Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Social Services
 
Board
State Board of Social Services
 
Guidance Document Change: This guidance manual addresses the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. The purpose of this program is to enable states to develop and establish coordinated programs of community-based family support services, family preservation services, time-limited family reunification services and adoption promotion and support services to prevent child maltreatment, assure children's safety within the home, assist families with reunification, and support adoptive families. This guidance was established to provide localities with an overview of the application process, budget lines, service programs and ongoing requirements, that include eligibility, reporting, mid-year review, case documentation, outcomes, and subrecipient monitoring.

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3/18/20  11:55 pm
Commenter: Valerie L'Herrou, Virginia Poverty Law Center

Review: C&F Manual Chapter J
 

First, there are several typos, so I hope this document has not received final copy editing. These include: 

Page 6, 1.2.1.4: extra space after open paren, and after slash in fourth bullet item; 1.2.2.1: "Community based" should be hyphenated

Page 40, J, third line: "martial" instead of marital

Page 41, N, "subrecipiebnt"

Second: throughout, the document refers to "Substance Abuse" (or "SA"), or "drug-addicted individuals--disfavored, judgmental, and morally-weighted terms, rather than "Substance Use Disorder" which is the official, and morally-neutral term (see Page 6, Page 8, Page 18, Page 31, and Page 33, items 230 (2x) and 235 (2x)). However, the correct term is used on page 4. 

Third: Page 4: there's a repetition in the first sentence

Fourth: in the family preservation and support sections on Pages 6-7, there is no mention of referrals to DSS services such as Section 8, Medicaid, TANF, or SNAP.

Fifth: There is no section on providing support, services, or referrals to kinship families, whether informal or diverted after CPS response.

Sixth: page 8, sections 1.2.3.3 & 1.2.3.4 each mention "peer support" or "mentoring" but do not offer examples such as foster/birth parent co-parenting support.

Finally: In the "Family Reunification Services," sections beginning on page 7, guidance is not offered regarding the change in the 15-month limitation for children in foster care to receive reunification services (referenced on page 4) other than the change in definition to include a child returned home. Nor is the need to provide services that comply with the FFPSA's requirement to use those that are evidence-based and trauma-informed, or listed in the Clearing House.

 

CommentID: 79854