Program Authorization: R.S. 36:477
The mission of Child Welfare Services is to provide for the public child welfare functions of the state, including but not limited to, child protective services; making permanent plans for foster children and meeting the daily maintenance needs of food, shelter, clothing, necessary physical medical services, school supplies, and incidental personal needs; and adoption placement services for children freed for adoption.
The goals of the Child Welfare Services Program are:
1. Ensure safety of children by protecting them from caretaker abuse.
2. Ensure well-being of children through a focus on stability and promotion of healthy development.
3. Ensure permanency for children in state custody through timely placements in permanent homes.
The Child Welfare Services Program also administers the federal grants for energy assistance and weatherization services for low-income persons and other such programs assigned by the Secretary.
Approximately 2,628 children enter foster care each year. Approximately ninety-eight percent of those entering the foster care system is because of suspected child abuse, neglect or exploitation. State courts place approximately 2,500 children into the custody of the Office of Community Services each year, resulting in an ongoing foster care population of approximately 6,100 children.
OBJECTIVES AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
1. The Office of Community Services, through its Child Welfare Services Program, will decrease the number of children entering out-of-home care by 5% as a result of valid findings of abuse/neglect by providing an integrated range of preventive services to at-risk families by the end of the year 2000.
2. The Office of Community Services, through its Child Welfare Services Program, will decrease the child protection intervention worker caseload to 10 new investigations per month by October, 1999 to provide for timely responses and completion of investigations.
1 Ninety-three percent of allocated staff was on board in fiscal year 1996-97.
3. In FY 1998-99, the Office of Community Services, through its Child Welfare Services Program, will assure that adequate care is provided for every child in the agency's custody in the least restrictive setting appropriate to meet the needs of the child.
4. In FY 1998-99, the Office of Community Services, through its Child Welfare Services Program, will reduce the average time children spend in foster care, the number of replacements a child has while in foster care and the number of valid protective services investigations in foster homes.
1 These are new performance indicators. Data will be collected during FY 1998-99 to establish baseline data.
5. In FY 1998-99, the Office of Community Services, through its Child Welfare Services Program, will increase by 5% the timely provision of annual medical evaluations for foster children.
1 These are new performance indicators. Data will be collected during FY 1998-99 to establish baseline data.
6. The Office of Community Services, through the Child Welfare Services Program, will increase adoptions by 15% by the year 2000 for the children with special needs who are freed for adoptions in FY 1998-99.
7. The Office of Community Services, through its Child Welfare Services Program, will increase by 5% the number of children exiting the system due to reunification with family, guardianship by non-relative, kinship care (relative custody) or adoption within two years of entering care by the year 2000.
1 These are new performance indicators. Data will be collected during FY 1998-99 to establish baseline data.
8. In FY 1998-99, the Office of Community Services, through its Child Welfare Services Program, will provide timely training for staff in accordance with state law.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR THE PROGRAM
This program is funded with general fund, self-generated revenues, interagency transfers and federal funds. The self-generated revenues are from parental contributions. The interagency transfers are received from: (1) the Office of Family Support for services to Refugee Unaccompanied Minors, and (2) the Office of Family Support for Child Care Services via the Child Care and Development Block Grant. The federal funds are from: (1) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), (2) Title IV-E, (3) Title IV-E Independent Living, (4) Title IV-B - Part 1, (5) Title IV-B - Part 2, (6) Child Abuse Neglect Grant, (7) Children's Justice Act Grant, (8) Social Security Income (SSI), (9) Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), (10) Post Legal Adoption Grant, and (11) the Title XX Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).
The total means of financing for this program is recommended at 98.9% of the existing operating budget. It represents 88.7% of the total request ($215,541,476) for this program. The major changes reflected in the analysis of recommendation include: decreased funding for nonrecurring carryforwards totaling ($7,007,025); decreased funding reflecting personnel reduction of (52) positions totaling ($1,267,413); net decrease in funding for acquisitions and major repairs totaling ($763,635); increased funding for all 2,058 recommended positions totaling $2,726,078; increased funding to reflect an anticipated attrition factor of 3.5% totaling $1,383,178; increased funding for the annualized cost of 60 Child Protection Investigation (CPI) staff that were funded for nine months in FY 1997-'98 totaling $537,556; increased funding for the annualized cost of 40 Foster Care support staff that were funded for nine months in FY 1997-'98 totaling $217,655; and increased funding for placement and treatment beds for children with multiple disabling conditions totaling $1,184,525.
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Legal services for legal opinions and advice to Child Protection Investigation staff |
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ACQUISITIONS AND MAJOR REPAIRS