18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-A-I-II
Following are descriptions of federal grant programs and services available through these grants and are examples of services which could constitute DFCS service array supported by these grants. Actual direct services interventions are described later in this section under "Direct Services Interventions". Please see www.acf.hhs.gov, from where the following information was taken, for additional details or updates.
Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 621 § 421] :
PURPOSE: The purpose of this subpart is to promote State flexibility in the development and expansion of a coordinated child and family services program that utilizes community-based agencies and ensures all children are raised in safe, loving families, by:
45 CFR 1357.10:
Child Welfare Services are public social services directed to accomplish the following purposes:
Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 629 § 430] :
PURPOSE: The purpose of this program is to enable States [and eligible Tribes] to develop and establish, or expand, and to operate coordinated programs of community-based family support services, family preservation services, time-limited family reunification services, and adoption promotion and support services to accomplish the following objectives:
* prevent child maltreatment among families at risk through the provision of supportive family services.
* assure children's safety within the home and preserve intact families in which children have been maltreated, when the family's problems can be addressed effectively.
* address the problems of families whose children have been placed in foster care so that reunification may occur in a safe and stable manner in accordance with the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.
* to support adoptive families by providing support services as necessary so that they can make a lifetime commitment to their children.
Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 629 a § 431]:
* service programs designed to help children-
* where safe and appropriate, return to families from which they have been removed; or
* removed from a family determined not to be safe and appropriate for a child, in some other planned, permanent living arrangement;
* pre-placement preventive services programs, such as intensive family preservation programs, designed to help children at risk of foster care placement remain safely with their families;
* service programs designed to provide follow-up care to families to whom a child has been returned after a foster care placement;
* respite care of children to provide temporary relief for parents and other caregivers (including foster parents); and
* services designed to improve parenting skills (by reinforcing parents' confidence in their strengths, and helping them to identify where improvement is needed and to obtain assistance in improving those skills) with respect to matters such as child development, family budgeting, coping with stress, health, and nutrition; and
* infant safe haven programs to provide a way for a parent to safely relinquish a newborn infant at a safe haven designated pursuant to a State law.
Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 629 a § 431(7)(A)]:
* a child who is removed from his/her home and placed in a foster family home; and or child care institution; and
* to the parents or primary caregiver of such a child, in order to facilitate the reunification of the child safely and appropriately within a timely fashion. "Timely" means the earliest possible time of the 15 month period that begins on the date that the child, pursuant to §475(5)(f), is considered to have entered foster care.
* individual, group, and family counseling
* inpatient, residential, or outpatient substance abuse treatment services
* mental health services.
* assistance to address domestic violence.
* services designed to provide temporary child care and therapeutic services for families, including crisis nurseries.
* transportation to or from any of the services and activities described in this subparagraph.
Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 629 a § 431(8)]:
Adoption Promotion and Support Services are services and activities designed to encourage more adoptions out of the foster care system, when the adoptions promote the best interests of children, and include such activities as pre and post adoptive services and activities designed to expedite the adoption process and support adoptive families.
45 CFR Part 1357, Sec. 1357.10 Scope and definitions.
Community-based Services refers to programs delivered in accessible community settings which are responsive to the needs of the community and the individuals and families residing therein. These services may be provided under public or private nonprofit auspices.
Family support services may include:
The Federal Foster Care Program provides safe and stable out-of-home care for children until the children are safely returned home, placed permanently with adoptive families or placed in other planned arrangements for permanency.
The program is authorized by title IV-E of the Social Security Act, as amended, and implemented under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 45 CFR parts 1355, 1356, and 1357. It is an annually appropriated program with specific eligibility requirements and fixed allowable uses of funds. Funding is awarded by formula as an open-ended entitlement grant and is contingent upon an approved title IV-E plan to administer or supervise the administration of the program.
The title IV-E DFCS must submit yearly estimates of program expenditures as well as quarterly reports of estimated and actual program expenditures in support of the awarded funds. Funds are available for monthly maintenance payments for the daily care and supervision of eligible children; administrative costs to manage the program; training of staff and foster care providers; recruitment of foster parents and costs related to the design, implementation and operation of a state-wide data collection system.
The Adoption Assistance Program provides funds to States to facilitate the timely placement of children, whose special needs or circumstances would otherwise make it difficult to place, with adoptive families. Authorized under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, and amendments, the Adoption Assistance Program provides federal matching funds of 50% to 83%, depending on the Mississippi's per capita income.
Funding is contingent upon an approved State plan to administer or supervise the administration of the program. Mississippi must submit yearly estimates of program expenditures as well as quarterly reports of estimated and actual program expenditures. Funds are available for a onetime payment to assist with the costs of adopting a child as well as for monthly subsidies to adoptive families to assist with the care of the eligible child.
Additionally, funds are available for: administrative costs to manage the program; training staff and adoptive parents; adoptive parent recruitment; and other related expenses.
This program provides funds for States to improve their child protection service systems Reauthorized by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003, the program requires Mississippi to provide assurances in their five-year Child and Family Services Plan that the State is operating a statewide child abuse and neglect program that includes several new programmatic requirements such as:
* Policies and procedures that address the needs of drug-exposed infants;
* Triage procedures for referral of children not at imminent risk of harm to community or preventative services;
* Notification of an individual who is the subject of an investigation about the allegations made against them;
* Training for child protection on their legal duties and parents' rights; and
* Provisions to refer children under age three who are involved in a substantiated case to early intervention services under IDEA Part C.
The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) offers assistance to help current and former foster care youth achieve self-sufficiency. Grants are offered to states and tribes that submit a plan to assist youth in a wide variety of areas designed to support a successful transition to adulthood. Activities and programs include, assistance with education, employment, financial management, housing, emotional support and assured connections to caring adults for older youth in foster care. The program is intended to serve youth who are likely to remain in foster care until age 18, youth who, after attaining 16 years of age, have left foster care for kinship guardianship or adoption, and young adults ages 18-21 who have "aged out" of the foster care system.
The Educational and Training Vouchers Program (ETV) for youth aging out of Foster Care was added to the CFCIP in 2002. ETV provides resources specifically to meet the education and training needs of youth aging out of foster care. In addition to the existing authorization of $140 million for the CFCIP program, the law authorizes $60 million for payments to states and tribes for post-secondary educational and training vouchers for youth likely to experience difficulty as they transition to adulthood after the age of 18. This program makes available vouchers of up to $5,000 per year per youth for post-secondary education and training for eligible youth.
The Children's Justice Act (CJA) provides grants to assist States in developing, establishing, and operating programs designed to improve:
* The assessment and investigation of suspected child abuse and neglect cases, including cases of suspected child sexual abuse and exploitation, in a manner that limits additional trauma to the child and the child's family;
* The assessment and investigation of cases of suspected child abuse-related fatalities and suspected child neglect-related fatalities;
* The investigation and prosecution of cases of child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse and exploitation; and
* The assessment and investigation of cases involving children with disabilities or serious health-related problems who are suspected victims of child abuse or neglect.
Mississippi must apply for these funds and meet certain eligibility requirements, including receipt of the CAPTA State Grant and establishment of a CJA Task Force as outlined in the legislation. Funds are allocated in the amount of $50,000 per state, plus an additional amount based on the population of children younger than 18 years of age in the applicant state's jurisdiction. Funding comes from Crime Victims' Fund, which collects fines and fees charged to persons convicted of federal crimes. The Fund is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) and the grants are awarded by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as outlined in §107 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), as amended, by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003.
Typical CJA activities:
* Developing curricula and conducting training for personnel in law enforcement and child protection services, as well as health and mental health professionals, prosecutors and judges.
* Establishing or enhancing child advocacy centers and other multidisciplinary programs to serve child victims and their families in order to minimize trauma.
* Establishing and supporting county and/or state child fatality review teams, including multidisciplinary training, team development, and annual reporting.
* Supporting the enactment of laws to improve systems response, including allowing the admission of indirect testimony of children into evidence, making the courtroom setting less intimidating to children, increasing the penalties for sexual offenses against children, requiring mandatory sentencing, shortening the trial process, and permitting victims to make statements prior to sentencing.
To be eligible for CJA funds, Mississippi must be eligible for the CAPTA Basic State Grant and are required to establish and maintain a multidisciplinary task force on children's justice. The task force is comprised of representatives from selected disciplines involved in handling child abuse and neglect cases.
The task force makes policy and training recommendations regarding methods to better handle these cases, with the expectation that it will result in reduced trauma to the child victim and the victim's family, while insuring fairness to the accused.
Every three years after the initial award, the task force is required to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the state's systems related to the investigative, administrative and judicial handling of child abuse, neglect and exploitation cases and child maltreatment-related fatalities and make recommendations for improvements to those systems.
The Court Improvement Program (CIP) was created as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1993, which among other things, provided federal funds to states and tribes for preventive services and services to families at risk or in crisis.
The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Amendments of 2001, (P.L. 107-133), reauthorized the Court Improvement Program through FY 2006. The law also expands the scope of the program to:
well-being, and permanence of children in foster care, as set forth in ASFA; and
From any discretionary funding appropriated annually for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program, the law authorizes a 3.3% set-aside for the CIP. The Court Improvement Program authority was transferred to a new § 438 of the Social Security Act.
Typical activities include development of mediation programs, joint DFCS-court training, automated docketing and case tracking, linked DFCS-court data systems, one judge/one family models, time-specific docketing, formalized relationships with the child welfare DFCS, improvement of representation for children and families, CFSR program improvement plan (PIP) development and implementation, and legislative changes.
This program provides funding to States to develop, operate, expand, and enhance community-based, prevention-focused programs and activities designed to strengthen and support families to prevent child abuse and neglect. The program was reauthorized, amended and renamed as part of the CAPTA amendments in 2003. To receive these funds, Mississippi's Governor must designate DFCS to receive the funds and implement the program. Some of the core features of the program include:
* Federal, state, and private funds are blended and made available to community agencies for child abuse and neglect prevention activities and family support programs.
* An emphasis on promoting parent leadership and participation in the planning, implementation and evaluation of prevention programs.
* Inter DFCS collaborations with public and private agencies in the States to form a child abuse prevention network to promote greater coordination of resources.
* Funds are used to support programs such as voluntary home visiting programs, parenting programs, family resource centers, respite and crisis care, parent mutual support, and other family support programs.
* An emphasis on promoting the increased use and high quality implementation of evidence-based and evidence-informed programs and practices.
* A focus on the continuum of evaluation approaches which use both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the effectiveness of the funded programs and activities.
18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-A-I-II