FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: February 02 2022
Contact: Jon Ebelt, Public Information Officer, DPHHS, (406) 444-0936, (406) 461-3757, jebelt@mt.gov
Chuck Council, Communications Specialist, DPHHS, (406) 444-4391, (406) 461-8367, hcouncil@mt.gov
DPHHS Plan to Improve Child Welfare System is Approved
Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Adam Meier announced today the approval of its Family First Prevention Plan by the federal Children’s Bureau.
DPHHS becomes the 19th state to have their plan approved.
The five-year plan emphasizes prevention services aimed at keeping children and youth safely at home with their families, and when foster care is needed, helps ensure they are placed in the least restrictive, most family-like setting appropriate to their special needs. It is the culmination of over three years of Child and Family Services Division staff partnering with stakeholders to implement the Family First Prevention Services Act in Montana.
“Our goal is to continue to modernize the child welfare system and enhance prevention services to strengthen families and prevent abuse and neglect,” Meier said. “All children deserve the opportunity to grow up in safe, stable and nurturing families. This plan represents meaningful steps towards better aligning federal child welfare policy with this critical vision for Montana’s children and families.”
Meier said the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) allows states to shift the use of federal funds to pay for prevention services to keep children safely with families and out of foster care. In the past, this funding could only be used after a child was in the system, but now it can be used to help children stay safely in the home and prevent removals. FFSPA creates the opportunity for states to access federal reimbursement at 50% for evidence-based services to prevent removals.
The FFPSA authorizes new optional Title IV-E funding for time-limited prevention services for mental health services, substance use treatment, and in-home parenting skill training. These evidence-based prevention services and programs may be provided for children who are candidates for foster care and their parents or kin caregivers. In Montana, 85% of children in foster care are in a family setting, with 50% placed with family members.
It also seeks to improve the well-being of children already in foster care by incentivizing states to reduce placement of children in congregate care – an area Montana has worked to address. Only 11% of children are served in a congregate care setting during their time in foster care. Of that number, nearly 40% are served in therapeutic group homes. “We have been successful in maintaining a low number of children in these specific settings,” Meier said.
Meier said DPHHS has simultaneously been working on other required elements of the plan to engage families, train staff, and develop the Kinship Navigator Program, and is starting to experience positive results. Since 2018, the number of children in care has steadily declined by nearly 1,000 kids. A total of 4,033 children were in care in October 2018, and as of January 31, 2022, there were 3,021 children in care.
Montana’s plan focuses on utilizing well-supported evidence-based models for the prevention services it can offer to families.
For example, parents or kin caregivers of children who are candidates for foster care will be eligible to receive approved, evidence-based mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services from a qualified clinician for up to 12 months. In addition, at-risk families will be eligible to receive services from approved, evidence-based in-home parent skill-based programs.
One example is Parent Child Interaction Therapy, a program appropriate for families with children who are between two and seven years old and experience emotional and behavioral problems that are frequent and intense. In SFY 2020, 60% of children in foster care were under age seven.
Meier said the utilization of this model can improve parenting skills and decrease child behavior problems and is shown to be particularly effective with the age range of children who are at the greatest risk of entering foster care.
“We’re excited about the new opportunities presented in this plan that will better serve Montana children and families,” Meier said. “These efforts will complement existing prevention efforts our staff implement as part of their daily work to keep kids safely in the home. We credit the hard work our staff has put into the development of this plan and their commitment to continuing to collaborate with partners across the state as we all work together to make meaningful and long-lasting improvements.”
Creation of the plan involved many stakeholders, including former and current foster youth, foster families, child welfare providers, tribal governments, local lawmakers, state officials and other community partners.