Alabama Administrative Code › Title 660 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES › Chapter 660-5-47 - INDIVIDUALIZED SERVICE PLANS › Section 660-5-47-.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
Various terms used in this policy are described below.
(1) Addendum - The acronym for "Case Planning
			 Addendum for Children in Out-Of-Home Care." The Addendum is a funding source
			 document for federal reviews and for assessing and case planning for children
			 residing in out-of-home care pursuant to a court order granting DHR custody or
			 an Agreement For Foster Care signed by a child's parents or legal custodians.
			 It includes information that is documented in the ISP and/or record.
(2)
Age-Appropriate
			 Child
- A child age 10 and older (except a child with severe
			 mental retardation) or a child under age 10 who is intellectually capable of
			 understanding and communicating ideas and opinions concerning the subject
			 matter being discussed or considered.
(3)
Assessment
- A
			 process of gathering and analyzing information, drawing conclusions, and making
			 decisions in partnership with children and families, providers and relevant
			 stakeholders.
(4)
Child
			 and Family Planning Team
- The individuals involved in planning
			 and/or delivery of services for a child and family. The team shall include the
			 age-appropriate child, the parent(s), others requested by the child or family,
			 the DHR worker(s), the foster care provider and other service providers if any.
			 Their work product is known as the individualized service plan (ISP).
(5)
Child's Home
-
			 The physical environment or location of the family unit in which the child (a)
			 resides or (b) was residing with a caregiver in a significant relationship
			 prior to removal or transfer of custody.
(6)
Concurrent
			 Planning
- A case management method which emphasizes candor, goal
			 setting, and completion of selected activities within specified time limits in
			 work with children and families in order to facilitate a more timely
			 achievement of permanence and stability. This method encourages all ISP team
			 members to achieve the most desirable permanency goal while, at the same time,
			 establishing and pursuing an alternate permanency goal. Such planning should
			 occur from the time of initial engagement with a family rather than
			 sequentially thereafter.
(7)
Crisis Planning -
A crucial element of dealing with
			 potential situations that may arise in a child's and/or family's life. It
			 includes developing contingency steps within a safety plan or ISP to be
			 implemented in case the original steps are unable to be implemented as
			 planned.
(8)
Cultural
			 Competence
- The ability of individuals and systems to effectively
			 provide services to people of a different culture, race, ethnicity, background,
			 and religion in a manner that recognizes values, affirms and respects the worth
			 of individuals, and protects and preserves their dignity.
(9)
Decree Goals
-
			 The goals of the system of care are to protect children from abuse and neglect,
			 and to enable children to live with their families; and when that cannot be
			 achieved through the provision of services, to live near their home; achieve
			 stability and permanency in their living situation; achieve success in school;
			 and become stable, gainfully employed adults.
(10)
Emergency
			 Situation
- A situation where the child is at imminent risk of
			 serious harm and action to protect the child must be taken before a child and
			 family planning team can be convened to develop an ISP.
(11)
Family
- A
			 biological, adoptive or self-created unit of people residing together
			 consisting of adult(s) and child(ren) with the adult(s) performing duties of
			 parenthood for the child(ren). Persons within this unit share bonds, cultural
			 practices and a significant relationship. Biological parents, siblings and
			 others with significant attachments to a child living outside of the home are
			 included in the definition of family.
(12)
Family Focused
Practice - Meeting the needs of individuals within the context of
			 families.
(13)
Foster
			 Care
- Children are considered to be in foster care when they are
			 residing outside their own homes
and
any one of the
			 following conditions is met: a child is in DHR's protective custody (due to a
			 summary removal), temporary custody, or permanent custody; or a child is the
			 subject of a voluntary placement agreement; or a child was in DHR custody
			 immediately prior to entry into an institution operated by the Department of
			 Mental Health and Mental Retardation (DMH/MR) or the Department of Youth
			 Services (DYS) which requires a transfer of custody prior to placement and the
			 plan is to return to DHR custody upon discharge from the institution.
(14)
Foster Care
			 Provider
- A provider of out-of-home care for a child in any of
			 the following settings: a relative's home (kinship care) which is approved as a
			 related foster family home, a foster family home, a therapeutic foster family
			 home, a group home, a shelter care home or facility, a child care institution,
			 a hospital, or another residential facility.
(15)
Goal
- The
			 desired outcome of a child and/or family meeting an identified need.
(16)
Individualized Service Plan
			 (ISP)
- The case plan that is created in partnership with the
			 members of the child and family planning team. It includes identification of
			 the child(ren) and family's strengths and needs; goals the child(ren) and
			 family work toward to reach the desired case outcome; and steps to be taken by
			 individual child and family planning team members to authorize and deliver
			 services, and to measure progress toward goals.
(17)
Intensive Family
			 Preservation Services
-Short-term services of varying duration and
			 intensity that are provided in the family's home or community by competent
			 staff available on a seven-day, 24-hour basis (e.g., counseling, support
			 services). These services are structured to protect children while keeping
			 families together and enhance the natural support networks of children and
			 families.
(18)
Needs
- Physical or psychological conditions that will
			 be addressed to reduce or eliminate risks to assure a child's protection, sense
			 of permanence, and sense of well-being. Surface needs may be, and frequently
			 are, symptoms of the underlying conditions or issues that have caused or
			 contributed to the family's inability to adequately protect the child from
			 harm. Surface needs may be interfering with the family's progress toward
			 addressing or meeting the underlying conditions.
(19)
Parent
- A
			 child's birth mother/father, adoptive mother/father, or
			 stepmother/stepfather.
(20)
Permanency Goal
- The permanent living situation for
			 the child that the ISP is designed to achieve. Permanency goals, in order of
			 preference, are remain with parent; return to parent; permanent relative
			 placement with transfer of custody to the relative; permanent relative
			 placement with DHR retaining custody; adoption by current foster parent;
			 adoption with no identified resource; another planned permanent living
			 arrangement, court approved; and adult custodial care. Permanency goal options
			 for child protective services cases in-home/ongoing are: remain with parent;
			 remain with relative/ caretaker; return to parent; or return to relative
			 caretaker.
(21)
Primary
			 Caregiver
- The adult who assumes the parental role and has the
			 major responsibility for a child's care. This may include, but is not limited
			 to, a parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, another relative or a non-relative
rearing
a child for an absent or incapacitated
			 parent.
(22)
Residential Provider
- A foster care provider other
			 than a foster parent, including providers who deliver care in any of the
			 following licensed or license-exempt settings: group home, child placing
			 agency, child care institution, DYS facility, or DMH/MR facility.
(23)
Restrictive
			 Placement
- An out-of-home placement in a setting other than a
			 child's own home, a relative's home, a family foster home, a therapeutic family
			 foster home, or independent living.
(24)
Safe/ Child
			 Safety
- The absence of a safety threat or the family is willing
			 and able to manage safety threats.
(25)
Safety Plan
- A
			 plan developed in partnership, whenever possible, with age-appropriate children
			 and families to protect the children from safety threats when the
			 parents'/primary caregivers' protective capacities are insufficient. There are
			 three (3) types of safety plans (i.e., in-home; out-of-home non-foster care,
			 and out-of-home foster care) which are based on children's living arrangement
			 and listed in order of preference.
(26)
Service
			 Providers
- Individuals, families, agencies or organizations that
			 provide or could provide service(s) to children and families.
(27)
Siblings
-
			 Full, half and step brothers/sisters, and children raised together.
(28)
Steps
- Small,
			 incremental, behaviorally specific interventions that are designed to meet
			 specific needs and achieve identified goals.
(29)
Strengths
- -
			 Positive attributes, characteristics and/or resources that children and
			 families have that enable them to provide protection from harm or loss.
			 Strengths are utilized alone or in combination with interventions to address
			 the needs and minimize or alleviate the risks which resulted in the family's
			 involvement with the system of care.
Author:
Shawanda Harris
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
				  1975
, §§
										12-15-311,
				  12-15-312,
				  12-15-314,
				  12-15-315,
				  41-22-5,
				  41-22-6; The Adoption Assistance
				  and Child Welfare Act of 1980, (PL The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare
				  Act of 1980 ( PL 96-272); The Adoption and Safe Families Act (PL
				  105-89); R.C. v Hornsby, No 88-H-1170-N, Consent
				  Decree (M.D. Ala. Approved December 18, 1991).