DRAFT: Group Home Performance Measures Operational Definitions

1)Safety:

Performance Target: “The County maintains a zero tolerance policy for substantiated abuse and neglect of Placed Children while under the supervision of the Group Home.”

Operational Definition: Abuse or neglect, which meets WIC criteria that is perpetrated by the current placement agency’s staff, volunteers, or affiliates.

Benchmark: *99.67% (federal standard)

Performance Target: “100% correction of physical plant and safety deficiencies.”

Operational Definition: This indicator measures the timeliness of an agency’s submission of an acceptable corrective action plan. Agencies generally have 30 days, absent an emergency, to respond in writing to DCFS and/or Probation detailing how they have put the CAP in place. Unless an extension of time is granted, agencies are penalized for ranges of lateness: 1-15 beyond the allotted time; 16-30 days beyond the allotted time; and over 30 days beyond the allotted time unless an extension of time is granted (please see Exhibit N).

Benchmark: 100%

Performance Target: “100% of the corrective action plans successfully implemented.”

Operational Definition: This indicator measures the timeliness of an agency’s implementation of the accepted corrective action plan. Group Home monitors/liaisons will be responsible for assessing implementation and recording whether or not it was completed. Unless an extension of time is granted, agencies are penalized for ranges of lateness: 1-15 days beyond the allotted time; 16-30 days beyond the allotted time; and over 30 days beyond the allotted time unless an extension of time is granted (please see Exhibit N).

Benchmark: 100%

Performance Target: “Child-to-Child injuries while under the supervision of Group Home not to exceed *98%”

Operational Definition: Child to childinjury or abuse inflicted/sustained by another child while under the Group Home’s supervision that necessitates the submission of a SIR and requires treatment by a health professional that goes beyond simple first aid.

Benchmark: *98%

2)Permanency:

a)Performance Target: At least 62% of the Placed Children successfully meet the Needs and Services Plan goals and are discharged in accordance with permanency plan.

Operational Definition: Sixty-two percent of the youth who were discharged were discharged in accordance with their permanency plan and successfully met 100% of their Needs and Services Plan goals. This measure only applies to youth who have been at the agency for at least 30 days.

Benchmark: 62%Task: Get baseline from auditors-Should we add exceptions (ie: pulled from court/AWOL?)

b) Performance Target: At least 62% of the Placed Children discharged to a less restrictive setting.

Operational Definition: At least 62% of the placed children who were discharged from the group home over a 12 month period are discharged to a program/setting that is less restrictive than the current placement (e.g. foster home, reunification, adoption, relative home, emancipation, etc.).

Benchmark: 62%

c) Performance Target: 80% or more of the total DCFS or Probation Placed Children served per year are not replaced at the group Home Provider’s request.*Reframed positively.

Operational Definition: Definition of replaced is discharged from the Group Home to a different placement at the Group Home Provider’s request via Notice of Intent to Discharge that results in a move. (Will not include moving a child from one satellite home to another within the same organization). (We need to add in the operational definition of “documented”).

Benchmark: 80%

d) Performance Target: __% of the Placed Children remaining in the family, relative, or foster placement 6 months after discharge, in accordance with the Needs and Services Plan.

Operational Definition: 87% of the placed children discharged in accordance with the Permanency Plan to reunification, relative placement, guardianship or adoption have not re-entered the DCFS or Probation system 6 months after discharge. *46% of the placed children discharged in accordance with the Permanency Plan to a foster care placement, guardian home, small family home or court specified home, have not changed foster families 6 months after discharge from the group home, unless they have been discharged to reunification, adoption, guardianship or been replaced with a relative.

Possible reason codes: 1) released from Court against group home recommendation (timing or actual placement), 2) group home did not agree with foster family match.

Benchmarks: 87% for discharges, *46% Proposed for less restrictive replacements

3)Well-being/Education:

a)Performance Target: At least 62% of the Placed Children successfully meet the Needs and Services Plan goals prior to discharge.

Operational Definition: Successfully met is defined as having 62% of children in the facility average a two points or better on the scoring chart.

Benchmark: 62%

b)Performance Target: At least 83% of the Placed children with increased educational performance and/or attendance.
Operational Definitions: Educational performance is defined as improved grades and/or improved test scores and/or promotion to the next level and/or high school graduation and/or progress towards IEP goals, if applicable, for those children who have been placed at the Group Home over 90 days. Attendance is based on previous school attendance records and/or the Group Home educational assessment at placement.
Benchmark: 83%

c) Performance Target: 100% of the Needs and Services Plans completed in 30 days and every 90 days thereafter.
Operational Definitions: Completed is defined as collaboratively developed by Treatment Team, signed by relevant parties or documented evidence that a signature was requested, PROB/DCFS did not respond to the request and that the request is in the child’s file. The Plans must be postmarked, faxed, or emailed within 5 business days of the deadline.
Benchmark: 100%

d)Performance Target: 100% of the placed children receive E-STEP, ILP or equivalent emancipation services.
Operational Definition: Placed children refer to youth of the appropriate age (e.g. 14-15 for E-STEP and 16-18 for ILP) who have been placed at the agency for at least 30 days. Equivalent emancipation services refers to any program that provides life skills training (e.g. cooking, budgeting/financial management, obtaining appropriate documentation, etc.), job readiness, and linkages to necessary community resources (e.g. medical/mental health services, public transportation, etc.) as outlined in the agency’s program statement.
Benchmark: 100%

e)Performance Target: 100% of the placed children have completed and current Health Care Binders, as requested by Welfare and Institutions Code Section 16010, during the placement period.
Operational Definition: A Health Care Binder is defined as a health and education summary including, but not be limited to, the names/addresses of the child's health, dental, and education providers, the child's grade level performance, the child's school record, assurances that the child's placement in foster care takes into account proximity to the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement, a record of the child's immunizations and allergies, the child's known medical problems, the child's current medications, past health problems and hospitalizations, a record of the child's relevant mental health history, and the child's known mental health condition and medications [WIC 16010 (a)]. This Summary is to be given to agencies as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days after initial placement of a child into foster care or within 48 hours of subsequent placements [WIC 16010 (c)]. Agencies are to document efforts to obtain (we need to define what “reasonable efforts” are)missing information. If unable to obtain the necessary information, the agency must develop a summary document outlining the mental health, medical/dental, and educational services provided to the child while in placement at the facility.
Benchmark: TBD. The Task Group agreed that this measure should be reported, but not rated for 2006.

01-04-2007