Answer: The intent of an Early Family Meeting is for the family to have an opportunity, prior to a shelter hearing:

1. To understand the identified safety threat;
2. To have an explanation why the Department is seeking court intervention to manage child safety;
3. To work with the family to identify relatives (who may be willing to assist in managing child safety as a substitute caregiver, as a participant in a safety plan at the conclusion of the comprehensive assessment, or who may want to continue connections with the child (through visits or other types of contact and support);
4. To review the protective action;
5. To hear an explanation of why it is necessary to keep a child safe during the CPS assessment;
6. To explain to the parents how the Department will determine what is necessary for an on-going safety plan (and whether it is in home or out of home) when, at the conclusion of the CPS assessment a child is unsafe; and
7. To prepare the family for the shelter hearing process and, hopefully, allow for an efficient shelter hearing process.

This conversation does not have to happen in an Early Family Meeting (in other words, an early family meeting is not a requirement), and the conversation does not require a facilitated process. In the Oregon Safety Model, this ongoing explanation to the family of why the Department is intervening in their family is good casework practice. To manage children’s safety, promote family engagement in the process of change, and support a working relationship with the family, a caseworker must have open, clear, planned, thoughtful conversations with the family throughout the life of a case, including prior to a shelter hearing or any other court hearing.

 

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Answer: In the Oregon Safety Model, the intent of the Child Safety Meeting is to:

• Re-evaluate the protective action, if one is in place, and determine if some elements of the protective action would be appropriate and necessary in the ongoing safety plan;
• Explain how the ongoing safety plan is the least intrusive means that can effectively manage the safety threats occurring within the family;
• Re-confirm all commitments with participants if a protective action is to become an ongoing safety plan;
• Involve the parent or legal guardian when developing the ongoing safety plan; and
• Use the tribe as a resource when developing the ongoing safety plan, unless they decline, if the CPS worker knows or has reason to know the case involves an Indian child.

When scheduling a Child Safety Meeting, caseworkers are instructed to invite the child’s parents and any other family members who may contribute to the child’s safety, tribal participants (as appropriate), and any individuals or providers who may provide safety services. Although attorneys are not part of a safety plan for children, families may invite them and they are welcome to participate. An attorney can be helpful in assisting their clients in understanding the processes and making decisions about how to best work with DHS.

 

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Answer: The new rule went into effect on March 20, 2007. A Child Safety Meeting is to be completed at the end of the CPS assessment, after the disposition has been determined, and after the determination of whether the child is safe or not has been made. So, if any of those cases had their CPS assessments completed, the disposition determined, and the determination was made regarding whether the child was safe or not before March 20th, then you would not be required to have a Child Safety Meeting because you would have passed the point of developing the Ongoing Safety Plan. Since it is unusual to have a CPS assessment completed within eight days, one would assume the assessment was not completed on these cases and a Child Safety Meeting would be needed to develop the Ongoing Safety Plan.

 

A Child Safety Meeting is required to develop an Ongoing Safety Plan. So, yes even when parents are unavailable a Child Safety Meeting is necessary to develop the Ongoing Safety Plan. If a parent is incarcerated, we should work with the jail to have the parent participate in the meeting telephonically.

 

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Answer: We now have three codes representing three types of meetings:

• CSMM - (Child Safety Meeting) - used at the completion of the CPS assessment/safety analysis to develop the Ongoing Safety Plan.  This happens in all cases where the safety analysis has determined there is an unsafe child, and a case will be opened for services. The only purpose of a CSM is to create the Ongoing Safety Plan (form 1149);
• OFDM – no changes from the original intent and coding of this family meeting - to invite parents, family and support persons to participate in creating a case plan which addresses the safety threats and enhances protective capacities, to explain ASFA, and to create a realistic concurrent plan;
• NFUM – (frequently called FDMs) other misc. meetings held throughout a case, as needed, when it is best practice to bring people together for case planning and implementation purposes.

See: Child Safety Meetings - rule I-AB.4, pp29-32/procedure manual, chapter II, section 14, pp1-2 and;
other meetings (OFDM & FDMs) - rule I-B.3.1, pp6-8/procedure manual, chapter III, section 6, pp6-10.

 

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Answer: Offices should not be creating new forms. The Safety Plan form found in FACIS Forms is the official document that must be completed as a result of the Child Safety Meeting.  There have been multiple requests from the field for a detailed agenda for Child Safety Meetings and one is currently under development to respond to that request.

 

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Answer: The intent of having spaces for the safety service providers to sign the form is for them to indicate their understanding of the safety threats, their understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to the Ongoing Safety Plan, and to confirm their willingness and ability to participate in the Ongoing Safety Plan.  The requirement in policy is that the parent(s) and caseworker(s) sign the 1149.  Best practice would be to have all participants sign the form.  All participants should have copies of the current Ongoing Safety Plan which also includes the 24-hour contact information about whom to contact if they have concerns about child safety.

 

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Answer: Facilitators are required only for the Child Safety Meeting and the Oregon Family Decision Meeting.  The only meeting required is the Child Safety Meeting.  As previously, Oregon Administrative Rule requires the OFDM to be “considered” and if one is not held, the reason must be documented in FACIS.  Facilitators may be used based upon need and available resources to facilitate other meetings, such as those that may be particularly contentious or complicated. Also, keep in mind, the Safety Model emphasizes the importance of one-on-one relationships between caseworkers and clients and in many instances, casework (such as reviewing/updating Action Agreements) may be best done between the caseworker and the client rather than through a meeting.  There are times within the life of a case, such as the 90-day review, when it may be helpful to have a meeting led by the caseworker where parents, change service providers, and others meet to coordinate case planning and implementation. 

 

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