Attachment E: FY 1995 State Plan Issues for Regulation

Attachment E

FY 1995 Five-Year State Plan - Issues for Future Regulations

We plan to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the spring of 1994. In our discussions with focus group participants and others, we have received a number of policy recommendations which are under consideration for inclusion in the proposed rule. The following is a list of preliminary regulatory issues under consideration for the FY 1995 State Plan:

The State Plan should include a State vision or philosophy statement for services to children and families.
The plan should include clearly stated goals and outcomes based on documented data on families and children; should reflect analysis of existing child welfare and related social welfare delivery systems; and should specify the steps that will be taken to measure outcomes and accomplish the goals.
The plan should document current, proposed, and ongoing coordination and collaboration with specified programs, agencies, organizations, and individuals at the State and community levels.
The plan should articulate a continuum of coordinated services in the State from prevention (family support services) to child abuse and neglect investigation, family preservation services, foster care and adoption services, reunification services and other supportive activities. The State should show how multiple State and local agencies and services programs, both public and private, are a part of this continuum, e.g., mental health, the courts, education, community action agencies, foundations, non-profit community-based organizations, housing, income security. The State should show how the continuum reflects the multiple sources of funding that contribute to this service system and how services are family-centered, flexible, easily accessible, and provide an improved service delivery system to children and families.
The plan should identify specific existing and planned family preservation services and family support services and describe how they fit into the continuum of services.
The plan should include a complete and detailed description of the family preservation services and the family support services in the State, the target populations for each service, and the geographic areas in which each service will be provided in the upcoming year. This information must also be made available to the public (Section 432(a)(5) of the Social Security Act).
The plan should describe the realistic and measurable results and benefits that are expected to be derived from the family support and family preservation services programs and the manner in which actual results and benefits would be measured and substantiated to determine if stated objectives and goals are met. This should include a description of the methods to be used to evaluate annual progress and to evaluate the effectiveness of the family support and family preservation programs, such as:
1. types of data collection activities that will document the frequency, intensity, and duration and results of service delivery to children and families, including data that will come from management information systems;
2. evaluations of ongoing programs;
3. process evaluations focusing on implementation strategies at the State and local level; and
4. impact evaluations assessing the impact of new service delivery efforts.
The plan should specify the quality standards used in the development, expansion, or operation of family preservation and family support services.
The plan should document contracts or subgrants with community-based organizations for family support services.

Additional requirements under consideration for proposed regulations include:

Specification of the public notification process States must use to publicize their Annual Report information on services, target populations, and geographic areas.
A definition of the term "administrative cost" to clarify for States the ten percent limitation on administrative costs.
A definition of the term "significant portion" to clarify for States what percentage of funds must be spent for family preservation and for family support services, respectively.
A requirement for annual documentation of funds spent for family preservation and family support services to permit monitoring of the supplantation prohibition.