New Mexico Client Support Services Project a.k.a.

Social Worker Model

Angela Peinado, PhD

What Was Happening in New Mexico?

Parents meeting their attorneys for the first time at the initial hearing.

Attorney-Client visits not occurring. Case plans: no parent input Parent/child visits restricted by

resources. Parent language does not =

attorney language

I am in court and haven’t met

my attorney!I never get a return phone

call!

Do I have a say in

case plans?

Seriously! Once a

week for 1 hour?

Ex par-tay?

Children’s Court Improvement Commission (CCIC) –

Legal Representation Workgroup

What We Wanted to Do Develop innovative approach that advance court, agency, and stakeholder collaboration, in improving the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families in the child welfare system for New Mexico.

Model to assist parents and their attorneys established through the Legal Representation Workgroup.

Reduce time to permanency, reduce the number of motions to terminate parental rights, reduce the cost of foster care and services per family.

Reunified families will be less likely to re-enter the child welfare system.

When Protective Services looks like this.

What We Found Interesting The national trend is for independent social

workers to provide case work services and supportive testimony on behalf of respondent parents in abuse/neglect parents.

Social workers are able to provide the type of “case work” often needed in these cases that attorneys with increasing caseloads are unable to undertake.

Case Workers with Children, Youth and Families protective services (PS) Division often lack the time to assist clients through the process.

{

Placement

Visiting

Services

Conferences

The Four Cornerstones Concept

VisitingShould be as frequent and long as possible, and in settings that most closely mimic family life.

PlacementShould support a child’s connections to family and the people and institutions that the child was connected to before placement.

ServicesShould address a parent and child’s strengths and needs.

ConferencesShould occur out of court and provide opportunities for parents and older youth to meaningfully participate in their case planning.

“Cornerstone Advocacy”

supports family reunification by

devoting intensive advocacy during

the first 60 days of a case in four

areas.

The First Cornerstone: Placement

Appropriate placement eases the child’s transition to foster care• A placement that

helps children stay connected to teachers, friends, and other community supports like therapists or physicians minimizes the disruption in a child’s life.

Appropriate placement keeps parents engaged• Foster parents who

are willing to support a parent and child’s relationship play a critical role in maintaining family ties that inspire parents to stay engaged in services.

Appropriate placement supports reunification• A placement

which appropriately supports a child’s connection to family promotes reunification and eases the transition home.

The Second Cornerstone: Services

Poor or Inappropriate Services

may be ill-suited to the family and may create unnecessary demands on a parent who must attend programs, court appearances, and visits.

may lose legitimacy for parents and can cause them to disengage or “fail to comply.”

Creative and flexible services

will keep parents engaged by ensuring that the services are meaningful and manageable

given the parents’ other commitments

will move the family towards reunification more quickly by addressing their needs

and building on their strengths

The Third Cornerstone: Conferences

Many important decisions about a family’s life are made outside court in family conferences.• Will the family remain together?• Will a family member become a foster parent?• How often will the parent and child visit each week?• Is the family ready for unsupervised visits?

However, historically there has been a disconnect between the social work sphere and the legal sphere.• An attorney who is not aware of decisions made at a family

conference may have inaccurate information or be unaware of issues arising from these conferences.

The Fourth Cornerstone: Visiting

Visiting is the key to

parent engagem

ent

•Visiting enables parents to continue the relationship with their children and inspires them to keep working on getting them home.

Visiting helps

children cope with foster care

and eventually with the

transition home

•When children can see their parents often and in circumstances that make them comfortable, they can talk with the people they most need to about what has happened—their parents.•Quality visiting can help children preserve cherished rituals, share stories from school and social life, and continue to seek advice and encouragement from their parents.

Meaningful and frequent visitation is the single

best predictor of safe and lasting reunification

• Practitioners should advocate for more frequent visits with as little supervision as necessary.

• When possible, visits should occur outside the agency and include activities that mimic family life.

• ALWAYS explore Visit Hosts

Acknowledging Emotions

$

{

Location

Why Sandoval County? Master’s level social worker on staff

available for the position, who is familiar with the court process and data collection.

Caseload size allows for a manageable number of cases.

Four contract attorneys available. Potential for growth in that it encompasses

three counties. Court innovative and open to change.

First Steps Internal Work Meeting with

Stakeholders (CYFD, CASA, CRB, CLC , attorneys and the judge)

Concerns and Issues

Collaborative Partners NMSU and NMHU

Identify Team

Develop Plan with Timeline

Identify Funding Sources for Training

Started to develop social work standards manual as a starting point to outline roles and responsibilities, and attorney/social worker division of labor. Washington State piloted

a similar program by county.

Forms

Identify data outcomes.

CFR

Initial discussion. Conference calls Set up agenda. Funding. Training date. August 2013 start date.

Inc.

CFR Cornerstone Institute: New Mexico Court Staff, Child Welfare Staff and Practitioners July 22, 23, 24, 2013

DRAFT Program Outline—3 Day Institute: need a working title

Piloting an Interdisciplinary Model of Parent Representation in New Mexico: Enhancing Parent Engagement, Opportunities for Safe Reunification and Opportunities for Court

Improvement (Arrangements will be made for guests to access computers and/or private office space during breaks

and CFR will provide lunch each day and coffee and tea throughout the day) Day One: 9:30 am to Noon (with one short mid am break): Getting Started

Goals and Objectives for the Program: Those of CFR and those of the Practitioners Overview of Materials Core Values and Core Purpose of Enhanced Representation for Parents and an

Interdisciplinary Practice Brief Overview of Cornerstone Advocacy on the Ground: in Work with Parents Brief Overview of Cornerstone Advocacy in the System —how it supports accurate

identification of permanency goals and how it can bolster court improvement initiatives Introduction to the Concepts of Next Actions, Small Adjustments and Toolkits

12noon-12:30: Break 12:30-1:30pm: Lunch with CFR’s Parent Advocates1: Why Strategies focused on Parent Engagement Matter –Views of the Child Welfare and Family Court systems from “Consumers” 1:45pm-4:00pm: Best Practices for a Team Practice: with CFR Staff:

Roles of the Attorney, Social Worker, Family Advocate, Parent Advocate and Paralegal Best practices for shared ownership and authorship of the case—communication routines that

work for staff and clients Ethical challenges of Team Representation

1 CFR’s Parent Advocates are professional staff comprised of parents who have personal direct experience with being investigated by protective services and being prosecuted in family court; they have had their children placed in foster care and have successfully and safely reunified their families.

Parent Support Services Dominica Montano

Sandoval County Judicial Complex 505-771-7175 or 505-340-1350

1500 Idalia Rd., Bldg. A FAX 505-771-7177

Bernalillo, NM 87004 berddsm@nmcourts.gov

PSS Referral Form

DATE:_________________

Client’s Name:__________________________________________________________________

Date of Birth:________________________________Phone______________________________

Work Phone:_________________________________Other_____________________________

Referring Attorney:______________________________________________________________

Phone____________________________Email________________________________________

Date & Time of Custody Hearing____________________________________________________

Children(s) Name(s):_____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

ADA __________________________________________________________________________

ICWA (Yes)______(No)_____Tribe/Pueblo____________________________________________

Special needs/ specific instructions: ________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you

STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANDOVAL THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT CHILDREN’S COURT JQ 2013-00000 CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES DEPARTMENT, ex rel, STATE OF NEW MEXICO IN THE MATTER OF _____, a child, And Concerning ________ and _______, RESPONDENTS.

ORDER APPROVING SOCIAL WORK INTERN APPOINTMENT

Dominica Montano, LMSW, a qualified supervising social worker participating in an

internship program of the _________________School of Social Work which meets the

requirements of (RULE? Other? ) and _______________________ Counsel for

___________________ in the above captioned matter, have requested that

__________________, a social work student enrolled in a qualified clinical social work program,

be permitted to participate in this matter as authorized by LR 13-XXX.

It is hereby ORDERED that the above-named social work intern may participate in this

case as authorized by LR 13-XXX .

_______________, 2013 _________________________ (Date) John F. Davis Children’s Court Judge

Someone to trust who can help you bridge the gap….

DATA

May 2014

CLIENT SUPPORT SERVICES Stats May 2014.docx

Challenges

Transportation for clients Additional resources for interns (i.e.

phones) Mental Health Evaluations

(alternates) Location, location , location Fees for programs Roles clarifications Funding

I don’t have a car! I have to pay

to detox?

Does the attorney

and social worker talk?

Seriously! One

phone!

Who is in control of the case?

Great surprises thanks to CQI!

Credits

People

InternsAttorneys

CIPStakehol

ders

Notes

Data

New Mexico FirstCase

management system

SW Model tracking

Model tracks

demographicsVisits

Locations

Sandoval

County

Three counties in this district: Sandoval is

“medium sized” of the three

Training

External

Internal

CYFDCFR

CASAMediation

Court processes

Funding

CIPCaseyAOCCourt

Notes

Ideas

ABACFR

Detroit Advocacy

CenterWashington

OPD

Goals include adding FSTR,

parent mentors ,

attorney pay and

manageable caseloads.

Questions?

BioAngela Peinado, PhD received her Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from the University Phoenix with a published Dissertation on Personality and Communication Styles of Drug Court Program Managers. She currently works with the Administrative Office of the Courts as a Statewide Program Director with the Court Improvement Project to researching efforts related to best practices, policy and procedural changes, as well as systemic changes for the permanency, safety and well-being of children in the child welfare system. Angela is also a faculty member at the University of Phoenix. She facilitates courses and prepares curriculum for General Studies, Writing, Communication, Management, Business and Criminal Justice courses.