Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-172.2

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 10, November 13, 2024

Rule 441-172.2 - Purpose and scope

Family-centered services are services designed to prevent the child from entering foster care and to assist the family when the needs of the child, parent, or kinship caregiver are directly related to the safety, permanency, or well-being of the child. The outcome of the services may be to maintain the child with a parent or in the home of the kinship caregiver, to reunify the child safely with a parent or kinship caregiver, or to achieve permanent family connections for the child.

(1) Family-centered services provide interventions and supports based on identified needs of children and families that have come to the agency's attention because of:

a. Evaluation of the findings of a child abuse assessment report and the family's risk assessment score; or

b. The child's adjudication as a child in need of assistance pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.2; or

c. The child's placement out of home under the agency's care and supervision.

(2) Family-centered services shall be designed to:

a. Identify and build on the family's strengths and enhance the family's protective capacities;

b. Address the risk factors that affect the child's safety, permanency, and well-being;

c. Strengthen family connections to community resources and informal support systems in order to promote greater self-reliance; and

d. Remain culturally competent and respectful of the family's cultural, ethnic, and racial identity and values.

(3) Family-centered services shall utilize evidence-based interventions to the greatest possible extent.

(4) Family-centered services shall include the following persons:

a. A child eligible for services under this rule, as defined by the agency;

b. Any sibling of that child who resides in the same household at the time of service referral or moves into the household during the service delivery period; and

c. A parent, stepparent, or kinship caregiver of the child.

(5) Family-centered services shall include SBC for agency child welfare service cases when criteria in subrule 172.2(1) are met.

(6) Based on child and family needs, a child and family with an open agency child welfare service case that are receiving SBC may also be approved to receive the following additional services, which are referred separately:

a. SafeCare®.

b. Family preservation services.

c. Solution focused meeting (SFM) and youth transition decision-making (YTDM) meeting facilitation.

(7) Case management. During the time that a child and the child's family are approved to receive family-centered services on an open agency child welfare service case, the agency worker shall be responsible for maintaining contact with the child and family to ensure that:

a. The factors that present risks of harm to the safety and well-being of all children in the family are being adequately addressed; and

b. Services and supports are in place to achieve the child's permanency goal.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-172.2

ARC 9491B, lAB 5/4/11, effective 7/1/11

Amended by IAB November 4, 2020/Volume XLIII, Number 10, effective 1/1/2021

Amended by IAB March 8, 2023/Volume XLV, Number 18, effective 5/1/2023