Essential Assessment Tools for Foster Care: A Supervisor’s Guide

Navigating the complexities of foster care supervision requires a robust toolkit. This resource is dedicated to providing child welfare supervisors with a collection of assessment tools proven useful in practice. While not endorsed as mandatory, these tools represent resources that various counties have found valuable in enhancing their supervisory roles and improving outcomes for children and families involved in the foster care system. This compilation serves as a platform for county-to-county resource sharing, aiming to equip you with effective instruments to excel in your supervisory duties.

MRS (Management Review System) & Family Assessment Tools

Effective family assessment is the cornerstone of successful foster care. These tools are designed to aid in the Management Review System (MRS) process and family assessment responses, ensuring thorough and child-centered evaluations.

• Alamance CFT Evaluation Form: A structured form for evaluating Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings, ensuring they are effective and collaborative. This helps assess the quality of team-based decision-making in foster care cases.
• Brochure-Family Assessment Response: Informational material outlining the Family Assessment Response approach, crucial for supervisors to understand and implement this model in foster care assessments.
• CFT Facilitator Guide for Child and Family: A guide for facilitators of Child and Family Team meetings, promoting best practices in these crucial collaborative sessions for foster care planning and assessment.
• CFT Invitation List: A template for creating invitation lists for Child and Family Team meetings, ensuring all relevant parties are included in the assessment and planning process.
• Change of Track Staffing Form: A form used when a case’s service track needs to be changed, important for managing and assessing the evolving needs of children in foster care.
• Checklist for Family Assessments: A comprehensive checklist to ensure all critical areas are covered during family assessments in foster care cases, promoting thorough evaluations.
• Child and Family Team Participant Agenda: A sample agenda for Child and Family Team meetings, providing structure and focus to these assessment and planning meetings in foster care.
• CPCM Tracking: Tool for tracking Comprehensive Protection Case Management (CPCM) activities, essential for monitoring and assessing progress in complex foster care cases.
• Harnett’s MOA-Law Enforcement: Memorandum of Agreement between Harnett County and Law Enforcement, highlighting interagency collaboration in child welfare and foster care assessments.
• Initial Home Visit: Guidance for conducting initial home visits, a crucial first step in assessing the foster care environment and family dynamics.
• M.R.S. Brochure Template: A template for creating brochures about the Management Review System, useful for explaining this process to stakeholders in foster care.
• MRS Letter to Reporter: A template letter for communicating with reporters in the Management Review System context, ensuring clear communication in foster care assessments.
• MRSBROCH: Likely another version of an MRS brochure, offering different formats or information for explaining the system in foster care.
• Nash DV CFT: Resources related to Domestic Violence Child and Family Teams in Nash County, addressing specific challenges in foster care cases involving domestic violence.
• Shared Parenting Referral: Form for referring to shared parenting services, relevant in foster care cases where parental cooperation is possible and beneficial for children.
• Spanish Translation.Alamance CFT Satisfaction Survey: A satisfaction survey for Child and Family Teams in Spanish, ensuring feedback is gathered from diverse populations involved in foster care assessments.

Performance Evaluation & Professional Development Tools

Supervisors need effective tools to evaluate staff performance and foster professional growth. These resources offer frameworks for performance assessment specifically within child protective services and foster care contexts.

• Catawba CPS IA FA Performance Evaluation: Performance evaluation form for Catawba County Child Protective Services (CPS) Initial Assessment (IA) and Family Assessment (FA) staff, focusing on key competencies in foster care assessment.
• Catawba CPS In-Home Services Performance Evaluation: Performance evaluation tool for Catawba County CPS In-Home Services staff, assessing skills in supporting families and children within the foster care system.
• Catawba Performance Evaluation: A general performance evaluation form from Catawba County, adaptable for various roles within child welfare and foster care services.
• Davidson New SW Checklist: A checklist for new social workers in Davidson County, aiding in onboarding and ensuring competency in foster care practices and assessments.
• Mecklenburg CPS IA FA Documentation Tool: Documentation tool for Mecklenburg County CPS Initial Assessment and Family Assessment, standardizing documentation in foster care cases.
• Mecklenburg Employee Conference Tool Template: Template for employee conference tools in Mecklenburg County, facilitating constructive feedback and performance discussions for foster care staff.
• Monthly Evals: Likely templates or guidance for conducting monthly evaluations, promoting regular performance monitoring and feedback for foster care professionals.
• Performance Evaluation Definitions: Definitions of terms used in performance evaluations, ensuring clarity and consistency in assessing staff working in foster care and child welfare.

Record Review Tools

Thorough record reviews are essential for quality assurance and case oversight in foster care. These tools provide structured formats for reviewing case files, ensuring compliance and best practices.

• Catawba CPS 215 Tasks QA: Quality Assurance tool for reviewing 215 tasks in Catawba County CPS, ensuring adherence to protocols in foster care case management.
• Catawba IHS Record Review Form: Record review form for Catawba County In-Home Services (IHS), assessing the quality of documentation and service delivery in foster care support.
• Catawba Quality Assurance CPS: General Quality Assurance tool for Catawba County CPS, encompassing various aspects of case management and documentation in foster care.
• Cleveland CPS Record Review: Record review form specific to Cleveland County CPS, focusing on key areas of case documentation and practice in foster care.
• Cleveland Foster Care Record Review: Record review tool specifically for foster care cases in Cleveland County, ensuring compliance and quality in foster care services.
• CPS IA TASKS QA: Quality Assurance tool for CPS Initial Assessment tasks, emphasizing thoroughness and accuracy in initial foster care investigations and assessments.
• Davidson Checklist for Family Assessments: Checklist for family assessments used in Davidson County, guiding record reviews to ensure comprehensive evaluations in foster care.
• Davidson Checklist for IA: Checklist for Initial Assessments in Davidson County, used for record reviews to verify the completeness of initial investigations in foster care.
• Harnett Record Review: General record review tool for Harnett County, applicable to various case types including foster care, ensuring quality documentation and case management.
• IA FA peer record review form: Peer record review form for Initial Assessment and Family Assessment, promoting peer oversight and quality improvement in foster care assessments.
• Lincoln Documentation on CPS Assessments: Guidance on documentation for CPS assessments in Lincoln County, useful for record reviews to ensure proper documentation in foster care cases.
• Mecklenburg Foster Care Record Review Tool: Record review tool specifically designed for foster care cases in Mecklenburg County, focusing on key indicators of quality and compliance.
• Mecklenburg IA FA Record Review Tool: Record review tool for Initial Assessment and Family Assessment in Mecklenburg County, ensuring thorough review of assessment documentation in foster care.
• Mecklenburg IHS Record Review Tool: Record review tool for In-Home Services in Mecklenburg County, assessing the quality of case files and service delivery in foster care support.
• Moore IHS Record Review Form: Record review form for In-Home Services in Moore County, used to evaluate case documentation and service provision in foster care.
• Moore Investigations-Assessments Record Review Tool: Record review tool for investigations and assessments in Moore County, ensuring quality and compliance in foster care related investigations.
• Nash Case Record Review: General case record review tool for Nash County, applicable to foster care cases, ensuring comprehensive review of case files.
• Nash QA Tool IHS: Quality Assurance tool for In-Home Services in Nash County, used for record reviews to assess service quality and documentation in foster care support.
• New Hanover Permanency Planning Case Review Checklist: Checklist for permanency planning case reviews in New Hanover County, focusing on critical aspects of long-term planning for children in foster care.
• Wilson CPS FA IA Review Tool: Review tool for CPS Family Assessment and Initial Assessment in Wilson County, ensuring quality reviews of assessment processes in foster care.
• Wilson Foster Care Record Audit: Record audit tool for foster care cases in Wilson County, providing a structured approach to auditing foster care case files for compliance and quality.

Staffing Tools

Effective staffing and case planning are crucial in foster care. These tools support supervisors in managing caseloads, planning staff assignments, and ensuring smooth transitions for children in care.

• Change of Track Staffing Form: (Repeated from MRS section, indicating its dual use) A form used when staffing decisions involve changing a case’s service track, relevant for resource allocation in foster care.
• Cleveland FC Staffing Form: Staffing form specific to Foster Care in Cleveland County, used for planning and documenting staffing decisions in foster care cases.
• Mecklenburg Permanency Planning Staffing Form: Staffing form for permanency planning in Mecklenburg County, focusing on staffing decisions related to long-term planning for children in foster care.
• Moore Transfer Summary: Form for summarizing case information during transfers in Moore County, ensuring smooth transitions for children moving within or out of foster care.
• New Allegations Received During Open Assessment: Guidance on handling new allegations received during an open assessment, important for managing evolving information in foster care cases.
• Orange County Supervision Checklist: Supervision checklist used in Orange County, providing a framework for supervisors to monitor and guide staff activities in foster care.

Training & Support

Ongoing training and support are vital for foster care staff. These resources offer tools for supervisors to support staff development and address specific challenges in foster care practice.

• Absent Parent Checklist – Efforts to Locate: A checklist to ensure thorough efforts are made to locate absent parents, crucial for family engagement and permanency planning in foster care.
• Supervisor’s Tool for Domestic Violence Cases: A tool for supervisors to guide staff in handling domestic violence cases, providing specialized support for complex foster care situations.

Miscellaneous Tools

This section includes additional tools that support various aspects of foster care supervision and case management, offering a range of resources for different needs.

• CFT Brochure: (Repeated from MRS section) A general brochure about Child and Family Teams, useful for educating stakeholders about this collaborative approach in foster care.
• Checklist Transfer Process To Foster Care-Nonsecure Petitions: Checklist for the transfer process to foster care involving non-secure petitions, ensuring procedural accuracy in specific legal contexts.
• Checklist Transfer Process To Foster Care-Slow Petitions: Checklist for the transfer process to foster care involving slow petitions, ensuring procedural accuracy in different legal contexts.
• Building a Model and Framework for Child Welfare Supervision: A resource document outlining a model and framework for child welfare supervision, providing a broader perspective on effective supervision in foster care.
• Transfer from CPS to FC CHECKLIST updated 05-20-09: Checklist for transferring cases from Child Protective Services to Foster Care, ensuring a smooth transition and information transfer.
• Transition Team Guidelines 8-1-08: Guidelines for transition teams, supporting planned transitions for children in foster care, such as reunification or placement changes.
• Engaging Fathers and Non-Residential Parents: Practice guide on engaging fathers and non-residential parents, promoting family involvement and positive outcomes in foster care.

This collection of assessment tools is intended to be a living resource, continuously updated with contributions from counties across North Carolina. We encourage supervisors to explore these tools and consider their applicability within their own jurisdictions to enhance foster care services.