ASFA TRAINING PROJECT PHONE POLL OF CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES

Nevada

1. How would you rate your agency's staff in terms of their understanding of ASFA requirements? We are particularly interested in the level of understanding of managers, supervisors and workers. Please rate their understanding on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being 'poor' and 5 being 'comprehensive'.

a. Managers:

b. Supervisors:

c. Workers:

Comments: Workers and supervisors have a good understanding of some elements such as the new timelines, etc. However, their understanding of more technical elements such as the new eligibility requirements and how they relate to child welfare practice, is not as strong.

2. Based on your agency's experience to date, what skills do you think managers, supervisors and workers need to have to implement ASFA?

a. Managers?

• Better understanding of and the resources to implement new practice approaches needed for successful management of cases; support in developing new processes, etc. to meet unique district needs.
• Better understanding of the philosophical shift in practice embodied in the ASFA that requires reasonable efforts to begin at the time of removal. Specifically, this refers to Nevada's bifurcated system and the need for county CPS agencies and state child welfare agencies to work together toward providing earlier reasonable efforts. The current service delivery structure results in delays for families due to the required transfer to the state agency.
  

b. Supervisors?

• Increased understanding of and openness to new casework approaches, such as concurrent planning and family group conferencing, in order to provide necessary services and achieve the required permanency timelines.
• Increased skill in mentoring/supporting line staff in meeting ASFA requirements.
• Better understanding of eligibility requirements and child welfare case activities.
  

c. Workers?

• Increased ability to complete in-depth assessments early in cases in order to meet timelines more efficiently.
• Reduced caseloads
• Stable staffing, particularly in rural Nevada where staff turnover and vacancies increase the workload on existing staff.
• Supervisory mentoring; continued access to training.
  

3. As part of your ASFA implementation has your agency undertaken any activities in the following areas:

• Agency structure? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  Nevada has a bifurcated child welfare system, with the state delivering all foster care and adoption services as well as CPS in rural Nevada, and two urban counties that provide CPS services in their jurisdictions. A legislative committee has been studying the question of bifurcation for the past year and one-half. The state legislature will be considering legislation to unify the system in the 2001 session. This effort to unify the system has been driven by the need to comply with the provisions of the ASFA; meeting these requirements will be extremely difficult under the current system.
  
• Internal communication? No Yes
  If yes, please describe
  Many local groups that existed before the passage of ASFA have expanded their role to include reviewing cases for permanency and providing feedback to line staff.
  
  Working groups have been established statewide to develop new procedures; regional workgroups are also identifying and implementing new service delivery methods within their local areas.
  
• Performance appraisals? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  
  
• Job descriptions? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  Some tasks in foster care and adoption have been reassigned or restructured. For example, staff have been assigned to focus on TPR worksheets, adoption home studies, etc. and some of these tasks have been contracted to outside providers.
  
  
• Staff recruitment? No Yes
  If yes, please describe.
  

4. How do you handle staff training on ASFA?

a. Please describe the training.

• Sessions providing an overview of changes held in all offices and repeated as needed.
• Statewide conferences on ASFA are held twice a year. Attendees include agency staff, court personnel, and other stakeholders. The conferences are used to inform, identify practice changes, and share new ideas within agencies and the legal system.
• Central office staff have visited local offices to train on specific questions and issues.
• Outside consultants have provided specific training on new case practice approaches.
• ASFA requirements have been incorporated in the core training provided to all staff.
  

b. Who does the training?

• Training specialist from central office coordinates training by consultants.
• Subject matter experts from the central office and regional staff provided training.
  

c. Is the training just on ASFA or is it incorporated into other training that you provide?

Training on ASFA has been incorporated into regular pre-service and in-service training. This training is done by staff at the University of Nevada under an agreement with the agency. The University has revised some of the core curriculum to reflect ASFA requirements.

d. Have you done any training with or for the courts? No Yes
If yes, please describe.

• Judges have participated in the statewide conferences held regarding ASFA.
• Agency staff have also worked closely with judges in their local areas and regions.
• The Administrative Office of the Courts (which also co-sponsors the statewide conferences) has provided written information to judges across the state.
  

5. How well does your information system support the work of managers, supervisors and workers in implementing ASFA? Please rate the support provided by your system on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being 'poor' and 5 being 'outstanding'

a. Why did you give your system that rating?

The Division's SACWIS system has not been fully implemented as yet.

b. If a rating of 1 or 2 is given, probe as to the status of the SACWIS system.

6. What has worked best for you in terms of supporting staff as they implement the ASFA requirements?

Frequent training and discussion of the ASFA requirements have been helpful in increasing the depth of staff understanding of the ASFA. ASFA is complex and its system-wide implications cannot be understood and handled quickly.

7. What do you view as barriers to your agency's support for staff as they implement the requirements of ASFA?

Field staff have large caseloads (in some areas, up to fifty children).

There are no central office staff that can devote full time effort to staff training/education on ASFA.

8. (For County based systems only.) To what extent does the fact that your state is county-based impact your ASFA implementation?

See #3 above.

9. Is there anything else that you want to tell us regarding the best way to support staff as they implement the requirements of ASFA?

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