Paul [ePoge Governor Department of Heaith and Human Services Child and Famin Services 2 Anthony Avenue 11 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0011 Tel.. (207) 624-7900; Fax: (207) 287-5282 TTY Users: Dial 711 (Maine Relay] Department of Health and Human Services Maine People. living Sofa, Healthy and Producrive lives kicker Hamilton, Commissioner Memorandum TO: OCFS Staff FROM: Kirsten Capeless, Acting Director Bobbi Johnson, Associate Director Gina Googins, Regional Associate Director DATE: June 7, 2018 RE: Workload Management Strategies Over the last several months, there has been a signi?cant increase in workload related to multiple factors: an increase in the overall number of reports of abuse and also practice changes made in both the Intake and Assessment programs. We have heard District staff concerns related to these increased workload demands as well as the desire to continue to produce high quality work and the completing challenge that results from this. In response, the Executive Management Team (EMT) and District Management Team (DMT) have been working to identify possible solutions to balance workload while still producing high quality work. While there are no easy, quick ?xes the management teams have put into place the following procedures to build alignment of the work completed by staff with the OCFS goals to ensure child safety and support families. Intake Workload Ef?ciences have been implemented in Intake to include Intake Supervisors reviewing all inappropriate reports thoroughly to verify the correct disposition while completing a brief review of appropriate reports to approve them for assignment to the districts. District Assessment Supervisors review appropriate reports for assignment to District caseworkers and ARP. Currently, strategies are being identi?ed to create expectations for intake staff to complete phone calls withing 10 minutes and documentation of these calls within an additional 15 minutes. A process for electronic reporting is being developed to allow for certain trained mandated reports to be able to submit reports of abuse and neglect electronically. This is anticipated this will include law enforcement, schools, and hospitals which make up approximately 60% of the current call volume. Additional research is being completed to identify a phone system for call management. This system will allow for active management of phone calls as well as supervison and coaching of staff. Assessment Workload Districts have strategized the assignment of CPS reports by caseworkers based on specific towns/geographic areas within each District to minimize travel demands across cases. Caseworkers from different programs are being assigned reports including Teaming Specialists, Youth Transition workers, and Quality Improvement staff. Continued triaging of reports to prioritize reports being seen within the 24/72 hour timeframe. Districts adjacent to the Rockland Of?ce continue to cover assessments in bordering towns, with Portland covering Sagadahoc County to meet workload demands. Procedures have been created to review and document the assessment of new reports within an already open assessment. A process has been developed to allow for the waiver of additional interviews of children related to new allegations that are received on already open assessments. The district caseworker and supervisor should review all new reports added to assessments and determine if the caseworker has already addressed the new allegations during their assessment activities. If so, the caseworker and supervisor can complete the New Report of Abuse lie-Interviewing Waiver Form (see attachment). This form will then be reviewed by the Program Administrator to determine if a waiver of these additional interviews can be granted. This new template has been added to the MACWIS narrative log for immediate use. I Currently, a template to document initial face?to?face assessment interviews with children is being developed to assist with guiding the practice of utilizing and documenting Fact Finding Forensic Interviewing techniques. a Timeframes to complete assessments are being extended as necessary to ensure full assessment of all reported allegations. These extensions can be approved by the District Supervisors. 0 Overtime is being offered with more flexibility to ensure children are being seen and assessments activities are able to be completed. I Data is being reviewed by district managers and central of?ce staff to understand current workload needs and ensure districts are receiving appropriate support. Contracted Services and Opportunities 0 Currently, OCFS is exploring optionsto contract for various tasks that have traditionally been completed by District caseworkers including: coverage for children in ER settings, coverage for children in hotel settings, additional administrative support for caseworkers, support with child speci?c foster family recruitment and support with activities including young adults transitioning to adult services. Strategic Initiatives 0 Current work to analyze the practice of using Facilitated Family Team Meetings to complete Out of Home Safety Plans is under review. The goal is to end the practice of 00H Safety Plans. A thoughtful process needs to be completed to decide how this will impact and the role of Teaming Specialists. - Structured Decision Making for assessment and permanency timeframes have been extended for full implementation to occur in late Fall 2018. This work not only includes the implementation of tools for assessment and permanency work as well as a series of trainings focused on motivational interviewing and critical thinking. This will both provide consistency as well as tools across the state for caseworkers and supervisor to use in making critical decisions related to child safety. 0 It is the goal of OCFS to have all intake and assessment activities completed by OCFS staff. There is throughtful work being completed to ensure this is implemented effectively. Recruitment and Retention 0 We continue to review and explore recruitment options including instituting a ?eld instruction unit in the future. 0 Retention is another focus and includes workload balances, increasing contracted services for non-assessment work, increasing staff support, and increasing coaching and training. The hope is that by implementing these changes workload efforts will be dedicated to those situations where OCFS staff expertise is necessary to ensure quality casework practice. There is also a commitment to monitor these efforts and track and adjust as necessary. We appreciate your efforts to continue to meet policy and practice expectations during this challenging time. Please know that conversations regarding how to most effectively meet the demands of workload while ensuring quality service delivery are ongoing as we continue to meet the needs of Maine's children and families. We are interested in hearing from you as well. If you have suggestions or feedback please discuss them with your supervisors or program administrator. You can also present feedback to the casework advisory member within your District. We are exploring the use of an electronic comment box. Hopefully, this will be available in the near future.