Rhode Island Child Welfare Services Resources

On this page you will find website addresses to various local, state, and national groups – and if you scroll down further you will find acronyms and basic definitions germane to some of Rhode Island’s child welfare services.

State and Local Assistance

Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families
www.dcyf.state.ri.us/

Rhode Island Department of Mental Health
www.mhrh.ri.gov

Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate
www.child-advocate.state.ri.us/

Rhode Island Foster Parent Association
www.rifpa.org

National Organizations

American Association of Children’s Residential Centers
www.aacrc-dc.org

Child Welfare League of America
www.cwla.org

Children’s Defense Fund
www.childrendefense.org

CARF International
www.carf.org

Council on Accreditation
www.coanet.org

The Joint Commission
www.jointcommission.org

Crisis Intervention

Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI)
www.crisisprevention.com

Handle With Care
www.handlewithcare.com

Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI)
rccp.cornell.edu.TCIpage1.htm

Acronyms and Definitions Related to Rhode Island Child Welfare Services

Administrative Review Unit (ARU)

Every six months the Case Plan for youth living in out of home care is formally reviewed in a meeting called the Administrative Review. The purpose is to make sure needed services are provided. Youth, especially those over 12 years of age are encouraged to attend their ARU as this is a meeting when a lot of decisions about their life are being discussed. It is important for them to participate in these decisions. Youth over age 12 can sign their own Case Plan. They can ask their Social Worker to request a review meeting to be scheduled after school hours. The meeting usually lasts about 30 - 60 minutes.

Child & Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) & Local Coordinating Council (LCC)

CASSP provides a system of care for children and youth with severe emotional disturbances. Each of eight mental health catchments in the state has a Local Coordinating Council, or LCC, to serve their community. The LCC is made up of representatives from mental health, social service, local education authorities, state agencies involved with child and family issues, parent advocates, and most importantly parents. The LCC pulls together a continuum of services that meet the needs of seriously emotionally or behaviorally challenged children and their families in a culturally competent, community-based, child centered and family focused way. The LCCs ensure that services are accessible to families and, most importantly, that families are integral partners in determining the best service plans for their children. This is accomplished through the use of planning teams composed of formal and informal supports identified by the family, family members, and a Family Service Coordinator from the LCC. The latter is an individual with experience in negotiating various service systems within the state. The Family Coordinator assists the family in identifying their strengths, needs, service requests that are then brought to the planning team for development of an individual service plan for the child and family.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is an organization of volunteers who come from all backgrounds, who speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courts. The CASA volunteer assists in reviewing documents in an individual’s case file, visits a particular child or youth (at least once), and can make recommendations to the court. (CASA workers are sometimes referred to as Guardian Ad Litem.)

Children’s Intensive Services (CIS)

Children’s Intensive Services (CIS) is a six-month acute hospital diversion program which is community based for children/youth at risk of hospitalization or out of home placement. A full range of clinical services including psychiatric treatment/evaluation, case management, in-home behavior management, medication management and intensive coordination with physical health care providers and other social service agencies, including schools.

As defined by contract, the first priority are Medicaid and uninsured children/youth at risk of psychiatric hospitalization, or being discharged from a psychiatric hospital. The second priority is Medicaid or uninsured children/youth at risk for out of home placement. The third is insured children/youth at risk of hospitalization/placement. Age range is 3-18 years old (21 years if involved with DCYF).

Comprehensive Emergency Services (CES)

The Comprehensive Emergency Services (CES) program provides twenty-four (24) hour emergency services, seven (7) days a week for those families who are experiencing a crisis due to issues of child abuse, neglect, and dependency. The voluntary services are directed towards maintaining the children in the home and de-escalating the presenting problem. The CES program is designed to provide services for a period of sixty (60) days.

The program serves a culturally and ethnically diverse group of male and female clients. Clients served can be characterized by experiencing difficulties including: lack of parenting skills; poor or no housing; financial problems; lack of adequate food and nutrition; domestic violence; separation and divorce; limited cognitive capacity, etc.

DCYF Case Plan

The DCYF Case Plan/Agreement is time limited, goal oriented, and identifies the problem areas, and proposed services for parents and children. It spells out exactly what a child, their parents and DCYF have to do to reach the goals in a timely fashion. It is a tool used to make sure that progress is happening in a child or youth’s case and that their case is moving in a direction towards the goals.

DCYF Discharge Plan

The Discharge Plan is developed as part of the Case Plan for older youth who are expected to transition out of the Departments care to independence within six months. It is part of the final plan for youth while they are involved with DCYF and includes specific things like where the youth will be living, working, and their budget. It identifies any final medical or other needs that should be dealt with before the case is closed.

DCYF Transitional Living Plan

A Transitional Living Plan is part of the Case Plan, which gets developed for all youth age sixteen and older, starting shortly after their sixteenth birthday. It explains what the goals and activities are for older youth regarding Life Skills Classes, Higher Education, Vocational planning, and Aftercare Services. This plan also begins to identify skills and services that will be needed to successfully move youth out of the Department’s care to independence.

Family Care Community Partnerships (FCCP)

FCCPs are statewide, integrated and family-focused, community-based systems of care for children and families at risk for abuse and/or neglect and/or have behavioral needs. The FCCP will work with families in the home, providing needed services, and will work to prevent residential placement.

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA)

This Act (adopted by the US Department of Health and Human Services in 2002) creates national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information. The Act has impacted all systems that deal with the handling of confidential material. However, HIPAA does not impact Rhode Island’s mandated reporter provisions as all persons are mandated to report child abuse and neglect.

Kinship Care

Kinship care is the full time care, nurturing, and protection of children by relatives, members of their tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, or any adult who has a kinship bond with a child. This Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) definition is designed to be inclusive and respectful of cultural values and ties of affection. This allows a child to grow to adulthood within a family environment.

Medicaid

Medicaid falls under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, and is the nation’s major program for providing health and long-term care coverage to low-income people. It is funded by the federal and state governments, and remains the critical health care safety net for millions of low-income children.

Permanency Planning

This is the ongoing process of assessing and working toward a permanent plan for a child that will insure their safety, well-being, and ongoing stability/permanency. There are many permanency options (reunification, open adoption, etc.) and differing levels of family-connectedness. The Child Welfare League of America uses the following definition to describe permanent plans that consider family relationships:

Family reunification is the planned process of reconnecting children in out-of-home care with their families by means of various services and supports. It aims to help each child and family to achieve and maintain their optimal level of reconnections – from full entry of the child into the family system to other forms of contact, such as visiting, that affirm the child’s membership in the family.

Placement Solutions

Placement Solutions is with the responsibility (on behalf of the RI Department of Children, Youth and Families) to conduct utilization review for all Rhode Island children who live in residential and community-based settings funded by RI DCYF. Provider service delivery data is also collected on an ongoing basis.

Psychiatric Response Network (PRN)

Begun by RICORP in 1999, and now operated by Beacon Healthcare through Neighborhood Health Plan of RI, PRN provides psychiatric consultation and medication management for children/youth in residential programs (without regard to an agency’s budget). PRN is a short-term program (2-3 months after initial evaluation). Its goal is to ensure the psychiatric needs of children and adolescents in residential programs who are in transition between community-based services providers. PRN providers actually come out to the residential sites to evaluate the client, and appointments are usually scheduled within days of the referral. For more information call 401-784-3600, ext. 3632.

RIte Care

RIte Care is Rhode Island’s Medicaid managed care program that provides health insurance to eligible uninsured pregnant women, parents and children up to age 19. Families receive their health care through participating Health Plans, including: Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island; Blue CHiP; and United Healthcare of New England. Eligible populations include:

1. Pregnant women with family incomes less than 350% of the federal poverty level;
2. Families with children up to age 18 with family incomes less than 185% of the
3. federal poverty level;
4. Youth under 19 with family incomes less than 250% of the federal poverty level.

Teen Grants

Teen grants are awarded to youth, age 16 and older, in foster and group care, which allows them to participate in an activity, learn a skill, purchase textbooks or buy an item(s) that will help them become more self-sufficient. Applications can be obtained by calling the Foster Parent Association or Chafee Life Skills Center (431-0557). Applications are reviewed monthly by a committee comprised of youth and staff. Priority is given to grants that help a youth gain independent living skills and confidence.

Visitation

Effective visitation requires a strength-based approach where the safety of the child is a central focus. RI DCYF notes the work of Lois Wright (2001) in that visitation offers three core opportunities:

1. A face-to-face contact between the child and their family;
2. The primary mechanism for maintaining family connections for a child in care.
3. The context for learning if and when a parent will be able to provide a safe environment for a child or if a permanent plan other than reunification needs to be considered.

Youth Pride

Youth Pride, Inc. (YPI) provides services to youth and young adults affected by sexual orientation and gender identity. Through programs of advocacy, organizing, education and support, YPI’s goals are:

1. To work toward the elimination of oppression against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (lgbtq) youth;
2. To provide the necessary support to empower these young people in their communities.

Literature

On a limited basis, those who contact RICORP can request a complimentary copy of the following books by James R. Harris, Jr.:

Promoting Healthy Child Development (2007)
Respecting Residential Work with Children and Families (2009)

©2010 RICORP, All Rights Reserved
Revised: 15-Feb-10

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