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

safety outcome related items. The Department experienced consistent increasing numbers in the
percentage of repeat maltreatment cases subsequent to its baseline year in 2004. This measure
particularly prompted the Department to take a closer look at its practice and decision-making
processes in investigations and ongoing casework to identify potential contributing factors to
incidents of recurrent child maltreatment.
The Department conducted an internal review of a random sample of cases and found
that the majority of investigations involving repeat maltreatment were for matters relating to
neglect. More
State
specifically, these
National Standards Nat’l Stndrd DCYF CFSR % DCYF PIP DCYF PIP Method of
involved cases of Outcomes and Indicators
Baselin e Sttrengtth 2008 Performance Measure
2004 Objective
“other” neglect.
SAFETY OUTCOME 1
The findings from
Decrease to
FFY 2008
Item 2a: Repeat
6.1% 13.1%
12.2% 9.6% Data
the random sample Maltreatment
Profile
study suggested (National Standard)
that about 30% of Item 2b: Incidence of .057% 1.09% Decrease to .63% FFY 2008
these cases should child abuse/neglect in
.95%
Data
foster care
Profile
not have been (National Standard)
indicated as repeat SAFETY OUTCOME 2
maltreatment.
Item 3: Services to
Prevent Removal
79% Increase
to
84%
89% 2007/08
Regional
CFSR
Subsequently, in
collaboration with
Increase
Quarterly
Item 4: Risk of Harm 67% to 79% QA
ACF, DCYF
72%
Analysis
requested
technical assistance from the National Resource Center for Child Protective Services. An initial
meeting was held on April 4, 2007 to discuss decision-making practice and issues relating to the
category for “other” neglect. It was agreed that another review of case records would be
conducted in May 2007. The NRC report from the case review conducted in May was
consistent with the earlier internal study, that approximately 30% of the re-maltreatment cases
should not have actually been identified as repeat maltreatment. The report also found that
close to 60% of the repeat maltreatment reports occur within 1 to 2 months of the first report,
and 80% occur within 4 months.
The report from the NRC-CPS identified specific practice areas contributing to the
Department’s performance overall in assessing safety, and in being able to effectively manage
safety. Importantly, the report focused on a recommendation for DCYF to adopt information
standards which would serve as a basis for what a child protective investigator must know about
a family in order to have confidence in the decisions and conclusions about them.
DCYF also sought ongoing assistance from the NRC on Family-Centered Practice and
Permanency Planning with the NRC-CPS to help further develop staff skills to ensure clear,
documented safety plans based on investigations and to maintain the viability of safety plans on
an ongoing basis. Reflective of these issues, the Child Protective Services Division has
implemented an investigation response protocol which assigns primary workers to review and
formulate plans to ensure that conditions regarding risk and safety can be managed when there
is a new investigation on an active case. Staff from CPS and Family Service Units (FSU) are
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