3207 Case Planning Participation and Signatures
Participants in case planning conferences are selected based on their involvement in the life of the child(ren) and the type of case plan being developed. All participants shall have equal opportunity to participate and shall be encouraged to actively engage in discussions and work together to address any danger that led to agency involvement or is preventing the family from achieving their permanency goal.
A. Participants
1. Participants Required for Every Case Plan
a. Parents and Other Legal Caregivers
i. Diligent and ongoing efforts shall be made to locate and engage all parents and legal caregivers in case planning and documented in the case file.
ii. For case plans with a goal of maintenance at home, one of the parents with whom the child lives shall be present at the case planning conference, either in person or by phone.
iii. For out-of-home service cases, if after diligent and ongoing efforts, including notice as described in G.1, a parent does not attend, the meeting may continue, and activities can still be assigned to the absent parent. Following the case planning conference, the CWCMP must continue to attempt to review the case plan with absent parents.
iv. Incarceration, living out-of-state, or other exceptional circumstances that restrict the ability to participate in person do not automatically preclude a parent or legal caregiver from being engaged as a participant in their case plan. Alternative methods to participate shall be offered to the parent, including the option to provide input in advance of the meeting. If there is not a child in DCF custody, the same efforts to involve the non-custodial parent are required when appropriate.
v. If there is a no contact order, the parent or legal caregiver maintains the right to have full information regarding their child, unless otherwise stated in the no contact order. Notification of the case planning conference shall be sent with additional information informing the parent:
a. That due to the no contact order they will not be able to attend the meeting in person.
b. A description of the alternative method(s) by which they will be engaged in development.
b. Child(ren)
i. Children age 7 or over shall be included in the case planning meeting unless it has been determined they do not have the cognitive ability to understand the process and to participate. If the child does not have the cognitive ability to participate, diligent efforts shall be made to collect their input on the plan prior to the case planning conference. These efforts and the child’s contributions shall be reviewed during the conference and documented in the case file.
ii. For out of home placement cases, when children, age 14 or older are not present for the conference, the case manager shall discuss the diligent efforts to include the youth with the case planning team in addition to documenting the efforts in the case file. If the youth's absence is due to a reason other than reduced cognitive ability (I/DD) or a youth's absence from placement without authorization (missing, absent, or runaway), the case plan shall be rescheduled at a time that allows the young person to participate. After two attempts to hold a case plan for which the youth is not present, the case planning team may continue with the plan's development at the third meeting to ensure timeliness of the case plan completion.
c. The responsible case manager from the Child Welfare Case Management Provider (CWCMP), DCF, or the Community Family Services Provider.
i. If the worker assigned to the case is unexpectedly unable to participate, their supervisor or another worker familiar with the case may conduct the case plan in their absence.
2. Additional Participants Who Shall be Invited for Out-of-Home Service Cases:
a. Third Party
i. The third-party participant is a person who may have involvement with the family but is not directly responsible for providing services to the child and family. An out-of-home case plan may not be held without a third party present.
b. The DCF staff assigned
c. The guardian ad litem
d. The resource family, including relative and non-related kin providers, for a child in out-of-home placement
e. The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), if applicable
f. The tribal representative for children when ICWA applies. The tribe shall also receive a copy of the signed case plan
g. The DCF Regional Independent Living Coordinator or designee
i. Required participant for all youth in out-of-home placement with a case plan goal of APPLA, beginning at age 16, and all youth age 17 and older, regardless of case plan goal, to begin discussion and preparation for self-sufficiency services in the event permanency is not achieved. The youth’s updated PPS 3059A My Plan for Successful Adulthood or PPS 3059B My Adult Services Plan shall be sent to the Regional Independent Living Coordinator with the case planning conference invitation.
h. The responsible HCBS waiver agency and the HCBS waiver case manager for youth receiving HCBS waiver services.
i. If the family/youth intends to move to a different area to receive HCBS waiver services, this may involve inclusion of more than one service provider.
i. For children age 14 and older:
i. No more than two case planning team members selected by the youth, who are not the youth’s case manager or foster parent, and are able to represent the best interests of the youth.
3. Additional participants who shall be invited, when applicable:
a. Residential or institutional setting treatment staff if the youth is in a residential placement
b. The prospective custodian and network, if permanent custodianship or SOUL Family Legal Permanency is the permanency goal
c. The prospective adoptive parent(s)
d. Teachers
e. The education advocate assigned to the child
f. The youth's positive supportive adult(s)
g. Any other individuals important to the family or the child who can contribute to the case planning process
h. The case manager or a guardian of a parent with a disability, either physically or cognitively, who is involved with a Center for Independent Living (CIL) or a Community Developmental Disability Organization (CDDO)
i. The corrections counselor for an incarcerated parent or parole officer for a paroled parent
j. Child Placing Agency staff responsible for support to the foster family where the child is placed
k. Individuals from Community Corrections or Court Services who are working with youth involved in the juvenile justice system
4. When an invited participant who is not indicated as a required participant cannot attend the case planning meeting but would like to provide their input in advance, the CWCMP shall receive that input and include it in consideration when developing the plan with the family.
B. Notification of Conference Participants
1. Any child or youth in the custody of the Secretary, notification shall be given to required participants in writing at least 10 days prior to the date of the case planning conference. Documentation of the notice shall be retained in the case file.
a. Parents and legal caregivers shall be the only case plan participants who may request the case plan be held without the opportunity for providing the 10-day notice to required participants. The request and decision shall be documented in the file.
b. The 10-day notice shall be provided by e-mail, fax, or letter. If mailed, allow three (3) additional working days for mail delivery time to provide sufficient notice to all parties.
2. If the family is being served by a CWCMP and it is anticipated the permanency goal may be different from what it was at the last case planning conference, the notice shall include notification of the possible change.
3. If DCF is providing Family Services, DCF shall provide the notification.
4. If services are provided by a Child Welfare Case Management Provider, the Child Welfare Case Management Provider shall provide the notification.
C. Participant Education
All participants shall be educated on the purpose of the case planning conference. For the initial case planning conference, the Child Welfare Case Management Provider or DCF CPS Specialist, for cases not referred to provider, shall meet with the family in person to describe its purpose. This education shall be documented in the case logs.
This education shall be accomplished by making available to the participants the handout "An Introduction and Parents Guide to Family Service and Family Preservation (child not in custody) Case Planning Conferences", PPS 3049A, for family service, and Family Preservation cases. For children in custody cases, the parents will be provided “An introduction and Parents Guide to Child in Custody Case Planning Conferences”. The parents shall also be referred to the Family Handbook, PPS 5137, for the initial case planning conference.
D. Participant Signatures
1. To be approved by DCF, case plans must contain a signature for every person who participates in the case planning conference.
2. In-Person participants must sign the form, either by hand or electronically. If a person participates by phone, a copy of the PPS 3050 or 3051 shall be sent to them for an electronic signature or to sign by hand and return.
3. If a person who has participated by phone or by video does not have the resources or ability to sign the document electronically or by hand, the CWCMP may accept written consent in the form of an e-mail or text message from the participant to sign on their behalf. This written consent shall be documented and included with the case planning documents when submitted to DCF for approval.
4. All Signatures shall be dated with the date the person participated in the case planning conference.