Child Welfare Newsletter - Garfield County, Colorado

The future of STEPS & RRHY
By: Danielle Campbell
As the Runaway & Homeless
Youth (RRHY) grant winds
down after nearly five years
of success, Garfield County is
working to sustain the Strategies
toward Education/
Employment, Progress &
Safety (STEPS) program.
BE A HERO!
Fifth annual Child Safety Fair
By: Rachele Mettauer
Families are invited to attend
the Garfield County Child Safety
Fair on Friday, April 26 from 1
to 6 pm. There will be free food,
giveaways, safety information,
and local resources for children
and families in Garfield County
and sorrounding communities.
Family Matters
Garfie ld Co unty Department o f Human Se rvice s
Div i si on o f Child Welfa re
Through community partners
like the Family and Community
Engagement Team
(FACET), Service Assessment
Team and the Garfield
County Collaborative Management
Team, we hope to
keep the STEPS program
thriving. Within the past year
In addition, there will be music,
dancers, and other entertainment.
The Child Safety Fair will
be held at the Garfield County
Health and Human Services
building (across from City Market)
in Rifle.
This event is fun for the whole
family, and is entirely free.
alone, STEPS has provided
case management, assistance
and life skills to more than 15
young people who were
homeless or precariously
housed. Life skills training
teaches youth about budgeting,
obtaining employment
and housing, tax preparation
and more. The STEPS Program
helps tackle the hurdles
many youth face in getting
housing, applying for college
or finding a job.
If you know of a youth, age
16-21, who is “couchsurfing”,
homeless or precariously
housed, please have him
or her contact Danielle at
(970) 625-5282 ext. 3129.
Remember, a couch is not a
home.
Volume 3, Issue 1
March - April - May 2013
Special points of interest:
Learn how to help recruit
foster homes in Garfield
County.
You can influence practices
in the Child Welfare office.
Meet our three new Child
Welfare workers.
Get the low down on Garfield
County numbers and stats.
Inside this issue:
Child welfare practices 2
Program Area 3 2
Child welfare by numbers 3
Foster care recruitment &
retention
3
DR update 3
Upcoming events 4
New case workers 4

Volume 3, Issue 1
How YOU can impact child welfare practices in Garfield County
By: Joyce Glahn Christensen
Garfield County continues to strive to
improve outcomes for children, youth,
and families by using data to analyze its
practices, and to determine which factors
are contributing to “areas needing improvement.”
Toward that goal, the Quality Practice
Team (QPT) initiated a survey for child
welfare staff. The issues surveyed about
were:
1) What factors does the staff believe are
impacting the high rates of Garfield
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is virtually endless. You can include stories
that focus on current technologies or
innovations in your field.
You may also want to note business or economic
trends, or make predictions for your
customers or clients.
If the newsletter is distributed internally, you
might comment upon new procedures or improvements
to the business. Sales figures or
earnings will show how your business is growing.
County children and youth who re-enter
out-of-home placement after reuniting
with their families? Staff identified a lack
of family engagement, lack of availability
of aftercare, and a lack of appropriate
levels of care.
2) Which factors does the staff think are
the most significant barriers for family
visitation for children and youth in placement?
Staff members felt that families do not
have reliable transportation or have no
transportation at all. Another barrier was
the distance and time for families to com-
Some newsletters include a column that is
updated every issue, for instance, an advice
column, a book review, a letter from the
president, or an editorial. You can also profile
new employees or top customers or vendors.
plete a visit, and an unwillingness on the
parents’ behalf to visit their child or adolescent
(lack of family engagement).
We are asking for your input in this process
as well. Please contact Mikki
Baumann to make your observations
count. Her phone number is (970) 625-
5282, ext. 3206. We plan to use the information
from you to improve our practice,
and thus create better outcomes for children,
youth and families.
Child welfare focuses on prevention with Program Area 3
By: Joyce Glahn Christensen
A lot has happened since our winter
newsletter. The Program Area 3 Program
and Development team has met several
times. In order for prevention activities to
be implemented, the work group made up
of state and county folks, has been meeting
regularly to write proposed language
for the Volume 7 rules and regulations
that will be presented to the State Board
of Social Services for approval. The
work group has also been working with
Trails technical staff to develop Trails
windows that will support the Prevention
Program Area and data can be collected
about those prevention efforts. The actual
implementation of the new Program Area
is being decided. We will continue to
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from
the story here.”
provide updates in “FAMILY MAT-
TERS.”
Page 2

Page 3 Family Matters
Child welfare by numbers By Matt McGaugh
As of March 1, 2013, data collection for the
Differential Response (DR) project ended.
This means that assignments no longer have
to continue in initial randomized tracks.
This will allow for more flexibility when
assigning low to moderate risk assessments.
It is anticipated that a higher percentage of
Family Assessment Response (FAR) assignments
will be made moving forward, due to
these changes. Over the last year, we have
assigned approximately 50% FAR and 50%
High Risk Assessment (HRA). The average
of the five counties shows HRA assignments
at 49% and FAR being at 51%.
Over the next several months, the DR leadership
team and a DR data workgroup will
analyze the data collected from this project.
Differential Response update
Joyce Glahn Christensen
Colorado continues to move toward the
expansion of Differential Response (DR)
into 19 counties. The Garfield Training
Team has one more three-day session to
finish up our “Train the Trainer” training
(how many times can you use “train” in a
sentence?) during the first week in May.
New counties will then have the opportunity
to participate in various orientation
Many factors will be considered, including
outcomes for children, youth and families,
cost analysis, and caseworker and family
satisfaction survey results. Updates will be
provided when our analysis is complete.
Garfield County’s data from the FAR
evaluation summary report continues to
show positive results compared with the
other four counties in the study. Garfield
County has the highest percentage of referrals
being screened through the RED Team
process. The data shows that we screen 92%
of all referrals through RED Team, compared
with a 65% average among the 5
counties. Garfield County also showed well
with timeliness of HRA/FAR closure. Garfield
County closed 83.6% of High Risk as-
Foster care recruitment & retention efforts
By: Rachele Mettauer
May is Foster Parent Appreciation Month.
Garfield County Department of Human
Services will host its Fourth Annual Appreciation
Day at the Glenwood Caverns
Adventure Park for foster parents who
have been certified during the last year.
To recruit foster homes, we will ask all
Garfield County staff members if they
would be willing to put a sign in their
yards to promote foster care. We are asking
that the signs be placed in visible
places and be displayed for the whole
month of May. More details will come as
we get closer to May!
We thought we would try some creative
new recruitment ideas this year. We will
build a parade float for inclusion in the
Strawberry Days Parade, Garfield County
Fair Parade, and the Rifle Parade of
Lights. We hope that to have lots of volunteers
to help build the float and walk
with us in the parade.
We are also printing our foster care image,
along with the Garfield County logo,
meetings involving areas to consider for
implementation, such as county infrastructure,
training, and coaching. When
the second cohort finishes, a third cohort
will begin, and so on, until the entire state
is practicing DR.
In addition to coaching the expansion
counties, the Garfield Training Team will
be providing training to newly employed
workers and refresher training and coaching
to current child welfare staff. The
sessments within 60 days, compared with the
five county average of 65.5%. Garfield
County closed 88.5% of FAR within 60
days, compared with the five county average
of 54.2%. Garfield County also had the
highest number of face-to-face contacts per
FAR case, compared with the other five
counties. Garfield County averaged 6.3 faceto-face
contacts per FAR case compared
with the five county average of 3.3 face-toface
visits per FAR case. These outcomes
are positive, and show that Garfield
County’s staff has done an excellent job
implementing these new practice changes.
Continued DR data updates will follow as
more data from this project becomes available.
“May is Foster
Parent Appreciation
Month!”
on hunting and fishing license holders,
and will distribute them throughout the
county. We hope that these efforts will
yield new foster care homes for children
in Garfield County.
team is now working on the plan to begin
its in-house coaching.
If you have any questions about this training
or Differential Response, please give
me a call, Joyce Glahn Christensen, 970
625-5282, ext. 3261.

Garfie ld Co unty
Departm ent of Hum an Serv i ce s
Div i si on o f Child Welfa re
Page 4 Newsletter Title
195 W. 14th Street
Rifle, CO 81650
Inside Story Headline
Phone: 970-625-5282
Fax: 970-665-6350
E-mail: rmettauer@garfield-county.com
MICHELLE SOULT is a FAR and Ongoing
caseworker.
Welcome new child welfare case workers
What is your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part of my job, so far, is connecting
people with resources.
Tell us about your career goals.
I would eventually like to continue to
graduate-level education, and then help
people on a larger scale.
What lead you to work in Garfield
County?
Inside Story Headline
I wanted to become a social worker to
make a positive impact on the lives of
others. I chose Garfield County because I
This love story this area. can fit I think 100-150 Glenwood words. Canyon JENNIFER Some newsletters CANTWAY include a is column an in-home that is
is one of the most beautiful drives that I
The subject matter that appears in newslet-
have ever been on.
ters is virtually endless. You can include stories
What that is focus your on professional current technologies background, or
innovations educational in and your experiential?
field.
I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology
You and biology. may also I want have to worked note business in a school or economic
trends, or make predictions for your
setting, and also on the crisis unit of a
customers or clients.
psychiatric residential treatment facility.
family updated therapist. every issue, for instance, an advice
column, a book review, a letter from the
What president, lead or you an editorial. to work You in child can also welfare profile
in new Garfield employees County? or top customers or vendors.
I have worked in Garfield County at the
high school level for three years. I wanted
to move forward into more of a therapeutic
position. I truly enjoy working with
If Tell the us newsletter about your is distributed internally, you families to make a more positive environ-
might family. comment upon new procedures or imment
for all. This posiprovements
Most of my to family the business. lives Sales figures or
earnings out of state. will show I live how here your business is growing.
with my dog, who is a
tion seems ideal for me,
it allows me to work
with families on an indi-
three year old cocker
vidual and family level
spaniel mix.
Inside Story Headline
What do you like to do
in a therapeutic atmosphere.
in your non-working
What is your profes-
hours?
sional background?
I play with the Symphony
(educational and expe-
in the Valley and am
learning to cross country
Michelle Scout (left) and Jennifer Cantriential)way (right) joined the Garfield County I have a BA in psychol-
ski.
Child Welfare Team in 2012. They are
a great resource to our local families
and communities.
ogy and an MA in Education-Counseling.
I
earned both degrees at
~ Upcoming Events ~
April 26—Child Safety Fair 1 to 6 pm @ the Rifle
DHS Office 195 W. 14th Street, Rifle
May 11—Foster Parent Appreciation Day @ the Glenwood
Springs Adventure Park 10 am to 6 pm
May 16—Foster Parent Training: Car Seat Safety @
the Rifle DHS Child Welfare Annex 5 to 7:30 pm
the University of Redlands in Redlands,
CA. I have five years of experience in
school counseling, I worked for two years
at Meeker High School and three years at
Grand Valley High School.
Tell us about your family.
I have a beautiful family! I got married in
2011 to my husband, Pascal, and this past
December we had a beautiful baby girl
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from
the story here.”
named Emma. I also have a dog that I
absolutely adore, Milo the boxer.
What do you like to do in your nonworking
hours?
My family and I love being outdoors. In
the winter my favorite outdoor activity is
snowboarding! I love playing in the snow,
skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and
hiking. In the summer I love taking my
dog to the river to go swimming, I also
recently took up golf and really enjoy it!
What is your favorite part of your job?
Being a positive mentor for families and
young kids. I love making a positive impact
in the lives of my clients.
Tell us about your career goals.
I hope to continue working on my therapeutic
practices and learning more evidence-based
practices that will allow me
to help families. I am currently working
on my LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
and will continue that for the next
year.
Family Matters is a quarterly publication of Garfield County, Colorado, and is an open record for purposes of the Colorado Open Records Act., § 24-72-201 C.R.S., et seq. All content is
expressly for Garfield County staff and Garfield County Department of Human Services colleague communications, and is for informational purposes only. Garfield County assumes no
responsibility of any kind or type for errors contained herein. Family Matters is not to be construed at any time as the official statement of Garfield County, Colorado, with respect to the
resolutions, motions, policies, or decisions of the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners. © 2013, all rights reserved. Family Matters may not be redistributed or reprinted, in
whole or in part, without the express, prior, and written permission of Garfield County, Colorado. For permission, please contact the Garfield County Communications Department at
970.945.1377, ext.1453