Development of federal requirements for prevention candidates and placement prevention services
Minnesota Department of Human Services (department) staff is planning for implementation of necessary policy changes to meet federal requirements of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) in 2023. This will allow for Title IV-E reimbursement for eligible candidates receiving approved prevention services. Department staff collaborated with county agencies, tribal partners, private and nonprofit agencies, community members, individuals with lived experience, and elected officials to develop and implement a five-year prevention services plan that improves outcomes for Minnesota’s most vulnerable children and families.
Research shows children do best in families. That is why comprehensive changes are being implemented to child welfare practices. The focus is on better supporting families under stress; widen access to chemical and mental health services; create new ways to involve extended family members in caregiving; and focus on residential facility placements for those youth known to require intensive supports. These changes will help more children to thrive.
Minnesota’s Title IV-E Five-year Prevention Plan was submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau, on Sept. 30, 2022, for review and approval. During the federal review process, additional refinement of the initial prevention plan was completed, along with minor modifications to the Family First Prevention Services Act: Prevention services bulletin (#22-68-07C) to meet additional submission requirements. Final federal approval was received on January 5, 2023. Review the final plan.
Implementation sub-work groups are working on details on how to implement the approved plan. More information and process can be found on this page.
Minnesota’s Title IV-E Five-year Prevention Plan was developed by the Prevention Services Work Group and topic specific work groups. Tribal engagement was also key to development of the plan. Information on past sub-work groups and current implementation teams are also on this page, including:
Bulletins and publications
Prevention candidacy work groups
The Family First Prevention Services Act’s objective is to provide upfront, prevention services to children at imminent risk of placement in foster care, expectant or parenting youth in foster care, and parents or kin caregivers of eligible children. Under FFPSA, these children are prevention services candidates. To meet FFPSA implementation requirements, each candidate requires an eligibility process, a prevention services case plan, a safety and risk assessment process, and a recertification process for prevention services that continue beyond the 12-month limit. To accomplish this, work groups were developed to support initial plan development. Work on these planning work groups has concluded.
In-home child protection and placement prevention case plans
Purpose: To meet FFPSA requirements, candidates are required to have a placement prevention services plan integrated into their case plan. This sub-work group provided feedback and guidance on development of placement prevention services plans, and how to best incorporate plans into in-home service plans. The work group developed a new family support plan (case plan) for child protection services when children remain in their home with their parent or caregivers. It is projected the new family support plans will be implemented in mid to late 2023.
Pregnant or parenting youth in foster care
Purpose: Youth in foster care who are expectant or parenting their child/ren may require additional services to support their health and well-being, as well as their child/ren. These youth will be eligible for prevention services under the FFPSA. This work group provided input on how to determine if an expectant or parenting youth in foster care is eligible to receive prevention services to ensure youth are able and prepared to be parents, how to best incorporate services, and foster care prevention strategies for children born to youth in foster care. This work group also evaluated how best to incorporate services in the youth’s out-of-home placement plan, and provide input on required documentation in the Social Service Information System (SSIS).
Placement prevention services work groups
Purpose: The primary goal of the work groups was to provide input and guidance regarding placement prevention services for initial services in Minnesota’s Title IV-E Five-year Prevention Plan, program or staff expansion. The goal is to implement initial services to meet the FFPSA federal requirements in 2023. After input for initial services array, the work group provided input on services or programs for possible future development or expansion. To do this, department staff collaborated with stakeholders, including county and tribal governments, community agencies, rural and urban regional representation, community members, providers, for profit and nonprofit organizations.
Initial Services work group
Purpose: The primary goal of this work group was to provide input and guidance regarding placement prevention services for initial implementation and possible expansion that may be included in Minnesota's Title IV-E Five-year Prevention Plan. Prevention services will meet the FFPSA evidence-based requirements by 2022. Prevention services, Motivational Interviewing, and Parents as Teachers, were recommended, meeting the FFPSA evidence-based requirements to best meet the needs of identified prevention services candidates and their families.
- Motivational interviewing (MI): This service falls into the well-supported rating category as determined by the FFPSA Clearinghouse, which is in the substance abuse program, but can be used as a crosscutting service. MI is a client engagement strategy through increasing intrinsic motivation, promoting behavior change in clients with ambivalence for change. MI is being recommended as a tool for caseworker training, used across cases, as appropriate.
- Parents as teachers (PAT): This service falls into the well-supported rating category as determined by the FFPSA Clearinghouse; it is an in-home parent skill-based program. PAT is a home-visiting program targeted at families with children ages 5 and under with special needs, at-risk for child abuse, income-based, teen or first-time parents, or struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues. Enrollment can occur from prenatal stages up to before children enter kindergarten.In-home child protection and placement prevention case plans
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
Purpose: The primary goal of this work group was to develop recommendations for a plan to monitor fidelity, continuous quality improvement, and evaluation plan components, as required under FFPSA to include in Minnesota’s Title IV-E Five-year Prevention Plan. This sub-work group developed a logic model, theory of change, and CQI plan recommendations for each selected service, and overall prevention plan, using previous work group recommendations and existing infrastructure. This group met virtually from February to March 2022. Participants included state and local partners with CQI expertise or experience in implementing selected services, key implementation partners, and consultants.
Claiming
Aligning work to develop successful claiming mechanisms for Minnesota is a complex process, involving multiple factors including federal review and response. The goal is a successful process for claiming prevention services Title IV-E funding to support and reinvest in state-wide prevention services for families. The department has many efforts underway to support the eventual claiming of Title IV-E for prevention services, which includes Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Parents as Teachers (PAT). These efforts are outlined, along with a status update. Many of these efforts rely on one another for the full claiming process to come together. While it may be possible to claim Prevention Services beginning late 2024, actual claiming may depend upon federal cost allocation approval and other factors. This work will transition to the newly created state department, Department of Children, Youth, Families, beginning July 1, 2024.
Prevention services implementation teams
To begin implementation of Minnesota’s prevention plan, three work groups, described below, will convene to develop implementation plan recommendations. Recommendations will build on existing infrastructure and recommendations outlined in the prevention plan.
Parents as Teachers implementation planning team
Purpose: Provide input and recommendations to develop an implementation plan for the selected service, Parents as Teachers (PAT). This team will focus on providing input to develop a pathway for current PAT affiliates to serve Family First Prevention Services Act prevention candidates.
Motivational Interviewing implementation planning team
Purpose: Provide input and recommendations to develop a short- and long-term implementation plan for the selected service, Motivational Interviewing. This service is being implemented as a tool for engagement for child protection caseworkers and supervisors to use.
Training implementation planning team
Purpose: Identify general training needs for the child welfare workforce for initial implementation and ongoing training for the child welfare workforce in FFPSA policy, requirements, and other training needs to implement the prevention plan. This team will consider training needs brought forward in the MI and PAT implementation planning teams.
FFPSA Allocation
- Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA): Prevention Services Allocation
- Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA): Q and A
Questions
Contact mailto:dhs.csp.safety@state.mn.us for questions related to FFPSA prevention services.
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