MONDAY REPORT

July 16, 2001

SPECIAL NOTE:  Copyright 2001. The Monday Report is produced each week as a benefit to the member agencies of the Child Care Association. Please protect this membership benefit - DO NOT copy and distribute this report to agencies/staff that are not members of CCA. Thank you for your cooperation.

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SPECIAL EDUCATION

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IPCRB �ENROLLMENT/CAPACITY� NEGOTIATION CONTINUES

CCA will have a conference call meeting with ISBE and IPCRB regarding the issue of a mechanism that will stabilize rates in nonpublic special education facilities.  At its meeting on July 12, IPCRB indicated that it may favor a rate cap (perhaps 150% of inflation) rather than the currently proposed �capacity� language, which they admitted is very discretionary and applied without standards.  If you have any interest in this topic, please contact Bridget Helmholz, or contact Barb Oldani and ask to be added to the conference call at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 18 (BRH).

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GENERAL

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FIRST JUVENILE JUSTICE CONFERENCE A RESOUNDING SUCCESS!!!

A major step in establishing new directions for the CCAI occurred on July 11 and 12 when more than three hundred participants attended the CCAI co-sponsored conference in Matteson: NEW PARTNERSHIPS FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE: �IMPLEMENTING BALANCED AND RESOTRATIVE JUSTICE IN ILLINOIS.� Representatives from CCAI agencies, other human service agencies, the legal community and law enforcement attended.

Connections between the child welfare and juvenile justice communities were emphasized throughout the conference. The two systems are frequently serving the same families and children at different points in time: many victimizers were once victims, frequently of child maltreatment. Research is showing that many young men in corrections were early victims of sexual abuse. The same factors that lead young people into juvenile delinquency are the same factors that appear in child welfare cases: exposure to violence, poor educational opportunities and employment prospects, childhood abuse and neglect and drugs and alcohol. The principles of Balanced and Restorative Justice for juveniles provide a framework for achieving community safety, building competence of young offenders and maintaining accountability for juvenile offenses. These principles also can provide a good framework for guiding de development of sound policy. There is a need for an integrated set of social policies regarding the treatment of families in trouble and young people involved in delinquency. Both sets of professional communities will need to work together to make this happen.

Keynote speakers provided an overview of the BARJ field. John Wilson, Acting Administration of the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention provided an overview of the OJJDP comprehensive strategy for addressing juvenile delinquency. Key to this is the support of families and communities.  Ricky Salinas and Arlena Sims shared their personal experiences with affiliation or exposure to gang life that led to permanent disabling conditions. Candace Kane of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and Lisa Jacobs of the Illinois Department of Human Services provided overviews of state funding streams for BARJ and community based delinquency prevention programs. It is essential for voluntary agencies to be part of the mix of services, but they must frequently work within the context of local units of government, to which funding frequently flows. Finally, Sandra O�Brien and Dennis Maloney of the National BARJ project provided concrete examples of the development and history of the BARJ principles and model as well as providing examples of the many possibilities in the future. Young people involved in BARJ projects have assisted in building housing for low income persons, helped build child advocacy center buildings and assisted in repairing senior citizen homes. The potential for voluntary agency involvement is great.  A number of workshops provided an opportunity for participants to learn how BARJ programs are being implemented across Illinois.

A videotape of the keynote sessions will be available in the near future. As this becomes available, we will keep you informed of opportunities to secure a copy of the tape to use for staff review and training. Finally, all agencies were encouraged to take the next steps of learning about their own community juvenile systems, to get involved in local planning boards and juvenile councils and to help promote BARJ principles and policies a the local level. The Association will work with the state systems and major county systems to develop common policy agendas and proposals for systemic change. (MB)

CEO AND BOARD RETREAT

This is the final notice and opportunity to register for the CEO and Board retreat on July 19 and 20 at Stoney Creek Inn in East Peoria.  To date, 36 agency members have registered. This will be an opportunity to exchange views on the future directions of CCAI, brainstorm on the current critical challenges facing member agencies and the association and arrive at some mutual agreement on our work plans for the year ahead. The input received at this session will provide the framework for future directions of the association as well as the basis for the strategic plan. Your input as a member CEO is essential. Please plan to attend. If you need another brochure or registration information, please contact Sandy at the Springfield CCAI office at 217-528-4409.  (MB)

COOK PERFORMANCE BASED WORK GROUP

The Cook Performance Based Work Group met on July 9 in Chicago. DCFS staff shared an Update on third quarter Reconciliation.   Third quarter results were handed out.  Overall permanency rate for Cook HMR is l8.4% and 13.5% in TFC, There is no ranking for AFCARS compliance during this 3^rd quarter due to a race code error. Agencies should continue to submit AFCARS to their adoption liaisons. Fourth Quarter Reconciliation materials will be mailed out to agencies during the 2^ndweek in August. Final results will most likely be mailed to agencies during the  2^nd week in September. It is important for agencies who transferred cases for the purposes of adoption or one worker-one family to obtain shared permanency letter so that both original and receiving agencies can receive credit for permanencies.  A copy of the 3^rd Quarter performance statistics is available upon request by calling the CCA Springfield office.

Contract issues were addressed by DCFS staff.  Regarding adjustments, the Department is aware that all agencies are above their Intake Goals for the year. Adjustments will be made to contracts upon completion of 4^th Quarter Reconciliation.  Adjustments will be made retroactive to July 1^st, 2001.

In regards to Other Outcomes such as re-entry into Foster Care and Re-Abuse, data will be mailed out to agencies during the 1^st week of August.

Many agencies have not submitted all necessary contract documents. Agencies need to get names of educational liaisons, medical liaisons, and permanency workers, as this information was to be included when submitting contracts back to the Department. Please make sure that this information gets submitted ASAP. Letters will be mailed out to agencies that explain what information is still needed.

One Worker/One Family data was shared. There have been 498 cases transferred. The final clean-up date was 07/01/01 as there were some cases that needed problem resolution in the transfer process. If agencies are having internal consolidation issues, agencies should go through their AP Liaison and Sylvia Lenoir. All other case consolidation issues were to be brought to the attention of Melissa Ludington. The Non-Cook process has begun as downstate cases are to be consolidated by 09/30/01.

Approximately 105 cases will also be transferred to other agencies due to the voluntary downsizing of 2 agencies. Some of these are traditional cases. All cases will be rotated.

The group reviewed the proposed Sibling Visitation procedure and discussed it at length. The procedure addresses implementation of the Aristotle Consent Decree that reflects Department policy. However, the Cook County GAL has raised significant complaints about lack of compliance with sibling visits. This lack of compliance includes private agencies. There has been improvement in sibling placements together as system went from 38% to 70%.  DCFS QA conducted a file review of POS and DCFS cases and the percentage of siblings that were visiting was found to be only 20%. The Department is aware that this percentage is probably much higher as many of the files reviewed were lacking documentation of visits.

The procedure outlines the responsibilities for caseworkers and agencies and includes FINANCIAL PENALTIES for agencies that are found to be in violation. DCFS suggested this penalty in response to GAL concerns. Sanctioning agencies was discussed and many agencies feel that they should receive a warning first to work on correcting the problem before receiving a sanction. The Draft needs to go the CWAC Finance and Administration for review of the financial penalty and to the overall CWAC for review. The GAL�s Office would like sanctions to start this fiscal year. Agency members suggested notifying agencies this year of the plan for sanctions and implementing them next year if there are still problems.  A copy of this Draft Procedure is available for review upon request by calling the CCA Springfield office.

At the next meeting, agencies will review Rule 359 procedures for reimbursement of special expenses. Members are asked to review this in advance to be prepared for the discussion.

The next meeting is scheduled for 09/17/01 at Catholic Charities, 901 West Jackson, at 9:30 a.m. (MB)

RECONCILIATION TRAINING FOR SPECIALIZED FOSTER CARE

Agencies should have received a letter this week. DCFS has scheduled two trainings in Cook County on reconciliation.  This training is geared toward Specialized/treatment agencies that have not previously been involved with Reconciliation training. DCFS will go over the nuts and bolts of Reconciliation.  The training dates and times are listed below:

July 17th 9:00-12:00

July 17th 1:00-4:00

Both trainings will be held at 6201 S. Emerald (DCFS Office) in Conference Room C.  Agencies do not need to register. (MB)

DIRECT SERVICE EMPLOYEE LICENSURE PROBLEMS

DCFS staff have confirmed that some problems have been experienced with staff information needed to complete licensure being picked up on the correct computer system. This then causes misinformation back to employees and agencies regarding licensure. At one point, DCFS had three computer systems talking with each other in order to get the accurate info out for licensure. This is now reduced to two systems but there are still some delays and problems.

The new hire delay in reporting occurs because it takes 24 hours for the two systems which still have to talk--to do it. The time delay here is unavoidable and if it is too cumbersome individually, call Judy Gifford at the DCFS Springfield training division for confirmation of clearances. Contact Kris Stricker at DCFS--by email--to let her know of problems. Her email is [email protected]. (MB)

CWAC SACWIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

The CWAC SACWIS Advisory Committee met in Springfield on July 10, 2001.  The agenda included update on the SACWIS project for Phase I and Phase II.  A brief review of some of the outstanding issues for the POS related to Medicaid, Residential, Communication, Training Coordination and Security.  There was also a brief report on the status of SACWIS grants/contracts and the payment process for invoices being submitted.  The two new POS Advocates were also at the meeting, Joanne Dedert and Priscilla Parker.

As of the July Advisory Committee meeting 89 agencies had submitted their grants/contracts and were recommended for processing.  Six agencies had submitted their grants with attachments that were missing, 3 agencies had not returned their grant to DCFS, 1 agency�s grant/contract needed corrections and 3 agencies still had not submitted their plans for purchase of equipment.  For FY01 $1,366,000 had been committed for reimbursement of invoices that had been submitted by agencies.  Approximately an additional $400,000 could have been processed but agencies were either out of compliance with AFCARS reporting or staff reporting.  The two new POS Advocates will be working with the private agencies on an ongoing basis to address any compliance issues to insure full reimbursement for SACWIS equipment.

There was additional discussion about the changes made to the schedule for Phase II of the JADs and the need to still revise some of the dates listed around the Christmas holiday.  The first orientation for participants that will be in the design sessions for Phase II will be held on July 17^th in Springfield.  The orientation is being conducted by American Management Systems and DCFS and will review the design process and best practices.  The Advisory Committee also recommended that letters be sent to all CEO�s of those private agencies sending participants to the design sessions in order to insure ongoing support through the JAD design process.

During the private agency part of the meeting, a proposal was presented on how certification should be defined for private agencies.  In order to accommodate the fact that agencies would not be receiving the final year of the three year funding until after SACWIS readiness was required, a small workgroup developed a proposal that would require 70% of an agencies equipment be in place and connected to DCFS in Springfield by the certification date of August 2002.  The 70% is related to the seats per agreement for an agency.  This would basically demonstrate that an agency has access established for the caseworkers that will be the main users of the system.  A few changes were made to the language and submitted to the whole Advisory Committee for final review.   (JMS)

SACWIS SYSTEM WORKFLOWS AND DESIGN

As part of the design process for the SACWIS, systems workflows are created for all of the different topic areas that will be covered by the this complex computer system.  System workflows are diagrams that depict the key work activities of Illinois child welfare.  The key work activities include a wide range of areas such as service planning, licensing and eligibility.  The system workflows give everybody a picture of what business processes need to be designed into SACWIS.  The following workflows have been reviewed as part of the preparation for the Phase II design sessions to begin in August 2001:  Non-child protection intake, case assignment, assessment, service planning, service delivery, placement, health, education, adoption, subsidized guardianship, licensing, court, administrative hearings, ACR, interstate compact, quality assurance, contracts, and eligibility.  (JMS)

BARJ FORUM COVERAGE

To date, last week�s BARJ Forum, co-sponsored by the Child Care Association, has been featured in the Star newspaper�s Matteson-Richton addition. The article by Kati Phillips is available for review by contacting Linda Lenzini via email at LLL@cca-il.org

MORE GOOD SITES FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE INFORMATION:

The following websites are recommended for those interested in obtaining more information on BARJ. They can be accessed directly or through the CCA Website�s library. 

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority

http:  www.icjia.state.il.us

This site contains a 7/11/01 study entitled �Examining Restorative Justice�, plus county-by county statistics and other resources for juvenile justice information.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

http:  www.ojjdp.ncrs.org

Contains resources on juvenile justice and facts and figures on juvenile crime nationwide.

TAKE YOUR AGENCY�S PR TEMPERATURE WITH THE CCA COMMUNICATIONS SURVEY

CCA has a number of services available for public relations professionals, and is currently analyzing membership needs and interest in the area of public relations. Take advantage of this opportunity to contribute ideas by filling out the CCA Public Relations Survey. You can request this survey by e-mailing your request to [email protected], or visit the home page of the CCA website at http://www.cca-il.org.

PUBLIC RELATIONS INFORMATION AND IDEA EXCHANGE

CCA offers an e-mail advisory list for public relations professionals and other personnel within member agencies that function in a public relations capacity. The Association will also be offering additional opportunities to exchange information and ideas and share your successes and challenges. To join your colleagues at CCA in these efforts, please e-mail Linda Lenzini at the Child Care Association at [email protected] or call the CCA offices at 217-528-4409.

NOW AVAILABLE: �HOW TO GET INTO THE NEWSPAPERS WITHOUT COMMITTING A CRIME� This handbook, prepared by the Illinois Press Association, is available to CCA member agencies upon request through a permission to reprint agreement with the Press Association. The handbook is ideal not only for communications professionals, but for educating staff, Boards of Directors, and volunteers. To obtain your copy, contact Linda Lenzini at CCA at [email protected] or by calling 217-528-4409. 

KNOW YOUR LOCAL PRESS

Names, titles, and contact phone numbers of your agency�s local media outlets are available for the asking from CCA. Contact Linda Lenzini at the Child Care Association at [email protected], or call the CCA offices at 216-528-4409.

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UPCOMING EVENTS/MEETINGS

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Calendar:

July 19-20 � CCA Membership / Board Retreat, Stoney Creek Inn, East Peoria

July 25-27 � SUSTAINING KINSHIP TIES: PERMANENCY AND BEYOND--The third national kinship care conference, sponsored by the Child Welfare League of America, will be held July 25-27, 2001 at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. For more information contact the Child Welfare League at (202) 638-2952.

August 14 � CWAC SACWIS Advisory Committee - LSSI

Aug. 23-24 - Uhlich Children's Home presents "Building Skills for a Brighter Future"-- For further information please contact: Dee Ann Flynn at (773) 588-0180, X1275 or via email at [email protected]

Aug. 27-28 - THERAPEUTIC CRISIS INTERVENTION UPDATE TRAINING�Cunningham Children�s Home, Urbana