ASFA TRAINING PROJECT PHONE POLL OF CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES

New Jersey

1. How would you rate your agency's staff in terms of their understanding of ASFA requirements? We are particularly interested in the level of understanding of managers, supervisors and workers. Please rate their understanding on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being 'poor' and 5 being 'comprehensive'.

a. Managers:

b. Supervisors:

c. Workers:

Comments: Rating: 3.5 One of the issues contributing to these ratings includes turnover of staff. Another is the number of new initiatives other than ASFA that have recently been introduced.

2. Based on your agency's experience to date, what skills do you think managers, supervisors and workers need to have to implement ASFA?

a. Managers?

Knowledge of ASFA regulations; Management and development of resources; Ability to work with the courts and legal system; Ability to provide general direction on case practice to comply with ASFA

b. Supervisors?

The skills of supervisors in respect to guiding their unit members and participating in critical decision making is recognized by the Division as key to the successful implementation of the ASFA. As a support to decision making, a draft Safety Assessment instrument has been developed and the Division plans to pilot the tool in early 2001.

Other skills include having knowledge and sensitivity about separation and loss; Timely decision making; Assessment skills that translate into good service plans; Knowledge about community resources

c. Workers?

Knowledge about permanency; Sensitivity to issues around separation and loss; Assessment skills; Timely decision making

3. As part of your ASFA implementation has your agency undertaken any activities in the following areas:

• Agency structure? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  The Division of Youth and Family Services did form new units, called Regional Permanency Units in each of our four geographic regions. These units are comprised of experienced DYFS staff who interviewed for these positions. The workers in these units take on tasks that move cases toward permanency. They do not assume total responsibility for a case, but rather, they supplement the work of the regularly assigned caseworker.
  
  The Division established a new Office of Program Support and Permanency, headed by an Assistant Director. This office has the lead in foster care recruitment and reform initiatives and also provides leadership, support and direction to the agency on permanency efforts.

  The Division has established a sixth Adoption Office that will specialize in the identification, selection and placement of children in adoptive homes.
  

• Internal communication? No Yes
  If yes, please describe
  Communications from the Deputy Director of Operations were sent to staff to describe the ASFA requirements, such as the particular crimes that relate to approval of adoptive and foster parents and the timeframes for application of the termination of parental rights requirement; and to describe initiatives, such as our work with the Administrative Office of the Courts about the scheduling of permanency hearings.

  Just recently, the Children-In-Court Case Processing Manual, which addresses ASFA requirements including permanency hearings and reasonable efforts determinations, was distributed to DYFS staff by the Assistant Director, Office of Program Support and Permanency.

  In addition, the Division established a Permanency Steering Committee to oversee implementation of permanency initiatives, including communicating with represented parts of the Division to inform staff about permanency initiatives.

  The Division has also established a Structured Decision-Making Steering Committee to oversee implementation of the structured decision making model and to communicate with represented parts of the Division on this initiative.
  

• Performance appraisals? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  Where appropriate, reference is made to activities associated with ASFA
  
• Job descriptions? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  Civil service job descriptions do not mention ASFA; individual performance evaluations do reference activities connected to ASFA
  
  
• Staff recruitment? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  The Division has contracted for additional legal services such as para- legal staff and litigation aides. Some funds have also been provided to the Office of the Attorney General.
  

4. How do you handle staff training on ASFA?

a. Please describe the training.

A series of Permanency Symposia were held during November of 1998 and January of 1999. The first session covered a national perspective on permanency, implementation of ASFA regulations, and the accomplishments of Illinois in the area of permanency. The second session focused on concurrent planning, the third on family group conferencing and mediation and the fourth on safety and permanence for children of substance abusing parents. These sessions were able to accommodate large numbers of staff, were held in a central location and were offered to staff at all levels of the organization, as well as to community agency representatives.

During January and February of 1999, the Regional Permanency Units were trained in the ASFA requirements. Special attention was given to relative placements, timeframes for TPR filings, and exceptions to TPR filings. There was also a segment that focused on the impact to a child of multiple placements.

During July of 1999, a training session called "Introduction to ASFA" was held for all staff who had not previously received ASFA training. An overview of the Federal ASFA legislation, the corresponding New Jersey statutory amendments and the policy implications for the safety and permanency of children under the care of the Division was presented. This training was videotaped and the videotape was made available to the DYFS field offices.

In the area of child safety, DYFS is pursuing the goal of strengthening the standards for decision-making. During the spring of 2000, a series of four symposia were held on "Advancing the State of the Art in Child Protective Services Decision-Making. These sessions accommodated large numbers of staff at all levels of the organization as well as community agency representatives. A half-day training for managers and supervisors followed the symposia; this training addressed essential elements in decision-making.

b. Who does the training?

The permanency symposia were sponsored by DYFS and the School of Social Work of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Human Services and the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts. National experts in the field, DYFS staff and court staff conducted the training.

The Regional Permanency Unit training was delivered by DYFS Policy, Operations and Adoption staff and by attorneys who represent DYFS on child abuse and neglect and termination of parental rights cases.

The July 1999 ASFA training was presented by DYFS policy staff, Association for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), a child advocacy organization and a court representative.

The decision-making symposia were sponsored by the Division in collaboration with the School of Social Work at Rutgers and the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, with assistance from the National Resource Center on Child Maltreatment.

The training unit conducts ongoing training. Issues related to ASFA are covered in every level of training. New staff members at the Adoption Resource Centers (ARC) receive several days of permanency planning and adoption specific training. Supervisory training includes 3 days of training related to ASFA. All experienced staff will receive 3 days of training that focuses on safety and permanency.

c. Is the training just on ASFA or is it incorporated into other training that you provide?

The training focuses on the importance of safety and permanency for children. ASFA timeframes and requirements are presented within that framework.

d. Have you done any training with or for the courts? No Yes
If yes, please describe.

NOTE: This question was omitted from the original survey, I sent the question separately and received the following answer via e-mail on 12/20/00

Have you done any training with or for the courts?

Representatives from the Courts were actively involved in the Permanency Symposia held during November of 1998 and January of 1999. Also, a representative of the Administrative Office of the Courts presented at the "Introduction to ASFA" training. The Symposia and the training were previously discussed in the training section of the survey.

The Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) designed computer reports to show length of time in placement, the goal for the child and the child's legal status as well as identifying information about the child. DYFS representatives trained key court staff in the use of the reports during October of 1999.

During November of 1999 DYFS staff and court staff received training about Family Group Conferencing. The training was sponsored by DYFS.

DYFS, with the Rutgers School of Social Work, the Judiciary, the Attorney General's Office, the Office of the Public Defender and Legal Services of NJ developed and delivered a training for psychologists and psychiatrists that addressed expert witness testimony on child protection and termination of parental rights cases. The training was delivered on three occasions in 2000 and there are plans to repeat the training in 2001.

The DYFS Training Office offers training on a regular basis. Court personnel were invited to and did atend the "High Risk Indicator" sessions. The DYFS training office has also trained court personnel on the DYFS Service Information System. In addition, during 1999, the DYFS Training Unit in collaboration with the Courts offered a training for DYFS staff about child abuse and neglect court actions.

Also, from another e-mail 12/20/00

Mary -I just found out about another project with the Courts. This year our
Department (The Division of Youth and Family Services is a Division in the
Department of Human Services) through the Promoting Safe and Stable Families
Initiative hosted a site for the satellite Video National Conference on Model
Family Court Practices. DYFS and court staff were invited. Videotapes of
this broadcast were later distributed to DYFS offices and to members of the
Court Improvement Project Committee.

5. How well does your information system support the work of managers, supervisors and workers in implementing ASFA? Please rate the support provided by your system on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being 'poor' and 5 being 'outstanding'

a. Why did you give your system that rating?

While the Division's information systems unit has been very responsive in providing special reports and developing a permanency tracking system, the system itself has constraints and needs to be updated and more comprehensive. We have not yet implemented our new SACWIS system, but once in place, it should provide the needed updating.

b. If a rating of 1 or 2 is given, probe as to the status of the SACWIS system.

6. What has worked best for you in terms of supporting staff as they implement the ASFA requirements?

Good supervision and supervisory case conferencing; Development of needed resources; Court/Legal supports; Steering Committee structure to provide ongoing communication and feedback; Ability to hire additional staff; Some restructuring of work units

7. What do you view as barriers to your agency's support for staff as they implement the requirements of ASFA?

While the following issues may not actually be barriers to the Division's support for staff, they do impact on staff's ability to implement the requirements of ASFA:
Large demands placed on staff time in preparation for court as well as in court itself; Increasing need/demand for service resources, including visitation; Competing caseload priorities; Appropriate placement resources.

8. (For County based systems only.) To what extent does the fact that your state is county-based impact your ASFA implementation?

9. Is there anything else that you want to tell us regarding the best way to support staff as they implement the requirements of ASFA?

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