CFSP 5 Year Plan - RI Department of Children, Youth & Families

Rhode Island
TITLE IV-B CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICE PLAN
Five Year Plan – 2010-2014
Introduction –
The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families has combined
responsibility for child welfare, juvenile corrections and children’s behavioral health services. The
agency was created in 1980 and is statutorily designated as the “principal agency of the state to
mobilize the human, physical, and financial resources available to plan, develop, and evaluate a
comprehensive and integrated statewide program of services designed to ensure the opportunity
for children to reach their full potential. Such services shall include prevention, early
intervention, outreach, placement, care and treatment, and aftercare programs. The Department
shall also serve as an advocate for the needs of children,” (RIGL 42-72-5).
The agency is guided by strong vision and mission statements that were crafted by a cross-section
of the Department’s staff:
Vision – As active members of the community, we share a vision that all children,
youth and families reach their fullest potential in a safe and nurturing environment.
Mission – It is the mission of DCYF to assist families with their primary
responsibility to raise their children to become productive members of society. We
recognize our obligation to promote, safeguard and protect the overall well-being
of culturally diverse children, youth and families and the communities in which they
live through a partnership with families, communities and government.
Through multiple programs extending through a range of community-based care to
residential treatment, the Department provides child protection, child welfare, children’s
behavioral health and education, preventive services to children at risk of abuse/neglect, support
services for children and families in need, and services for youth requiring community supervision
or incarceration due to delinquency. This combined responsibility and service structure positions
DCYF quite well for working in concert with other state departments, community-based agencies
and family representatives to continuously develop and improve strategies through the Title IV-B
Child and Family Service Plan that address fundamental needs of children and families.
Responsibility for the Title IV-B Child and Family Service Plan is within the Director’s Office in
the Division of Management and Budget.
R.I. Department of Children, Youth and Families
Title IV-B Child and Family Service Plan – 2010 - 2014
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