Md. Code Regs. 07.02.01.01

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 12, June 14, 2024

Section 07.02.01.01 - Purpose and Goals

A. The purpose of In-Home Family Services is to:

(1) Promote the safety and well-being of children and their families;

(2) Preserve family unity where children's safety can be supported;

(3) Maintain permanency for children; and

(4) Empower families to achieve or sustain independence and self-sufficiency.

B. The goals of In-Home Family Services include:

(1) Enhancing the parents' ability to create a safe, stable, and nurturing home environment that promotes healthy child development;

(2) Preventing out-of-home placement of children when safety can be promoted to a sufficient proportion; and

(3) Providing, referring to, and coordinating services needed to achieve or maintain family safety, stability, independence, and unity.

C. The Department provides a continuum of service programs designed to achieve the purposes and goals of In-Home Family Services and meet the needs of individual families. The programs include:

(1) Services to Families with Children-Central Intake (SFC-I) or Family Support Services (FSS), as described in Regulation .04 of this chapter;

(2) Services to Families with Children-Continuing (SFC-C), as described in Regulation .05 of this chapter;

(3) Intensive Family Services (IFS), as described in Regulation .06 of this chapter;

(4) Families Now, as described in Regulation .07 of this chapter;

(5) Continuing Protective Services, as described in Regulation .08 of this chapter; and

(6) Consolidated Family Services, as described in Regulation .09 of this chapter.

D. In each program specified in §C of this regulation, services shall be:

(1) Child safety based;

(2) Family focused;

(3) Dedicated to work with families as partners;

(4) Built on respect of the family;

(5) Designed to build on family strengths and unity within the context of the family's culture and community;

(6) Dedicated to prevent, reduce, or eliminate behaviors, institutional practices, and community conditions that may place a child, family, or community at risk of maltreatment;

(7) Primarily provided in the home or community;

(8) Flexible and based on the changing needs of families and children at various times in their lives;

(9) Timely; and

(10) Designed to achieve measurable outcomes.

E. The local department may terminate services with the family at any time during the course of the intervention when:

(1) The goals have been met and the safety issues have been resolved;

(2) There has been a referral to another unit or agency for service; or

(3) The family declines or fails to accept service, safety is not an issue, and other intervention is not warranted.

Md. Code Regs. 07.02.01.01

Regulations .01 adopted effective January 8, 1990 (16:26 Md. R. 2787)
Regulations .01 adopted effective September 2, 2002 (29:17 Md. R. 1377)