Alabama
Family Services Division
The
mission of the Family Services Division is to develop and administer programs,
policies and standards that are directed at preventing or ameliorating abuse,
neglect, dependency, and exploitation of children and elderly and disabled
adults. The mission further seeks to develop and maintain a quality system of
care for children and their families and for adults through the provision of
services aimed at achieving safety, permanency, and improved well-being in
their own homes as well as in out-of-home settings.
The offices within the
Family Services Division include the following:
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Adoption |
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Child Abuse/Neglect
Administrative Reviews |
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Child Care |
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Child Protective
Services/Central Registry on Child Abuse and Neglect/Interstate Compact on
the Placement of Children (ICPC) |
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Child Welfare Eligibility
(Foster Care/Medicaid/IV-E) |
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Child Welfare Policy |
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Child Welfare Training |
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The Foster Parent
Handbook |
Adoption
The primary mission of the Office of Adoption is to secure an adoptive family for children in the Department of Human Resources’ permanent custody.
The
Office of Adoption provides the following functions for the Family Services
Division of the Department of Human Resources:
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Recruits prospective adoptive families |
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Identifies adoptive
resources for children as soon as adoption becomes the case plan |
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Places children in
adoptive homes and offers post placement supervision |
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Trains and consults with
county departments to ensure timely movement toward adoption finalization |
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Provides services to
adult adoptees |
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Administers the
Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance |
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Maintains the Putative
Father Registry |
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Reports to the court on
adoption petitions as mandated by the Adoption Code |
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Provides information to
the general public through the Adoption Intake Consultant |
In addition, the Office of
Adoption has two special projects:
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Coordination of the
Family Finders Project for adoptions. Family Finders recruits, assesses, and
prepares applicants to be foster and adoptive families for children and
foster families adults. |
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Development of
Post-Adoption Services. This program will include an Adoptive Parents
Association, Buddy Family System, Support Groups, centralized Information and
Referral, Trained Therapist Network and Crisis Intervention when fully
implemented. |
Child Care
The Office of Child Care is
responsible for the following functions for the Family Services Division of the
Department of Human Resources:
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Licensing day care centers and night-time centers |
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Visiting day care
facilities to verify compliance with Minimum Standards for Day Care Centers
and Night-Time Centers |
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Providing the depository
for information filed by churches choosing to be exempt from licensure |
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Investigating licensing
violation complaints and recommends adverse action for child care centers
when non-compliance of standards warrants |
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Offering consultation to
day care and prospective day care providers |
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Writing policies and
interpreting Minimum Standards for day care centers and day care homes |
Child Abuse/Neglect Administrative Reviews
The Office of Child Abuse/Neglect Administrative Reviews provides the following functions for the Family Services Division of the Department of Human Resources:
Manages and conducts administrative record reviews of persons responsible for child abuse/neglect to provide due process to those who do not agree with a finding that appears to be substantiated. This process is provided for those persons not entitled to a hearing.
Child Protective
Services/Central Registry on Child Abuse and Neglect/Interstate Compact on the
Placement of Children (ICPC)
The Office of Child Protective
Services provides the following functions for the Family Services Division of
the Department of Human Resources:
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Maintains the
Central Registry on Child Abuse and Neglect |
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Administers
the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) which reviews and
facilitates applications for travel, placements, foster care, and adoptions
of children entering and leaving the state |
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Applies for
and monitors grants for protective services projects |
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Provides case
consultation services |
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Assists with
child protection services program and policy development |
Child Welfare Eligibility
(Foster Care / Medicaid / IV-E)
The Office of Welfare
Eligibility provides the following functions for the Family Services Division
of the Department of Human Resources:
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Determines Federal funds
and Medicaid eligibility of children entering foster care |
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Administers the Emergency
Assistance program |
Child Welfare
Policy
The Office of Child Welfare Policy provides the following functions for the Family Services Division of the Department of Human Resources:
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The development and
revision of child welfare policies required by state and federal legislation |
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The development and
revision of minimum licensing standards for Child Care Facilities, Foster
Family Homes, and Child Placing Agencies |
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The development of all
child welfare policy required by the 1991 federal consent decree requiring
Alabama to reform its child protective services and foster care systems (R.C.
versus Fuller) |
The Office of Child Welfare
Policy also revises policy and procedures currently contained in the Family and
Children's Services Manual related to receiving, investigating, and disposing
of child abuse and neglect reports, and the provision of child protective,
foster care, and adoptive services when children and families need continued
intervention by Alabama's Department of Human Resources (DHR).
General duties of the Office of Child Welfare Policy
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Interpreting policy for
county and State DHR staff |
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Promulgating rules and regulations
related to Departmental policy as required by the Alabama Administrative
Procedures Act |
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Processing statewide
requests for copies of the Family and Children's Services Manual, policies
required by the R.C. Consent Decree, and all related administrative letters
and memoranda |
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Providing staff with
on-line access of child welfare policies and procedures |
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Training staff on new or
revised policies |
Child Welfare Training
The Office of Child Welfare Training provides the following functions for the Family Services Division of the Department of Human Resources:
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Conducts Alabama
Certification training (ACTI and ACTII) – A skills based Alabama
certification training that all child welfare staff are required by the
Department of Human Resources to attend. |
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Conducts Group
Preparation and Selection (GPS), SHIP and Deciding Together Leader training
for leaders who will then go to the counties to train prospective adoptive
and foster parents. |
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Conducts Supervisory
training – Focuses on the skills needed to supervise child welfare
workers in the System of Care. |
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Conducts Underlying
Conditions training – Training that focuses on assessing the underlying
conditions of abuse and neglect. Provides tools to use to analyze information
that is gathered regarding families and their needs. |
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Conducts Substance Abuse
training – examines the dynamics of substance abuse. It includes
discussion of the impact this condition has on service planning with families
and development of the skills that workers need to assist these families. |
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Conducts Practical CPS
training – Training developed by the National Child Advocacy Center.
This is detailed training on assessing child abuse and neglect and planning
for the safety of children. The emphasis is on helping workers to develop the
skills to complete a thorough CAN assessment as well as critical thinking and
making decisions at key points in a CAN assessment. |
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Conducts Child Sexual
Abuse training – Training developed by the National Child Advocacy
Center. This training will build on the Practical CPS curriculum and,
therefore, participants must first attend Practical CPS. This training will
take an in-depth look at child sexual abuse and the emphasis will be on
assisting workers to develop the specialized skills needed to complete a
sexual abuse assessment and work with victims and their families. |
Management Information and Data Analysis
The Office of Management Information and Data Analysis provides the following functions for the Family Services Division of the Department of Human Resources:
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Collects and analyzes
data on child welfare statistics |
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Works with other offices
to monitor county conversion progress |
Mission of Quality Assurance
The QA system...
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monitors, evaluates and
provides feedback to the Department on the performance of the system of care
and whether services provided are of sufficient intensity, scope and quality
to meet the individual needs of children and their families. |
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is intended to support
social workers, supervisors and management at every level within the
Department, as well as support the development, implementation and refinement
of the service delivery system. |
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provides more than an
audit function. In addition to examining and assessing the components of the
Department’s system of care, QA identifies needs and recommends corrective actions necessary to improve
services, capacity, outcomes and conformity with Federal, State and
Department program requirements. |
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confirms strengths,
identifies successful strategies, and recommends ways in which effective
practice and/or system performance can be replicated and/or improved. |
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helps identify and
provide necessary training, consultation and technical assistance to DHR
staff and technical providers and reviews for the implementation and effects
of corrective actions where needed. |
Quality Assurance: Organization and Structure
The Department’s QA system is comprised of the following:
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Office of Quality
Assurance in the Family Services Division |
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State QA Committee that
includes representatives of the Department and stakeholders representing
other interests and entities in the State |
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QA coordinator in each
County Department |
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Local QA committee in
each county consisting of representatives of the County Department and community
stakeholders |
Statewide QA review functions are performed by the Office of Quality Assurance in the State Department of Human Resources and the State QA Committee. These review functions are based on aggregate data and other information that reflect general functioning in key outcome and systemic areas. Reviews of county performance and outcomes for the families who receive the Department’s services are performed by county QA staff and committees.
System of Care/Intake
The Office of System of Care/Intake provides the following functions for the Family Services Division of the Department of Human Resources:
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Supports and assists
counties to implement child welfare reforms as a result of the R.C. Consent
Decree. |
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Provides Intake services
to staff of county Department of Human Resources offices and to constituents
(general public) regarding problems, concerns, complaints. |
Long Range Goals
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Conversion of 67 Counties
to a System of Care |
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Consistent Vision of Best
Practice State-wide |
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Build Pro-Active
Capacities State-wide |
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Provide State-wide access
to Expertise |
Resources
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ALLKIDS
– The no-fee or limited fee health insurance for children under
19 1-888-373-KIDS |
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Pamphlet: Child
Abuse Hurts |
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Minimum
Standards for Day Care Centers and Nighttime Centers (PDF File) |
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The above information can be found at http://www.dhr.state.al.us/fsd/