be made by

alternative means or to alternative locations. Other than activity that has already occurred, you may revoke any further authorizations to use or disclose your health information.

37

Our responsibilities

YFS is legally required to protect the privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI), which includes information that can be used to identify you, that has been created or received about your past, present,

or future health or condition, the provision of health care to you, or the payment of this healthcare. This agency must provide you this Notice about our privacy practices, and such Notice must explain how,

when, and why we will “use” and “disclose” your PHI. A “use” of PHI occurs when we share, examine,

utilize, apply, or analyze such information within this agency; PHI is “disclosed” when it is released, transferred, has been given to, or otherwise divulged to a third party outside of this agency. With some

exceptions your provider may not use or disclose any more of your PHI than is necessary to accomplish the purpose for which the use or disclosure is made. And, your provider is legally required to follow the

privacy practices described in this notice.

Changes to this notice

We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for mental health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive

in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in the reception area. The notice will contain on the first page, in the top right-hand corner, the effective date. You may request a copy of the new

Notice.

Use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI)

YFS will use and disclose your PHI for many different reasons. For some of these uses or disclosures, we will need your authorization; for others however, we do not. Listed below are the different categories of

uses and disclosures along with some examples of each category. YFS can use and disclose your PHI without your consent for the following reasons:

1. For treatment. YFS can disclose your PHI to physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other

licensed health care providers who provide you with health care services or are involved in your care. For example, if you are being treated by a psychiatrist, we can disclose your PHI to your

psychiatrist in order to coordinate your care.

2. To obtain payment for treatment. YFS can use and disclose your PHI to bill and collect

payment for the treatment and services provided to you. For example, YFS might send your PHI to your insurance company or health plan to get paid for the health services that have been

provided to you. YFS may also provide your PHI to business associates, and others that process our health care claims.

3. For health care operations. YFS can disclose your PHI to this agency. For example, YFS might use your PHI to evaluate the quality of health care services that you received or to

evaluate the performance of the health care professionals who provided such services to you. YFS may also provided your PHI to our accountants, attorneys, consultants, and others to make

sure this agency is complying with your applicable laws.

4. Other disclosures. YFS may also disclose your PHI to others without your consent in certain

situations. For example, your consent is not required if you need emergency treatment, as long as we try to get your consent after treatment is rendered, or if we try to get your consent but

you are unable to communicate with us (for example, if you are unconscious or in severe pain) and we think that you would consent to such treatment if you were able to do so.

Certain uses and disclosures do not require your consent. YFS can use and disclose your PHI without your consent or authorization for the following reasons:

1. When disclosure is required by federal, state or local law; judicial or administrative proceedings; or, law enforcement. For example, a therapist may make a disclosure to

applicable officials when a law requires him or her to report information to government agencies

38

and law enforcement personnel about victims of abuse or neglect; or when ordered in a judicial

or administrative proceeding.

2. For public health activities. For example, YFS may have to report information about you to the county coroner.

3. For health oversight activities. For example, YFS may have to provide information to assist

the government when it conducts an investigation or inspection of a health care provider or organization.

4. For research purposes. In certain circumstances YFS, may provide PHI in order to conduct

medical research.

5. To avoid harm. In order to avoid a serious threat to the health or safety of a person or the

public, YFS may provide PHI to law enforcement personnel or persons able to prevent or lessen such harm.

6. For specific government functions. YFS may disclose PHI of military personnel and veterans

in certain situations. And YFS may disclose PHI for national security purposes, such as protecting

the President of the United States or conducting intelligence operations

7. For workers’ compensation purposes. YFS may provide PHI in order to comply with workers’ compensation laws.

8. Appointment reminders and health related benefits or services. YFS may use PHI to

provide appointment reminders or give you information about treatment alternatives, or other

health care services or benefits we offer.

Certain uses and disclosures require you to have the opportunity to object.

1. Disclosures to family, friends or others. YFS may provide your PHI to a family member,

friend or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively

in emergency situations. 2. Other uses and disclosures require your prior written authorization. In any other

situation not described in the previous sections YFS will ask for your written authorization to disclose your PHI. If you choose to sign an authorization to disclose your PHI, you can later

revoke such authorization in writing to stop any future (to the extent that we haven’t taken any action in reliance on such authorization) of your PHI by YFS.

What rights you have regarding your protected health information.

You have the following rights with respect to your PHI:

1. The right to request limits on uses and disclosures of your PHI. You have the right to ask

that YFS limit how YFS uses and discloses your PHI. YFS will consider your request, but is not legally required to accept it. If YFS accepts your request, we will put any limits in writing and

abide by them except in emergency situations. You may not limit the uses and disclosures that

we are legally required or allowed to make.

2. The right to choose how YFS sends PHI to you. You have the right to ask that YFS send information to you at an alternate address (for example, sending information to your work

address rather than your home address) or by alternate means (for example e-mail instead of

39

regular mail). YFS must agree to your request so long as we can easily provide the PHI to you in

the format you requested. 3. The right to see and get copies of your PHI. In most cases, you have the right to look at or

get copies of your PHI that we have, but you must make the request in writing. If we don’t have your PHI but know who does, we will tell you how to get it. YFS will respond to you within 30

days of receiving your written request. In certain situations we may deny your request. If we do,

we will tell you in writing our reasons for denial and explain your right to have our denial reviewed.

If you request copies of your PHI, YFS will charge you not more than $.25 for each page.

Instead of providing the PHI you requested, we may provide you with a summary or explanation of the PHI as long as you agree to that and to the cost in advance.

4. The right to get a list of disclosures made. You have the right to obtain a list of instances in which YFS has disclosed your PHI. The list will not include uses or disclosures that you have

already consented to, such as those made for treatment, payment or health care operations directly to you, or to your family. The list won’t include uses and disclosures made for national

security purposes, to corrections or law enforcement personnel, or disclosures made before April

15, 2003.

YFS will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list YFS gives to you will include disclosures made in the last six years unless you

request a shorter time. The list will include days of the disclosures, to whom PHI was disclosed (including their address if known), a description of the information disclosed, and the reason for

the disclosure. YFS will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you make more than one

request in the same year, you will be charged a reasonable cost based fee for each additional request.

5. The right to correct or update your PHI. If you believe that there is a mistake in your PHI or

that a piece of important information is missing, you have the right to request that YFS correct

the existing information or add the missing information. You must provide the request and your reason for the request in writing. YFS will respond within 60 days of receiving your request to

correct or update your PHI. YFS may deny your request in writing if the PHI is (i) correct and complete, (ii) not created by YFS, (iii) not allowed to be disclosed, or (iv) not part of YFS records.

A written denial will state the reasons for the denial and explain your right to file a written

statement of disagreement with the denial. If you don’t file one, you have the right to ask that your request and the agency denial be attached to all future disclosures of your PHI. If YFS

approves your request, YFS will make the change to your PHI, inform you the change was made and tell others that need to know about the change to your PHI.

6. The right to get this notice by E-Mail. You have the right to get a copy of this notice by e-

mail. You also have the right to request a paper copy.

How to complain about YFS’ privacy practices.

If you think that YFS has violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision made about access to your PHI, you may file a complaint with the person listed in Section VI below. You also may send a

written complaint to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human services at 200 Independence

Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201. We will take no retaliatory action against you if you file a complaint about our privacy practices.

40

Person to contact for information about this notice or to complain about YFS’ privacy

practices If you have any questions about this notice or any complaints about this agency’s privacy practices, or

would like to know how to file a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, please contact YFS at: 4080 Centre Street Suite 101, San Diego, CA. 92103. Phone: (619) 543-

9850

Effective date of this notice: This Notice went into effect on April 14, 2003.

41

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT

By signing this form, you acknowledge receipt of the Notice of Privacy Practices of YMCA of

San Diego County, DBA Youth & Family Services. Our Notice of Privacy Practices provides

information about how we may use and disclose your protected health information. We

encourage you to read it in full.

Our Notice of Privacy Practices is subject to change. If we change our notice, you may obtain a

copy of the revised notice by asking your provider or by accessing our website

(http://yfs.ymca.org)

If you have any questions about our Notice of Privacy Practices, please contact: Program

Director, Danielle Davis at (619) 543-9850.

I acknowledge receipt of the Notice of Privacy Practices, of YMCA of San Diego

County, DBA Youth & Family Services.

Signature:______________________________ Date:____________________

(patient/parent/conservator/guardian)

INABILITY TO OBTAIN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To be completed only if no signature is obtained. If it is not possible to obtain the individual’s

acknowledgement, describe the good faith efforts made to obtain the individual’s

acknowledgement, and the reason why the acknowledgement was not obtained:

Signature of provider representative:

____________________Date:__________________

42

Authorization to Release Information

AUTHORIZATION FOR SHARING OF INFORMATION

I, ____________________________, want to be a voluntary participant in the YMCA (Caregiver’s Name)

Families United Family Group Conferencing project. I understand that part of my

responsibility is to provide requested information to assure a complete assessment, quality

of care, and outcome measurements regarding the delivery of agency services. Therefore, I

authorize the YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing project to exchange/share

documents or information regarding myself and the following persons:

_________________________________________________________________________

(Name of Child/Children)

with the following:

Name Relationship

___________________________________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________

___________________________________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________

___________________________________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________

___________________________________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________

___________________________________ ________________________ ___________________________________ ________________________

I understand this information is confidential and can only be released with my authorization,

which I hereby grant.

Printed Name:______________________ Signature:_________________________

(Caregiver) (Caregiver)

Date:_____________________________

Printed Name:______________________ Signature:_________________________

(Coordinator) (Coordinator)

Date:_____________________________

43

Fidelity Checklist

YMCA FAMILIES UNITED PROJECT FIDELITY CHECKLIST

Directions: Please complete the following form directly after completing each step of the

FGC. This tool is to help YMCA understand if the FGC steps are the same for all families, or

if, and under what circumstances, the steps are modified to meet the needs of families. All

response categories are simple yes or no applicable except in two cases in which there is a

response scale.

Item Criterion Yes N/A

If, No, describe why not

Step 1: FGC Prep

Engage primary

caregiver (initial

face-to-face with

social worker)

FGC Coordinator follow

recruitment protocol

Randomized

selection

Families notified of

control/intervention

(For intervention) Track

all Pre-meeting efforts

in ETO. Coordinator

schedules home visit to

gather data for the

NCFAS-G-R

Home visits:

Conduct

assessments

Complete: Eco-Map,

Genogram, etc.

Summarize and verify

results of the

assessments to verify

the results are in

alignment with the

needs of the caregiver.

Each area noted should

have a resource/

referral listed. If no, list

why not. Resources

provided as needed

Finding/contacting

family

Contact all families

listed from the

preliminary meetings

44

Item Criterion Yes N/A

If, No, describe

why not with the primary

caregiver

Plan logistics

Location decided

Food secured

Childcare provided

Materials for plan

identified

Collaborative partners

invited

Step 2: FGC

Meeting

Conduct Meeting Complete FGC Meeting

Efforts

Provide FGC

Satisfaction Tool to

Family

Each family will

complete survey after

each FGC

Step 3:Follow up

Monitor Family Plan

progress

2nd 2 week (1 month

post FGC) if barriers

to achieving goals,

then FGC Coordinator

to assist

family/member in

accessing resources to

overcome barrier.

3rd 2 week: Evaluate

for termination of

services or FGC to

develop new plan.

Meetings with

family

Number of meetings

held

Keep a roster of all

partners who are

supposed to attend

ongoing FGCs and

who doesn’t

45

Genogram

46

Ecomap

The following information was gathered from the Supervisory Training to Enhance Permanent Solutions from the

UMASS Center for Adoption Research.

An eco-map is a graphic representation of a person’s connections to other people and/or

systems in their life. An eco-map should express the strength and effect of each

relationship. Typically, the person about whom the eco-map is created is shown as a circle

in the center of the map. All of the human resources and systems in the person’s life are

shown as individual circles around the circumference of the person. Each outer circle is

connected to the inner circle by a line. Different types of relationships are represented by

different types of lines.

When creating an eco-map the following domains should be included: family, neighborhood,

service providers (past and present), neighbors, social groups, employment, education,

religious/spiritual aids and other significant people. The process of identifying relationships

and human resources should be exhaustive.

When drawing an eco-map the strength of each relationship must be included. Each

relationship should be judged as strong, tenuous or weak. This should be considered when

identifying resources that are going to be put on the map. The strength and impact of

relationships is subjective. It is important to maintain a consistent measure while

constructing.

Note: If the person at the center of the eco-map cannot identify any resources in a

particular domain, that domain should still be included on the map. It can be helpful to

include domains that do not have a connection to the individual as there may be an

opportunity to create a new relationship. Once all of the domains and the strengths of their

relationships to the person at the center have been identified, you should draw the map.

With the name of the person whom the map is about in a circle at the center of the map,

begin to make circles representing the people and resources identified at varying distances

from the center. The closeness of the relationship to the featured person and the closeness

of proximity to the center circle should be represented as such. People close to the featured

person should have their circle close to the persons. Subsequently, people whose

relationship is more distant should be drawn farther away from the featured persons circle.

Once all of the circles are drawn on the page you should connect all of the surrounding

circles to the center circle. The lines to make these connections should correspond with the

strength of the relationship between the two people. A bold or double line depicts a strong

relationship, a dotted line represents a tenuous relationship and a thin or single line

represents a weak relationship. If there is not a current relationship there should not be a

line.

Now that all of the lines are drawn, each line needs to be revisited. You must add an arrow

head to each line. The arrow should be pointing in the direction of the flow of resources. If

47

the featured person at the center is helping or offering assistance to the person in the

orbiting circle the arrow should point out towards that person. If the person in the orbiting

circle is helping the featured person then the arrow should point in towards the person at

the center. If any of these relationships is particularly stressful, this should be depicted by a

superimposed zigzag line over the initial line.

An example:

48

SOS 3 Questions

49

3 Houses and Fairy/Wizard Tools

The following information was gathered from the Government of Western Australia Department for Child

Protection: The Signs of Safety Child Protection Practice Framework, Sept. 2011, 2nd ed.

Three Houses Tool

The Three Houses tool was first created by Nicki Weld and Maggie Greening from Child

Youth and Family, New Zealand and is a practical method of undertaking child protection

assessments with children and young people (Weld, 2008). The Three Houses method takes

the three key assessment questions of Signs of Safety assessment and planning - what are

we worried about; what’s working well and what needs to happen - and locates them in

three houses to make the issues more accessible for children.

Steps for using the Three Houses tool include:

1. Wherever possible, inform the parents or caregivers of the need to interview the

children, explain the three houses process to them and obtain permission to interview

the children.

2. Make a decision whether to work with the child with/without parents or caregivers

present.

3. Explain the three houses to the child using one sheet of paper per house.

4. Use words and drawings as appropriate and anything else useful to engage child in the

process.

5. Often start with ‘house of good things’ particularly where the child is anxious or

uncertain.

50

6. Once finished, obtain permission of the child to show to others - parents, extended

family, professionals. Address any safety issues for the child in presenting to others.

7. Present the finished three houses assessment to the parents/caregivers, usually

beginning with ‘house of good things’.

The following is an anonymous example of the Three Houses tool, created by Princess

Margaret Hospital Child Protection Social Worker Sonja Parker with an eight-year-old girl

‘Tia’ who was bought into the hospital by her grandparents. The assessment speaks to the

power of locating children in the center of the assessment process.

51

The Fairy/Wizard Tool

Child protection professionals around the world have found that the Three Houses tool,

because it focuses directly on the child’s experience and voice, time and again creates this

sort of breakthrough opportunity with parents who are ‘resisting’ professional perspectives

and interventions. Vania Da Paz of DCP, was involved in the 1996 Signs of Safety six-month

development project (refer to a practice example in the Signs of Safety book, Turnell and

Edwards 1999, p.81). Da Paz has always been determined to find ways to involve children

and young people in her child protection practice and following the initial training in Signs of

Safety she developed a very similar tool that serves the same purpose as the Three Houses

tool but with different graphic representation. Rather than Three Houses, Da Paz explores

the same three questions using a drawing of a fairy with a magic wand (for girls) or a

Wizard figure (for boys) as follows:

Fairy and Wizard Outlines, drawn by Vania Da Paz

Da Paz uses the Fairy’s/Wizard’s clothes (which represent what can/should be changed –

just as we change our clothes) to explore and write down, together with the child, the

problems/worries from the child’s perspective – or ‘what needs to be changed’. The Fairy’s

wings and the Wizard’s cape represent the good things in the child’s life, since the wings

enable the Fairy to ‘fly away’ or ‘escape’ her problems; and the cape ‘protects’ the young

Wizard and ‘makes his problems invisible for a little while’. On the star of the Fairy’s wand,

and in the spell bubble at the end of the Wizard’s wand, the worker and the child record the

child’s wishes, and vision of their life, the way they would want it to be with all the problems

solved; the wands represent ‘wishes coming true’ and explores hope for the future.

A comprehensive exploration of the Three Houses and Wizard and Fairy tools is available in

Brennan and Robson (2010) and Turnell, (In Press a).

52

Words and Pictures

The following information was gathered from the Government of Western Australia Department for Child

Protection: The Signs of Safety Child Protection Practice Framework, Sept. 2011, 2nd ed.

Turnell and Essex (2006) describe a ‘Words and Pictures’ explanation process for informing

children and young people about serious child protection concerns that both involves and

directly speaks to children. The following illustration is an example excerpted from Turnell

and Essex (2006). The example is presented to give a feel for age-appropriate explanations

that locate children in the middle of the practice picture and do this without trivializing or

minimizing the seriousness of the child protection concerns.

The ‘Words and Pictures’ method also offers a powerful method of creating a meaningful

explanation for children in care and young people who are typically very confused or

uncertain as to why they have come into the care system. One example of this adaptation

of the words and pictures method can found in Turnell and Essex (2006, pp 94-101).

53

Safety Circles

Safety Organized Family Team Meeting Facilitation

Handout 7: Prompt Sheet for Family Safety Circles

1. Talking about the need for a safety network

The first step in the process of using the Family Safety Circles tool flows directly out of the

conversation with parents/caregivers about what we mean by a safety network and the fact

that a safety network needs to be in place for safety planning to progress.

2. The Inner Circle

“Who are the people in your life and your child’s life who already know about what has

happened that led to your child/children being in care (or to child protection services

being involved with your family)?”

Giving compliments

Pay attention to what parents/caregivers have already done that will help to build future

safety and acknowledge this with compliments, wherever and whenever possible.

3. The Middle Circle

“Who are the people in your life and the kids’ lives who know a little bit about what has

happened; who don’t know the whole story but maybe know some of what has happened?

Or maybe they know that something has happened but don’t know any of the details?”

4. The Outer Circle

“Who are the people in your life and your children’s lives who don’t know anything about

what has happened?”

5. Moving people from the outer circles to the inner circle

• “Who else from these outer circles do you think needs to be part of this inner circle?”

• “Is there anyone in these two outer circles who you have thought about telling or come

close to telling, but you haven’t quite gotten there yet?”

• “Who would Grandma (for example - pick a person already in the inner circle) say needs

to be in this inner circle with her?”

• “Who would the kids want to have in this inner circle?”

• “You know all of these people, I don’t know them yet, but who do you think I would

want to have in this inner circle?”

• “Who of all of these people do you feel most comfortable with/most understood by and

think would be important to have as part of the safety network?”

6. Discussing the following:

What is the role of the safety network?

How many people do we need in the safety network?

What we mean by ‘safety’ people and how is this decided?

What do people need to know to be part of the safety network?

o How do we ensure that everyone is informed about the concerns?

54

Gradients of Agreement Scale

1. Endorse - I love it!

2. Agree with reservation - I like it.

3. Abstain – Genuinely don’t care either way.

4. Stand aside – Not comfortable, but won't stand in the way of the plan.

5. Serious objection – No way, no how!

Or:

55

Family Plan

FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCE FAMILY PLAN

Date of FGC: Case Number:

Primary Caregiver (Client) Name (Last, First, Middle):

Location of FGC: Total Time:

FGC Conducted in What Language:

FGC Participant Name Relationship to Caregiver

FGC Participant Name via Phone, Video, Letter, etc. Relationship to Caregiver

Name of Individual Invited – Unable to Attend Relationship to Caregiver

Agenda Items

Summary of Information Shared

Family Plan Decision:

Did the participants reach a consensus?

Follow-Up Action Steps

Who What When

Additional Comments:

56

Satisfaction Tool

YMCA FAMILIES UNITED SATISFACTION TOOL

We are inviting you to complete this survey in order to understand your experience

with YMCA Family Group Conferencing services. Please read each statement

carefully and mark how much you agree or disagree with each one. There is no

right or wrong answer. We invite you to be as honest as possible. Thank you!

Statement Strongly Disagree

Disagree Un-

decided Agree

Strongly Agree

Everyone at the meeting was aware of why it was being held.

My family was prepared for taking part in the meeting.

Service providers were not well prepared for taking part in the meeting.

People who are family or feel like family were at the meeting.

Only one side of the children’s family took part in

the planning.

More service providers (professionals) were at the

meeting than my family and my close supports.

The meeting was held in a place that felt right to the family.

The meeting was held in a way that felt right to the family.

The meeting had enough supports and protections to make the participants feel safe and comfortable.

The Coordinator organized the meeting well.

The Coordinator ran the meeting well.

My family plan built on my family’s strengths or

good qualities.

My family plan included ways that relatives, friends, or others could help out.

57

My family plan included ways that YMCA and other

community or neighborhood organizations would help out.

My family plan included ways that CWS and other public agencies would help out

My family plan used local or neighborhood resources, such as group homes or counseling

services.

The YMCA services helped you resolve your needs

related to your CWS voluntary case.

Overall, how satisfied are you with the services you received from the YMCA

Families United?

□ Very Satisfied □ Somewhat Satisfied □ Undecided

□ Somewhat Dissatisfied □ Very Dissatisfied

Additional Comments:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

58

Motivational Interviewing Change Plan Worksheet

59

Interpreter’s Unlimited Guidelines

YMCA Youth & Family Services

Interpreter Guidelines

Dear Interpreter,

In order to better serve our clients and provide them with valuable experience we want to

make sure that you feel comfortable working with a TIDES therapist.

Please read the following guidelines of the TIDES program.

1. Please always arrive 5 minutes prior of the therapy session to allow the therapist

introduce him/herself and provide you with guidelines.

2. If you have previously worked with the client you are interpreting for, please keep

your professional boundaries. When it is necessary, please wait for the appointment,

away from the client, to avoid any type of role confusion between you and the client.

3. When you enter the therapy room please ask the therapist where he/she wants you

to be seated.

4. Please remember that the therapeutic process happens between the client and the

therapist. Your role is to assist the therapist in communication.

5. While in session, please monitor and ensure your professional presence. (i.e. body

language, mannerisms, tone of voice and personal space)

6. Please provide accurate interpretation and do not add any personal comments,

suggestions, etc.

7. If client gets upset, please allow the therapist to deal with the situation; do not

interrupt the process by trying to be “helpful”.

8. At the end of the session coordinate your schedule with the therapist’s and the client

in order to ensure continuity in therapy.

9. At the end of the session please allow the client to leave first, therapist may have

questions, comments and or feedback that he/she wants to share with you.

10. Please respect the confidentiality of the client by not asking the therapist any content

related questions to the case.

Please respect professional boundaries and do not have personal/private conversation with

the client.

Appendix B

YMCA of San Diego County

A Practical Guide for Planning and Sustaining Demonstration Projects

December 2014

A Practical Guide for Planning and Sustaining Demonstration

Projects

Dear Colleagues: In September 2009, the YMCA of San Diego County launched its first federally-funded demonstration project aimed at evaluating the needs and services of kinship families. This funding created the opportunity for a fruitful and ongoing partnership between our local child welfare agency, County of San Diego Child Welfare Services, the San Diego Field Office of Casey Family Programs, and Harder+Company Community Research, our evaluation partner. Since then, this collaborative worked together to develop and receive two additional federal demonstration grants. These projects have helped us develop a wide breath of knowledge and hands-on experience designing, implementing, and sustaining demonstration projects with system partners and child welfare populations. As we reflected on our learning across these five years, we saw an opportunity to crystalize this information into a user-friendly toolkit, which we happily share with you today.

Partnering Organizations

YMCA Youth & Family Services: Kim Morgan, Danielle

Zuñiga, Dori Gilbert, Saul Estavillo, Gwendolyn Shelton,

and Robin Pepper

San Diego County Health and Human Services,

Child Welfare Services: Becki DeBont and Roseann

Myers

Casey Family Programs: Melissa Proctor

Harder+Company Community Research: Jennifer

James, Cristina Magaña, Amy Ramos, and Hazelruth

Adams

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the financial support and technical assistance

provided by staff from the Administration for Children and Families, Children’s

Bureau Division. Particular gratitude is extended to the following program

specialists: Cathy Overbagh, Liliana Hernandez, and Patricia Campiglia. Grant

numbers: 90-CF-0002/0 and 90-CF-00027.

1

Introduction

Federal demonstration projects offer communities the chance to build new

practices, increase their capacity, and expand their resources. They also have inherent challenges related to organizational mission match, programming timelines, effect on organizational staffing and focus, and sustainability

planning. Over the past five years, the YMCA of San Diego County successfully secured three separate federal demonstration projects through the Children’s

Bureau (a federal Office of the Administration for Children and Families). The Children’s Bureau demonstration projects are characterized by the following

elements:

A mandate to include Child Welfare Services (CWS) in the delivery of

services (demonstration projects can be either led by a CWS

department or a partnership between a nonprofit and a CWS

department);

A rigorous evaluation design, traditionally with a preference for a

randomized control trial or quasi-experimental design;

A 3-5 year planning and implementation timeframe.

The YMCA projects resulted in a strong public/private partnership within the

San Diego region that served hundreds of children, youth, and families involved in CWS. In addition, these projects offered valuable learning opportunities

related to managing and negotiating project design, partnership development, program design shifts, and sustainability. This guide is a collaborative effort to

codify our collective experience planning and implementing Children’s Bureau demonstration projects. The guide is primarily written from the perspective of a nonprofit seeking to establish a relationship with a public entity; however, we

have included feedback and perspectives from both our public partners and our research partner organization. The different perspectives provide a valuable

lens to help one take on the large task of a demonstration project. Although it is specific to Children’s Bureau projects and thus to CWS, many of the lessons we learned can be applied to other public/private ventures that have similar

elements as those listed above.

A Snapshot of the YMCA’s federal demonstration projects

The YMCA Kinship Navigator Project served over 1,000 kinship caregivers. In collaboration with the County of San Diego’s Child Welfare Services, the YMCA of San Diego County established and sustained a regional model of kinship services.

Through its partnership with the County of San Diego Child Welfare Services and Casey

Family Programs, the YMCA implemented the Families United Family Group Conferencing Project to serve families and youth. The project utilized a rigorous randomized control trial design to demonstrate effectiveness, and concluded in 2014 (sun setting with the end of federal funding).

The YMCA Connections Project addresses the needs of youth ages 17-21 that are transitioning out of foster care by providing one-on-one and group services focused on building the youths’ relational skills. Connections staff anticipate their findings to be incorporated into service delivery for this population countywide and nationwide to improve outcomes for youth.

2

The guide is organized in three Phases: program design, implementation, and sustainability (see Exhibit 1). This guide includes worksheets to facilitate critical

decision-making discussions based on our experience. Each worksheet provides a list of recommended individuals who should participant in the completion of the

worksheet and are presented in the recommended order of completion. While not exhaustive of organizations unique considerations, this guide will identify key processes.

Exhibit 1. Framework for Success

Each Phase presents the following information, identified by the following icons:

Project team ensures work plans and processes are in place to implement the new

project. Steps include: Establish internal team

communication (2.2); Create overall project

plan (2.1); Develop key processes

and protocols (2.3); Roll-out of project to

key constituent groups (2.4).

Result: Organizations have a strong foundation to

implement the new project.

Project planning team assesses its readiness to pursue the new project. Steps include: Fit with organizational

mission and strategic position (1.1);

Fit with Child Welfare Services policy trends (1.2);

Collaboration readiness (1.3);

Evaluation design (1.4).

Result: The project planning team decides whether to pursue the new project and what needs to be accomplished before its implementation (1.5).

Project team plans for its next steps after grant funding ends. Steps include: Critical reflection

processes (3.1);

Identify options for sustaining the work (3.2);

Plan for next steps when grant funding ends (3.3).

Result: Organizations make an informed decision about their next steps after grant funding ends.

Phase 1: Purposeful Planning

Phase 2: Principled

Implementation

Phase 3:

Positive

Transition

Who Should Complete the Worksheets, a chart that identifies which individual(s) should ideally respond to each worksheet (e.g., Advisory Committee, project manager, etc.).

Lessons Learned, a succinct summary of experience-based suggestions for organizations leading collaborative evaluation projects with large systems like Child Welfare Service.

Additional Tools and Resources, a list of other resources and tools on topics covered.

Key decision point in life of project.

3

Phase 1: Purposeful Planning

Planning with purpose is more than planning for a specific

project. It requires a larger intentional frame of mind in which an organization fully vets and considers how the proposed project supports the organization’s mission, aligns with local public

agency (e.g., Child Welfare Services) trends, and will accomplish project goals. Phase 1 helps organizations assess their readiness to pursue a new collaborative

project that involves an evaluation element with Child Welfare Services (CWS) and with other partner organizations.

The five worksheets in this phase are designed to guide collaborating organizations through a purposeful project planning process:

Worksheet 1.1 helps partnering organizations align the proposed project with

their organization’s mission and values. It also includes key questions of

strategic positioning within your community.

Worksheet 1.2 assesses the proposed project alignment with the CWS

agency’s goals.

Worksheet 1.3 helps organizations assess their readiness to work together on

the proposed project.

Worksheet 1.4 provides key questions to help organizations develop a robust

evaluation plan for the proposed project.

Worksheet 1.5 helps organizations determine whether there is sufficient

capacity to implement the proposed project.

We highly recommend that organizations convene a planning committee comprised

of the lead and partnering organizations, community members, and core staff members who would be involved in the grant application process of the project.

This planning committee could then be formalized into an Advisory Committee to usher the project from design to successful implementation. The Advisory Committee should meet regularly to discuss key project elements at all stages—

continually working to refine and strengthen the project. Advisory Committees require skillful facilitation and authentic involvement for them to be truly effective;

they may require an honorarium to help ensure community members’ full participation (see text box next page).

In addition to an Advisory Committee, organizations must quickly determine who will become the proposed Project Lead. The Project Lead is an individual who

champions the project by exuding leadership skills that help bring the partners to the table for critical discussions. This person will likely have direct communication with the granting organizations (e.g., Children’s Bureau) and be responsible for

oversight of the project’s day-to day operations.

4

The Phase 1 worksheets are organized in their recommended order of completion though they can also be completed independently. Exhibit 2 provides

recommendations for the individuals who should participate in each worksheet’s completion and follow-up discussion. As individuals complete their own worksheets,

it is important to keep in mind that the conversation is much more important than the questions themselves. When the group convenes to discuss the worksheet questions, remember that the aim of the worksheet is to help facilitate critical

discussions as you plan for a new project. You can choose the questions or worksheets you feel need the most discussion.

Exhibit 2. Recommendations for who should complete Phase I worksheets

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Part

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Sta

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CW

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Worksheet 1.1: Fit with Organizations’

Mission and Strategic Positioning

Worksheet 1.2: Fit with Child Welfare

Services Goals

Worksheet 1.3: Collaboration Readiness

Worksheet 1.4: Evaluation Readiness

Worksheet 1.5: Move Forward with

Project?

The Importance of Holding Regular Advisory Committee Meetings Advisory Committee meetings serve as a place to discuss the critical nuances of collaboration and implementation. Meetings should ensure constant communication and accountability for all partners by:

Requiring partners to report on their efforts to collaborate across programs as well as to identify ongoing barriers that require additional help or support.

Discussing data and findings throughout project to keep all partners focused on the goals and remind the partners to step back and see the big picture.

Phase 1.1 Assess Fit with Organizations’ Missions and

Strategic Positioning

5

Worksheet 1.1 – Assess Fit with Organizations’ Missions and Strategic Positioning

Instructions: Organizations should carefully consider representatives to lead the

planning and participate in the Advisory Committee. When selecting representative,

consider the level of leadership needed to make decisions on behalf of their

organization. The Project Lead that is facilitating the planning process should distribute

the worksheet to representatives at each organization and schedule a joint in-person

meeting with all participating staff. Individuals should complete worksheets

independently and in advance of the in-person meeting so that they can be prepared

for a productive discussion.

Name of the organization you represent:

_________________________________________

Part 1: Fit with Organizational Mission

1) Is the proposed project aligned with your organization’s mission? (circle the

number that best represents your answer choice)

Not aligned Somewhat

aligned

Totally

aligned

1 2 3 4 5

1a) If you marked a 4 or 5, explain how the project supports your mission, if you

marked a 1, 2 or 3, identify what strategic advantage this project offers your

organization.

Who should complete Worksheet 1.1?

Organization leadership/staff who will make decisions about project participation



6

2) Does the project expand or support your existing work? (circle the number that

best represents your answer choice)

Does not

expand or

support our

work

Somewhat

expands or

supports our

work

Definitely

expands or

supports our

work

1 2 3 4 5

2a) If you marked a 4 or 5, explain how the project supports your existing work.

If you marked a 1, 2 or 3, identify why this project is important to your existing

work.



7

3) Will the proposed project require your organization to hire new staff? (circle the


Not likely to

hire

Somewhat

likely to hire

Most likely

will need to

hire

1 2 3 4 5

3a) If you answered 3, 4 or 5, how will your organization, specifically your management team, prepare to handle the onboarding of new staff (e.g., training,

monitoring, and supporting new staff etc.)?

3b) If you answered 1 or 2, how will you address the cost of this additional work for existing staff (e.g., will staff be asked to take on additional responsibilities or will you

shift project loads for staff, etc.)?

Hiring Demonstration Project Staff

Demonstration projects are expensive and require dedicated staff time. Hiring new staff is a big decision, especially for federal demonstration projects that typically end in 3-5 years. Therefore, transparency with staff is essential! YMCA management staff were asked to take on additional oversight on top of their daily activities. New staff were hired with the understanding that their position would end at the conclusion of the demonstration project.



8

Part 2: Strategic Positioning for Non-Child Welfare Organizations

4) To your knowledge, are there programs that provide similar

services that would compete with the proposed project, or would

support/supplement the proposed project? (mark the bubble)

Yes

No

Don’t

know

4a) If you answered yes, list the programs that offer similar, competing, or supplemental services to the proposed project.



9

5) Does the proposed project support the Program Improvement Plan (PIP)

goals of your local CWS?1 (circle the number that best represents your answer

choice)

Does Not Support PIP

Goals

Somewhat

Supports PIP

Goals

Fully Supports

PIP Goals

1 2 3 4 5

5a) If you marked a 4 or 5, explain how the program supports PIP goals. If you

marked a 1, 2 or 3, identify how this project would indirectly benefit CWS in

accomplishing its PIP goals.

6) List what CWS resources you will need to implement and sustain the project

((e.g., access to the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information

Systems (SACWIS) data, Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), space for staff

to co-locate, county email for confidential correspondence, staff time at

trainings, staff time during regular meetings, etc.)). Plan for how you will

support or incentivize CWS line staff to participate in the project.

1 For county-administered systems, such as California, organizations may need to consider county-level plans such as the System Improvement Plans (SIP). See Appendix L for key elements of Federal PIP elements.

Identifying and Leveraging Existing Resources

Because we had a very experienced and engaged CWS staff member as part of our Advisory Group, she often identified ways in which the demonstration project could leverage expertise and resources to support or project work. For example, in years past the county had conducted Family Unity Meetings which were very similar to the Family Group Conferencing model we were implementing. Thus, as you move forward to implementing your project, work closely with your CWS partners to identify ways in which you can align your work with county

processes to facilitate the implementation process.

Phase 1.2 - Assess Fit with Child Welfare Services Goals

10

Worksheet 1.2 - Assess Fit with Child Welfare Services Goals

Instructions: The Child Welfare Services (CWS) Agency representative involved in

the proposed project should complete this worksheet independently, in advance of

an in-person meeting. The Project Lead organization should send the worksheet to

the representative and be prepared to discuss answers with CWS.

Worksheet Questions

1) Does the proposed project support your local CWS Program

Improvement Plan (PIP) goals? (circle the number that best represents your

answer choice)

Does not

support PIP

goals

Somewhat

supports PIP

goals

Fully

supports PIP

goals

1 2 3 4 5

1a) If you marked a 4 or 5, list examples of how the program supports PIP goals. If

you marked a 1, 2 or 3, identify what benefit this project offers CWS in making

progress towards meeting PIP goals.


Child Welfare Services Agency representatives


11

2) Does the project fulfill a specific need or gap within CWS? (circle the


Does not fill need

Somewhat

fills need

Definitely

fills need

1 2 3 4 5

2a) If you marked a 4 or 5, explain what need or gap it fills. If you marked a 1, 2

or 3, identify what benefit this project offers CWS.


12

3) Does CWS leadership (directors or those who make strategic decisions

about direction and partnerships) agree with and support this project?

(circle the number that best represents your answer choice)

Does not Agree

Somewhat

agrees

Fully agrees

1 2 3 4 5

3a) If you marked a 4 or 5, explain in what way they are supportive (e.g., they will

provide letter of support, assist with design of project, offer space for staff, etc.). If

you marked a 1, 2 or 3, identify what concerns leadership has and how you can

address them.

3b) List the names and titles of the individuals who you communicated with and

the names of individuals who still need to be looped into the conversation.

Phase 1.3 – Assess Collaboration Readiness

13

Worksheet 1.3 - Assess Collaboration Readiness2

Instructions: Each organizational representative involved in the potential project and

the proposed Project Lead should complete this worksheet individually. During a project

planning team meeting, each organizational representative should discuss their

responses in order to arrive at meaningful next steps.

Worksheet Questions

1) In the column ‘Potential Partnering Organization’ in the table below, list the

names of potential partnering organizations. We recommend that you speak with

multiple people within your organization to create the list of collaborating organizations.

These individuals may include staff who will have direct contact with clients (e.g., social

workers), senior leadership who can support the project and others who will have a

stake in the success of project. For each organization complete the following:

a) Identify whether your organization has collaborated in the past;

b) Describe the nature of your collaboration (e.g., you send referrals to

the organization, you attend similar meetings, you have a contract in place to

work together, you are part of a coalition, you implement a project together);

c) Describe any lessons learned from your previous collaboration (e.g.,

What lessons can be applied from prior collaborations to this project? What

worked well? What can we improve?).

Potential partnering

organization

Have you

collaborated with this

organization? Yes/No

Describe

collaboration

Lessons

learned from

prior

collaborations

2 Questions #1-4 were identified as Preconditions for Collaboration by the California Social Work Education Center, who identified these preconditions after conducting 48 in-depth interviews with people involved in collaborations between the substance abuse and child welfare fields: Drabble, L., Osterline, K., Tweed, M., & Pearce, C. (2008). Pathways to Collaboration: Factors that Help and Hinder Collaboration Between Substance Abuse and Child Welfare Fields. (pp.48-49) Retrieved from http://www.csulb.edu/projects/ccwrl/Drabble_II.pdf


Representatives from each collaborating organization and the Project Lead.

http://www.csulb.edu/projects/ccwrl/Drabble_II.pdf


14

2) To what degree does my organization see the value of pursuing the proposed

project? (circle the number that best represents your answer choice)

Not at all Somewhat

Completely

1 2 3 4 5

Note: make sure to include individuals from multiple areas of your organizations (e.g., senior

management, frontline staff, etc.).

2a) If you answered 4-5, explain the value your organization sees in pursuing the proposed

project. If you answered 1 or 2, consider what is missing in the proposed project and whether

any changes could be made for you to reconsider your answer.

3) How motivated are management and staff to work together for the

purpose outlined in the proposed project? (circle the number that best

represents your answer choice)

Not at all

motivated

Somewhat

motivated

Completely

motivated

1 2 3 4 5

3a) If you marked 4 or 5, why do you see management and staff as being motivated

to work together and how will they work together on the project? If you marked 1, 2,

or 3, what factors are restricting people’s motivation to work together and what is

needed to encourage more staff motivation?


15

4) To what degree can my organizational culture, leadership, and

infrastructure support my engagement in the proposed project? (circle the


Not at all Somewhat

Completely

1 2 3 4 5

Note: make sure to think about individuals from multiple areas of your organizations (e.g., senior


4a) If you marked a 4 or 5, identify the supports you could utilize or leverage for this project. If you marked a 1, 2 or 3, identify what supports you will need to

engage in the project.

5) My organization has leaders and “champions” that will support the

proposed project throughout its implementation. (circle the number that

best represents your answer choice)

Agree Somewhat

agree

Totally

agree

1 2 3 4 5

Note: make sure to think about individuals from multiple areas of your organizations (e.g., senior


5a) If you marked a 4 or 5, explain who are the key people who will help lead or

“champion” the proposed project in your organization and how they will do this. If you marked a 1, 2 or 3, identify what factors are impeding people from becoming

leaders and “champions” of the project and what you can do to overcome them.


16

6) Reflecting on your responses from the worksheet, is your organization ready to effectively work with

other organizations on the project? (circle the number

that best represents your answer choice)

Yes

No

Don’t know

6a) If you answered yes, list any conditions that need to be met before your

organization can work well with other organizations (e.g., MOU, MOA, or contract). If you answered no, list whether there is anything that partners could do to change your

decision. If you answered don’t know, list what information is needed before you can make a decision.

Phase 1.4 Assess Evaluation Readiness

17

Worksheet 1.4 - Assess Evaluation Readiness

Instructions: At its most basic, evaluation involves looking at your program over a

specific period of time and asking, “Is what we’re doing working? How do we know it is working? Under what conditions does what we are doing work best?” In this

way, evaluation is a learning process that helps you understand what difference your work makes and provides insights about how to deepen your impact. The Advisory Committee and staff experienced in evaluation and data systems should

complete the worksheets independently and come prepared to share their answers with the full Advisory Committee. As a group, identify any questions where people

noted different responses and discuss.

Worksheet Questions

Item Details Yes Somewhat No

We can describe results to determine project

“success”.

Includes SMART (Specific,

Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound)

measures. See Appendix A for logic model examples.

We have determined

which evaluation design we will use to show project outcomes.

Most grants require a rigorous evaluation design. See Appendix B for the most

common design pros and cons.

We know whether we will need to purchase

standardized assessments.

Standardized assessments are research-based to ensure

validity. However, the following should be considered: cost (e.g., fees

for manuals); training (i.e., may require specific

credentials and training to use) and usability (i.e., are the tools appropriate for the

target population).

We have identified the information and data we need to measure our

progress.

For each of the SMART

measures, a data source (e.g., SACWIS data, primary

data collection, or other form) is identified. See Appendix C for an example spreadsheet

showing the data source for


The Advisory Committe, Project Lead, and any internal staff experienced in evaluation and data systems.

Phase 1.4 Assess Evaluation Readiness

18

Item Details Yes Somewhat No

each outcome measure.

We understand what data sharing agreements are needed with all

partners.

If you are sharing data across

organizations, you will need data sharing procedures.

We have determined if we need Institutional

Review Board (IRB) approval.

IRB approval is a key step to

protecting human subjects and will most likely be

required. Both university and private consultants have access to IRBs.

We have considered if

we need an external evaluator to design and execute the evaluation.

An external evaluator can be a key partner for programs. If

you need an external evaluator, be sure to collect at

least 3 bids to compare qualifications, approach to working with you, and cost.

Responsive Evaluation Design

We developed a rigorous evaluation design to show whether families that participated in project services had better outcomes compared to those that did not (otherwise known as a randomized control trial design). Using this design, families were randomly assigned to receive treatment or the county’s standard

“services as usual.” This particular design was selected because federal funders explicitly required a rigorous design. Once funded, we implemented the design; we faced challenges getting social workers to refer families when they learned their families would be randomized. While the randomized control trial design is considered the gold standard form of

research and evaluation, other evaluation designs (e.g., quasi-experimental or longitudinal designs) may be more appropriate for these projects.

Phase 1 Decision Point and Resources

19

Phase 1 Decision Point: Should we pursue the project?

Suggested process: The Project Lead should schedule a meeting and

send out a draft meeting agenda. All Advisory Committee members and staff who can help move the conversation forward (who might not be

part of the Advisory Committee) should be encouraged to attend the first meeting. Ask everyone to bring his or her calendars so that re-occurring meetings can be scheduled for the future.

During the meeting, the group should discuss their worksheet responses

and engage in the planning process. Ensure you have a note taker that can capture top line results and action steps (See Appendix D for example agendas and meeting notes).The meeting notes should be distributed to all attendees at most one week after

the meetings. You will likely need to hold several meetings before arriving to your decision.

Additional Tools and Resources

The following resources are available to help orient organizations to

successful collaborative evaluation projects with Child Welfare Services:

Online Video – Overview of Evaluation Projects in Child Welfare Reviews a variety of evaluation designs by presenting the strengths and

weakness of each. The video offers a clear, succinct explanation about why it

is important for Child Welfare Services to enact strong, meaningful

evaluation designs.

o Children’s Bureau. 2014. What’s the Difference? Constructing

Meaningful Comparison Groups. Part of Child Welfare Evaluation

Virtual Summit Series.

Webinar - Successful Collaboration with Child Welfare

Provides organizations with shared key lessons gathered from multi-agency

projects and identifies the core elements of collaboration to help

organizations develop sustainability plans.

o Shafer, J., Fabela, D., Williams, N., DeJohn, T., & Willer, Cristy. 2014,

March. TANF-Child Welfare Collaboration. Online webinar from the Children’s Bureau’s Child Welfare Information Gateway.

Believe in Project and Find Your Champions

Establishing staff buy-in at multiple levels (e.g., social workers, supervisors, etc.) was particularly challenging especially when it requires a multi-year commitment. We addressed this by identifying CWS staff that showed early interest in the project and felt strongly about the potential positive impact of the evaluation in engaging families, improving safety for children, and in alignment with CWS's philosophy of social work practice.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/assistance/program-evaluation/virtual-su%20+mmit/comparison-groups?utm_sou=-54

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/assistance/program-evaluation/virtual-su%20+mmit/comparison-groups?utm_sou=-54

https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/tanfcw.cfm

Phase 2: Principled Implementation

20


Congratulations! If you are ready to use this portion of the toolkit, you have been funded and are ready to start your project. Experience

has shown that the threshold between planning and implementation is preparation;

Preparation includes the necessary protocols to ensure a smooth project launch. Phase 2 will walk you and your team through the necessary steps to execute your newly funded project. As part of Phase 2, you need to assemble your Advisory Committee.

Worksheets should be completed by your Advisory Committee members and any staff with knowledge required to successfully implement the project.

Phase 2 worksheets are designed to create a smooth transition from planning to project implementation. Phase 2 worksheets are organized in their recommended

order of completion but can also be completed independently.

Worksheet 2.1 helps the planning team develop an internal communication

plan.

Worksheet 2.2 supports the planning team to finalize the overarching project

plan.

Worksheet 2.3 shares the processes and protocols that the planning team

should develop and implement early on in the project.

Worksheet 2.4 guides organizations in planning how the project will be

disseminated to key constituency groups.

We highly recommend that organizations nominate individuals from their organizations who care about the work. At the onset of a grant there is excitement about the new funding and the support rushes in. However, the key is sustaining

that same level of excitement during implementation to avoid staff burn out.


21

The Phase 2 worksheets are organized in their recommended order of completion

though they can also be completed independently. Exhibit 3 displays recommendations for the individuals who should participate in each worksheet’s

completion/discussion. During project implementation your teams should plan to host multiple reoccurring meetings to discuss the content covered in the worksheets. The responses from each worksheet should be reviewed in a

designated meeting. You can choose to combine multiple worksheets in one meeting or host one meeting per worksheet.

Exhibit 3. Recommendations for who should complete Phase 2 worksheets

Pro

ject

Lead

Repre

senta

tives f

rom

Part

ner

Org

aniz

ations

Imple

menta

tion T

eam

Repre

senta

tives

Sta

ff E

xperienced in

Evalu

ation

Sta

ff E

xperienced w

ith

Data

Syste

ms

Sta

ff w

ith

Client

Conta

ct

Leaders

hip

fro

m

CW

S

Part

ner

Org

aniz

ation

Worksheet 2.1 helps the planning team

develop an internal communication plan.

Worksheet 2.2 supports the planning

team to finalize the overarching project

plan.

Worksheet 2.3 shares the processes and

protocols that the planning team should

develop and implement early on in the

project.

Worksheet 2.4 guides organizations in

planning how the project will be

disseminated to key constituency groups

Phase 2.1 Develop Internal Team Communication Plan

22

Worksheet 2.1 - Develop Internal Team Communication Plan

Instructions: The Project Lead should host a project planning team meeting with the individuals who will regularly be involved in project implementation. Before your

first scheduled project meeting, ask your partners to complete questions #1-4. During this kickoff meeting, the group should collectively review responses and complete worksheet questions # 5 and # 6 and assign individuals to respond to

questions # 7-9, based on individual(s) experience. After attendees have responded to the questions assigned, review the draft plans at a planning team

meeting and finalize the overall dissemination strategy. Note Project leaders may not be decision-makers. Thus, including decision-makers from key organizations in your Advisory Committee meetings can create buy-in and expedite the process.

Worksheet Questions

1) List the individuals/staff members who would bring an important

perspective to the Advisory Committee—in turn helping the team to

successfully plan, implement, and sustain the new project. For example,

it may be very helpful to have leadership at each organization, social workers

(e.g., regional supervisors, case managers, etc.), families involved in Child

Welfare, and experts on evaluation at the table.

Name of potential advisory committee members

Position and organization

John Doe Social Worker, Department of Children

and Family Services

Who should complete Worksheet 2.1? Project Lead, representatives from partnering organizations, key implementation staff, staff experienced with evaluation and data systems.


23

2) How often do you think the group will meet and where will you meet

(e.g., monthly, quarterly, etc.)? (Note: The team should anticipate meeting more frequently during the launch of the project)

3) Identify the individual responsible for meeting management (see

Appendix D for a meeting notes and agenda template).

Meeting Management Tasks Person Responsible

Agenda Development

Meeting Facilitation

Meeting Notes/Minutes

Distributing notes to all group members

4) How will the group communicate with each other outside of the

meetings? Note: Consider organization protocols (e.g., does your Child

Welfare partner require secure email communication? Do you have partners who

prefer phone calls versus email?)

The Importance of Meetings

Establishing new partnerships and maintaining effective collaboration is difficult. Simply put, it is a lot of work! Organizations must be willing to discuss complex issues related to their organizational management and culture.

Your first Advisory Committee meeting is vital because it sets the stage and tone for the partnership. Be disciplined in maintaining meeting schedule and structure to support the ongoing connection between partners over multiple years. Meetings serve as a critical place to discuss the project challenges, successes, and plans for the future of the project after grant funding ends. Meetings can help:

▪ Align the project with your organizations mission and values.

▪ Assess feasibility for each partnering organization to move forward.

▪ Determine if you are missing the input of a critical organization.


24

5) How will you communicate about the project to leadership at each of

the collaborating organizations?

It is important to develop strong communication channels between your project implementation team and leadership at the partner organizations. Remember that the landscape is always changing; therefore, ongoing communication is essential.

When approaching leadership, ask if there are other initiatives or projects that you should coordinate with as you implement your project. For example, there may be

opportunities to offer joint trainings with similar projects to provide both cost savings and better integration of programs and efforts. Below, share how you will communicate with leadership at the organizations involved in the project. As you

think about your communication strategy, consider the following:

How will we communicate the value of our project to organizational leadership?

How will we communicate challenges we confront with our organizational

leadership? How will we ensure that leadership communicates with us about important

policy changes that may impact the project?

6) How will you communicate the project to front line staff such as social

workers and their supervisors?

Social workers can be a key group to offer critical support to your project. Note how you will communicate the project to social workers, considering different work cultures, regional differences, personalities, and learning styles. Your organization

may want to explore co-locating members of the project team in the same office with social workers; such co-location of staff from different agencies helps facilitate

open communication lines and stronger participation in your project.

7) What will be your strategy to effectively communicate with clients/families about their participation in the project and gaining informed consent?

Care and attention must be placed in how the project is described to clients and

families to ensure they understand the benefits as well as possible drawback of participating in services with a rigorous evaluation. When talking to families, explain the project in non-technical terms. If you have an IRB research protocol or

description of the project that you will share with families, be sure it is understandable by a lay audience. Families may be “turned off” by research jargon

or participating in a research study if not well explained.

Phase 2.2 Review Project Plan & Finalize Key Plan Components

25

Worksheet 2.2 - Review Project Plan & Finalize Key Plan Components

Instructions: Prior to a planning group meeting, the Advisory Committee members should review the worksheet questions and identify any additional people with the necessary expertise to help answer the worksheet questions. For example,

you could include organizational decision-makers or front-line staff who can help expedite the discussion.

Worksheet Questions

1) Review the key elements of the proposal and identify any changes necessary for successful implementation. If changes are identified,

review the pros and cons at the next meeting. Tailor the following template to your needs.

Project

element

Proposed

change Pros Cons

Final

decision/change

Timeline

Target population or

geography

Evaluation

plan

Intervention model

Partner

responsibilities

2) Using the revised plan, develop a project timeline (See Appendix E for example).


Project Lead, representatives from partnering organizations, key implementation

staff, staff experienced with evaluation and data systems.

Phase 2.2 Review Project Plan & Finalize Key Plan Components

26

3) How will you give your project visibility? The team needs to discuss if your

project results should be shared at national, state, or local conferences and whether there are other organizations your team needs to network with at each

conference. Use the table below to plan for your project visibility.

Name of Conference

Who should attend?

Will the project

funding cover costs?

Networking strategies

3a) As part of project visibility, identify your target audience.

In other words, who do you think would benefit the most from hearing from

you? List organizations who you think could benefit from your project findings.

3b) Identify what message/information you want to relay to your target audience.

Write down the key messages you would like to share (e.g., what would be helpful for others engaging in similar work to know?)

3c) Contact target audience/share the message. Below are some examples of venues that you can use to share what you have

learned with others. How will you share what you have learned with others? Prepare a short project brief that summarizes the key value of your program and

its major outcomes/accomplishments that can be shared as a promotional tool about

your program.

Talk with your colleagues (e.g., at your organization, project partner organization,

or other colleagues who work in your field).

Attend and present at conferences (e.g., American Evaluation Association

Conference)

Write publishable articles about what you learned (e.g., Child & Adolescent

Social Work Journal)

Post your learning on public forums (e.g., your organization’s website and social

media platforms, Child Welfare Information Gateway)

Share your learning with your funder (e.g., Final reports, conversations with

your funding organization contact)

Phase 2.3 Create Project Processes & Protocols

27

Worksheet 2.3 - Create Project Processes and Protocols

Instructions: The Project Lead should review the worksheet and assign individuals to respond to each step, based on their experience and specialty. For example, staff experienced with data systems should respond to questions relating to data

sharing. Once assigned, those staff should research and draft the proposed process for the identified step. Then, the Advisory Committee, as well as other individuals

who helped to draft the proposed process, should meet to discuss and finalize the step-by-step process.

Be patient! It may take a couple of months to develop, review, and have

final sign off on processes and protocols. Start early!

Checklist of Frequently Needed Processes and Procedures

Process/Procedure What it does Example Needed?

Memorandums of

Agreement (MOAs) between the multiple

organizations involved

An MOA should include any request you have of the

partnering organization, such as allowing staff to co-locate in another

organization’s facility.

Appendix F:

Sample Memorandum of Agreement

Yes

No

Memorandums of

Understanding (MOUs) between the

multiple organizations involved

An MOU clarifies

organizations’ roles and responsibilities to

collaborating on key project elements, such as sharing data across agencies.

Appendix G: Sample

Memorandum of Understanding

Yes

No

Data and information

sharing protocols

Helps provide detailed information on the data

points you are interested in collecting from your data

source. For example, provide a detailed description of the data you

are requesting, including any demographic

information needed, whether referral or case data and time period (e.g.,

last quarter or fiscal year).

Appendix H: Sample Data Sharing Protocol

Yes

No

Process/Procedure What it does Example Needed?


Project Lead, representatives from partnering organizations, key implementation staff, staff experienced with evaluation and data systems.

Phase 2.3 Create Project Processes & Protocols

28

Referral and screening protocol

Clarifies the steps for referrals and screening of

clients for your project.

Appendix I:

Sample Data Referring and

Screening Flow Chart

Yes

No

IRB consent form

If your project requires IRB approval you will need to create an informed consent

to meet the needs of the project and partnering

organizations.

Appendix J:

Sample Research Subject

Information and Consent Form

Yes

No

The Difference between MOUs and MOAs

Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) define a “general area of understanding” within both parties' authorities and no transfer of funds for services is anticipated. The MOU is a formalized handshake. A Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) is a “conditional agreement” where the transfer of funds for services are anticipated. MOAs often establish common legal terms that will be read into reimbursable orders. MOAs do not obligate any funds themselves, but they establish the terms for future service and cite one of the appropriate

authorities to do so.

Phase 2.4 Develop Project Dissemination Strategy

29

Worksheet 2.4 - Develop Project Dissemination Strategy3

Instructions: During an Advisory Board meeting,

collectively respond to questions # 1 and # 2, and assign individuals to respond to questions # 3-5, based on individual(s) experience. For example, individuals with

experience working with leadership at child welfare and/or at another project partnering organization may respond to

questions relating to organizational leadership. After individuals have responded to the questions assigned,

review the draft plans at a team or Advisory Committee meeting and finalize the overall dissemination strategy.

Worksheet Questions

1. Develop an internal project results dissemination strategy.

Multi-partner projects require effective, regular communication to ensure the project is well-integrated and supported. Using the table below, list the groups that

are key stakeholders to the internal functioning of the project. This Includes leadership and line staff from the different participating organizations and clients.

Consider that even within an organization, you may need multiple communication strategies. For example, within a regional CWS structure, different branches may communicate differently, requiring that you modify your communication strategy

appropriately.

Target

internal audience

What you need/provide to each target audience

What is the purpose of sharing information with

this group?

What type of information do you want to

share?

How often and how do you intend to share the

information?

CWS regional

managers

build understanding so

they support line staff

numbers served,

benefit to CWS cases

quarterly learning circles

with region managers

3These questions are based on the Child Welfare Information Gateway’s Communication Page. See “Additional Tools” section for reference.

Who should complete worksheet 2.4?

Project Lead, representatives from partnering organizations, and

• leadership from partnering CWS.

Design your dissemination strategies before the project is fully

implemented. This is a proactive, intentional

activity to build a base of supporters to support the project’s sustainability.

Phase 2.4 Develop Project Dissemination Strategy

30

2. Develop an external communication strategy.

Using the table below, define how you will you package and disseminate your

findings. A clear, executed internal and external dissemination plan is core to establishing your organization within the ecosystem of possible funders. We recommend completing the matrix within the first 90 days of your project and then

regularly review it to ensure effective execution.

Target external

audience

What you need/provide to each target audience

What is the

purpose of sharing information with

this group (e.g., inform the field,

inform potential funders)?

What type of information

do you want to share?

How often and how do you intend to share the information?

X Foundation

build interest in the

project for possible

funding

Summary of

results to date

Annual report with in person

discussion


31

Phase 2 Decision Point: Have we developed the necessary infrastructure to implement the project?

Suggested process: The Project Lead should schedule a series of

meetings to review the worksheets completed in this phase with

Advisory Committee members. The meetings will focus on member’s

worksheets responses to assess where the implementation activities are

well planned out and where further thinking or consensus building is

needed. Ensure you have a note taker that can capture top line results

and action steps (See Appendix D for example agendas and meeting

notes).The meeting notes should be distributed to all attendees at most one week

after the meetings and include actions items.


The following resources are available to help organizations implement

successful collaborative evaluation projects with Child Welfare Services (CWS):

Implementation lessons learned from Linkages CalWorks and CWS Collaboration

The Linkages project developed resources related to CalWorks and CWS collaboration. See the site’s website

Matrix of Best Practices for Collaborative Evaluation Projects

Outlines best practices related to collaborative evaluation projects. Topics

covered include: collaborative relationships, client screening and assessment, sharing data/information, training staff, budgeting and program

sustainability, and working with agencies and the community. o National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. (2003). Matrix

of Progress in Linkages Among Alcohol and Drug and Child Welfare

Services and the Dependency Court System.

Communication Planning in Child Welfare

Provides a toolkit focused on effective communication for projects in CWS

and includes resources to help projects communicate in ways that are culturally and linguistically competent and reflect the views of stakeholder

groups involved in the project, especially families involved with child welfare. Communication. (2014). National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care.

Detailed Guide to Develop a Project Dissemination Plan

Shares a step-by-step guide to develop a project dissemination strategy. The guide includes information on how to set objectives, develop messages,

http://www.cfpic.org/toolkit/assessment-%20planning-toolkit/implementation-lessons-learned/

http://www.cffutures.org/files/publications/Matrix_of_Best_Practices_0.pdf



https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/reform/soc/communicate/initiative/soctoolkits/communication.cfm#phase=planning


32

target audiences, plan activities, allocate resources, and measure success. Economic and Social Research Council. (2014). Step-by-step guide.

Management and Supervision in Child Welfare

Shares a wealth of information about administering and managing child

welfare agencies and programs, child welfare practice improvement,

evaluating program practice and service effectiveness, and tools on

organizational culture, recruitment, and retention. Child Welfare Information

Gateway. (2014). Management and Supervision.

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/impact-toolkit/developing-plan/guide/index.aspx

https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/

Phase 3: Positive Transition

33


As you near the end of your grant funding cycle, you will need to start thinking about positively transitioning the project to a new phase. When it comes to demonstration

projects, sustainability can have a different meaning for each partnering organization. Phase 3 is designed to help organizations pause and reflect on their project accomplishments and prepare for next steps once grant funding ends. Key questions at

this point include: “Should we sustain the project with new funding? Should we conclude the project when the federal dollars end? and Should we encourage others to replicate our project model?.” Phase 3 will walk your team through the necessary steps

to take as your funded project ends. Phase 3 worksheets are designed to support the demonstration project Advisory Committee effectively transition to its next steps:

Worksheet 3.1 asks the project team to reflect on project key

accomplishments and the necessary administrative close out steps needed

before the grant funding ends.

Worksheet 3.2 helps the project team identify its next steps after grant

funding end.

Worksheet 3.3 guides organizations to create plans to conclude, continue,

or expand project elements.

The Phase 3 worksheets are organized in their recommended order of completion though they can also be completed independently. Optimally, these worksheets

should be completed and discussed at least one year before the grant funding cycle concludes. Exhibit 4 (next page) shows recommendations for who should participate in each worksheet’s completion.

Exhibit 4. Recommendations for who should complete Phase 3 worksheets


34

Pro

ject

Lead

Repre

senta

tives f

rom

Part

ner

Org

aniz

ations

Imple

menta

tion T

eam

Repre

senta

tives

Sta

ff E

xperienced in

Evalu

ation

Sta

ff E

xperienced w

ith

Data

Syste

ms

Sta

ff w

ith

Client

Conta

ct

Leaders

hip

fro

m

CW

S

Part

ner

Org

aniz

ation

Worksheet 3.1 asks the project team to

reflect on project key accomplishments and

the necessary administrative close out steps

needed before the grant funding ends.

Worksheet 3.2 helps the project team

identify its next steps after grant funding

ends.

Worksheet 3.3 guides organizations create

plans to conclude, continue, or expand

project elements.

Phase 3.1 Determine Administrative Close-Out Steps Needed

Before Funding Ends

35

Worksheet 3.1- Determine Administrative Close-Out Steps Needed Before Funding Ends

Instructions: Each individual should complete this worksheet independently and bring to an Advisory Committee or project meeting. At this meeting, the group should use the worksheet to frame a conversation about what remains to be completed before the

project funding ends.

Worksheet Questions

1) Review the SMART goals you created in Worksheet 1.4 and assess your

progress on the project goals. This will help you build an evidence base

for approaching public and private funders for project continuation.

2) Identify the key activities that still need to happen prior to the grant

ending and identify who will do them and by when.

Examples of close-out activities include:

Contractual/Administrative

Complete financial reports Create budget projections for remaining grant funds

Prepare a final report for the funder

Evaluation

Create a timeline to complete evaluation activities (see Appendix K) Interview/survey those involved in the project to collect perspectives

on program impact Close data collection

Summarize the overall success of the program (e.g., client outcomes, staff satisfaction)

Staffing

Determine staffing plans for those receiving grant funding Communicate staffing decisions to staff



• implementation staff, and evaluation staff.

Phase 3.1 Determine Administrative Close-Out Steps Needed

Before Funding Ends

36

Activity Person(s)

responsible

Deadline/process to complete

Phase 3.2 Consider Post-grant Funding Options for the Project

37

Worksheet 3.2- Consider Post-grant Funding Options for the Project

Instructions: The Project Lead should distribute this worksheet and coordinate a

meeting with representatives for partnering organizations, leadership from partnering CWS leadership and any Advisory Committee members who have a stake in post-grant opportunities. Each person should review the below listed

options and come to a meeting prepared to discuss pros and cons of the different options.

Worksheet Questions

Option 1: Continue the project

With a good sustainability and/or grant development plan in place, projects may continue following the same model as that funded by the grant. They may also continue elements or aspects of the project in a new form. Many times the project’s

structure after grant funding ends is dictated by the funding available (i.e. what are funders willing to support?) and the current social/political climate (e.g., what kinds

of projects do the partnering organizations want to pursue?). If you choose to continue with your project after grant funding ends, you will need to consider staffing time to pursue the funding, competing priorities, new project funding, the

current political climate, and more.

Option 2: Build the field by supporting others to replicate project elements



• leadership from partnering CWS leadership.

Continuing a Project after Grant Funding Ends: YMCA Kinship Navigator Project

The YMCA Kinship Navigator Project was committed to strengthening the network of kinship care in San Diego County. To accomplish this goal, navigators and project staff worked to build a regionalized model with an integrated evaluation design, established collaborations with programs and services that provide support to kinship caregivers, and disseminated

finding on program impact throughout the finding cycle. This effort led to the development of a sustained strong system of care for kinship families. As a result, the YMCA staff leveraged the expertise and used data to maintain key project services with funding from the local CWS agency.

Phase 3.2 Consider Post-grant Funding Options for the Project

38

If your project has achieved measurable, successful results, you may wish to

encourage others to implement similar projects in other regions or places.4 At a minimum, this requires the time and resources to develop project materials (e.g., papers, guides, and other projects) to disseminate to the field via conferences,

journals, webinars, and workshops. It may also require time to provide consultation and technical support to others replicating project elements.

Option 3 Close the Project If your project will conclude after grant funding ends, it is important that the

project team plans for a graceful exit strategy. This involves not only completing the required funder paperwork, but also connecting exiting

clients to other ongoing supportive services. In addition, though sometimes overlooked, this involves clear communication to those who have been

involved in the project—whether they be clients, social workers, leadership at the partner agencies, or others—about the project’s next steps. Be sure to

plan ahead so that close out activities are completed by the time funding

ends and to ensure staff can transition on to other endeavors.

4 http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/going_to_scale/

Field Building: YMCA Connections

Early on during implementation of our Connections Project the team aimed to add knowledge to the Transition Aged Youth (TAY) field. The team strategically created a dissemination plan to reach TAY providers, policymakers, funders, and researchers by taking Connections on the road!

Connections Project still in implementation has shared preliminary findings and lessons learned at national conferences, with local service providers, and as report briefs. Success will be achieved when other service providers incorporate project findings into their TAY service delivery with the aim of improving outcomes for the TAY population.

Closing Out a Project: YMCA Family Group Conferencing

We had initially hoped to continue the FGC project after the end of the federal funding cycle; however, in the end the project was dissolved. During the close out discussions our team ensured that we:

Kept our grant-funded staff informed about where we were at in determining whether the project (and therefore their jobs) could be continued.

Held internal meetings with grant-funded staff. Discussed the completion of any outstanding task. Finalized any written processes and procedures manuals for future funding. Encouraged reflection about what we learned from the project at Advisory

Committee meetings and one-on-one meetings.

Celebrated project’s successes with the Advisory Committee members.

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/going_to_scale/


39

Phase 3 Decision Point: What are the next

steps now that the grant funding is coming to

an end?

Suggested process: The Project Lead should host a meeting with the Advisory Committee. Ask committee members to consider the

three project options and identify the most appropriate next step. You may refer to

what will be required of each option, outlined in Worksheet 3.2, to help inform your decision. As you have done through the project, ensure you have a note taker that can

capture top line results and action steps (See Appendix D for example agendas and meeting notes).

After the group has decided on its option, proceed to Worksheet 3.3 for an outline of next steps to consider in pursuing your next steps.


The following resources are available to help organizations as they plan their next steps after a grant’s funding ends. Funding Resources in Child Welfare

Share resources to help organizations plan, identify, manage, and sustain

funding in child welfare services. Information on financial planning and management, fiscal reform, funding sources, funding for different types of

programs, fundraising, and tools to support grant application efforts are included.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2014). Funding.

https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/

Phase 3.3 Plan our Next Steps

40

Worksheet 3.3 – Plan your Next Steps

Instructions: The Project Lead and key identified team members should review the steps associated with option selected by the Advisory Committee. Answer all questions and add your own to create a game plan for how to transition the project

to its next stage.

Worksheet Questions

Option 1: If you decide to continue the project

1) In an ideal world, which elements of the project model would you

hope to continue? (To answer this question it may be helpful to reflect upon

your experiences with the project to date—considering what has worked well

and what has not worked well. When possible use your project results to guide

your conversation.)

2) How much funding will you need to continue the project elements that

you would like to sustain and who are the potential funders? Use the

table below to list your responses. (If you think that the ideal project

model is not feasible, scale the project to what you think is realistic given your

funding opportunities. Consider both public and private funder as well as the

potential for a fee-based model)

Project Element Cost Funding Opportunities

3) Develop a fundraising plan for the funding opportunities you identify.

Key steps to this plan may include:

Hiring a grant development specialist who can help you identify potential

funding sources, determine the source’s feasibility to fund your project, and

develop proposals.

Making presentations of results to philanthropic funders. You can reach out to

your local Regional Association of Grantmakers for help to identify possible

funders.


Project Lead and identified team members from all levels of your project.


41

Making presentations to your CWS partners and other potential public

funders.

Identifying and developing a timeline for submitting for foundation and public

requests for proposals.

Option 2: If you decide to build the field by supporting others to replicate project elements

1) Identify your target audience (i.e., who do you want to replicate the

project?)

2) Identify venues to reach your target audience (i.e., conferences, webinars,

or workshops).

3) Identify what message/information you want to relay to your target

audience and develop needed collateral documents (e.g., PowerPoints,

program manuals).

4) Develop a schedule of events to reach your target population and

pursue!

Option 3: If you decide to close out the project

1) Develop a plan to communicate to key stakeholders that the project will

be closing. As you plan your communication strategy, share the project’s

successes and, as appropriate, the reasons for the project closure. Also, think

about the key messages for those involved in the project. You may wish to

revisit your communication strategy completed in Phase 2.

2) Create a list of outstanding tasks that need to be completed and who

will complete them by when. The outstanding tasks may include: You

may wish to build upon the timeline already completed in Worksheet 3.1.

Communicate to key stakeholders the project’s next steps (see question 1

above) and what they will need to do before the grant ends.

Solicit feedback from those involved in the project to help you understand what

worked well and did not. This feedback is critical to gather and apply to future

endeavors.

Interview departing staff to retain their knowledge relating to the project

overall and any outstanding tasks.

Summarize results. This includes establishing by when client data must be

entered, analyzed, and summarized.

Review the budget and plan out your remaining expenditures.


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Clean files to retain important documents so that others can easily access

them if needed.

Prepare final Project Report and other final documentation for the funder.

YMCA Family Group Conferencing Experience

Celebrate your project’s successes by gathering people who supported the project together for a special meal. Relationships are a key component to any successful project—and what better way to recognize those relationships than to share a meal

together. Thank you cards are also good practice. As your project ends, write personalized thank you cards to those who supported your project in one capacity or another. This practice acknowledges people’s work and leaves them with a positive impression of you, your project, and your organization. Ending a project well may lead to future partnerships.

Appendices

43

Appendices

44

Appendix B: Evaluation Design Pros and Cons

Evaluation Design Pros and Cons

Evaluation Design Pros Cons

Randomized Controlled Trial

Families opt-in to participate. Program randomly assigns families to the

intervention or control group.

‘Gold standard’ because

good at isolating the impact of the intervention

from other impacts

Requires technical expertise,

resources, large sample sizes Not all families who want to

participate will be selected, dissuading participation for both social workers and families

Waitlist Comparison/ “Overflow” Design

Families served on first-come, first-served basis while second group is put on

a waitlist. As new openings become available, waitlist people receive the intervention.

Helps provide more people with the

intervention if resources are limited

Good when service is clearly designed to last a short amount of time

Tricky to implement Must maintain strict control so

that families are really served on a first-come, first-served basis

so as not to introduce bias of people referring

Matched Case Comparison Design

Each intervention case is matched with another control case who matches factors as much as possible (e.g. similar

demographics, etc.).

Ensures that similar

cases are compared together

Hard to collect the same

demographic information on all clients to match the cases

Comparison Site Design

Target communities identified that are similar, and intervention and control groups are compared to each other.

Relatively easy to roll-out

and compare data

Hard to identify geographic units

that are similar enough to compare

Appendices

45

Appendix C: Data Sources and Measurements

Process Measurements Data source

1. # of youth participating in Connections program ETO touchpoint

2. # of youth attending weekly meetings with Support Coaches/#

of one-on-one meetings

ETO touchpoint

3. # of youth attending Biweekly Relationship Wellness Classes/#

of Wellness Classes

ETO touchpoint

4. # of ILS workers and case managers trained/# of training

sessions

ETO touchpoint

Formative Evaluation

Questions

Measurements Data source/

Measurement Tool

Analysis

1. Are youth satisfied with

the Connections project?

1a. Satisfaction with Connections staff

(including Coaches availability,

facilitation and Peer coaches support)

Satisfaction Survey (youth),

focus groups (youth),

interviews (staff), progress

reports, reflection notes

Frequencies of survey

results, content analysis of

surveys, focus groups and

interviews

1b. Satisfaction with Connections

curriculum (topics, usefulness,

application)

Satisfaction Survey (youth),

focus groups (youth),

interviews (staff), progress

reports, reflection notes

Frequencies of survey

results, content analysis of

surveys, focus groups and

interviews

2. What are the

characteristics of youth

who achieve positive

outcomes while

participating in

Connections?

2a. History variables and level of

connectedness for youth showing

improved relational competency

Demographics, Connections

Assessment and relational

competency tools

History variables and

Connections scores by

relational scores

2b. History variables and level of

connectedness for youth increasing

number, quality and diversity of

relationships

Demographics, Connections

Assessment and ecomap

History variables and

Connections scores by

ecomap results

Outcome Evaluation

Questions

Outcome Measurements Data source/

Measurement Tool

Analysis

4. Do youth who

participate in Connections

show improved relational

competency?

1a. #/% of youth showing

improvement in Empathy

Index of Empathy Scale

(total score)

Scores by history variables,

service intensity and

engagement

1b. #/% of youth showing

improvement in Social Conduct

Emotion Regulation Checklist

(3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 16,

17, 20, 23, 24,

Scores by history variables,

service intensity and

engagement

46

Appendix D: Sample Agenda and Meeting Notes

Sample Meeting Agenda

01/01/2011 at 3:30pm

Agenda Items

1. YMCA Program Updates

a. Program Director update

b. Coordinator updates

c. New FY planning and activities

2. Evaluation Update

a. Review progress toward program targets for client services

b. Update progress on federal report

3. Partner Updates

a. Partner 1

b. Partner 2

Sample Meeting Minutes

Meeting 27: Evaluation Study

8/8/2013

Teleconference

Meeting called by:

ORGANIZATION NAMES

Planning Meeting —

Evaluation Study

Planning Meeting— Evaluation Study

Attendees: ORGANIZATION 1 Staff: NAMES

ORGANIZATION 2 Staff: NAMES

Agenda topics

1. Report Structure

a. One report with regional sections

Discussion:

Conclusions:

Action items: Person responsible: Due Date:

Meeting Notes Pages

47

Appendix E: Sample Timeline

Task/Activity Responsible

Party

Timeline Deliverable/

Benchmark

Installation Activities

Meet with Implementation team to garner

support for Connections program and

determine roles and responsibilities of

partner agencies

YMCA January

2012

Meeting notes

Develop Youth Advisory Board for youth’s

input on planning and development of

Connections program

YMCA January

2012

Meeting notes

Consult with YMCA Human Resources to

develop job announcements and begin

hiring process

YMCA March 2012 Job announcements

Submit protocol for IRB approval H+Co March 2012 IRB Approval Letter

Work with County of San Diego to create

MOA and Court Order for dependent minors

YMCA & H+Co Aug 2012 Complete MOA and

Court Order

Consult with H+Co’s ETO Site Administrator

to plan buildout of ETO database

YMCA & H+Co Aug 2012 ETO database design

plan

Pilot eligibility tool and wellness classes YMCA & H+Co May 2012 70-80 completed tools

Review and discuss pilot results with

Implementation Team to gather feedback

and recommendations

YMCA May 2012 Meeting notes

Make any adjustments to classes or tools

based on pilot and discussion with

Implementation Team

YMCA & H+Co May 2012 Updated tools and

curriculum

Initial Implementation Activities

Hire Research Assistant YMCA May 2012 New staff

Train staff on interventions and data

collection as appropriate

YMCA May – July

2012

Fidelity checklist

Buildout ETO database H+Co Aug 2012 ETO database launch

Train ILS workers and regional ILS case

managers on eligibility screening and

consent

YMCA Aug 2012 Fidelity checklist

ILS workers and regional ILS case

managers begin screening youth for

eligibility

CWS and

regional ILS

providers

Sept 2012 Fidelity checklist

YMCA staff begin recruitment into

intervention and control groups

YMCA Sept 2012 Fidelity checklist

Initial/baseline data collection YMCA Oct 2012 Fidelity checklist

Wellness classes begin YMCA Oct 2012 Fidelity checklist

Implementation team check-in YMCA & H+Co Nov 2012 Meeting notes

Data review and QA H+Co Jan 2013 QA report

Ongoing Activities

Staff supervision (includes review of fidelity

checklists)

YMCA Ongoing Supervision notes

Meetings with the Implementation team,

Research team and Youth Advisory Board

YMCA & H+Co Ongoing Meeting notes

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Appendix F: Sample Memorandum of Agreement

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

Parties

This Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”) is made by and among Y and the County X. The parties to this MOA may be referred to herein collectively as the “parties” or individually as a “party.”

Recitals

The County provides case management and team decision making related services to its clients. The YMCA provides support to kinship caregivers and Child Welfare involved families.

The parties receive funds for the provision of certain family group decision making services to their respective clients.

The parties desire to implement and evaluate an enhanced model of Family Group Conferencing with identified families with the goal of preventing their entry or reentry into the foster care system. The parties believe this is a valuable opportunity to further identify best practices for developing family-centered services. THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals and the mutual covenants and promises set forth below, and for other good and valuable consideration, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Administration of MOA: Each party identifies the following individual to serve as the authorized

administrative representative for that party. Any party may change its administrative representative by notifying the other party in writing of such change. Any such change will become effective upon the receipt of such notice by the other party to this MOA. Notice of the authorized representative should be sent to each party as follows:

County of X

Agency Y

2. Parties’ Responsibilities

2.1. County responsibilities are outlined in the chart below, including the County’s role in both planning and implementation phases, as marked under the column header “CWS” and

described in the notes column.

49

ACTIVITY

INVOLVEMENT

(=LEAD)

PURPOSE TIMELINE NOTES

Y CWS

Planning

Attend grantee kickoff meeting

X Program & Evaluation

Nov. 15-16, 2011

Conference held in Washington D.C. Travel expenses for 1 County CWS staff

included.

Attend monthly planning meetings

X Program & Evaluation

Nov – Dec 2011

Key elements of program and evaluation implementation will be determined via this committee.

Develop Referral Process and Protocols

X Evaluation Jan2012

Y to review cascading diffusion model (ex: in Central region, start with one office and then do the other) and determine if feasible for this demonstration grant.

Y to receive orientation from County

CWS on existing data elements

tracked by County CWS to minimize data burden on families participating in services.

Implementation

Provide and collect consent to participate

Evaluation

Y Coordinator will attend either a TDM or accompany CWS SW to home visit.

YMCA Coordinator will administer consent form during this first contact with family and take the consent for with him/her. A Y administrative staff will do the randomization of the family into the intervention or control group. YMCA staff will store signed consent

forms in a locked cabinet.

Enroll Voluntary families

Use referral process

X Evaluation Jan ‘11- Sept ‘14

CWS will refer clients and YMCA will conduct the consent process.

Post Intervention

Assist in the

dissemination of the Interim and Final Project Evaluations

X X Program & Evaluation

County CWS staff will receive copies of local report to share within their circles of influence. CWS will also be invited to attend annual grantee meetings with travel costs covered by Y.

3. Indemnity

Each party agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the other participating party, their elected

officials, officers, agents, employees, and attorneys from and against any and all claims asserted or liability

established for damages or injuries to any person or property (hereinafter collectively referred to as

“Claims”) related to or arising out of this Agreement or the work performed pursuant to this Agreement, but

only to the extent such Claims arise directly or indirectly from any negligent act, error, or omission of the

participating party, its officials, employees or agents, and not including Claims caused by the concurrent

negligent act, error or omission of the other participating party or by the sole negligence or willful

misconduct of the other participating parties.

4. Confidentiality: Each party to this agreement is subject to its own confidentiality statutes, regulations, rules, or policies and procedures. Each party hereby acknowledges adherence to its own applicable confidentiality provisions in law and policy. All notes, records, discussions or any other document, in whatever format, paper or electronic are considered confidential. No records or information shall be

50

disclosed among parties prior to the receipt of the completed and signed consent form from the individual who is the subject. Each party to this agreement understands and acknowledges that there may be some case information that may not be legally disclosed outside an individual member agency, even with a valid consent from the individual client. Any records or information disclosed to other parties through the FGC

process shall not be further disclosed to any additional parties except as necessary and as permitted by law. 5. Conformance With Rules And Regulations: Y shall be in conformity with all applicable federal, State,

County, and local laws, rules, and regulations, current and hereinafter enacted, including facility and professional licensing and/or certification laws and keep in effect any and all licenses, permits, notices and certificates as are required. Y shall further comply with all laws applicable to wages and hours of employment, occupational safety, and to fire safety, health and sanitation.

6. Permits and Licenses: Y certifies that it possesses and shall continue to maintain or shall cause to be

obtained and maintained, at no cost to the County, all approvals, permissions, permits, licenses, and other forms of documentation required for it and its employees to comply with all existing foreign or domestic statutes, ordinances, and regulations, or other laws, that may be applicable to performance of services

hereunder. The County reserves the right to reasonably request and review all such applications, permits,

and licenses prior to the commencement of any services hereunder. 7. Governing Law: This MOA shall be governed, interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the

laws of the State of California. 8. Third Party Beneficiaries Excluded: This MOA is intended solely for the benefit of the County and Y. Any

benefit to any third party is incidental and does not confer on any third party to this MOA any rights

whatsoever regarding the performance of this MOA. Any attempt to enforce provisions of this MOA by third parties is specifically prohibited.

9. Amendments to MOA: Any party may propose amendments to this MOA by providing written notice of

such amendments to the other party. This MOA may only be amended by a written amendment signed by each party’s administrative.

10. Severability: If any terms or provisions of this MOA or the application thereof to any person or

circumstance shall, to any extent, be held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this MOA, or the application of such term and provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid or unenforceable, shall not be affected thereby and every other term and provision of this MOA shall be valid and enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law.

11. Scope of MOA: This MOA only applies to the program described herein and does not set forth any additional current or future obligations or agreements between the parties, except that the parties may by written amendment amend the scope of this MOA.

12. Term: This MOA shall become effective on the date all of the parties have signed this MOA and be in force

until September 29, 2014.

13. Termination For Convenience. The County may, by written notice stating the extent and effective date, terminate this MOA for convenience in whole or in part, at any time.

14. Counterparts: This MOA may be executed in any number of separate counterparts, each of which shall be

deemed an original but all of which when taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

Dates________________________________ Signature __________________________________

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Appendix G: Sample Memorandum of Agreement DATE FIRST LAST, TITLE ORGANIZATION NAME ADDRESS LINE 1

CITY, STATE, ZIP Dear Ms. LAST: This letter is to confirm our commitment to be the independent evaluator for the NAME OF demonstration project, as outlined in the ORGANIZATION NAME’s application. Our company has close

to three decades of experience supporting the nonprofit and public sector through rigorous and community-based evaluation. Our multilingual staff will be dedicated to not only providing you with a high quality evaluation to meet your federal reporting requirements, they will also collaborate to help

you understand what is working effectively and what could be improved. OUR ORGANIZATION will assess the program’s effectiveness and potential for replication. A process evaluation will assess implementation while an outcome evaluation will examine how the project

affects key outcomes of interest. We commit to the following: - Participate actively in the final program planning and implementation phase, including

comprehensive evaluation and dissemination activities. - Attend kick-off meeting and annual grantee meeting. - Pilot and refine all data collection tools, including intake and assessment tools. - Develop and monitor the Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) database. - Train program staff and partners on implementation of all data collection tools.

- Conduct all data analysis and reporting, as outlined in the application. - Provide technical assistance as needed. - Conduct a cost analysis of the program model.

Our costs for providing evaluation services are detailed for the three years- of the project in a budget

summary attached to the application. We assume responsibility for assuring our evaluation activities

stay within the contracted budget amount. A formal contract will be put in place upon notification of award formalizing these commitments. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with you on this important and exciting project. Sincerely,

FIRST LAST

52

Appendix H: Sample Data Sharing Protocol Example data sharing protocol questions that CWS may need are included below.

1) A detailed description of the data you are requesting, including any demographic

information needed, whether referral or case data and time period (e.g. last quarter

or fiscal year). Indicate if you will need raw data and/or a summary report. Data that

can be used to identify individual CWS clients will not be provided to outside groups

or agencies.

2) What question or issue will the report answer? Who is the audience?

3) Who will be the contact person in your office that can answer questions from the

CWS Data Unit and validate the data report once it is provided? Please provide the

name and phone number.

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Appendix I: Sample Referral Flow

Consent signed

Joint (CWS/YMCA) family visit for

eligible families (TDM or home visit)

YMCA randomizes and contacts both

control/intervention families to notify of

outcome

Families receive FGC and service

as usual 12 months survey

conducted

Families receive services as usual

only

CWS Supervisors

refer voluntary cases to YMCA

YMCA conducts initial

assessment of eligibility

YMCA contacts CWS to gather additional eligibility information and/or set up a joint

meeting

YMCA Families United Project Eligibility Flow Diagram:

54

Appendix H: Sample Consent Form

RESEARCH SUBJECT INFORMATION AND CONSENT FORM

TITLE: .

This consent form contains important information to help you decide whether to participate in a

research study.

The study staff will explain this study to you. Ask questions about anything that is not clear at any time. You may

take home an unsigned copy of this consent form to think about and discuss with family or friends.

Being in a study is voluntary – your choice. If you join this study, you can still stop at any time. No one can promise that a study will help you. Do not join this study unless all of your questions are answered. After reading and discussing the information in this consent form you should know: Why this research study is being done; What will happen during the study; Any possible benefits to you; The possible risks to you; Other options you could choose instead of being in this study; How your personal health information will be treated during the study and after the study is over; Whether being in this study could involve any cost to you; and What to do if you have problems or questions about this study.

Please read this consent form carefully.

Consent to Participate in a Research Study

YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing Project TITLE: YMCA Families United Family Group Conferencing: Evaluation of an

Administration for Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau funded project.

PROTOCOL NO.: SPONSOR: INVESTIGATOR:

SITE(S): STUDY-RELATED PHONE NUMBER(S): This research study is about if/how X positively impacts outcomes for families involved with Child Welfare Services (CWS). The study is being conducted by the Research studies include only people who choose to take part. Please take your time to make your decision about participating, and discuss your decision with your family or friends if you wish. If you have any questions, you may ask the researchers. You are being asked to participate in this study because you are receiving services from Why is this study being done? The reason for this study is to understand if Y approach in providing services strengthens a caregiver’s capacity to care for children in a way that promotes safety and well being while also providing home stability. How many people will take part in this study? About 720 parents will take part in this study over a three year period.

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What will happen if I take part in this research study? If you are eligible and agree to take part in the study, you will be assigned to the intervention group to receive Y services. The activities are described below: Where will the study take place? How long will I be in the study? Can I stop being in the study? What side effects or risks can I expect from being in the study? Are there benefits to taking part in the study? What other choices do I have if I do not take part in this study? What information about me will be kept private? What are the costs of taking part in this study?

Will I be paid for taking part in this study? What are my rights if I take part in this study? Who can answer my questions about the study? Consent I have read the information in this consent form (or it has been read to me). All my questions about the study and my participation in it have been answered. I freely consent to be in this research study. I authorize the release of my research records for research or regulatory purposes to the sponsor, DHHS agencies. _________________________________________ _________________ Name of Participant (printed) Date _________________________________________ _________________ Signature of Participant Date

---------------------------- Use this witness section only if applicable ------------------------- If this consent form is read to the subject because the subject is unable to read the form, an impartial witness not affiliated with the research or investigator must be present for the consent and sign the following statement: I confirm that the information in the consent form and any other written information was accurately explained to, and apparently understood by, the subject. The subject freely consented to be in the research study. _________________________________________ _________________ Signature of Impartial Witness Date Note: This signature block cannot be used for translations into another language. A translated consent form is necessary for enrolling subjects who do not speak English.

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Appendix K: Sample Timeline

Activities

Agency

Responsible Date Notes

1 Project Implementation

a Discuss and finalize timeline for closeout of referrals and project data. YMCA and H+C Jan

b Meet with Mid-City to discuss adding dependency cases with them. YMCA Feb

c Meet with YMCA coordinators to prioritize cases to pursue and closeout. YMCA Feb - Apr

d Communicate referral and data deadlines with program directors and project staff. YMCA Feb - Apr

2 Outcome Evaluation & Project Data

a Last data to enter new referrals (allows for 4 months to complete referral by data collection end-date July 30) - early April

b Request county export data H+C early April

c Coordinators work to exit all clients. YMCA Apr - Julyd Deadline to close all cases and input client information into ETO. YMCA July 30, 2014

e ETO system locked; no more information can be entered into system from this point forward - September 5, 2014

f ETO project data reviewed and cleaned H+C September 12, 2014 is this enough time?

g Mid-year analysis and report writing H+C/YMCA Sept - Oct is this enough time?

i Analyze all year project data H+C Sept - Oct

j Conduct comprehensive analysis of results H+C Nov - Dec

3 DeliverablesProject end-date September 30, 2014

a Mid-year report deadline October 30, 2014

b Final report deadline December 30, 2014

YMCA FGC: Project Closeout Timeline (Feb - Dec '14)

57

Appendix L: Federal Program Improvement Plan (PIP)

Child Welfare Services’ Program Improvement Plan (PIP) elements that have

potential for Effective Reform to achieve lasting results.

1. The new focus on outcomes provides a shared set of expectations and

vision about what child welfare should be achieving.

2. A clear emphasis on the role of frontline practice in achieving outcomes

means that program improvement can be aimed at the essence of child

welfare services.

3. Combining data analysis and quality assurance holds promise of making

these two previously discrepant tools of child welfare service assessment

more powerful and effective.

4. Expanding engagement and responsibility to include many new

stakeholders increases commitment, energy, and insight to achieve

positive change.

5. Accountability that is bi-directional toward the federal government and

horizontal toward the communities on whose behalf child welfare services

are provided ensures longer-term support.

6. All states must engage in program improvement that is continuous and

comprehensive and addresses the entire spectrum of child welfare

services, not just single parts.

families united family group conferencing ... - child welfare

Documents