Children's Bureau Website - Child Welfare Monitoring: Criteria for Eliminating Cases From Sample Lists

Criteria for Eliminating Cases From Sample Lists

Local Site Coordinators should record the reasons for eliminating cases from the sample. In addition, the State should submit to the Children’s Bureau Regional Office for approval a list of any case(s) that it deletes from the sample and provide the reason(s) that it did so. The State may eliminate cases from the sample for the following reasons only:

Cases in which the key individuals are unavailable during the onsite review week or are completely unwilling to be interviewed, even by telephone. The key individuals in a case are the child (if school age), the parent(s), the foster parent(s), the family caseworker, and other professionals knowledgeable about the case.

There may be cases, however, that should not be eliminated even though key individuals are unavailable. Before eliminating these cases, the State should determine whether sufficient information and perspectives can be obtained from the available parties. If the State determines that the case should be eliminated, it should consult with the Children’s Bureau Regional Office for approval to eliminate the case.

Cases involving out-of-county or out-of-State family members or services are considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the availability of key individuals. Children on runaway status should not be eliminated from the sample unless it has been determined that pertinent information needed to complete the Onsite Review Instrument cannot be obtained from other available parties, such as the guardian ad litem or other significant individuals. Local Site Coordinators should make reasonable efforts to seek the participation of key individuals in the case (though without pressuring them) to ensure the validity of the random sample.
An in-home services case open for fewer than 60 consecutive days during the 8-month sampling period or up to the first day of the onsite review.
An in-home services case in which any child in the family was in foster care for more than 24 hours during the period under review.
An in-home services case in which any child in the family was in foster care during the 8-month sampling period or who entered foster care from the period after the 8-month sampling period up to the first day of the onsite review.
A foster care case open fewer than 24 hours during the period under review.
A foster care case in which a child was on a trial home visit (placement at home) during the entire period under review. If the child was in a foster care placement for any portion of the period under review, the case should stay in the foster care sample.
A case reported to AFCARS in error, such as:
- A foster care case that was officially closed before the period under review, resulting in no State responsibility for the case.
- A case open for subsidized adoption payment only (if the case also was open for in-home services for at least 60 days during the sampling period, the case may be reviewed as an in-home services case).
- A case in which the target child reached the age of majority as defined by State law (18 years old in most States) before the period under review. Cases in which the child reached the age of majority during the period under review should be kept in the sample and reviewed until the time the child reached the age of majority.
- A case in which the selected child is or was in the care and responsibility of another State, and the State being reviewed is providing supervision through an Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC) agreement.
A case appearing multiple times in the sample, such as a case that involves siblings in foster care in separate cases or an in-home services case that was opened more than one time during a sampling period. If siblings appear on the list, the State should select the case of the child that appears first on the list and skip the cases of the other children or other cases involving the same family.
A foster care case in which the child’s adoption or guardianship was finalized before the period under review and the child is no longer under the care of the State child welfare agency.
Situations in which case selection would result in over-representation of child welfare agency staff, such as when more than two cases in one site are from the caseload of a single caseworker. In such situations, with approval from the Children’s Bureau Central and Regional Offices, cases may be eliminated from the list, as necessary, to ensure that cases are distributed among additional caseworkers. There may be site locations that will need to allow more than two cases per caseworker based on a limited number of staff or local assignment of cases by specialized category.
Situations in which case selection would result in over-representation or under-representation of juvenile justice cases. In these circumstances, cases should be eliminated to ensure distribution across the program areas being reviewed; prior approval from the Children’s Bureau Central and Regional Offices is required.
A case in which the child was placed for the entire period under review in a locked juvenile facility or other placement that does not meet the Federal definition of foster care.
An in-home services case that is open for supervision at the request of another State through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
A case that is opened exclusively for independent living services provided through the State Chafee plan.

The cases in the sample of approximately 150 cases that are not selected for review may serve as substitute cases to replace any selected cases that are eliminated on site or to resolve discrepancies. (See chapter 5, section C, for information on resolving discrepancies.)

View the Case Elimination Worksheet. These guidelines and the worksheet are also available in other formats: (PDF - 105 KB) (Excel - 112 KB)