Working Together as Child
Intervention is Changing to Improve
Outcomes for Children and Families
June 16, 2014
Jon Reeves
Regional Director
Calgary and Area Child and Family Services
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Calgary and Area CFS
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Child Intervention Practice Framework
Practice Principles
Outcomes
Four Priorities
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
Re-cap
Changing Roles
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Calgary and Area CFS
Future Direction
Child Intervention Practice
Framework
6, 5, 4
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Child Intervention Practice Framework
• Child Intervention practice in Alberta has, by
evolution is become evidenced informed and
collaborative based.
• A child intervention practice framework is a
natural and expected continuation of a
commitment to improving outcomes for children
and families.
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Child Intervention Practice Framework
• A well-defined practice framework supports
everyone involved in Child Intervention, provides
confirmation that their work is important and
valued, and guides their efforts to achieve the
best possible outcomes for vulnerable children,
youth, and families
• A practice framework outlines the core principles
that underlies our approach to working with
children, youth, families, and communities
• The practice principles have now been affirmed
and work is underway to embed the principles
throughout the organization
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Child Intervention Practice Framework
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Practice Principles
1. Aboriginal Experience
First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have always had their own
ways of ensuring that vulnerable members, including children, are
safe and protected. We honour this by recognizing their expertise
in matters concerning their children, youth and families.
2. Connection
Children and youth are supported to maintain relationships that
are important to them, be connected to their own culture, practice
their religious beliefs and, for those in care, have a plan for their
care where they are included in the decision-making process.
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Practice Principles
3. Collaboration
We are child-focused and family-centred. We collaborate with
families, community agencies, and other stakeholders in building
positive, respectful partnerships across integrated
multidisciplinary teams and providing individualized, flexible and
timely services to support these efforts.
4. Continuous Improvement
We share and use information appropriately. Our approach is
outcome-oriented and evidence-based therefore we support
innovative practice, monitor our performance and strive for
continuous improvement.
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Practice Principles
5. Strengths-based
Our approach is reflective, culturally responsive and strengthsbased. Because all families have strengths and resources, we
recognize and support the right and responsibility of parents to
share in the decision-making process for them and their
children.
6. Preserve Family
We believe children and youth should be safe, healthy and live
with their families, therefore we focus on preserving and
reuniting families and building on the capacity of extended
family and communities to support children, youth and
families.
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Outcomes
1. Vulnerable children live successfully in their
community
2. Children in temporary care are reunited quickly
with family
3. Children in permanent care are placed in
permanent homes more quickly
4. Youth transition to adulthood successfully
5. Aboriginal children live in culturally appropriate
homes
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Four Priorities
1. Improving Child Intervention Practice
2. Aboriginal & Cultural Engagement
3. Prevention and Early Intervention
4. Organizational Culture
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IMPROVING CHILD INTERVENTION
PRACTICE
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Improving Practice
-Front End Enhancements
-Signs of Safety
-Ongoing Case Management
-Kinship and Family Teaming
-Enhancing Permanency
-Youth
-Caregiver Support
-OBSD
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Front End Enhancements
• Started in April 2013
• Used AB Incidence Study 2008 as beginning
foundation
• 6 areas implementing beginning in July 2013
• Edmonton, Region 7 and 10, Calgary and 2
DFNA’s
• Practice Shift Assessment Currently underway
• Based on the 6 principles of the Child
Intervention Practice Framework
• Support the 5 outcomes for children and families
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Front End Enhancements
Four Key components:
• Supervisor Consults
• In Care Consultations
• Family/Natural Support Meetings
• Reinforce Collaboration with Aboriginal
Communities
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Signs of Safety (SoS)
• The SoS is one such initiative that harmonizes with Child
Intervention Practice Framework core values and principles
Signs of Safety as one such initiative that supports the core
values and principles to improve Alberta child intervention
service delivery to families and children.
• SoS enhances the entire spectrum of child intervention,
from front-line staff practice, to the roles and responsibilities
of supervisors and managers, to on-going practice support
for continues improvement in the discharge of Alberta child
intervention duties in a flexible, values-based ethical way
• SoS is a child intervention practice approach that is
designed to create a shared focus amongst all stake
holders and facilitate professional collaboration in working
with families
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Ongoing Case Management
Three key areas identified for ongoing case
management are:
• Applying Front End and Signs of Safety
Strategies to ongoing cases
• Addressing the medical needs of children and
youth
• Addressing the mental health needs of children
and youth through supports to caseworkers and
caregivers
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Ongoing Case Management
Addressing the medical needs of children and
youth:
Pediatrics for Kids in Care is reviewing youth and
children who came into care prior to P-KIC and
ensuring they have access to a comprehensive
pediatric assessment, oral health and a medical
home
 role of foster care, kin, group and residential caregivers
 role of caseworker
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Kinship Enhancement & Family Teaming
• Strategic Objective: To increase the number
of children placed in kinship care, by defining
and realigning kinship care with the outcome
of increasing placements in kinship care.
– History
– Current Status
– 2014-15 Activities and Focus
• Kinship Search
• Cultural Kinship
• Family Teaming
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Enhanced Permanency
Relationship
• Enduring relationships
• Recognizes the value of past and current significant
relationships
• Maintaining a child’s positive connections to family history,
traditions, race, ethnic heritage, culture, community religion
and language
• Maintains child’s connections to extended family, siblings,
and other significant adults
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Enhanced Permanency
Placement
• Stable placements
• Minimal disruptions
• Sense of belonging
• Healthy attachments
Legal
• Adoption
• Private guardianship
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Caregiver Support
In support of achieving our desired outcomes for our children
in care, we will be supporting our caregivers in a different way.
Support initiatives will be directed in three target areas:
1. improving child well being
2. increasing caregiver capacity
3. emphasizing caregiver connection to the child’s case team
and an integrated plan
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Reconnect Youth
• Lifelong partnerships are an essential part of permanency
• Permanency outcomes and options look different for youth
with most (92%) aging out of permanent care
• We need to look at more creative ways to meet the
permanency goals for youth
• Regional Youth Teams
• Current formation of Youth Assessment Team that will focus
on our Front End strategies and using SOS, along with our
partnering agencies at the HUB.
• Future Steps: Contracting SIL etc.
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Outcome-Based Service Delivery (OBSD)
OBSD….the journey continues:
 OBSD started in Region 3 July 2009 with Woods Homes and the
Forest Lawn MST
 Aboriginal OBSD started July 2013 with an alliance of Pathways,
Boys and Girls Club and Enviros called Mahmawi-atoskiwin
 Through OBSD the CFS and lead agency work collaboratively to
achieve the 5 outcomes
 Measurement of Outcomes data (Provincially and Regionally)
show OBSD sites achieve better outcomes in family preservation,
family reunification and reoccurrence after file closure
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Outcome-Based Service Delivery (OBSD)
OBSD…the journey continues:
 Collaboration is a key principle of OBSD and is also a key
principle of the Child Intervention Practice Framework, Signs of
Safety practice approach and Front End practice approach
 Having OBSD with a lead agency provides increased
opportunities for flexible, responsive and creative service
provision
 Provincially and Regionally OBSD agencies are developing
consistent tools and interpretation of the tools for assessing and
measuring child development and parenting capacity over time
and the effectiveness of interventions i.e. Ages and Stages,
Family Assessment Tool, CAFS.
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Improving Child Intervention Practice
Outcome-Based Service Delivery (OBSD)
Next Steps
 OBSD will continue to be implemented in Region 3.
 Learnings from Woods/Forest Lawn, Aboriginal
Services/Mahmawi-atoskiwin, other provincial OBSD sites and
the current practice shifts will be used to inform the continued
implementation of OBSD.
 Based on current practice shifts, OBSD agency role will focus on
the early involvement and front end practice.
 OBSD agencies will be expected to focus on increasing family
wellness and utilizing models that have promising evidence and
research.
 The gradual implementation of OBSD will continue this fall with a
tender.
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Aboriginal and Cultural
Engagement
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Aboriginal and Cultural Engagement
Aboriginal Framework
• 2009, began the development of the Aboriginal
Framework
Principles
• Culture and Language
• Self Determination
• Holistic Approach
• Ongoing Learning/Best Practice
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Aboriginal and Cultural Engagement
Diverse Cultures
• Cultural brokerage program with Muslim community
• Expanding cultural brokerage program to include ethno cultural
backgrounds (of the majority of our referrals)
• The Cultural Brokerage Program will:
– Centre around the mentorship and connection of children and
youth to their community
– Assist families with navigating with CI
– Awareness/prevention/education between ethno cultural
committees and ourselves.
– Cultural kinship/foster care recruitment
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Prevention and
Early Intervention
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Prevention and Early Intervention (EI)
As a region, we
are committed to
implementing the
Prevention and
Early
Intervention
Framework
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Prevention and Early Intervention (EI)
• The framework is about implementing a
continuum of evidence-based prevention and
early intervention services that will effectively
address the key drivers that cause children and
youth to require child intervention services.
• There are a number of key elements of the
framework which will influence and shape the
work we want to do in the region.
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Calgary and Area CFS
Future Direction
Research and Trends
in Child Intervention
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
Front-End Practice Sites CFSD Resulted in Intervention
85/15
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
Front-End Practice Sites CFSD - Resulted in Intervention
60.00%
50.33%
48.94%
% of Intakes that Resulted in Intervention
50.00%
38.24%
40.00%
30.41%
30.10%
28.48%
28.40%
28.18%
27.04%
17.96%
30.00%
23.62%
26.23%
27.03%
2010-2011
2011-2012
22.54%
2012-2013
2013-2014
20.00%
15.63%
12.79%
10.00%
0.00%
R03
R06
R07
Regions
R10
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
Caseload Trends in Region 3
Service Sooner
More At Home
More Engagement
More Kinship
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
1. Screening Started by Group I.D.
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Apr
2011/12 636
2012/13 705
2013/14 675
May
746
764
770
Jun Jul Aug Sep
674 572 591 702
783 674 579 634
667 642 572 624
Oct
674
711
631
Nov
725
773
647
Dec
647
606
547
Jan
629
721
675
Feb Mar
638 681
653 691
613
Avg
660
691
642
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
4. CP & FE Caseload
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
Apr
2011/12 3,119
2012/13 3,248
2013/14 3,169
May
3,190
3,234
3,178
Jun
Jul Aug Sep
3,315 3,386 3,425 3,398
3,302 3,260 3,311 3,300
3,125 3,053 2,993 2,889
Oct
3,374
3,342
2,826
Nov
3,368
3,335
2,731
Dec
3,340
3,326
2,620
Jan
3,274
3,286
2,577
Feb Mar
3,216 3,242
3,198 3,181
2,495
Avg
3,304
3,277
2,878
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
5. Family Enhancement Caseload
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Apr
2011/12 691
2012/13 771
2013/14 748
May
724
775
748
Jun
791
782
740
Jul
825
757
733
Aug
810
789
745
Sep
808
789
712
Oct
761
823
702
Nov
749
803
666
Dec
740
772
630
Jan
707
782
658
Feb
697
739
627
Mar
741
726
Avg
754
776
701
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
8. In-care Caseload
2,200
2,000
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
Apr
2011/12 1,936
2012/13 1,974
2013/14 1,903
May Jun
Jul
Aug
1,963 1,990 1,987 2,016
1,989 2,000 1,970 1,971
1,905 1,869 1,854 1,812
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
2,033 2,033 2,039 2,000 1,982 1,981 1,978
1,956 1,982 2,002 1,992 1,971 1,925 1,935
1,774 1,746 1,728 1,695 1,651 1,641
Avg
1,995
1,972
1,780
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Calgary and Area CFS Future Direction
Research and Trends in Child Intervention
9. Kinship Care
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Apr
2011/12 285
2012/13 350
2013/14 392
May
279
355
389
Jun
270
354
383
Jul
280
321
376
Aug
287
313
364
Sep
322
311
364
Oct
337
312
375
Nov
355
341
363
Dec
356
357
366
Jan
351
385
367
Feb
351
390
365
Mar
363
389
Avg
320
348
373
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Calgary and Area CFS
Future Direction
Re-cap
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Calgary and Area CFS
Future Direction - Recap
•
Focus on 4 priorities
•
Realign front end service delivery
•
Use research and data to enhance practice
– Alberta Incident Study
– Brain Development Research
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Use evidence informed and best practice
programming to meet our outcomes
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Changing Roles – How will foster care
and kinship fit into this “new world of
practice
• Reunification
• Permanency
• Complex child and youth
management
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Calgary and Area CFS
Future Direction
Questions?
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