| 2/16/2021 |
Clark County Board of Commissioners
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Agenda note: DOCUMENT(S) SUBMITTED:
1. Update on Implementation of the Family First Prevention and Services Act (19 pages) submitted by staff
DISCUSSION: Following introduction of the item, the Board was addressed by Kevin Schiller, Assistant County Manager, who advised that Title IV-E funding for child welfare was prevention and service related; Demonstration Waiver funding expired in 2019, the demonstration project involved the use of a standardized, criteria driven approach; Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) was incident driven and provided service related reimbursement; the FFPSA mandated two major changes to the use of Title IV-E including: funding for prevention services intended to prevent entry into foster care and prevent adoptions and kinship guardian placement disruption, and continued the restrictions on congregate care of children; and further advised of the positive news that County had one of the highest relative placement rates in the country.
Tim Burch, Administrator of Human Services, advised that reimbursable services may be offered on a prevention scale if the services prevent the removal of children.
The Board was further advised by Kevin Schiller and Tim Burch of topics including eligibility for prevention services where parents or relatives were caring for children at imminent risk of entering foster care, where placement disruption was a concern; youth who were pregnant or already parents; transitioning out of foster care extended to age 23; eligibility for education and training vouchers extended to age 26; select services covered for 12 months included mental behavioral health, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and parent skill-based programs; reimbursement for kinship navigator programs; and reimbursement for child placed with a parent in a licensed residential family-based treatment facility for substance abuse; the County collaborated with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and worked with Nevada counties to find a system for everyone; key issues included jurisdiction and oversight; one goal of FFPSA was to decrease the over utilization of congregate care (any facility staffed 24/7 with 25 or more beds); some family care-givers get licensed as a foster home and receive funds and support, and many family care-givers choose to not become licensed resulting in a loss of access to support services.
Kevin Schiller advised of the kinship assistance program which helped the foster family obtain support; children with higher needs placed in Child Haven due to relatives not having access to a strong infrastructure of services; described in-patient treatment facilities; and discussed Specialized Foster Care Providers versus Qualified Residential Treatment Programs.
Discussion was held regarding topics including the under funded mental health system; barriers to families being foster parents; family foster homes being redefined; drug and alcohol treatment facilities allowing children to remain with the parent; systems in other Nevada counties; wraparound services; and funding. | |
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