Frequency Report: There are periodic review dates prior to 2002 - 1996 (1), 1999 (2), 2000 (4) and 2001 (21). (The dates in 2001 may have occurred in December.)

The program code checks for a date of a periodic review within the current removal episode.

State policy requires that a permanency planning meeting be held for each child within 30 days of entering care. Requirements for subsequent permanency planning meetings are more restrictive than the Federal requirements. Currently North Dakota requires permanency planning meetings for all children in foster care every 90 days.

The State staff indicated that the old review dates may be closed cases that are still open on the system; or children that are still in foster care and the child is in a pre-adopt home. The permanency plan may not get entered into the system in some county offices. In some counties the agency's involvement ends when contracted adoption agencies assume case management responsibilities.

Also, the old review dates may be open cases where the child has been returned to his/her own home while under the agency's responsibility for care, placement or supervision.

This is a required field.

The State has a common database that is shared with other State programs. When a foster care case is entered into the system, the worker first checks this database to see if this person is known to the State for other services/agencies. There is a hierarchy for the entry of data into the database and who"owns" the data; Medicaid and TANF have precedence over child welfare. The database does not include"unable to determine" as an option and the agency does not include this field on its input screens.

Missing data are mapped to "unable to determine."

This is a required field.

The common database does not include "unable to determine" as an option and the agency does not include this field on its input screens.

Frequency Report: (n = 1, 694) Yes = 920; No = 599; Not yet determined = 175

The State staff stated that the "yes" responses appear to be under-reported. The State's finding during the Child and Family Services Review indicated children's mental health needs were not being adequately assessed. This is probably contributing to the under-reporting of the data in this element.

The agency has a narrative area in the permanency plan where workers can enter additional information regarding medical history.

For cases that are in the agency's program "birth counseling" (BC), the information is extracted from the "adoptive placement" file. The code is not checking the "foster care" record.

For "foster care" cases this information is recorded on the initial and subsequent permanency plans. If no diagnosed disability information is found, the program code maps a "no" to AFCARS. This provides a false "no" response. For AFCARS purposes, "no" and "not yet determined'' have specific definitions. The State must modify the system to include this question and the values "yes," "no," and "not yet determined." This will provide more accurate information regarding whether a medical or psychological professional has seen a child.

If an initial permanency plan is not found, the program code moves a "3, not yet determined."

For elements #11 - 15, the State has 10 options for the workers to select. The list may need to be expanded. The Federal review team recommended the State review the AFCARS Disability Table and assess whether any of the conditions should be added to the options list. The State should review the narrative area for information workers may enter that is not captured in the database.

This element was revised to a factor of "2" due to the modifications required for the collection of data in foster care element #10, the quality of the data, and the need to expand the list of medical conditions.

For elements #11 - 15, the State has 10 options for the workers to select. The list may need to be expanded. The Federal review team recommended the State review the AFCARS Disability Table and assess whether any of the conditions should be added to the options list. The State should review the narrative area for information workers may enter that is not captured in the database.

This element was revised to a factor of "2" due to the modifications required for the collection of data in foster care element #10, the quality of the data, and the need to expand the list of medical conditions.

For elements #11 - 15, the State has 10 options for the workers to select. The list may need to be expanded. The Federal review team recommended the State review the AFCARS Disability Table and assess whether any of the conditions should be added to the options list. The State should review the narrative area for information workers may enter that is not captured in the database.

This element was revised to a factor of "2" due to the modifications required for the collection of data in foster care element #10, the quality of the data, and the need to expand the list of medical conditions.

For elements #11 - 15, the State has 10 options for the workers to select. The list may need to be expanded. The Federal review team recommended the State review the AFCARS Disability Table and assess whether any of the conditions should be added to the options list. The State should review the narrative area for information workers may enter that is not captured in the database.

This element was revised to a factor of "2" due to the modifications required for the collection of data in foster care element #10, the quality of the data, and the need to expand the list of medical conditions.

The selection list has "OT - other" as an option. It is not clear whether this means "other medical condition" or "other psychological condition" or a condition that is not a disability.

For elements #11 - 15, the State has 10 options for the workers to select. The list may need to be expanded. The Federal review team recommended the State review the AFCARS Disability Table and assess whether any of the conditions should be added to the options list. The State should review the narrative area for information workers may enter that is not captured in the database.

This element was revised to a factor of "2" due to the modifications required for the collection of data in foster care element #10, the quality of the data, and the need to expand the list of medical conditions.

Frequency Report: (n = 1, 694) Yes = 59; No = 1595; Unable to determine = 40

This is a question on the screen and is a required field. The options for the worker to select are: "yes," "no," and "unable to determine."

The program code incorrectly maps missing data to "unable to determine." Missing data must be mapped to blank.

Frequency Report: Not applicable = 1635

The program code incorrectly maps "unable to determine" and blanks to "not applicable." Missing data must be mapped to blank. Response of "unable to determine" for the question "has this child been previously adopted" should also map to "unable to determine" for the age.

Note: To address issues related to conversion of data from the legacy system to the State's new system, a table of "payment" and "removal" information was created from information in the State's legacy system. The program code checks this table to determine prior removals for a child and obtains the appropriate data for elements #18 - 20.

Note: To address issues related to conversion of data from the legacy system to the State's new system, a table of "payment" and "removal" information was created from information in the State's legacy system. The program code checks this table to determine prior removals for a child and obtains the appropriate data for elements #18 - 20.

The program code assesses the "payment" and removal from home history. This was done to address the issue regarding conversion. The "payment" history is in the legacy system, which was used to track removals in order to make payments to foster care providers. The State has that data in a separate table so that it cannot be modified or deleted. The program code checks this table to determine prior removals for a child and obtains the appropriate data for elements #18 - 20.

Based on the findings in the foster care population section of the General Requirements, this information may not be accurate. Workers are incorrectly entering the date the child is placed in his/her own home while under the responsibility for care, placement, or supervision of the agency, as a "discharge" date. Therefore, this date may not accurately reflect the date the agency no longer had care, placement or supervision of the child.

Frequency Report: (n = 1, 694) 21 records are missing data.

Regional supervisors must approve payments for a placement in a residential/institution setting. Therefore, caseworkers are not entering the placement setting into the information system until the supervisor approves the payment of the placement. There will be a gap in placement information until the supervisor approves payment for the placement.

The date incorrectly changes when the same provider becomes a "pre-adopt" home.

The program code does not assess whether there is a "placement" of "runaway" or "trial home visit" and does not extract the start date for these types of "placements" in accordance with ACF policy.

See additional findings in foster care element #41.

The State does not count hospitalizations that are for a brief period of time. If the stay is for a longer period of time, such as a 30-day psychological evaluation, it would be counted in the number of placements.
Secondary placements (e.g., respite) are not counted.

Frequency Report: (n = 1,694) Voluntary = 0; Court Order = 1,662; Not yet determined = 32

This is a derived field. There is a "court order" screen and it has fields for: "order type," "adjudication," "deprived," "unruly," and "delinquent." The "order types" are "custody," "dispositional," "division of juvenile services," and "removal."

State practice discourages use of "voluntary placement agreements." Staff shared that nearly all removals would be "court ordered."

There is a field for primary and additional fields for secondary reasons. State staff indicated that the options on the bottom of the selection list are more than likely under-reported.

This information is gathered on the initial permanency plan and is frozen and can not be updated.

Frequency Report: (n = 1, 694) Pre-adopt = 116; Family foster home - relative = 242; Family foster home - non-relative = 738; Group home = 91; Institution = 486; Supervised independent living = 0; Runaway = 0; Trial home visit = 0; Not reported = 21

The screen contains a "primary" and a "secondary" placement type. The secondary placement is used to record respites, etc.

The screen has a field for "placement absences," e.g., "runaway" and "trial home visit."

The program code checks if the "child related" indicator is "yes." If it is checked, the placement setting is mapped to "relative foster home."

The State cannot license Tribal homes. The Tribe signs an affidavit indicating the family meets the State's foster care licensing requirements.

See General Requirements regarding foster care population.

"Residential treatment centers," "residential child care facilities," and "group facilities" have a mixture of bed sizes. Some are between 7 and 12 and some are over 12. The State must ensure that the facility is mapped to the appropriate AFCARS value (group home or institution) based on its size.

The mapping indicates that a placement closure reason of "runaway" is mapped to the setting from which the child ran away. Children on "runaway" status should be mapped to the AFCARS value "7, runaway."

The State needs to report if a child is in his/her own home, while under the agency responsibility for placement, care, or supervision, as a placement setting of "trial home visit." See General Requirements foster care population findings.

Need to report if child is a runaway as of the last day of the reporting period.

The State staff believe that workers are not entering "runaways" into the system.

Frequency Report: (n = 1,694) Reunify = 790; Live w/other Relatives = 88; Adoption = 340; LTFC = 176; Emancipation = 100; Guardianship = 40; Not yet established = 1; Not Reported = 159

The State does concurrent planning.

State policy requires that a permanency planning meeting be held for each child within 30 days of entering care and subsequent permanency planning meetings occur every 90 days thereafter.

The program code maps "PE, pending" and "OT, other" to "case plan goal not yet established." These codes are no longer used.

If a case plan is not found this element is reported as blank. This is correct for records of children that have been in care for more than 30 days (according to State policy). For those children that have been in care for less than 30 days, the appropriate response should be "case plan goal not yet established." (The rating factor for this element was revised during the post-site visit analysis due to this needed change.)

Frequency Report: There are 569 records reflecting either a married or unmarried couple.

The system keeps a history of changes in marital status. The program code looks at the effective date of the marital status and compares it to the date of latest removal and picks up the marital status at time of removal. The test case extract did not reflect the mom's current marital status of "single female." Instead, it reflected the family structure as "married." The State staff were not sure why this happened and will investigate.

Workers can open a case without caretaker information.

Missing data are incorrectly mapped to "unable to determine." Missing data must be mapped to blank.

Looks for the most recent TPR date or the date of death if present.

In the "FC" routine the program code looks also at the absent parent screen but the "BC" routine does not. The program code should be checking the absent parent screen in both routines.

The date of death is entered on the absent parent screen.

The program code checks for the most recent TPR date or the date of death if present.

In the "FC" routine the program code looks also at the absent parent screen but the "BC" routine does not. The program code should be checking the absent parent screen in both routines.

The date of death is entered on the absent parent screen.

Frequency Report: (n = 1, 694) Not applicable = 577; Married = 765; Unmarried Couple = 5; Single Female = 149; Single Male = 22; Not Reported = 176

The system keeps a history of changes in marital status.

The agency incorrectly maps "R - non-payment relative placements" to spaces.

Missing data are mapped to "unable to determine."

The State has a common database that is shared with other State programs. When a foster care case is entered into the system, the worker first checks this database to see if this person is known to the State for other services/agencies. There is a hierarchy for the entry of data into the database and who "owns" the data; Medicaid and TANF have precedence over child welfare. The database does not include "unable to determine" as an option and the agency does not include this field on its input screens.

Missing data are mapped to "unable to determine.". The State is not able to collect and extract information regarding multiple races. The information is collected for only one race.

Missing data are mapped to "unable to determine."

The State has a common database that is shared with other State programs. When a foster care case is entered into the system, the worker first checks this database to see if this person is known to the State for other services/agencies. There is a hierarchy for the entry of data into the database and who "owns" the data; Medicaid and TANF have precedence over child welfare. The database does not include "unable to determine" as an option and the agency does not include this field on its input screens.

Missing data are mapped to "unable to determine."

The State is not able to collect and extract information regarding multiple races. The information is collected for only one race.

Frequency Report: The number of records reported for this element does not match those reported in element #58.

Workers are incorrectly entering the date the child is placed in his/her own home, while under the agency's responsibility for care, placement, or supervision as a "discharge" date. Also, the workers select the placement closure reason as "reunification" and indicate that there will be no further placements.

The State lists codes for both placement closure reasons and discharge reasons on the screen. It is possible the workers are entering placement closure reasons for discharge reasons and vice versa. The list needs to be made clearer in regard to which ones are appropriate discharge reasons.

The State has several codes mapped to "transfer to another agency" that do not appear to be "outcome/discharge" reasons. These codes are: "child did not cooperate," "family/facility unable to meet needs," "greater level of supervision/treatment needed," "less restrictive placement indicated," "other," "care continued - private funds," and "State institution." The State must modify the program code to not extract these values.

This is a required field.

The screen contains an option "unknown."

The program code maps "M" (male) to the AFCARS value "1" (male) and maps everything else to "female." The program code should directly map the State code "F, female" and "M, male" to the appropriate AFCARS values and map "unknowns" to missing.

This is a required field.

The State has a common database that is shared with other State programs. When a foster care case is entered into the system, the worker first checks this database to see if this person is known to the State for other services/agencies. There is a hierarchy for the entry of data into the database and who "owns" the data; Medicaid and TANF have precedence over child welfare. The database does not include "unable to determine" as an option and the agency does not include this field on its input screens.

Missing data are mapped to "unable to determine."

This is a required field.

The common database does not include "unable to determine" as an option and the agency does not include this field on its input screens.

This is a required field.

There is a field for the worker to enter the primary basis of special needs.

There is not an option or code for "other" on the input screen or in the program code.
The State added a category of "at-risk" on 8/1/03. The State needs to add this to the selection list on the input screen and add to the program code for extraction. "At-risk" must be mapped to AFCARS value "other State defined special needs."

The selection list has "OT - other" as an option. It is not clear whether this means "other medical condition" or "other psychological condition" or a condition that is not a disability. The list should be modified to reflect "other medical condition" or removed from the option list.

For elements #11 - 15, the State has 10 options for the workers to select. The list may need to be expanded. The Federal review team recommended that the State review the AFCARS Disability Table and assess whether any of the conditions should be added to the options list.

The program code compares the "marital status effective date" to the child's date of birth.

If the program code does not find a marital status of "married" at the time of the child's birth, then this element is mapped to "no."

The program code checks for a "married" code. The State also has options of "separated" and "remarried." These need to be added to the program code.

This element defaults to "unable to determine."

Information regarding "unknown parents" for an abandoned child is entered on the "temporary absence" screen. The program code does not check the "temporary absence" screen. Therefore, this element would be blank.

Looks for the most recent TPR date or the date of death if present.

The date of death is entered on the absent parent screen.

In the "FC" routine the program code checks the absent parent screen but the "BC" routine does not. The program code should be checking the absent parent screen in both routines.

The program code checks for the most recent TPR date or the date of death if present.

The date of death is entered on the absent parent screen.

In the "FC" routine the program code looks also at the absent parent screen but the "BC" routine does not. The program code should be checking the absent parent screen in both routines.

Missing data are mapped to "unable to determine."

The State has a common database that is shared with other State programs. When a person is entered into the system, the worker first checks this database to see if this person is known to the State for other services/agencies. There is a hierarchy for the entry of data into the database and who "owns" the data; Medicaid and TANF have precedence over child welfare. The database does not include "unable to determine" as an option and the agency does not include this field on its input screens.

The State is not able to collect and extract information regarding multiple races. The information is collected for only one race.

Missing data are mapped to "unable to determine."

The State has a common database that is shared with other State programs. When a person is entered into the system, the worker first checks this database to see if this person is known to the State for other services/agencies. There is a hierarchy for the entry of data into the database and who "owns" the data; Medicaid and TANF have precedence over child welfare. The database does not include "unable to determine" as an option and the agency does not include this field on its input screens.

The State is not able to collect and extract information regarding multiple races. The information is collected for only one race.

North Dakota will not submit step-parent adoptions because their information system includes only the information allowed by North Dakota law.

The State reports only one possible relationship to the child. The State should make this multiple responses. This would provide more complete data on those relatives that were foster parents.

Program code looks for a subsidy amount. If an amount is found then this element is mapped to "yes."

Medicaid only subsidies are not included.

State needs to modify to include "Medicaid."