Charlie Crist, Governor
George Sheldon, Secretary
ICPC in the Electronic Age
New Strategies for Changing Times
2009 Meeting for Agencies and Courts
American Bar Association
Alexandria, Virginia August 3, 2009
H. Stephen Pennypacker, Esq.
ICPC Compact Administrator
State of Florida
Stephen_Pennypacker@dcf.state.fl.us
Mission: Protect the Vulnerable, Promote Strong and Economically Self- Sufficient Families,
and Advance Personal and Family Recovery and Resiliency.
Now - ICPC Frustrations
• Length of time to complete homestudies
• Lack of information on status of homestudy
request
• No uniformity in requirements between states
• No forum for challenging homestudy denials
• ICPC is the four letter word of dependency
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Electronic ICPC
• Judge Hammond identified the possibility
and the need for an electronic system in
his report in June, 2008
• State of Florida began development of
electronic ICPC in spring of 2008 – now
complete and operating (except for
desired enhancements)
• Paperless system within the state, one file
stored in centralized data base
6
The Old Way to Process ICPC
Requests
DRAFT
Interstate Compact for Placement of Children (Macro Process) – Florida Receiving Child from Sending State
STE
WH
O
P
NEEDS
FLORIDA -RECEIVING STATE
CHILD/FAMILY/JUDGE
SENDING STATE ICPC AGENCY
DCF FAMILY SAFETY PROGRAM OFFICE
1. INITIATES
Initiates ICPC Process
2. COMPLETES
&
SENDS
Completes ICPC Packet
Sends completed packet to DCF FSPO
Reviews Completed Packet for Requirements
(using checklist)
3. REVIEWS
2 BUSINESS DAYS
ICPC UNIT & CBC LIAISON
Needs Timely &
Permanent Placement
that Ensures Safety
4. DETERMINES
P
Actual # Days from
Receipt of Request to
Sending to Lead Agency
NO
Packet Meets Requirements?
YES
5. ENTERS
Enters case into Interstate Compact System
48 HRS
7. RECEIVES &
INITIATES
2 WEEKS
6. SCANS &
SENDS
8. COMPLETES
&
RECOMMENDS
Scans packet into electronic record
Sends to CBC Liaison via email
Sends Notification to
Sending State that
case is assigned
Receives Completed packet w/
transmittal
Assigns case to worker
P
Completes Home Study process &
Recommends placement
# of Days to
Complete Home Study
48 HOURS
9. REVIEWS
Reviews Completed Home Study to Ensure
State/Federal Guidelines Are Met;
10.
DETERMINES
NO
11.
DETERMINES
12. SENDS &
RECOMMENDS
13.
COORDINATES
Complete?
YES
Approved?
YES
Sends completed Home Study with Placement
Recommendation to Sending State
Sends notification of placement to CBC
Initiates services and supervision
16. INITIATES
Sends DCF FSPO quarterly
progress reports on child’s
placement
17. SENDS
6 MONTHS
# of Days to Send
Home Study to Sending
State
Notifies FSPO of Placement
15. SENDS
18. SENDS
Sends progress report to sending state
19.
REQUESTS
Requests Concurrence to Close the Case
From the Receiving State
20.
RECOMMENDS
Recommends case closure (based on progress reports)
Q
% Cases Closed with
Concurrence
Concur?
YES
NEED MET
P
Coordinates Permanent Placement/
Places Child
14. NOTIFIES
21.
DETERMINES
NO
Case closed/Receives Timely & Permanent Placement that Ensures Safety
NO
7
The Old Way (con’t.)
8
The New Way
9
Electronic Processing in Florida
10
Interstate Compact System
Database
11
Getting in the Web Portal
12
The ICS
13
Add a pending case
14
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ICS Homestudy Page
16
Florida ICPC Process
Electronic Imaging Project Nearly
Complete – How it Works
•
Court enters Order of Compliance requiring ICPC homestudy to be sent
•
Order of Compliance e-mailed to ICPC Central Office in Tallahassee
•
Case opened in electronic system
•
CBC scans and uploads all 100A’s, transmittal letter, financial/medical plan, social
summary of child, other court orders, and documents in support of ICPC request
•
ICPC central office sees “pending doc” listed by state
•
ICPC central office specialist reviews packet, if complete “attached” to file and sent
out to receiving state
17
Uploading a Document
18
Uploading (con’t.)
19
Upload a Document
20
Finding a pending document
21
Finding a Pending Document
22
Transmittal Memo
23
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Electronic Processing in
Florida
The New Way - Outgoing
Day 1 - Court enters Order of Compliance – attorney for state uploads order to state central office
- Central office opens file in Interstate Compact System
Desk 1 - Local creates packet and scans, uploads to ICS system, appears as a pending document
Desk 2 - Lead agency reviews and uploads to ICS system in Tallahassee (1 – 2 days)
Desk 3 – Tallahassee reviews, prints, mails to receiving state (2 – 3 days)
Desk 4 – Receiving state reviews, sends to local (2 – 3 days)
Desk 5 – Local does homestudy, mails to state capital (14 – 60 days)
Desk 6 – state capital reviews, sends to other state capital (2 – 3 days)
Desk 7 - state capital receives, scans, uploads into ICS (2 – 3 days), transmittal automatically
generated
Desk 8 – lead agency sends to local (2 -3 days)
Total time (with states that do not process electronically) 26 – 77 days
Total time (ideal): for states that also process electronically (Oregon, Texas, Ohio, Vermont, Alaska,
Nevada, Oklahoma, Idaho, Washington, D.C. ) can be as little as two weeks – no paper, no mail,
no overnight delivery
For private adoptions with approved homestudy as part of packet – verbal approval can be given in
less than 24 hours
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Automatic E-mails
• When transmittal saved
• When homestudy completed date filled in
• When Order of Compliance rendered date
filled in
• Batch e-mails at night:
25 days from date homestudy sent down
to local
55 days from date homestudy sent down
to local
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Same day delivery!
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Same Day Approval!
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From: Caryl Jefferson
To: Stephen Pennypacker
Subject: private adoption approval
Date: 06/17/2009 03:15 PM
FYI, I sent a private adoption request to OR ICPC today @ 1:58 pm and
received an email approving placement @ 2:57 pm. I am thinking that is
pretty darn good.
Caryl Jefferson, Government Consultant 1
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
Family Safety Program
Florida Department of Children & Families
(850) 414-7780 SC 994-7780 Office
(850) 487-4337 Fax
*FL ICPC case assignments are now according to states:
Kevin Askew: MT, WY, NE, OH, KS, OK, TX, AR, LA, MS
Angie Stackhouse: CA, NV, UT, AZ, CO, NM, AL, HA, VI
Caryl Jefferson: WA, OR, ID, ND, SD, MN, WI, MI, IA, IL, IN, MO
Sandy Erickson: ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, DE, MD, DC, PA
Lena Moye: NY, NJ, AL
Laura Kirksey: GA
Shirley Hodge: KY, TN, NC, SC, WV, VA
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Money Saved
Costs expended not using electronic system
Postage
Fed Ex, DHL, UPS
Paper
Envelopes
Toner
Man (woman) hours copying, stapling, stuffing in
envelopes
Staples, clips, rubber bands
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First-Class Mail – Single-Piece





Letters: 44¢ (+2¢)
Flats: 88¢ (+5¢)
Parcels: $1.22 (+5¢)
Postcards: 28¢ (+1¢)
Unchanged:


Additional ounce
Nonmachinable surcharge
New Mailing Services Prices – May 11, 2009
6
First-Class Mail — Single-Piece
Beginning May 11, the price for a First-Class Mail stamp is 44¢.
We introduced the Forever Stamp in 2007 to provide household and small
business customers a way to smoothly transition to new prices. The good
news is customers can continue to use the Forever Stamps they previously
purchased, as they are good indefinitely for the First-Class Mail 1-ounce
letter price, no matter how much postage goes up.
Other price changes are a 5¢ increase in the first-ounce price for flats and
parcels and 1¢ for postcards. Flats are now priced at the value of two
stamps: 44¢ + 44¢ = 88¢.
The additional-ounce price and nonmachinable surcharge remain at 17¢
and 20¢.
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Postal Costs Currently Incurred
State of Florida (incoming and outgoing)
Incoming
3-17-09
Priority Overnight Fed Ex (2)
$ 54.42
Standard Overnight Fed Ex (3)
68.25
UPS Next Day Air ( 2- letter size)
41.10
Postage marked mail
67.31
3-16-09
Priority Overnight Fed Ex (1)
27.21
Postage marked mail
169.63
3-17-09
Priority Overnight Fed Ex (3)
81.63
UPS Next Day Air
20.55
Postage marked mail
15.38
TOTAL (3 days)
545.48
Average/day
Outgoing
Postage mail
Priority Fed Ex (4)
$ 53.74 (est.)
108.84
Postage for mail
Priority Fed Ex (5)
65.28 (est.)
136.05
Priority Fed Ex (2)
Postage mail
54.42
107.73 (est.)
526.06
181.82
175.35
$ 43,368.39
$ 42,084.00
x 240 work days
ANNUAL
CURRENT COMBINED ANNUAL COST OF MAIL
$ 88,452.39
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Program benefits
• Accountability
- access to file by court, attorneys, and
case managers motivates ICPC central
office to keep current, motivates locals to do
work timely
• Transparency
- making file available to critical
stakeholders illuminates process
and identifies current barrier in specific
case
35
Program benefits
• Fewer calls from courts asking for update
on status of a case – court can be given
access to system and look at file before
calling
• Ability to respond quickly to inquiries from
other state ICPC offices - file is “on your
desk” at all times
36
Looking Ahead
37
A National Electronic ICPC
Data Base - Imagine
All ICPC homestudy request
packets, transmittals, etc.,
sent electronically
Central tracking system
No lost files
Current status of request
available without telephone
call, e-mail, or subpoena
Adoption approvals the same
day packet received
What else can you think of? 38
National Electronic ICPC
• Web based system behind secure firewall
for security
• SACWIS compatible
• Read only access for critical stakeholders
(ICPC central offices, courts, case
managers, Department attorneys,
Guardian ad Litem)
• Centralized data collection
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National Electronic ICPC
• First design meeting/webinar held last
Friday, July 31, 2009
• Eleven states participating in work group
(including Georgia)
• First step is to create electronic imaging
exchange website – one to two months
• Add critical date templates, document
storage
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"I look forward to the day where we can place
a child out of state as easily and safely as it is
to place them down the street."
Stacey Blume, Esq., 4-30-09
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We are all in this together!
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• Questions?
H. Stephen Pennypacker, Esq.
ICPC Compact Administrator
President, Association of Administrators
of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of
Children
Stephen_pennypacker@dcf.state.fl.us
(850) 922-0743
44