Section 1-1 - Authority and Purpose (a) The Department of Family Services (DFS), is authorized under Wyo. Stat. § 14-3-215, to promulgate rules setting forth the operation of an Interagency Children's Collaborative. The agencies charged by the Interagency Children's Collaborative (ICC) with assessing and recommending improvements to the system of services to children in out-of-home care may request that these rules be revised at any point in the future to include additional guidelines as may be determined necessary.
(b) The purpose of the Interagency Children's Collaborative is to improve coordination between the Department of Family Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and the Department of Workforce Services in the identification and delivery of services to children in state custody and their families to reduce the time children spend in temporary placements. The ICC shall: - (i) Compile and review case files of children in state custody for fifteen (15) of the preceding twenty-two (22) months to improve service delivery and identify systemic barriers that increase the time a child spends in out-of-home care.
- (ii) Provide multi-agency assistance to local multidisciplinary teams in the form of case reviews to help identify appropriate services and supports.
- (iii) Improve coordination and maximization of state resources through the compilation and review of multi-agency case information regarding children who are or should be served by more than one of the agencies in the ICC.
- (iv) Conduct an annual review of the services and supports available to children in state custody and report on the current utilization of these resources to identify systemic problems and provide recommendations intended to create a balanced statewide system of care for children in state custody, which will meet the child's familial, health, educational and economic needs and minimizes the time a child must spend in state custody.