ASFA TRAINING PROJECT PHONE POLL OF CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES

North Carolina

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: Our turnover rate for workers is very high--45% per year. We give lots of training but with that type of turnover rate, it is hard to have confidence that they fully understand ASFA.

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?

• The ability to use data and reports to track dates and legal timeframes relating to cases and to understand the implications of achieving or missing the key dates.
• Advocacy with the community, especially relating to services we use such as courts, attorneys and mental health
• Working with and joining with families quickly
• Foster and adoptive family recruitment
  

b. Supervisors?

• Same as managers
  

c. Workers?

• Advocacy with families
• How to engage families quickly and work with them to help them change
  
  

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.
  Prior to ASFA, we worked with the counties under the 'Families for Kids' program to implement a team versus program organizational structure. Because of staff turnover and CPS timing issues, some counties gone back to a program structure while other counties have found the team structure works well for them.
  
• Internal communication? No Yes
  If yes, please describe
  Performance appraisals? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  
• Job descriptions? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  
• Staff recruitment? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  

4. How do you handle staff training on ASFA?

a. Please describe the training.

We incorporated all of the ASFA training into our standing curriculum, starting with pre-service through to our specialty trainings such as Intake, Investigations, Case Management and Placement

We've done training on reading reports and using data---what questions to ask and how to identify themes and MEPA. Our current MEPA training is 3 days long; the first day covers what is MEPA, what does it require and what are the implications for our work. The next 2 days focus on recruitment and retention of families. We are planning a MEPA training blitz in January, offering the day 1 session through out the state.

b. Who does the training?

The Child Services Statewide Services Partnership under the direction of Rebecca. This group is comprised of state employees and contract training staff.

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

Incorporated

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

Question not asked.

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?

Our on-line system produces quarterly outcome reports for the 100 counties, which are very helpful to us as we monitor our efforts. These reports compare the counties s to other similar counties and the state as a whole on certain measure.

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

At this time, only the Central Registry and Placement Tracking pieces of the SACWIS system are up.

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

Our outcome reports, including follow-up on them between the counties and Child Program Representatives.

Our clear vision for what we want NC services for children to look like has been a support through several struggles. The vision, which was at least 6 years in the making, sets the direction for all our decisions, services and priorities. The counties agree with the vision and that has helped us 'stay the course'.

The vision, as stated on the NC DHHS web page, is
'At DHHS, we are committed to giving children the best possible start in life.
We build up families by ...
· providing safe, quality child care
· helping families become self-sufficient
We help at-risk children and youth by ...
· preventing child abuse and neglect
· finding safe, caring homes for orphaned, abused, or neglected children
· redirecting troubled or delinquent youth '

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

• Lack of local service resources
• Treatment issues as they relate to substance abuse time frames
• Working with the courts, judges, attorney and guardians to build a common understanding around ASFA requirements, responsibilities and roles as been a challenge

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

Communicating a consistent message and assuring that it has been heard is difficult when there are 100 counties. Local politics and the fact that counties and the federal government fund 80% of the child welfare services add another level of challenge.

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?

It is important to give folks the opportunity to dialog. Dialog helps people explore and become familiar with the philosophical belief system that supports a vision and guides the delivery of services to children and families.

Comments:
NC was one of 10 Kellogg "Families for Kids" pilot states. That gave NC an early start at thinking about, planning for and bringing systems aboard to support what eventually became the ASFA goals of safety, permanency and well being.

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