18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-C-I
The Mississippi Department of Human Services will hereinafter be known as "MDHS" and its Division of Family and Children's Services hereinafter will be known as "DFCS".
The purpose of Prevention and Protection Services is to enable a child to remain safely at home with family. Prevention Services and In-Home Protection Services are services provided to families for whom the determination has been made that a child is unsafe or that an unacceptable level of risk of harm to a child is present within the context of the family.
The merit of policy is judged by the degree to which its subjects experience the intended outcomes of that policy, not by the extent to which the requirements of policy are applied. The success of a policy directed toward families and children can only be determined by the impact of that policy felt by the family and the child, which include the achievement of desirable outcomes for the family, but also in the effect on the family and the child by the process, and the means by which those outcomes are achieved.
Family-Centered Practice supports the sanctity of the family unit, while recognizing that every child and every family is unique. Consequently, the application of policy in developing and implementing strategies of Prevention and Protection must be individualized to address the unique needs of each family and child.
Family-Centered Practice policy cannot and will not be effective, and desirable outcomes for children will not be achieved without steadfast faithfulness to the principles and viewpoint that:
* Children belong with their families;
* The family of a child is an integral and essential facet of the child's life and existence upon which the child's well-being, safety and security, permanency and stability, health, and happiness are dependent;
* The child and family are one entity; and
* When abuse, neglect, or maltreatment to a child occurs within a family, the victim is the family unit as a whole.
For Prevention and Protection services to be effective in achieving the desired outcomes, a full and unwavering commitment by the Worker and supervisor to the principles of Family-Centered Practice must be clear and evident in every aspect of service planning and provision.
In responding to reports of abuse and neglect or intakes concerning the safety of children, DFCS focuses first and foremost on issues of safety of and harm to children within the family unit. When considering intervention in the family, the Worker must also consider the issues of permanency and family well-being.
In the initial investigative/assessment phase of response to reports, as well as in the provision of Prevention and Protection Services as a continuation of the initial response, the purpose of intervention is to assure child safety and reduce the risk of harm to the child.
According to www.dictionary.com definitions:
* Safe is "secure from hurt, injury, danger or risk";
* Risk is "exposure to the chance of injury? a dangerous chance"
For purpose of child welfare policy, the definitions will mean:
* Safe is a condition in which the threat of serious harm is not present or imminent or the protective capacities of the family are sufficient to protect the child;
* Risk refers to the likelihood that maltreatment may occur in the future.
The family structure, dynamics, and living environment, will have either positive or negative influences on issues of safety and risk. DFCS intervention aims to reduce or eliminate the factors which cause harm to a child.
Children are kept safe through the prevention of harm. Harm may be caused by abuse, neglect or exploitation and also may be caused by the trauma of removal from the family - by the actual act of separation as well as by the resulting impermanency felt by a child when removal occurs.
Safety planning is initiated at the determination that a child is unsafe or at imminent risk of harm. That determination evolves into individualized service planning in Prevention and Protection cases, drawing from, adding to, and intertwined with the Comprehensive Family Assessment
(CFA). The development of a trusting and honest relationship with the family is of the essence in the provision of services.
The Mississippi Practice Model definition of safety assurance and risk management assumes that children should live in a safe and permanent home with their own families whenever possible, and that any interventions should assist families to care for and nurture their children. Practice, service provision, and intervention from the initial contact with the family must be focused toward that end. Success is dependent on the relationship developed with the family by the Worker and DFCS.
Safety plans are required if there are concerns about a child's safety. Resources and services shall be obtained immediately if there are unmet basic needs.
Child safety is managed through a Safety Plan with In-Home Prevention and Protection cases when there are active safety factors that have been identified. Safety Plans are intended to control safety factors and the service planning process is used to address the changes needed to eliminate identified safety factors. The parent(s) should, to the extent possible, be in agreement with whatever plans are made and whatever options are decided upon. Although the safety of the child remains in the forefront of planning and decision-making, issues of permanency and family well-being must be considered at every juncture of the planning process, and the impact on the child of being removed from the home and separated from parent(s) must remain highly visible when options and alternatives are considered and evaluated.
When removal of a child from the home appears to be imminent in terms of the options available, the FTM becomes indispensable as a methodology for assuring the best interests of the child and family are being served. Only with input from all family members as well as extended family, friends, and other informal supports concerned about the family, can all options and alternatives be identified and considered in making decisions regarding the family.
Federal and state laws require that reasonable efforts be made to prevent removal unless:
Family-Centered Practice provides the DFCS Worker with the guiding principles, the foundation, and the methodology to make reasonable efforts to prevent removal and to keep families intact. Family-Centered Practice further provides the Worker with the institutional and organizational backing and support through the specification in DFCS policy (see Section D) that it is not only proper and appropriate to allow children to remain in families where they have been mistreated but that it is a violation of law and policy not to make efforts to:
Through the immediate engagement of family and by means via Family Team Meetings (FTM), family strengths and support systems (including extended family and friends) are identified. These strengths and support systems, coupled with community services which will help parent(s)/guardian to develop and implement strategies and safety plans to safely care for their children and reduce the risk of future maltreatment. This process of engagement, relationship building, and problem solving constitutes child welfare practice in the Family Centered Practice environment of DFCS.
Consequently, in responding to reports of abuse and neglect the Worker will employ reasonable efforts to prevent removal of children from their families. The implementation and execution of the Family-Centered Practice- immediate engagement, relationship building, and problem solving through Family Team Meetings (FTM), and the provision of the most beneficial and least intrusive service to maintain a child's safety constitutes "reasonable efforts."
The Comprehensive Family Assessment (CFA) is essential in the effort to achieve desirable outcomes related to safety, permanency, and well-being. CFA is founded in and dependent on critical and analytical thinking applied to the issues identified during the investigation and initial assessment, the information revealed from safety and risk assessments, the identification of the individualized needs of the family, and the identification of the strengths and protective capacities of the family.
The identification of causes of issues and analysis of underlying issues are essential in CFA which is necessary to begin an effective plan of service delivery and continues throughout the life of a case.
The CFA is completed by the Worker in MACWIS and submitted to the ASWS for approval within thirty (30) calendar days of case opening and any time there is a Review, Add/Change, or Final ISP.
In order for service planning and the provision of services to be successful in preventing removal and allowing the child to remain safely with the family, effective assessment of safety and risk factors is essential. Identification of family strengths is essential. Understanding the incident of maltreatment and the causes of such maltreatment is essential.
The future of the case with DFCS including matters of permanency for children and family well-being are hinged on the activities and decisions included in the provision of service to the family at this critical point.
The Family-Centered Practice approach is designed to solve problems enabling children to remain safely with their families.
Initial face-to-face engagement with the family by the Worker committed to the values and philosophy of Family-Centered Practice, respectful and fair, honest and open, understanding and non-judgmental, is the key leading to effective service provision and desirable outcomes.
Issues of permanency and family well-being must be considered at every juncture of the planning process, and the impact on the child of being removed from the home and separated from parents must remain highly visible when options and alternatives are considered and evaluated.
Child well-being includes the provision of appropriate medical, mental health and educational services to children. Such needs will have been identified through the assessment process and services to address any identified well-being needs will be reflected in the case plan.
Within the Mississippi DFCS Family-Centered Practice service continuum, Prevention and Protection Services - In-Home Services - provide the arena in which the Worker and DFCS can focus on the family with innovative, flexible, and individualized services in concerted efforts and strategies to achieve outcomes of safety, permanency, and family well-being while keeping the family intact, thereby avoiding the permanent and devastating trauma and damage to the child and to the family of separation and removal.
Although the safety of the child is paramount - that is, safety takes precedence over any and all other factors - some risk will always exist for all children no matter where they are. A condition or state of being and feeling safe for a child must include matters of well-being, permanency, stability, security, the normalcy of growing up at home with family. No loss can be any more damaging emotionally and psychologically to a child than the loss of his or her family.
18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-C-I