Agency Responsiveness to the Community: Systemic factor evaluated by the CFSR to determine if the State engages in ongoing consultation, coordination, and annual progress reviews with a variety of individuals and organizations representing the state and county agencies responsible for implementing the Child and Family Services Plan and other major stakeholders in the services delivery system including, at a minimum, tribal representatives, consumers, service providers, foster care providers, the juvenile court, and other public and private child and family servicing agencies.
Case Review System: Systemic factor evaluated in the CFSR to determine if the State provides for each child, a written case plan developed jointly with the child, the child's parents; provides a periodic review of the status of each child no less than once every six months; assures that each child in foster care has a permanency hearing no later than 12 months from the date the child entered foster care and not less then every 12 months thereafter; provides a process for termination of parental rights proceedings; provides foster parents, pre-adoptive parents, and relative care givers of children in foster care with notice of and an opportunity to be heard in any review or hearing.
Child and Family Service Plan (CFSP): A document developed through joint planning, which describes the public-funded State Child and Family Service Continuum. The 1994 Amendment to the Social Security Act authorized the DHHS to review State child and family service programs in order to assure compliance with the CFSP requirements in Title IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. The CFSP is also referred to as the IV-B and IV-E state plan, the Strategic Plan, or the State Plan.
Child and Family Services Review (CFSR): The purpose of the review is to assess state's conformance with specific title IV-B and IV-E state plan requirements to determine if the State is achieving desired outcomes (safety, permanency, and well-being) for children and families. Purpose is also to assess if the State system (systemic factors) is functioning at a level that promotes achievement of the identified outcomes.
Child and Family Service Review (CFSR) outcomes: Safety, Permanency, and Child and family Well-being.
Child and family well-being: CFSR outcome that families will have enhanced capacity to provide for their children's needs. Children will receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs. Children will receive adequate services to meet their physical and mental health needs.
Council on Accreditation (COA): Published by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc. (COA), the Standards for Accreditation constitute a set of requirements for current agency administration, management, and service delivery. COA provides descriptions of practice standards that a competent provider organization should be able to meet. The COA standards establish a system based on measurable criteria. Although COA standards are based, in part, on Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) standards, COA is an independent accrediting body for social service organizations.
Foster and Adoptive Parent Licensing, Recruitment, and Retention: Systemic factor evaluated by the CFSR to determine if the State establishes and maintains standards for foster family homes and child care institutions, applies standards to every licensed/approved foster family home or child care institution that receives IV-E or IV-B funds, and complies with the safety requirements for foster care and adoption placements. In addition, each stage has a process that recruits foster and adoptive families who reflect the racial diversity of children in the state, and develop and implement plans for the effective use of cross-jurisdictional resources to facilitate timely adoption or permanency placement.
Learner readiness: An individual factor in evaluating training outcomes. Readiness refers to the trainee's openness to learning new information and skills, as well as their general attitudes about the importance ongoing professional development.
Licensure and Certification: Through the licensing and certification of child welfare agencies, residential care facilities, family foster homes, and child day care facilities, states exercise their power to protect children from risks against which they would have little or no capacity for self-care and protection. Licensing requirements provide basic protections by the state for the well-being of children and families.
Organizational support of training: An organizational culture that supports learning, training, and evaluation/outcome achievement is essential to quality child welfare practice. Organizational support includes organizational cohesion, policy and procedure concordance, and positive supervisory and managerial relationships.
Participant/Trainee Reactions: Refers to level one training outcomes. Reactions are affective, utility reactions or combined reactions. Affective reactions refer to liking or disliking the training. Utility reactions refer to the perceived usefulness of the training.
Performance Improvement Plans: For any of the outcomes or systemic factors in which the State is determined not be in substantial conformity, the state must develop and implement a program improvement plan (PIP) designed to correct the area of non-conformity. The PIP must be developed and submitted to the Regional Office for approval within 90 days of the State receiving written notice of non-conformity. Penalties associated with non-conformity are suspended while the State implements the approved PIP, and are rescinded if the State is successful in ending the non-conformity through completion of the PIP.
Permanency: CFSR outcome the children will have permanency and stability in their living situations. Children will have continuity of family relationships and connections will be preserved for children.
Predictors of training: Refers to individual, team, and organization characteristics that predict training evaluation outcomes, such as reactions (level one), learning (level two), transfer (level three), and organizational impact (level four).
Quality Assurance (QA): Systemic factor evaluated in the CFSR to determine if the State ensures that children in foster care placements receive quality services that protect their safety and health. QA also evaluates and reports on these services.
Service Array: Systemic factor evaluated by the CFSR to determine if the State has an array of services that assesses the strengths and needs of the children and the families; that addresses the needs of the family, as well as the individual child, to create a safe home environment; and that enables children at risk of foster care placement to remain with their families when their safety and well-being can be reasonably assured. Services are designed to help children achieve permanency; be accessible to families and children in all political subdivisions covered in the State's Child and Family Services Plan; and be individualized to meet children and families unique needs.
Statewide Information System: Systemic factor evaluated by the CFSR to determine if the State can readily identify the status, demographic characteristics, location, and goals for the placement of every child who is, or has been within the preceding 12 months in foster care.
Staff and provider training: Systemic factor evaluated by the CFSR to determine if the State provides training programs that (1) support goals and objectives in the state's Child and Family Services Plan (CSFP); (2) address services provided under both sub-parts of title IV-B and the training plan under title IV-E of the Social Security Act; and (3) provide training for staff and providers who provide family preservation and support services, as well as child protective, foster care, adoption, and independent living services. Ongoing training is also provided for staff that addresses the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out their duties within the State's Child and Family Services Plan. Short-term training is also offered for current or prospective foster parents, adoptive parents, and the staff of state-licensed/approved child care institutions that care for foster and adopted children.
Safety: CFSR outcome that children are, first and foremost, protected from abuse and neglect. Children are safely maintained in their homes whenever possible and appropriate.
Systemic factors: Qualitative factors that will be assessed during the CFSR to determine the State's capacity to achieve the CFSR outcomes. The systemic factors are (1) statewide information system; (2) case review system; (3) quality assurance; (4) Staff and provider training; (5) service array; (6) agency responsiveness to the community; (7) foster and adoptive parent recruitment certification, licensing, and retention.
Training barriers: Refers to impediments to quality staff and provider training. These barriers may involve training cycle, learner readiness, organizational support of training, training environment, evaluation methods, and lack of training resources.
Training cycle: Refers to the two primary training and trainer factors. Training factors include curriculum correspondence, curriculum shift, and training environment factors. Trainer factors include curriculum compliance and competence of the trainer.
Training environment: A training cycle variable that includes training facilities and convenience.
Training evaluation outcomes: Kirkpatrick (1959) proposed four levels of training evaluation outcomes. Level one evaluates reactions of trainees. Level two evaluates the learning of the training concepts. Level three evaluates to training transfer. Level four evaluates the impact of training on the organization.
Training Needs Assessment: Prior to training development and delivery, a needs assessment is conducted in order to align staff and provider training needs with planned training initiatives. The need assessment identifies material that should be covered in training.
Transfer of knowledge and skill to field: Refers to level three training outcomes. Training transfer is defined as the application of knowledge and skills learned in training to the job.