0400-503.10 | Revision Date: 05/02/19
Overview
This policy reviews the face-to-face contact requirements for Emergency Response, Family Maintenance, Family Reunification, and Permanent Placement.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Children Residing Out of State
Contact with the Child -- Referral Investigations
Continuing Services -- Continuing Services
Contact with the Parent/Legal Guardian
Contact with the Out-of-Home Care Provider
Contact with Service Providers
Attempted Contacts on Emergency Response Referrals
Family Reunification/Permanent Placement
A Family is Not Seen at the Initial Contact on a Referral
Obtaining a Parent/Guardian Contact Exception
A DCFS Supervised Child is Receiving Child Care from an Unlicensed Provider
Version Summary
This policy guide was updated from the 02/25/16 version to provide additional clarification regarding referral investigations and home visit requirements.
More than 50 percent of monthly visits with a child placed in a group home or a licensed, certified, or approved foster home must take place in the child’s home or placement. The CSW must inform the child that they can request a visit outside the home or group home. If a child requests to have a visit outside the home, that visit will not replace the visit in the home. Face-to-face contacts with either the child and/or parent outside of the home should be the exception, rather than the rule.
Visits held outside the home or group home require that the contact and the next scheduled court report state:
During visits with children placed in group homes or foster homes, including the homes of relatives and extended family members, CSWs are required to have a private discussion with the child outside the presence and immediate vicinity of the parent/caretaker. The contents of these discussions are not to be shared with the caretaker unless:
The fact that this private discussion took place must be documented in the Contact Notebook.
It is the CSWs responsibility to monitor that the home continues to be free from safety hazards and meets the basic safety needs of the child.
If there are new individuals in the home or someone new is having significant contact with the child, the CSW must inform the RFA CSW/SCSW and conduct a Live-Scan and CLETS on the individual(s). RFA CSW/SCSW information may be obtained through CWS/CMS.
If the results of these clearances indicate a crime other than a minor traffic violation and the conviction(s) cannot be exempted, he/she must leave the residence or the child should be removed from the home.
California is a participant in the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) and therefore has reciprocal relationships with states and territories governing the protection and support of children placed across state lines.
The California sending agency must document in CWS/CMS all reported visits made to a California child by caseworkers in a receiving state. No visits are required by the California-based agency if all of the following apply:
Children are not to be placed in an out-of-state group home prior to approval and certification by the CDSS Out-of-State Placement Policy (OSPP) Unit.
Agencies receiving out-of-state children for placement in California are responsible for complying with the visit and reporting requirements specified in the ICPC.
Monthly visitation and service requirements apply to NMDs placed both in- and out-of-state. Counties may request courtesy supervision through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) for nonminor dependents who are attending college or residing in an appropriate out-of-state placement.
However, not all states will accept an ICPC request or provide services/supervision for children in foster care beyond age 18. All efforts must be made to make arrangement for the supervision of NMDs, even if it requires contracting with a private agency in another state. Visits must be face to face; video conferencing and Skyping are not considered acceptable methods for conducting monthly visits.
CSWs must contact the ICPC unit at (213) 765-2680 prior to placing a NMD out-of-state or recommending that a foster youth be placed out-of-state as a NMD in order to verify how the monthly contacts can be completed.
Because placement options for NMDs may involve roommates, CSWs must remain flexible in scheduling visits so as to respect the NMD’s privacy while still meeting the federal requirement of visitation in the place of residence.
The purpose of social worker contact with the child during a referral investigation is to determine the following:
The purpose of social worker contact with the child is to assess the safety and well-being of the child and to achieve the following:
The purpose of the social worker contact with the parent/guardian is to:
The purpose of the social worker contact with the out-of-home care provider is to:
CSWs are to have ongoing contact with any other professional working with the child, parents/guardians, and out-of-home care provider who can provide insight on the needs or progress of the family.
The purpose of this contact is to:
CSWs are to make necessary collateral contacts with persons having knowledge of the condition of the children that will help in understanding the nature and extent of the alleged child abuse/neglect, and in the ongoing assessment of the risk to, and safety of, the child. Residents within the family home should be interviewed, (but are not to be solely considered as collaterals) in the disposition of a referral or to assess for safety as part of ongoing case management.
Examples of pertinent collateral contacts include:
Child aged 0-59 months |
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School Age Child |
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Referrals with open cases or history of open cases or referrals |
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Other examples |
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Contact With | Contact Requirement |
Child | At least one (1) in-person contact with each child/youth is required, regardless of allegation conclusion, if the referral is going to be closed.*
If the referral will be promoted to a case, the following requirements apply:
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Parent/ Guardian/ Caregiver | At least one (1) face-to-face contact is required in the first thirty (30) days.*
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* Child abuse investigations must be completed within thirty (30) calendar days of the initial face-to-face contact.
When a referral is going to be closed after only one (1) in-person contact, the CSW and SCSW must have a case conference within three (3) business days to discuss the investigative work plan and next steps. SCSWs must document the details of the case conference, work plan, and rationale for closure with one (1) visit in the CWS/CMS Contact Notebook (i.e., select "Consult with Staff Person" as the Contact Purpose, select "Staff Person/Staff Person" as the Contact Party Type, click the + sign to add Participants and change the Select Participants/ParticipantDPSS term for person receiving services. Type drop-down menu to "Staff Persons," and select the specific staff members involved).
If any barriers to timely closure of a referral arise during the investigation, they should be immediately discussed with the SCSW and documented by the Supervising Children's Social Worker (SCSW) in CWS/CMS.
If a referral has not been closed within the required thirty (30) day period, additional follow-up actions (including, but not limited to, additional contacts, interviews, phone calls, documentation gathering to justify the disposition, etc.) should be discussed in a case conference with a SCSW. (This case conference must be docmented in CWS/CMSby the SCSW.) Since not all referrals will require the same investigative steps, in light of the flexibility allowed by the Individualized Investigation Narrative, CSWs and SCSWs should use sound social work practice and critical thinking skills in determining any remaining actions needed to conclude the investigative process. A work plan should be updated a minimum of every thirty (30) days, or more if the initial work plan requires modifications.
Contact requirements are the minimum and visits should be completed as frequently as necessary to ensure the parent, child and caregiver's safety and well-being.
Prior to closing a referral where attempts to locate the family have been unsuccessful, CSWs must clearly document that all reasonable efforts have been made to locate the family. All viable leads must be followed-up on and attempts to locate the family should be made as indicated below at different times of the day and night.
Second Attempt | Additional Attempts | |
Immediate* | Within twenty four (24)** hours of the first attempt | Until face-to-face contact is made or until all possible resources have been exhausted. |
Five (5) Day* | Within three (3) business days of the first attempt | At least once a week until face-to-face contact is made or until all possible resources have been exhausted. |
*If a reliable source states that the child will not be available for a period of time (e.g., child is on vacation) an attempt to see the child must be made within one (1) business day following the child’s anticipated return.
**When additional attempts cannot be made because the following day is a weekend or holiday, the SCSW must obtain approval from the ARA to forward the referral to ERCP or obtain approval to “downgrade” the next attempt to the next business day.
Contact With | Time Frame | Contact Requirement |
Child | First 3 Months | At least two (2)face-to-face contacts every 30 days |
Child | After first 3 months | At least one (1) face-to-face contact a month |
Parent/ Guardian | First 3 Months | At least two (2) face-to-face contacts a month |
Parent/ Guardian | After first 3 months | One (1) face-to-face contact each month |
Exceptions:
For Voluntary Family Maintenance contact requirements, please refer to the Court Family Maintenance and Voluntary Family Maintenance.
While monthly face-to-face contact with parents may not be necessary if Family Reunification is terminated, contact with parents should continue to meet the current circumstances of the case (e.g., regular visitation, plan for contact in permanency, helping the child reach their permanency goal, etc.).
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Manual of Policies and Procedures allows visitation exceptions for children in out-of-home care. However, to ensure the safety of children, the Department has decided not to utilize and approve face-to-face exceptions for children receiving FR or PP services.
Contact with | Contact Requirement |
Child or NonminorDependent (NMD) residing in out-of-home placement with relative, foster family or legal guardian. |
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Nonminor Dependent (NMD)A current dependent child or ward of the juvenile court, or a nonminor under the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court, who: has attained 18 years of age while under an order of foster care placement by the juvenile court; is in foster care under the placement and care responsibility of the county welfare department, county probation department, Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization; is participating in a transitional independent living case. Defined by WIC 11400(v). residing in a Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP)SILP is a supervised and approved placement that is part of the Extended Foster Care program. SILP is a flexible and the least restrictive placement setting. It can include: an apartment (alone or with roommates); shared living situations; room and board arrangements; room rented from a landlord, friend or relative, or former caregiver; or college dorms.. |
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Child or NMD residing in group home or Community Treatment Center. |
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Child or NMD residing out-of-state. |
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Child residing in home of non-dependency legal guardian. |
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Child or NMD whose whereabouts are unknown. | No visits required if ALL of the following apply:
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Parent/Legal Guardian |
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Parent/Legal Guardian who is unavailable for monthly visits. |
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Parent/Legal Guardian whose whereabouts are unknown. |
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Parent/Legal Guardian not part of the case plan. |
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Out-of-Home Caregiver |
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Exceptions:
Face-to Face Contact With | Time Frame | Purpose of Contact |
Parent/Caregiver | Maximum of 15 calendar days prior to electronic transfer of a case. | To verify the assigning address. |
Child/NMD | Within 15 calendar days prior to electronic transfer of a case. | To assess safety and risk level of the child. |
Family | 10 calendar days from electronic assignment of a transferred case. | New CSW to introduce self to family and provide services. |
Complete a face-to-face contact with the child at the child care site within thirty (30) days of learning of the child care arrangement and once every six (6) months thereafter as one of the monthly contact requirements.
DCFS-supervised children (court and non-court) cannot remain in an unlicensed, non-license exempt child care facility. The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Community Care Licensing (CCL) licenses child care facilities. If a CSW discovers a child under DCFS supervision is receiving regular child care (more than four (4) hours one day per week), a determination must be made that the child care provider has been licensed or is license-exempt. Health and Safety Code Section 1596.792 lists all license-exempt facilities.
All contacts, including attempted contacts (i.e., face-to-face, telephone, letter, e-mail, etc.) must be documented in CWS/CMS within three (3) business days of the date the contact took place (this includes the date of the contact). Document all observations, not opinions. In situations where a child’s health or safety is a concern the contact should be entered into CWS/CMS immediately.
The standards for documenting contacts provide CSWs with a framework for documenting observations, activities, actions taken, etc. to ensure child safety, reasonable efforts, timely permanency, and compliance with California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Manual of Policies and Procedures (MPP) Division 31 Sections 31-320 through 31-335. The standards are also designed to support CSWs with court reports and provide other DCFS staff with a clear picture of the case so that they can provide appropriate services. Standards are also helpful to Managers and SCSW’s as they ensure that CSWs have:
The standards set forth in this guide are not meant to limit the level of documentation necessary to verify that the safety and/or quality of life of a child has been adequately assessed.
In order to meet the Federal requirement of capturing data for Family Engagement Efforts (FEE), the State has issued a list of family engagement activities which should be captured in CWS/CMS as a Contact, under Associated Services. The list of FEE and activity definitions is available in ACIN 67-09.
CWS/CMS Guide - Creating a Contact
DCFS 110, Application for Waiver of Face-to-Face Contact
DCFS 324, Protective Services Subsidized Child Care Referral
DCFS 670, Parent Contact Letter
DCFS Investigation Narrative Template
0070-548.10, Disposition of Allegations and Closure of Emergency Response Referrals
0070-559.10, Clearances
0070-548.24, Structured Decision Making (SDM)
0080-506.10, Identifying and Arranging Appropriate Services for Children and Families
0100-520.11, Home Approvals Not Meeting Title 22 Approval Standards
0100-520.70, Exemptions for Criminal History Records
0100-525.10, Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)
1000-504.10, Case Transfer Criteria and Procedures
Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 1596.792 – Provides a list of license-exempt facilities.
HSC Section 1536.1 – Defines a placement agency and states when a placement agency must report concerns to Community Care Licensing and the responsibilities of CCL to investigate.
Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Sections 16516.5 &16516.6 – Requires that foster children placed in group homes or any licensed, certified or approved foster home be visited regularly by a social worker or probation officer, away from the immediate vicinity of the caregiver(s), and that the contents of the discussion be kept in confidence by the social worker or probation officer, except under certain circumstances such as the child’s consent or the believe that the child may be in danger of harming oneself or others. Prohibits more than 2 consecutive monthly visits from being held outside the residence, if the visits does not occur in the place of residence, requires the social worker or probation officer to document in the case file and in the court report the location of the visit and the reason for the visit occurring outside the place of residence. The social worker or probation officer is required to advise the foster child that he or she has the right to request that the private discussion occur outside the group home or foster home.
California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Manual of Policies and Procedures (MPP) Division 31-002 – “Contact” means contact in person, in writing, or by telephone by a social worker or other person authorized by the Division 31 regulations to make case contacts with the child, parent(s)/guardian(s), out-of-home care providers, and/or other persons involved in the case plan.
CDSS MPP Division 31-125 – States requirements for making an in person child abuse investigation.
CDSS MPP Division 31-320 – States requirements for frequency, purpose and criteria for Social Worker/Probation Officer contacts with the child.
CDSS MPP Division 31-325 – States requirements for frequency, purpose and criteria for Social Workers Contacts with the Parent/Guardian.
CDSS MPP Division 31-330 – States requirements for frequency, purpose and criteria for Social Workers Contacts with the Out-of-Home Care Provider.
CDSS MPP Division 31-335 – States requirements for frequency, purpose and criteria for Social Workers Contacts with the Other Services Providers.