Father Engagement
0080-506.11 | Revision Date: 4/15/2022

Overview

This policy was designed to strengthen existing practice guidelines around identifying, locating/finding, engaging, assessing, servicing, and releasing to fathers (as well as paternal relatives) who play a significant factor in increasing reunification and increasing timely permanency, making progress toward reducing implicit bias and decreasing disproportionate entries into care.

Table of Contents

Version Summary

This policy is designed to strengthen practice guidelines around identifying, locating/finding, engaging, assessing, servicing, and releasing children to their fathers (as well as paternal relatives) who play a significant factor in increasing reunification and increasing timely permanency, making progress toward reducing implicit bias, decreasing disproportionate entries into care and reducing trauma to children. The legal requirements of the father engagement policy exists in other policies within the child welfare policy manual though this procedural guide represents the first effort by DCFS to collect and incorporate father engagement requirements and practice into a single comprehensive format.

POLICY

Goals of Father Engagement Policy

The goal of the policy is to strengthen practice guidelines around identifying, locating/finding, engaging, assessing, servicing, and releasing to fathers (as well as paternal relatives) who play a significant factor in increasing reunification and increasing timely permanency, making progress toward reducing implicit bias, decreasing disproportionate entries into care and reducing trauma to children.

Background

The Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) enables the federal Children’s Bureau to: (1) ensure conformity with federal child welfare requirements; (2) determine what is actually happening to children and families as they are engaged in child welfare services; and (3) assist states in enhancing their capacity to help children and families achieve positive outcomes. Ultimately, the goal of the reviews is to help states improve child welfare services and achieve better outcomes for families and children. The Program Improvement Plan (PIP) is developed after the CFSR is concluded to address any challenges in meeting outcomes identified by the CFSR.

According to UC Berkeley’s California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) site, the Children's Bureau Child and Family Services Reviews Program Improvement Plan (PIP) noted several areas that needed improvement regarding fathers and their children:

  • The uneven practice involving children/youth and parents, particularly fathers, in assessing and addressing needs and risk issues, case planning, and decision making
  • Insufficient efforts to promote visitation with fathers
  • A need to develop an advanced training module on specific strategies for engagement of fathers and related materials to address organizational culture change
  • A need for increased efforts to locate fathers and strengthen relationships

Therefore, counties were encouraged to participate in activities that would be inclusive of fathers, paternal relatives and father figures. UC Berkeley’s CalSWEC website, noted that one such effort that was conducted was The Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) project, which was initially piloted in four California counties: San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Tulare, and Yuba. SFI has been evaluated through randomized control trial research. Findings show that the project has a positive effect on fathers and mothers and their interaction with their children. After the project, the men who were involved increased their daily child-rearing activities; when couples participated, they maintained satisfaction with each other over time

Benefits of Engagement

Results from the SFI project in four California counties demonstrated that the benefits of father engagement included, but were not limited to, the following:

  • An increase in father involvement related to child care tasks and visitation
  • No increase in children's problem behavior
  • A decrease in anxiety in fathers
  • A decline in mothers’ parenting stress
  • A reduction in parents' violent behavior
  • Relationship satisfaction for those people who identified that they were in a relationship

Other Benefits to Children

  • Children demonstrated greater empathy
  • Less gender role stereotyping
  • More awareness of needs and rights of others
  • Children were more generous
  • Higher self-esteem
  • More self-control and less impulsivity
  • Increased curiosity
  • Increased exploration of the world around them
  • Less hesitance and fear in new situations
  • Greater tolerance for stress and frustration
  • More willingness to try new things
  • Higher verbal skills
  • Higher scores on assessments of cognitive competence
  • Children’s increased competence in math
  • Son's IQ is related to father's nurturing
PROCEDURE

Child Protection Hotline

Staff at the Child Protection Hotline have an opportunity to solicit information from callers in order to identify any person alleged to be a father (as well as paternal relatives) for any child as soon as a referral is created. Child Protection Hotline staff need to remember to always inquire about any name, last known address, and/or phone number, for any father.

All reports alleging suspected child abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation, including those on an existing referral and/or case, are directed to the Child Protection Hotline (CPH) for initial assessment. Reports alleging specific acts or indicators of suspected child abuse, neglect and/or exploitation shall be entered as a referral in the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) regardless of whether they are ultimately evaluated out.

For detailed Child Protection Hotline information and full procedural guide, please refer to Child Protection Hotline.

Hotline CSW Responsibilities

  1. When screening calls and the CSW determines that a referral is warranted.
    1. Elicit all information known to the caller that is necessary to complete the client notebook of the referral in CWS/CMS, including any information regarding any father(s).
    2. If father’s identity is unknown, ask the caller if they know any leads that can be pursued to learn the identity and whereabouts of the father(s).
  2. When creating a referral:
    1. Make sure to document whether the home environment may include more than one household if the parents share physical or legal custody.
    2. Document all information available regarding any father(s).
    3. Document father’s protective actions, if known or if father was aware of the circumstances that led to the call.
  3. When a report of an infant prenatally exposed to drugs and/or alcohol is received, and an in-person response is necessary:
    1. Request information about the father and ask the caller if their assessment took into consideration the needs of the father, the father’s knowledge of the situation and, if applicable, his protective actions.
    2. Inquire about any known Native American heritage (ICWA).

Emergency Response

When the father’s identity and whereabouts are known, ER CSWs need to ensure that the father is interviewed, assessed and engaged from the start of the investigation. When the father’s identity or whereabouts are unknown, ER CSWs should gather as much information as possible from all involved parties regarding the identity and whereabouts of the father(s).

For detailed information and procedures regarding ER referral investigations, please refer to Investigation, Disposition and Closure of Emergency Response Referrals

ER CSW Responsibilities

  1. When preparing for the investigation:
    1. Complete a CWS/CMS search on the parents and alleged perpetrators, including any history of a parent as a child, out-of-county history, and any history as a foster/resource parent. This is to include secondary parent/caregivers as well as the primary caregiver(s).
  2. When conducting the investigation.
    1. Conduct interviews with all the children and adults residing in the home, even if they are not listed on the referral. Including interviews with the non-custodial parent, if their whereabouts are known.
    2. Account for the whereabouts of all children associated with the family
      1. If the parent/legal guardian (Primary and secondary caregiver homes) has other children who reside outside the home.
        • Ask the parents about other children that do not reside in the home.
    3. Account for the whereabouts of all fathers or any other parents outside of the primary custodial parent.
      1. Obtain information as to their involvement with the children, visitation schedule or last contact
      2. When a case meets criteria, complete an Upfront Family Finder referral through the DCFS referral portal if the primary caregiver and the children are unable to provide contact information. Once the Family Finder referral is submitted, P3 staff is responsible for locating meaningful connections from the youth’s past/present and provide exhaustive family finding services to the children at the time of detention
      3. Interview the father in person (consult with SCSW if father is located outside LA county)
      4. If residing in a separate home, assess that home
      5. If the alleged perpetrator is a non-custodial parent, assess the custodial parent and Complete the SDM Risk Assessment(s) in accordance with Structured Decision Making
      6. Interview all parents, including any alleged fathers and their relatives about possible American Indian heritage (ICWA)
    4. When assessing for Parental Incapacity, Absence or Failure to Provide Adequate Shelter
      1. Assess the appropriateness of the custodial parent’s plan for provision in their absence and the well-being of the child
      2. If the family is not intact, ask the custodial parent to identify the noncustodial parent
      3. If mother is the custodial parent, ensure that efforts are made to locate and contact the father and paternal relatives even if/when mother states that the father’s identity and/or whereabouts are unknown
      4. Ensure that the non-custodial parent is made aware of the referral and is assessed for possible release of the child to their care. (taking into consideration the youth’s desire to live with the non-custodial parent)
      5. If the father was the non-custodial parent and the child is placed in the care of the father, refer the father to a support group such as the father strong initiative, the Parents in Partnership (PIP) program or other available community and faith-based resources. In addition, CSW may notify a Public Health Nurse (PHN) so that a PHN can make telephone contact to ascertain/assist the father regarding medical concerns they might have.
      6. If neither the custodial nor the noncustodial parent is willing/able to provide adequate care of the child, the CSW is to ensure that both maternal and paternal relatives are assessed for placement and to provide other supports
      7. If a child is taken into temporary custody (via parental consent, a Removal Order or exigent circumstances), ensure that the noncustodial parent and their relatives are notified
    5. When assessing sexual abuse allegations
      1. Ensure that all relatives are assessed and if protective/appropriate, that they are considered for placement
    6. When creating a safety plan.
      1. If parents share custody of the children and the children have access to two (2) separate households, both households must have a home/environment assessment completed.
      2. Document efforts to locate/contact all parents including father(s)
      3. CSWs must consider placement with a non-offending parent, including a father(s) as an SDM Safety Plan.
      4. Ensure that the Safety Plan includes the family’s support system.
      5. Document in the Contact Notebook that the “Notice to Parents” was reviewed with both parents, and if not, why not.
      6. Obtain signatures from all individuals involved, including any non-offending and/or noncustodial parent. Provide a copy of SDM Safety Plan to the parent/caregiver including the non-custodial parent (assuming the parent’s whereabouts are known).
  3. When concluding the investigation:
    1. Make sure to note in the Individualized Investigation Narrative if there is a secondary parent’s household and make sure to note the second parent’s information and whereabouts
    2. If the referral is being closed, complete the DCFS 196, Notice of Referral Closure/Disposition for each parent
  4. When setting up a Child and Family Team Meeting:
    1. Make sure to invite the father(s) for child/ren on the case and their respective paternal relatives. If necessary/appropriate, hold separate meetings, including for cases involving domestic violence, restraining orders, and sexual abuse.
    2. If a father is reluctant to participate, consider obtaining assistance from a community agency to help engage the father. Father Strong Initiative and PIP representatives may be good resources.
    3. Make sure to also identify and include prospective caregivers, significant relationships, kinship, other parental figures, paternal relatives etc.
  5. When setting up Voluntary Family Services:
    1. Make sure to include the father(s) for child/ren on the case and their respective paternal relatives.
  6. When a decision is made to seek a Warrant and/or Removal Order:
    1. Ensure all fathers have been assessed even when the father(s) do not reside in the family home.
    2. Determine if the father(s) is/are appropriate for the department to release the child/ren to them.
      1. As a reminder, a child should not be placed in foster care when they have a non-offending parent who is ready, willing, and able to provide them with adequate care. Keep in mind that CLETs results alone should not be a reason to decline to release a child to a non–offending parent.
  7. When taking children into protective custody:
    1. Ensure consent is obtained by all parents when applicable, or that there exigency or a court order to detain the child/ren.
    2. Ask all parents if there are relatives that can care for the child.
  8. When writing the Detention Report:
    1. Any information regarding any individual claiming to be the child’s father must be brought to the court’s attention immediately to avoid unnecessary delay in achieving permanency for the child. The Dependency Court is responsible for making a determination as to whether an individual is a presumed or alleged father. This finding usually occurs at or following the detention hearing once the individual’s name is brought to the attention of the court.
    2. If the child is not placed with a relative, reach out to extended relatives, when information is made available. Please include efforts under relative placement information in the report.
  9. If applicable, refer the case to the Upfront Family Finding Program to identify significant connections in the child’s life, and identifying missing connections and adults who could become a significant connection/father figure for these youth.
  10. For ICWA cases, CSWs are required to provide an Indian family with active efforts in casework. Active efforts include providing remedial services and rehabilitative programs designed to prevent the breakup of the Indian family and should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Active efforts should also utilize the available resources of the Indian child’s extended family, tribe, tribal and other Indian social service agencies and individual Indian caregiver service providers. CSWs must provide active efforts to families that may be of American Indian descent until eligibility/membership is determined in writing by the Tribal representative. If eligibility/membership is determined, active efforts must continue. If eligibility/ membership is denied, active efforts are discontinued.

Filing Petitions

Staff at Intake and Detention Control (IDC) have a legal responsibility to provide notice to all parties involved in the case including the presumed/alleged father(s). IDC staff also have an opportunity to engage the father(s) in a case by making the father aware/reminding the father of a pending dependency case. As a reminder, any individual who is alleged to be a father is required to be noticed.

Detaining CSW Responsibilities

  1. Provide either oral or written notice to parties (including father(s)) and must document the method used to notify all parties in the Detention Report

IDC CSW Responsibilities

  1. When Filing Petitions:
    1. Ensure all parents are contacted when contact information is available.
    2. Create the Court Report Addendum on CWS/CMS and document the statements and all information obtained from the father(s), children, relatives, or other interested parties.

Dependency Investigation (DI)

When the father’s identity and whereabouts are known, DIs need to ensure that the father/paternal relatives are interviewed/assessed and encourage them to be active participants in the case. If a father’s identity or whereabouts are unknown, ensure that a Due Diligence is initiated.

Assignment of dependency investigation tasks depend on the situation at the point the child(ren) is/are taken into protective custody.

DI Responsibilities

  1. When writing the Jurisdiction/Disposition report:
    1. Ensure all fathers are contacted/interviewed/assessed even when the father(s) do not reside in the family home (including in-person contact for incarcerated fathers within LA County).
    2. Determine if the father(s) is/are appropriate for the department to release the children to them.
    3. If the child is not placed with a relative, ensure that relatives and nonrelative extended family members are assessed and if protective/appropriate, that they are considered for placement.
    4. Make efforts to identify a father figure that can be a source of support for the child.
    5. If appropriate, conduct Due Diligence to locate a father(s) whose whereabouts and/or identity is unknown.
      1. Ask all involved parties [i.e., mother, children, relatives, siblings’ CSWs, ER/ERCP CSW(s), etc.] and available collateral contacts for information regarding the whereabouts and identity (including aliases) of the father(s) and when and where they last had contact with the missing father
      2. Ensure that Due Diligence is completed for any presumed and/or alleged fathers
      3. Due diligence must be updated every six (6) months to coincide with a progress report to the court, and the completed Declaration of Due Diligence report is to be submitted with the court report
    6. Remember that incarcerated, institutionalized, detained and/or deported fathers found to be presumed have rights to reunification services and their status is not sufficient grounds for denying Family Reunification (FR) Services, except when the parent’s prison sentence exceeds 18 months or where the conviction is for a violent felony or for felony child abuse inflicted on the subject child or a sibling. FR Services must be offered unless the continuation of services is found to be detrimental to the child by the court
    7. Abide by Noticing Process for Juvenile Court Proceedings which in part states that
      1. Regardless of the type of custody facility or whether an incarcerated parent is incarcerated in Los Angeles County, other parts of California, or out of state, notice rules for the specified hearing must be followed.
      2. When a parent is incarcerated in a Los Angeles County or local facility/jail, it is best practice to provide the parent an opportunity to attend custody hearings. Should the parents wish to attend, CSW is to request a removal order for their appearance at hearings.
    8. If not previously done or if new information has been obtained regarding the child’s American Indian status, DI is required to follow the guidance provided in ICWA policy.

Continuing Services (CS)

When a father’s whereabouts are known, CS Staff have a responsibility to ensure that the father(s) is/are encouraged to be an active participant in the case and the father(s) are provided appropriate resources/services in order to make progress towards increasing reunification and increasing timely permanency, reducing implicit bias, and decreasing disproportionate re-entries into care. If a father’s identity or whereabouts are unknown, ensure that a Due Diligence and P3 referral (if appropriate) was initiated and continue to make ongoing active efforts to locate the father(s).

CSW Responsibilities

  1. Upon receipt of the case, review the case and ensure that if available, the father(s) has/have been contacted and included in the Initial Case Plan.
  2. Continue to make and document in the monthly contact active efforts to locate missing/whereabouts unknown fathers throughout the life of the case.
    1. Review the information provided in the Family Background #1 and if needed ask for any further information regarding a whereabouts unknown father/paternal relatives
  3. If father is located, promptly engage the father and assess the father’s ability to provide care for the child(ren).
    1. Provide the father the Family Background #3 and work with father to gather as much information as possible regarding their background and goals.
  4. When setting up subsequent Child and Family Team Meetings:
    1. Make sure to invite the father for children on the case and their respective paternal relatives.
    2. If a father is reluctant to participate, consider obtaining assistance from a community agency to help engage father. Father Strong initiative and Parents in Partnership (PIP) representatives may be good resources.
    3. Make sure to also identify and include prospective caregivers, significant relationships, kin (including fictive kin), other father figures, paternal relatives etc..
  5. If appropriate, re-refer the case to the Permanency Partners Program (P3) to identify significant connections in the child’s life, and identifying missing connections and adults who could become a significant connection/father figure for these youth.
  6. When providing services to teen parents:
    1. Determine the appropriateness of the relationship between any adult parent and teen parent. CSWs are mandated to report suspected child abuse regarding sexual activity between an adolescent and an adult partner/perpetrator (see chart for reference).
    2. All fathers must be permitted visitation with their children, unless the court makes specific orders to the contrary. In some instances, the CSW will need to report the non-custodial parent as a suspected child abuse perpetrator to the Child Protection Hotline and to local law enforcement while simultaneously working with the non-custodial parent to develop a safe plan for visitation with their child. Careful consideration must be given to the appropriateness of contact between an adult parent and teen parent in such a case.
  7. Strongly encourage and support father(s) in prioritizing family time
    1. Make necessary adjustments to a child’s schedule to allow for frequent family time with father(s).
    2. Make transportation arrangements as necessary to encourage family time.
    3. Encourage frequent telephone and virtual contacts as appropriate to supplement family time.
  8. If not previously done or if new information has been obtained regarding the child’s American Indian status, CS CSWs are required to follow the guidance provided in ICWA policy.
  9. Remember that a parent/legal guardian, including the father, is the Holder of Education Rights (HER) and they have the legal authority to make educational decisions for a child, or NMD if applicable, unless there is a court order that limits the parent/legal guardian’s educational decision making rights.
  10. Remember that Parents/guardians have a right to be given notice of medical exams and procedures their children are scheduled to undergo, as well as the right to be with their children while they are receiving medical exams and procedures, or to be in a waiting room or other nearby area if there is a valid reason for excluding them while all or a part of the medical procedure is being conducted.

SCSW Responsibilities (all functions)

  1. Ensure that the assigned CSW has made all required efforts to identify, locate/find, engage, assess, service, and release to non-offending fathers (as well as paternal relatives) who play a significant role in the child(ren)’s life. Ensure that these efforts begin at the beginning of ER or CS assignment.
APPROVALS
None
HELPFUL LINKS
REFERENCED POLICY GUIDES

0050-502.10, Child Protection Hotline

0070-521.10, Assessment of Drug & Alcohol Abuse

0070-532.10, Assessing Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse

0070-536.10, Assessment of Parental Incapacity, Absence or Failure to Provide Adequate Shelter

0070-548.01, Child and Family Teams

0070-548.10, Investigation, Disposition and Closure of Emergency Response Referrals

0070-548.20, Taking Children into Temporary Custody

0070-548.24, Structured Decision Making (SDM)

0070-548.25, Structured Decision Making (SDM) Safety Plans

0070-570.10, Obtaining Warrants and/or Removal Orders

0080-502.10, Case Plans

0080-506.16, Selecting and/or Arranging for Appropriate Services for Incarcerated, Institutionalized, Detained or Deported Parents

0080-507.22, Permanency Partners Program (P3)

0100-510.40, Services for Minor and Nonminor Dependent (NMD) Parents

0100-520.35, Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) Program

0300-301.05, Filing Petitions

0300-303.15, Writing the Initial Hearing Report

0300-306.05, Noticing Process for Juvenile Court Proceedings

0300-306.20, Notice Requirements for Alleged Fathers

0300-306.75, Due Diligence

0300-503.10, Writing the Jurisdiction/Disposition Report

0300-508.30, Identifying and Notifying the Court of Efforts to Locate Relatives

0400-504.00, Family Time

0600-501.10, Consent for Routine Medical Care

0700-507.10, Appointment of an Educational Representative, Educational Surrogate Parent, or Developmental Services Decision-Maker

1000-501.30, Dependency Investigation (DI) Assignment Criteria

1200-500.05, Adopting and Serving Children Under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

STATUTES AND OTHER MANDATES

Penal Code 261.5 – defines unlawful sexual intercourse as, "an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person is a minor". It states that any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is not more than three years older or three years younger than the perpetrator, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Perpetrators who are more than three years older than the minor or perpetrators age 21 or older when the minor is under 16 years of age are guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony.

WIC Section 224.2 (a) – States, in part, that (a) The court, county welfare department, and the probation department have an affirmative and continuing duty to inquire whether a child for whom a petition under Section 300, 601, or 602 may be or has been filed, is or may be an Indian child.

WIC Section 306(f)(3) – States, in part, that "Before taking a child into custody, a social worker shall consider whether the child may remain safely in his or her residence. The consideration of whether the child may remain safely at home shall include, but not be limited to, the following factors:. . .(3) Whether a nonoffending caretaker can provide for and protect the child from abuse and neglect and whether the alleged perpetrator voluntarily agrees to withdraw from the residence, withdraws from the residence, and is likely to remain withdrawn from the residence."

WIC Section 309(e)(1)(3) – States, in part, that the social worker must use "due diligence" in investigating the names and locations of relatives, including, but not limited to, asking the child in an age-appropriate manner about relatives important to the child's best interest, and obtaining information regarding the location of the child's adult relatives.

WIC Section 309(d) (1) – States in part that if a relative, an extended family member of an Indian child, or a nonrelative extended family member, is available and requests emergency placement of the child pending the detention hearing, or after the detention hearing and pending the dispositional hearing conducted, the county welfare department shall initiate an assessment of the relative’s or nonrelative extended family member’s suitability for emergency placement.

WIC Section 361.2(a) - requires that if a court orders removal of a child pursuant to Section 361, the court shall first determine whether there is a parent of the child, with whom the child was not residing at the time that the events or conditions arose that brought the child within the provisions of Section 300, who desires to assume custody of the child. If that parent requests custody, the court shall place the child with the parent unless it finds that placement with that parent would be detrimental to the safety, protection, or physical or emotional well-being of the child.

WIC Section 361.2(e) - requires that if the court orders removal pursuant to Section 361, the court shall order the care, custody, control, and conduct of the child to be under the supervision of the social worker who may place the child in any of the following: (1) The home of a noncustodial parent, as described in subdivision (a), regardless of the parent’s immigration status. (2) The approved home of a relative, or the home of a relative who has been assessed pursuant to Section 361.4 and is pending approval pursuant to Section 16519.5, regardless of the relative’s immigration status. (3) The approved home of a nonrelative extended family member, as defined in Section 362.7, or the home of a nonrelative extended family member who has been assessed pursuant to Section 361.4 and is pending approval pursuant to Section 16519.5. . . ."

WIC Section 361.5 - provides that, except in limited situations, "whenever a child is removed from a parent’s or guardian’s custody, the juvenile court shall order the social worker to provide child welfare services to the child and the child’s mother and statutorily presumed father or guardians. Upon a finding and declaration of paternity by the juvenile court or proof of a prior declaration of paternity by any court of competent jurisdiction, the juvenile court may order services for the child and the biological father, if the court determines that the services will benefit the child."