Casework Practice

CYPM is for child welfare agencies with youth receiving any level of services that are at-risk for or have been referred to or become involved with the juvenile justice system and for juvenile justice departments with youth who are subsequently referred to and become involved in the child welfare system because of suspicions of abuse/neglect. CYPM is designed to create a multisystem approach to identification of youth, assessment of needs, collaborative case planning, and ongoing case management. The model is designed to provide a foundation that helps jurisdictions work collaboratively with the goals of improving system functioning and outcomes for youth. The model implements a process that seeks to reduce the number of youth who crossover between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, the number of youth entering and reentering out-of-home care, the length of stay in out-of-home care, the use of congregate care, and the disproportionate representation of children of color. The CYPM infuses into this work values and standards; manualized practices, policies; and procedures; and quality assurance processes.

FC is a multifaceted, home-based service program that works with families in their homes and in the context of their neighborhoods to help them meet the basic needs of their children and prevent child maltreatment. Nine practice principles guide FC interventions: ecological developmental framework; community outreach; individualized family assessment and tailored interventions; helping alliance; empowerment principles; strengths-based practice; cultural competence; outcome-driven service plans with SMART goals; and a focus on the competence of the practitioner. Individualized family intervention is geared to increase protective factors, decrease risk factors, and target child safety, well-being, and permanency outcomes.

The National Family Development Credential® Program (FDC) is a professional development course and credentialing program for frontline family workers to learn and practice skills of strength-based family support while working with families. FDC courses are offered to frontline family workers from a wide range of government, private, and not-for-profit agencies as well as business and large corporations. The FDC helps family workers better assist families across the life span including families with young children, teen parents, retired people, people with disabilities, and many other groups.

Solution-Based Casework is a case management approach to assessment, case planning, and ongoing casework. The approach is designed to help the caseworker focus on the family in order to support the safety and well-being of their children. The goal is to work in partnership with the family to help identify their strengths, focus on everyday life events, and help them build the skills necessary to manage situations that are difficult for them. This approach targets specific everyday events in the life of a family that have caused the family difficulty and represent a situation in which at least one family member cannot reliably maintain the behavior that the family needs to accomplish its goals. The model combines the best of the problem-focused relapse prevention approaches that evolved from work with addiction, violence, and helplessness, with solution-focused models that evolved from family systems casework and therapy. By integrating the two approaches, partnerships between family, caseworker, and service providers can be developed that account for basic needs and restore the family's pride in their own competence.

The approach was developed through consultation with workers and supervisors who were attempting to remedy problems contributing to re-occurrence of abuse and neglect. However, it is applicable to a wide range of family problems such as mental health or work related issues.

Public child welfare agency workers use Team Decision Making® (TDM™) meetings with the aim of making the best possible decision regarding out-of-home care, and to engage partners, such as community members and the extended family, in planning. The worker convenes the group whenever their assessment of safety suggests the need to consider out-of-home care, whether or not with court involvement. Initial TDM™ meetings are held prior to the child leaving home or, in an emergency, prior to the initial court hearing or within its legally required timeframe.

The goal is to reach consensus about a decision regarding out-of-home care that protects the child(ren) while preserving family integrity. The initial TDM™ seeks to intervene early in a case to prevent a removal or to ensure children are placed with family whenever possible. If out-of-home care is necessary, TDM™ sets the stage for collaboration among biological parents, foster, or kinship caregivers, and for moving the entire team toward safe reunification.