Ala. Admin. Code r. 660-5-47-.04

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 8, May 31, 2024

Section 660-5-47-.04 - General Guidelines

The Department's response to the needs of children and families is initially determined at intake based upon the reason for referral. Children and families are served by the Department based upon their unique strengths and needs with individualized services to address identified needs. This process may not occur as neatly or in the order described. The achievement of outcomes is essential and the elements of the ISP process are designed to support those outcomes.

(1) ISPs will be completed for all children and families for whom a case is opened for on-going child welfare services and the Department is involved in the planning and/or delivery of those services.

(a) The ISP will be a single, family-focused document which includes all the family members as well as any children in out-of-home care placements.

(b) When children are being served in their own homes, the primary focus of the ISP is on safety and health, protecting the children from abuse and neglect, and enabling the children to safely remain at home and achieve permanency and stability in their living situation.

(c) When children are in out-of-home care, the primary focus is on enabling them to safely return home, and when that is not possible, to locate and finalize a safe, stable permanent living situation that supports the children's relationship with family and other individuals who play a significant role in their lives. Parents and primary caregivers must be informed about ASFA's timeframes for achieving permanency and that the individualized service plan they develop with their child and family planning team will identify detailed information on how permanency can be achieved. When children are living in out-of-home care pursuant to a court order granting DHR custody or an Agreement For Foster Care (DHR-FCS-731), child welfare staff shall provide parents and legal custodians with a copy of the pamphlet, Parents of Children in Foster Care, no later than the first ISP meeting following the children's entry into care.

(d) When a court order has prohibited all contact with the parents, a family focused ISP is still required. Contact with siblings should still occur.

(e) When parental rights have been terminated, children maintain the right to visit and communicate with their families.

(2) ISPs are not required for court-ordered home evaluations where DHR's involvement with the family is limited to preparation of a court report and the provision of any testimony related to the report; or for cases involving children whose adoption has been finalized and the case remains open for subsidy purposes, and no other services are being provided.

(3) The child and family planning team, also known as the ISP team, works in partnership to develop, review and revise ISPs; and the team is responsible for identifying strengths and needs; establishing goals; matching steps and services to needs; monitoring service delivery; and evaluating the ISP's effectiveness.

(a) Team composition shall include, at a minimum, the age-appropriate children; the parents (i.e., custodial and non-custodial); the DHR worker; the primary caregiver or the foster care provider (for children in out-of-home care); and other individuals requested by the children or family (e.g., friends, neighbors, advocates).

1. Foster parents may request that a person be present at ISP meeting to serve as a volunteer advocate. An advocate's presence must be agreed upon, prior to each meeting, by the parents and age-appropriate children. Requests from foster parents must be made in sufficient time for child welfare staff to discuss the request with the parents/age-appropriate children and reach a decision about the advocate's attendance.

(b) County Departments shall ensure that the ISP team for each child and family includes a DHR child welfare staff person who is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, individualized services to meet the needs of the child and family; and who has the authority to commit DHR resources or has immediate access, during the ISP team meeting, to a child welfare staff person who has such authority.

1. When authorization requires commitment of DHR resources and the team is unable to reach agreement during the ISP meeting, child welfare staff shall discuss the impact with the family and affected team members.

(4) Children and families have the right to participate in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of services.

(a) The family's right to participate may be restricted by the child and family planning team if the family's involvement places the child(ren) or other team members in danger or if the family's involvement significantly inhibits attainment of the child(ren)'s permanency goal.

(b) A foster parent's right and a foster parent advocate's right to participate in ISP meetings may be restricted by the child and family planning team if that foster parent's involvement (1) places the children or other team members in danger or (2) significantly inhibits attainment of the children's permanency goal. Foster parents may not be restricted from attending ISP meetings because of their view about strengths, needs, or services, or their displeasure or dissatisfaction with DHR or a provider's activities.

(c) Child welfare staff shall identify all restrictions and thoroughly document the circumstances surrounding the need for the restrictions in the case narrative. The documentation must include, at a minimum, an assessment of the nature of the relationship between child welfare staff, other ISP members, and the foster parent; the nature of the relationship between the foster parent and the children in the home; and how the restriction is impacting the children's placement in the foster home.

(5) Personal identifying information on children and family members will not be disclosed by ISP team members to individuals who are not part of the team unless the age-appropriate child(ren) and the parent(s) have given consent. Effort(s) to obtain the signed consent of individuals whose situations are to be discussed and the consent of the individual, agency or organization providing the information prior to the meeting.

(6) Confidentiality is to be discussed at each ISP meeting with the team members being asked to sign a statement of confidentiality pursuant to § 38-2-6(8) of the Code of Ala. 1975. The first page of the ISP form is used to record team members' attendance and agreement to confidentiality.

(a) DHR and the child and family planning team will abide by the age-appropriate children's and parents' wishes regarding the release of information or records.

(b) If consent is withheld and the information is needed by the team for planning with the child(ren) and family, the court may be asked to order the information's release.

(c) Consent of the age-appropriate child(ren) and parent(s) is not required when it is necessary to disclose personal identifying information and share relevant information in order to protect the child(ren); when personal identifying information is disclosed to the Court, other DHR staff, and other individuals as authorized by law; when relevant information is needed for the attainment of decree goals; and when a court of competent jurisdiction has overridden the wishes of the age-appropriate child(ren) and parent(s).

(7) Sufficient advance notice of the date, time, and location of each ISP meeting shall be provided to all team members to allow them to prepare for and participate in the meetings.

(a) Written notification is required for custodial and non-custodial parents, foster parents (includes all foster care providers), preadoptive parents and relative caregivers. The remaining team members may receive either verbal or written notification. When the parents or children request that an advocate of their choice participate in the meeting, child welfare staff shall provide that advocate with reasonable notice of the meeting date, time and location. If the advocate is unable to attend the scheduled meeting, child welfare staff will make appropriate arrangements for the advocate's participation after consulting with the child's Guardian Ad Litem and/or the family member requesting the advocate's presence.

(8) A written copy of the ISP shall be provided to age-appropriate children and their parents as well as all other team members at the conclusion of the ISP meeting, and if this is not feasible, the plan shall be distributed to the team within ten (10) working days of the date the meeting was held.

(9) ISPs serve as children's case plans and may be presented to the court at every judicial review (including permanency hearings) and to the review panel at every administrative review.

(a) The ISP shall include a determination of the continuing necessity for and appropriateness of the child's placement; a discussion of the extent to which all the ISP team members have implemented the plan, and identification of any steps and goals which have been achieved; a summary of progress made toward meeting the needs of the child and the family in order to alleviate the necessity for placement; and the anticipated date by which the child will return home or achieve another identified permanency goal.

(10) Comprehensive family assessments are essential to the development of successful ISPs which are designed to achieve the desired outcome of safety, permanency, stability and overall well-being.

(a) Children's safety and health emotional and mental) are paramount concerns, and the ISP must clearly state safety and health needs and how they will be addressed.

(b) Safety plans shall be developed to protect children whose safety is threatened. If a safety plan is in effect at the time an ISP meeting is held, it shall be reviewed to determine that it is functioning as intended.

(11) Placement decisions will be directly related to each child's permanency goal, and when children are unable to safely remain at home through the provision of services, relative resources must be assessed prior to placement.

(a) Children shall be referred to and placed in out-of-home care resources which adhere to Departmental standards and R.C. Consent Decree principles.

(12) ISPs shall be designed to achieve timely permanence and stability in children's living situations, and this requires appropriate and quality service planning and delivery from the beginning of work with children and their families. An early decision about the need for concurrent planning shall be made and reviewed at each ISP meeting.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 660-5-47-.04

New Rule: Filed September 6, 2000; effective October 11, 2000. Repealed and New Rule: Filed August 4, 2006; effective September 8, 2006.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXVI, Issue No. 06, March 30, 2018, eff. 4/22/2018.

Author: Shawanda Harris

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 12-15-311, 12-15-312, 12-15-314, 12-15-315, 41-22-5, 41-22-6; The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, (PL The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 ( PL 96-272); The Adoption and Safe Families Act (PL 105-89); R.C. v Hornsby, No 88-H-1170-N, Consent Decree (M.D. Ala. Approved December 18, 1991).