new mexico's children, youth department - cyfd · by helen quintana, cyfd chief of staff, and...

2013ANNUAL REPORT and STRATEGIC PLAN

New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department

N E W M E X I C O

www.cyfd.org Who is the system for?

c h i l d r e n , y o u t h a n d f a m i l i e s d e p a r t m e n t

N E w M E x I C O C h I L D R E N , Y O U T h

A N D F A M I L I E S D E P A R T M E N T

PO Drawer 5160Santa Fe, NM 87502-5160

(505) 827-7602 www.cyfd.org

www.facebook.com/cyfdnm

L E A D E R S H I P

Susana Martinez, Governor

John A. Sanchez, Lieutenant Governor

Yolanda Berumen-Deines, Cabinet Secretary

Jennifer Padgett, Deputy Cabinet Secretary

The 2013 CYFD ANNUAL REPORT AND STRATEGIC PLAN is a publication of the State of New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. Written and edited by Helen Quintana, CYFD Chief of Staff, and Bob Tafoya, former CYFD Chief of Staff. Design and layout by Craig Wells, CYFD Multimedia Manager. The photo-graphs in this publication are represen-tative of the children and families of New Mexico. Unless otherwise indicated, they do not depict children in foster care or CYFD custody.

© 2013 CYFD. All rights reserved.

C O N T E N T S

W W W . c y f d . o r G

FROM ThE

S E C R E T A R Yat every turn, "Who is the system for?" guides us in our planning efforts. paGe 2

SECTION ONE

S U C C E S SCYFD has made significant accom-plishments to improve the lives of children and families. paGe 3

SECTION TwO

P L A N N I N Gprioritizing the work to be done is an important part of our blueprint for the future. paGe 11

APPENDIx

T R E N D Ssome of cyfd's most frequently requested trends and data are presented. paGe 17

SERVICES AND PROGRAM

L O C A T I O N Scyfd serves the state of new mexico with local, regional and statewide programs and offices. PAGE 26

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W W W . C Y F D . O R G

F R O M T h E C A b I N E T S E C R E T A R Y

Dear employees, providers, legislators and other stakeholders,

We are 30 months into this administration and there have been significant accomplishments made by the Department to improve the lives of children and families throughout New Mexico. However, there is so much more that needs to be done and it is important that we prioritize the work ahead of us.

This 2013 Annual Report and Strategic Plan is two-fold: the first section of the report highlights key accomplishments achieved in the last year Department-wide and within specific divisions, while the remainder of report provides a strategic planning blueprint for the next 18 months through December 2014. Additionally, the appendix section includes some of the "most frequently requested" trends and data regarding each of CYFD's programs and services and location and contact information for each of the Department services, programs and administrative offices.

Throughout my tenure with the agency, I continue to ask the same question everywhere I go, "Who is the system for?" I ask this question to our employees, in communities where children and families are seeking out services, in meetings with public officials where decisions about resources are made, and I also ask this question of myself when faced with a difficult decision. For example, in preparing this CYFD strategic plan, my executive team and I engaged in decision making about where we should invest our time and resources; this required us to take a close look at the needs of the children and families we serve, concerns expressed by our key stakeholders, the anticipated budget outlook (state, federal, grants, etc.), and our internal strengths and weaknesses. At every turn, "Who is the system for?" continues to guide us in our planning efforts.

One of our major focuses over the next 18 months will be on the development and retention of employees who are our most important resource in successfully serving children and families. Four department-wide strategic focus areas have been identified and are central to our strategic planning efforts:

• Employees with the expertise, knowledge and continued learning opportunities supported and developed in the workplace that will lead to improved outcomes for children and families.

• Employees who receive active and consistent support and direction from their leadership.

• Employees who have the tools and resources they need to accomplish their jobs successfully.

• Employees who are valued, recognized and rewarded for their dedication and commitment.

On behalf of the entire CYFD team, thank you for your support and interest in our Department and its important endeavors.

Best regards,

Cabinet Secretary Yolanda Deines

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SECTION ONE

CYFD Success

YFD is in the initial stages of implementing a web-based client system to more effectively document our

work with clients across all divisions. This system will allow us to enter information in real time in the field, therefore providing for greater efficiencies and allowing for more face-to-face contact with clients.

We are also pleased to announce that the Lincoln Pines Youth Center is slated to open in October 2013. The opening of this facility was supported by the Legislature in FY13.

CYFD is accountable to the work we do. Our performance measures provide a framework to achieve success. Our newly established Training Academy will help ensure that our em-ployees have the training and education necessary to contin-ue to focus on the safety and well-being of our clients.

A look at the accomplish-ments and achievements of the past fiscal year.

C



Early Childhood Services AccomplishmentsRACE TO ThE TOP/EARLY LEARNING ChALLENGE FUND AwARD Through the leadership of the Early Childhood Services division, New Mexico is one of only 14 states to re-ceive a Race to the Top/Early Learning Challenge Fund award. This $25 million award acknowledges the long history of collaboration between the New Mexico Public Education Department and the New Mexico Department of Health, and mirrors the federal partnership between the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services/Adminis-tration for Children and Families. The purpose of the Race to the Top/Early Learning Challenge Fund is to radically reform and align early childhood learn-ing systems with the goal of ensuring that all children—especially those most at risk for school failure—are ready for kindergarten. The collaboration across agencies acknowledges the growing body of research which confirms that predictors of school success are rooted in the complexities of family and com-munity that impact each child’s earliest years.

IMPLEMENTATION OF FOCUS (ON YOUNG ChILDREN’S LEARNING) QUALITY RATING SYSTEMFOCUS is New Mexico’s newest quali-ty rating and improvement system for early childhood care and education programs that are licensed by the state. This quality rating system has two main goals:• Increase the number of high-quality

early care and education programs in

New Mexico, and• Increase the number of low-income

children on state subsidy in these high quality programs.

The criteria is focused on the inten-tional support of children’s learning so that they have the skills to be successful when entering kindergarten. The prima-ry components of FOCUS are:• Planning curriculum based on New

Mexico’s Early Learning Standards for children from birth through kinder-garten,

• Professional development of program staff,

• Parent engagement, and• Continuous quality improvement.

REDUCTION OF ThE ChILD CARE wAITING LIST Since January 2010, the child care pro-gram has maintained a waiting list for families with income levels above 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The waiting list reached its highest level in October 2011 at 7,059 children. During October-November 2011, families with income levels between 100.01% of FPL and 110% of FPL were removed from the waiting list. In March 2012, families with income levels between 100.01% and 150% of FPL were removed from the waiting list (families were provided services, no longer qualified, or did not respond). In April 2013, families with income levels between 100.01% and 150% of FPL were removed from the waiting list.

ChILD CARE LICENSING AND ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS ChANGES The child care licensing and assistance regulation changes became effective on Nov. 30, 2012. In an effort to implement cost containment measures, clarify policy and improve quality for the child

care program, regulations changes were made. CYFD is now paying for actual care provided (no longer paying a full-time rate for part-time care); is paying for fewer nonattendance days; and is holding clients more accountable and requiring clients apply with child support services. These cost contain-ment measures will free up funding to allow for more lower-income clients to be served.

EARLY ChILDhOOD INVESTMENT ZONES The Department has taken a leadership role in an innovative partnership with the New Mexico Department of Health/Public Health Division to consolidate as much information and data as possi-ble regarding young children, families, schools and social service providers in New Mexico into an early childhood “data warehouse.” By consolidating this information, it is possible to determine where children are most at risk, where there are gaps in the social service sys-tem and make critical epidemiological connections between early childhood risk indicators and outcomes, such as juvenile incarceration, teen pregnancy and high school dropout rates. Policy-makers are able to not only manipulate this data in traditional ways, but are also able to “map” data so that there is a visual representation, for example, of where there are significant rates of child abuse and neglect vs. where child abuse prevention programs are located. An-other example may be to map commu-nities where children are not proficient in math and reading in third grade vs. where NM PreK Programs are located.

Based on this data, the Depart-ment has identified communities where children are most at risk based on: 1. Socio-ecological risk indicators such

as poverty, rates of child abuse and



teen pregnancy, and 2. School risk indicators such as high

school dropout rates and third grade reading proficiency scores.

Twenty risk indicators have been aggregated and 35 communities have been identified where children are most at risk. These communities are being re-ferred to as Early Childhood Investment Zones. This has enabled the Department to prioritize limited resources. This has resulted in newly allocated funds for home visiting, New Mexico PreK and other early childhood programs to be targeted for communities where there are significant risk indicators coupled with a lack of early childhood services.

Early Childhood Investment Zones

The identification of Early Childhood Investment Zones has also enabled the Department to target needful commu-nities where there is a significant lack of infrastructure and therefore a lack of capacity to access and effectively utilize resources. As a result, the Department has initiated an intentional effort to establish a national model of communi-ty building that targets early childhood services.

bROADER REACh FOR AFTERSChOOL MEALS AND SNACkSThe Family Nutrition Bureau has partnered with NM Appleseed over the

last two years to get the word out about the Afterschool Meals Program and this has resulted in approximately 10 new afterschool programs applying and being approved to participate in this extension of the Child and Adult Care Food Program's Afterschool At-Risk Snack Program. In late 2010, Congress passed the Hunger Free and Healthy Kids Act of 2010 which added suppers to the At-Risk Snack Program. After-school programs can now claim suppers as well as snacks. The Afterschool Meals Program is 100% federally funded by the United States Department of Agri-culture (USDA).

USDA provides reimbursement for meals and snacks served in after-school programs that:• Are located at sites where at least half

of the children in the school atten-dance area are eligible for free and reduced price school meals.

• Offer educational or enrichment activities, after the regular school day ends or on weekends and holidays, during times of the year when school is in session.

• Meet licensing, health, or safety codes that are required by state or local law.

• Serve nutritionally balanced meals and snacks that meet USDA’s nutri-tion standards, with foods like milk, meat, vegetables, fruit, and bread.

Since the addition of meals to the At-Risk Program, CYFD's Family Nutri-tion Bureau has provided much infor-mation about the program to various afterschool programs statewide and will continue to do so. Family Nutrition Bu-reau staff has also presented a workshop at the New Mexico Afterschool Alliance Conference last summer that focused on afterschool meals. CYFD staff con-tinues to make current and potentially eligible institutions aware of the At-Risk Meals component of the CACFP.



Protective Services AccomplishmentsNCIC bILL The Emergency Placement Criminal History Record Check (Senate Bill 41) was signed into law on March 28, 2013. This law allows the Children, Youth and Families Department to conduct federal criminal history records checks on all adults residing in a relative or fictive home being considered as a possible placement of children during an emer-gency removal situation. These efforts will help ensure that children are placed in a safe environment, will decrease the likelihood of a removal at a later time, and improve placement stability. Prior to the passing of this law, law enforce-ment agencies were not been able to provide CYFD with background infor-mation during emergency placements.

TITLE IV-E FEDERAL REVIEw The Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, conducted a primary review of the CYFD Title IV-E foster care program during the week of July 29, 2012. The purpose of the review was to determine whether: 1. The foster care program operates in

compliance with the federal eligibili-ty requirements and;

2. to validate the basis of CYFD finan-cial claims to ensure that appropriate payments were made on behalf of eligible children in foster care.

The review team determined that 79 of the 80 cases reviewed met the eligibility requirements. The Children's Bureau found the CYFD Title IV-E foster care maintenance program was in substantial compliance for the period under review (Oct. 1, 2011-March 31, 2012).

The Children's Bureau noted strengths observed during the review. The utilization of specialized eligibility staff to complete Title IV-E eligibility determinations was noted as an asset for CYFD. They noted that the dedication of specialized staff resources reduced the possibility of ineligible IV-E pay-ments. The Children's Bureau noted that the eligibility documentation was detailed and well-documented. The use of information sharing between various state agency data systems was also noted as a strength. The Children's Bureau pointed out strengths in CYFD’s legal process, specifically commenting that affidavits and court orders were detailed and child specific. The frequen-cy in permanency hearings (average of 5.5 months in the cases reviewed), was characterized as a good practice which can contribute to timely permanency for children. Overall, the organization and preparation for the audit by the Title IV-E manager and the Title IV-E unit was recognized and praised by the federal team leader.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTEGRATION INTO PROTECTIVE SERVICESOver the past year, the domestic vio-lence (DV) unit has participated in a number of projects. The unit participat-ed in judicial training with statewide magistrate judges through the Corinne Wolfe Children’s Law Center Judicial Education Center on DV offender services. It also met with judges and probation in Taos to clarify DV offender provider requirements and to assist in improving the number of referrals to the approved provider in that area. The numbers of referrals had decreased over 60% from November 2011 through Oc-tober 2012. As a result of this meeting, the approved provider experienced an

increase of over 100% in client referrals within two months. The Crime Victims Reparation Commission requested the DV unit’s participation on its planning committee for its annual Advocacy in Action conference and for assistance with its Violence Against Women Act and Victim of Crime Act grants, both of which fund statewide victim ser-vice providers. Lastly, it was invited to participate in a meeting with the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Esperanza Shelter, the Santa Fe Police Department, and representa-tives from the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Pro-gram coordinated by the Albuquerque Council for International Visitors.

IMPLEMENTATION OF ThE PIÑON PROjECT PRACTICE MODELProtective Services is in its fourth year of practice model implementation. The Investigations, In-Home Services and Family-Centered Meetings procedures were revised to coincide with the prac-tice model values and principles. Eight different sites have initiated the imple-mentation of the Piñon Project. These offices are Bernalillo East, Chaves, San Juan, Luna, Silver City, Lea, San Miguel, Taos, Doña Ana and Central Office. All of these sites have worked on different adaptive leadership experiments in an effort to improve practice. Quality assurance baseline reviews were done in all the counties listed above except Cen-tral Office. The first five counties listed above have attended adaptive leadership training and incorporated principles of adaptive leadership into their daily practice and their experiments.

Five additional counties have been identified and met with the National Resource Center for Organi-zational Improvement and Cambridge Leadership Associates in April to plan

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for ongoing implementation.Additionally, work is underway

with the Butler Institute at the Universi-ty of Denver to develop family surveys. These surveys will assist us in measur-ing the success of the practice model with the clients we serve.

IMPROVED PARTNERShIP wITh FOSTER PARENTS FOR ThE ADVOCACY OF ChILDRENAs part of the practice model, Protective Services identified four major areas needing attention: NM Safety Assessment Tool implementation, working with foster parents to improve relationships, working with external partners, and supervision of staff. To increase support, training, and collaboration with foster parents, Protective Services provided a contract to the Land of Enchantment Foster and Adoptive Parent Association to develop supports and local foster parent associations in each county. The objective was to increase foster parent associations across the state, thereby improving retention for support through additional support.

Additionally, Protective Services is in the third year of the federal Step-Up grant, which is a diligent recruitment grant aimed at improved relationships, providing customer service to its partners, concurrent planning and recruitment and retention of foster parents. This grant has an advisory board that provides feedback as to the activities that take place. In addition, the grant provides six family resource consultants (FRCs) whose primary focus is to recruit families of color. The FRC focus is to assist those families to go beyond the foster parent orientation and help them achieve licensure.

Juvenile Justice Services AccomplishmentsDIVISION REORGANIZATION At the start of FY13, Juvenile Justice Services (JJS) was reorganized by reuniting all juvenile justice-related program areas under a single and co-hesive juvenile justice division. Rec-ognizing that a successful JJS division requires a comprehensive system, JJS now includes front-end prevention and intervention services, pre-adjudication, secure facility commitment, transition services and post-adjudication (proba-tion and supervised release). Uniting specific program areas such as Juvenile Probation, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC), Juvenile Commu-nity Corrections, Continuum, Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) and the Transition unit under a sin-gle Special Programs Unit allows for close collaboration and coordination of services consistent with the Cambiar model. Further, the reorganization al-lows for clear and consistent leadership and direction provided by JJS executive management.

jPTC EDUCATIONAL COMPLEx COMPLETED AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES COMMENCEDA historical backdrop demonstrates the significance of this accomplishment. In June 2008, the J. Paul Taylor Cen-ter (JPTC) hosted the first meeting to design a new education complex. The contract was awarded to Jaynes Cor-poration with the construction begin-ning in August 2010 with site work preparation. The building consists of a state-of-the-art gymnasium, 10 class-rooms, and an administrative complex

which was completed and a Certificate of Occupancy issued on February 14, 2013. JPTC provides traditional and non-traditional educational program-ming for the diverse educational needs of our students. With an innovative educational and facility leadership team, JJS is finalizing plans to hire a vocation-ally licensed instructor who will expand vocational education options for youth committed to CYFD’s facilities.

kEY LEADERShIP POSITIONS FILLEDRecognizing the efforts of JJS human re-sources staff, JJS worked diligently over the past year to fill as many field and facility leadership positions as possible. This includes superintendent positions at JPTC, YDDC and Camino Nuevo. Two of three field regional administra-tor positions have been reclassified to associate deputy directors with added oversight responsibilities regarding client transition planning, supervised release and quality assurance. JJS has also reclassified several positions to improve service delivery and program

effectiveness. These positions include a policy unit (three positions), research operations position and a second depu-ty superintendent for JPTC. JJS has al-ready begun to see the benefits of these efforts: the exorbitant overtime payout has decreased and JJS is at an approxi-mate 11.65% vacancy rate, a significant decrease from the 14% reported to the Legislature in January 2013.

SUCCESSFUL STATEwIDE IMPLEMENTATION OF “OPERATION FAST TRACk” IN jANUARY 2013The Fast Track operation began as a remedial effort to address the lapse in time for clients that are arrested by law enforcement, screened for detention, but not detained due to Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI) score or other circumstances. The ultimate goal of Operation Fast Track requires a more timely response to youth in our communities and allows for intervention and accountability for poor decision making. Initially, Operation Fast Track began with three sites on August 27, 2012, which

sampled Operation Fast Track in areas with a diverse caseload in terms of demographics and size. Field Services is proud to report that there have been well over 450 cases processed in this expedited manner with little to no resistance from local law enforcement agencies. The program’s success was dependent upon the collaboration of community partners such as law enforcement, the District Attorney’s offices, Children’s Court judges and the juvenile detention centers. It is programs such as Operation Fast Track that demonstrate the importance of community collaboration in comprehensive JJS reform efforts.

ALbUQUERQUE REINTEGRATION CENTER CONVERTED INTO AN ALL-FEMALE REINTEGRATION CENTERRecognizing the need for a reintegration facility that served the female popula-tion, JJS concentrated its efforts on the transition of female clients from secure units into an all-female reintegration center. On November 26, 2012, JJS lead-ership opened the female reintegration center, which provides services to pro-bation clients or to clients transitioning from the secure facility to supervised release.

INCREASES IN ThE NUMbER OF CLIENTS EARNING A hIGh SChOOL DIPLOMA OR GENERAL EQUIVALENCY DIPLOMA JJS Educational Services reported an in-crease in the number of clients earning a high school diploma or GED. A com-parison with prior years highlights this increase. For example, in the 2010-2011 school year, four JJS state-supported high schools graduated 27 students. Of these 27 students, 22 hold GED diplo-mas and five received their high school diplomas. For school year 2011-2012,



JJS state-supported high schools gradu-ated 40 students. Of these 40 students, 34 received their GEDs and six received their “traditional” high school diplomas. For the recently completed 2012-13 school year, JJS state-supported high schools graduated a total of 66 students. Of these 66 students, 60 hold GEDs and six were traditional high school graduates. This comparison denotes that, to date, there are 39 more gradu-ates in 2012-2013 than in 2010-2011. Significantly, this happened while the total number of juveniles committed to the JJS secure facilities remained fairly constant. The number of graduates has increased steadily over the last three school years, and the graduation rate increased 59% from 2010-2011 to 2012-2013.

LINCOLN PINES YOUTh CENTER ON TARGET FOR AUTUMN OPENINGIn order to name the newly renovat-ed Juvenile Center near Fort Stanton, CYFD sought the recommendations of youth living in the other New Mexico facilities. After paring the youth rec-ommendations down to four names, CYFD then partnered with the Ruidoso Free Press for the local community’s involvement in naming the facility. Now known as the Lincoln Pines Youth Center (LPYC), this facility will open in October 2013. Collectively, JJS staff throughout the state worked together to meet all projected timelines to get LPYC ready to house 24 youth in a complete-ly renovated campus consisting of 12 building on approximately 13 acres. Working in collaboration with Lincoln County media and journalists, the State Personnel Office, the Department of Workforce Solutions and Eastern New Mexico University, JJS was able to re-cruit and hire nearly 50 FTE after three incredibility productive job fairs. As

of August 1, 2013, all LPYC staff were undergoing training to fully prepare for the arrival of clients in the fall of 2013.

Office of Community Outreach and Behavioral Health AccomplishmentsCOMMUNITIES OF CARE/ wRAP-AROUND SERVICES The Office of Community Outreach and Behavioral Health Programs has launched the "community of care" initiative. The plan involves working with local communities to develop community networks of youth and family members, service providers and other organizations, and a wide range of community and natural supports. We are calling this a "community of care" because we are promoting local com-munities to take the lead in developing and improving services and supports for children and youth and their families who are addressing behavioral health needs. Communities must be willing and able to develop a local planning and implementation team, usually building from one or more existing groups who are already engaged to improve services for children and youth and their fami-lies. Families and youth are essential to this process and need to guide the team in setting its priorities for a "community of care."

ESTAbLIShMENT OF MENTAL hEALTh FIRST AID TRAINING PROGRAM Mental Health First Aid is an interactive 12-hour course that presents an over-

view of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S. and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. Those who take the 12-hour course to certify as Mental Health First Aiders learn a five-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources and knowledge to help an individual in crisis connect with ap-propriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care. This course is appropri-ate for participants with no training in mental health and can provide addition-al information and a refresher informa-tion for individuals who have training in the mental health field. There are 12 continuing education units (CEUs) offered upon completion of this training for social workers and counselors.

Program Support AccomplishmentsINFORMATION TEChNOLOGY DIVISION The Applications Development Bureau focused its development on the Enter-prise Provider Information Constituent Services (EPICS) web application and successfully developed and deployed three iterations for Phase 1 Provider Management (includes provider back-ground check and Child and Adult Food Program. Phase 2 Client Man-agement focuses on the essential client components benefiting all CYFD pro-gram areas. Client Management focuses on the foundational client components and is scheduled for production imple-mentation in June 2014. EPICS Phase 3 Race To The Top commenced in July 2013 and incorporates the ECS Child Care Assistance and PreK services func-



tionality into the EPICS application. EPICS Phase 3 Service Management also began in July 2013 and will consol-idate remaining CYFD standalone sys-tems into EPICS to include: JJS Facility Management, expanding background check functionality and the migration of current ARTES (domestic violence/JJS Community Corrections).

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES In July 2012, Administrative Services implemented debit cards for foster care and child care provider payments. Prior to the debit card, CYFD pro-cessed monthly around 2,500 payments by paper checks to foster care and child care providers. Even though the department offered direct deposit as

an option, many providers required paper checks due to not having a bank account. ASD seized the opportunity to implement debit cards to make provider payments more efficient and cost effec-tive. The benefits to the debit cards are no waiting for a check to come in the mail, no lost or stolen checks, reliable access to funds, no payment delay, and convenience of using the card to make purchases and get cash back at partic-ipating retailers, ATMs or bank teller windows where the Visa acceptance mark is displayed. Implementing the debit card saved CYFD around $50,000 annually as a result of cost savings in postage, mailing envelopes, printing fees and staff time.

OFFICE OF ThE SECRETARY CYFD has established a training academy that will significantly en-hance training opportunities within the department for employees at the time of initial employment and regular and ongoing professional development. This academy focuses on job standards train-ing as well as professional development courses to include leadership, behavior health, childhood development, investi-gation techniques, etc. Under the Direc-tion of the academy director, CYFD will create a comprehensive training plan that will be developed after conducting classification specific training needs assessments. The training director will serve as a standing member of the exec-utive management team to ensure that training needs of employees is always being discussed and addressed by senior managers. The academy staff will work collaboratively with NMSU, UNM, and other schools of higher learning to de-velop college courses that are consistent with the needs of the department’s pro-grams and services. In addition, the di-rector will work in partnership with the Southwest Regional Training Center/National Protection Training Center to develop and implement course offerings specific to the needs of our staff. Many of the course offerings provided by the academy will provide CEUs to staff who participate. The academy’s main goal is to ensure all employees receive all man-datory training as required by policy, rule or statute and that employees are developed as leaders in their profession.

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SECTION TwO

CYFD Planning

YFD's three program divisions (Early Childhood Services, Protective Services, and Juvenile Justice

Services) are responsible for the delivery of prevention, inter-vention and support services to our clients. Behavioral health services are intertwined in all of these areas. Recognizing this overarching service, CYFD is recommending that our behav-ioral health services become its own division, moving from under the Office of the Secretary.

CYFD's initiatives focus on the continued improvement of services. We are committed to improving the quality of child care, to the recruitment and retention of foster parents, wrap-around behavioral health services, the education of juveniles in our facilities and the strengthening of the Cambiar model in our facilities.

Plans and initiatives for the upcoming 18 months.

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Early Childhood Services InitiativesIMPLEMENTATION OF FOCUS (ON YOUNG ChILDREN’S LEARNING) QUALITY RATING SYSTEMIt is estimated that approximately 1,000 licensed early childhood care and education programs in New Mexico will be rated using the FOCUS Essen-tial Elements of Quality over the next five years. This includes not only child care programs that are currently rated using AIM HIGH criteria, but home visiting, early intervention, Early/Head Start, New Mexico PreK and preschool programs in the public schools. A spe-cialized data system will be established to track the progress of these programs and of the children they serve.

REGISTERED hOME OVERSIGhTThe registration of (to include renew-als) and oversight of registered home providers will begin July 1, 2013. With USDA disallowing the use of Child and Adult Care Food sponsors to assist with

registration and oversight of registered home providers, ECS will assume this responsibility. ECS currently has five child care specialists and will need to create eight additional child care spe-cialists with the funding appropriated during the 2013 legislative session. En-suring the health, safety and well being of New Mexico children is a priority. This initiative will help ECS ensure that children in registered homes are safe and well cared for.

SUMMER FOOD SERVICES wEb SITEThe Family Nutrition Bureau (FNB) is in the process of developing a web site, www.summerfoodnm.org, that will map all summer food meal sites in the state. This web site was operational last sum-mer but was funded by the New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger. This organization no longer exists which is why FNB has purchased this web site and will re-activate the site this summer.

This web site is important because it will allow the public to access infor-mation about Summer Food Service

Program meal sites that are available statewide. The information provided will include meals site locations, meal service times and dates as well as de-tailed maps to show how to get to any of the more than 700 meal sites that provide free meals during the summer. Having this information readily accessi-ble to the public will increase participa-tion in the summer nutrition programs, which will have a significant impact in addressing hunger and the health and well-being of children in New Mexico.

hEALThY kIDS, hEALThY ChILD CAREThis is a new partnership between the New Mexico Department of Health, Office of Nutrition and Physical Activ-ity and CYFD. Over the past year, the partnership has created a broad-based coalition bringing together regulatory agencies (WIC, Office of Child De-velopment, Maternal Child Health, Family Nutrition Bureau, Child Care Licensing), licensed child care centers, registered home child care providers, health and family service programs, and Head Start/PreK programs. The Healthy Kids, Healthy Child Care Program is currently engaged in statewide train-ings to assist child care providers in improving the environment, meals, and curriculums of licensed child care cen-ters and homes to address child obesity within New Mexico. Emphasis is on five lifestyle goals: increase physical activ-ity; reduce screen time; increase fruits and vegetables served; provide access to water instead of sweetened drinks; and, encourage breastfeeding. The Transfor-mation Grant was implemented in 2012 and is a five-year grant. The Department of Health is the lead agency.



cyfd will be tracking 18 key performance measures for fy14:

Early Childhood Services

• percent of children receiving subsidy in stars/aim high programs levels three through five or with national accreditation

• percent of licensed child care providers participating in stars/aim high levels three through five or with national accreditation

• Percent of mothers participating in home visiting who are identified as having symptoms of postpartum depression who were referred to services then received services

Protective Services

• percent of children who are not the subject of substantiated maltreatment within six months of a prior determination of substantiated maltreatment

• percent of children who are not the subject of substantiated maltreatment while in foster care

• Percent of children reunified with their natural families in less than 12 months of entry into care

• percent of children in foster care for 12 months with no more than two placements

• percent of children adopted within 24 months from entry into foster care

• percent of adult victims or survivors receiving domestic violence services who have an individualized safety plan

• percent of adult victims or survivors receiving domestic violence services who are made aware of other available community services

juvenile justice Services

• percent of clients readjudicated within two years of previous adjudication

• percent of JJs clients age 18 and older who enter adult corrections within two years after discharge from a juvenile justice facility

• percent of clients who complete formal probation

• percent of clients recommitted to a cyfd facility within two years of discharge from a facility

• percent of incidents in JJs facilities requiring use of force resulting in injury

• number of physical assaults in juvenile justice facilities

Program Support

• turnover rates for youth care specialists

• turnover rates for protective services workers

Protective Services InitiativesMULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS SUMMIT AND FOLLOw-UP TEChNICAL ASSISTANCECYFD's Protective Services division, in partnership with the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys (AODA) and the Children’s Advocacy Centers of New Mexico (and with the support of the Southwest Institute for Family and Child Advocacy and the Southwest Regional Child Protection Center of NMSU) kicked off a major effort to de-velop and grow Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) in every county in the state with a statewide summit in April 2013. This summit, with participation by Pro-tective Services staff, prosecutors, law enforcement, children’s advocacy rep-resentatives, district judges, and others, provided an opportunity for members of current and potential MDTs to come together to discuss the benefits of MDTs through a more collaborative interven-tion in cases of child maltreatment.

DE-CENTRALIZATION OF PLACEMENT wORkERSThe de-centralization of placement (foster care and adoption) staff is sched-uled to begin July 1, 2013. Plans are still being developed as to the re-organiza-tion of Child Protective Services (CPS) placement worker staff; however the idea is to move CPS placement workers under the direction of the county office managers in order to provide consisten-cy and continuity of care for our clients.



Juvenile Justice Services InitiativesVOCATIONAL EDUCATION This administration continues to focus on expanding vocational education options for all youth committed to Juvenile Justice Services (JJS) secure facilities. JJS Educational Services is collaborating with colleges and univer-sities to develop programming with an emphasis on vocational training for our JJS students. Recognizing that tradi-tional education services are not always appropriate or preferential for our diverse students, Lincoln Pines Youth Center and the J. Paul Taylor Center in Las Cruces are enhancing their campus-es to bring vocational programming to the JJS youth. Through this initiative, any youth leaving the facility will take with him/her viable skills and the ex-posure to an array of certification/trade programs that make him/her ready and equipped to enter the workforce.

ThE “SPECIAL PROGRAMS” UNITRecognizing that a successful JJS divi-sion requires a comprehensive system, JJS now includes front-end prevention and intervention services, pre-adju-dication, secure facility commitment, transition services and post-adjudica-tion (probation and supervised release). With this reorganization, JJS is uniting specific programs such as the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC), Juvenile Community Corrections, and the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) under a single unit that fosters accountability, collaboration with national and statewide partners, and the coordination of services consis-tent with CYFD policy.

CAMbIAR NEw MExICOJJS-Facilities recognizes the need to move away from the implementation phase of Cambiar New Mexico and into the sustainability of the model. In order to accomplish this goal, contractual ser-vices with MYSI continue to be exam-ined to ensure that CYFD is receiving the services contemplated in the agree-ment. As such, JJS-Facilities has worked alongside MYSI to increase training and advanced facilitation skills for unit staff and to provide the Cambiar training for all new Lincoln Pines Youth Center staff. JJS-Facilities continues to explore options that include a train-the-trainer program to develop Cambiar expertise in our own facility staff.

IMPLEMENTATION OF RISk AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT TOOLSJJS Field Services will soon begin using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Short Screener (GAIN-SS) as-sessment tool. The designed use for this tool will be administered upon intake of a preliminary inquiry during the second half of the meeting with the family and youth. As the youth answers each cate-gory of questions, a value indicator will identify the need for further assessment and evaluation. The goal of the GAIN-SS is designed to accomplish three purposes. First, the GAIN-SS serves as a screening tool for at-risk popula-tions to quickly and accurately identify youth/clients who have one or more behavioral health disorders (psychiatric disorders, substance abuse disorders,



or propensities for crime/violence) and would benefit from further assess-ment or referral for these issues. Youth scoring in the significant range would be referred to a local behavioral health agency for further services. The tool also rules out those clients who would not be identified as having behavioral health disorders. Second, the GAIN-SS serves as an easy-to-use quality assur-ance tool across diverse field-assessment systems for staff with minimal training or direct supervision. Finally, the assess-ment tool serves as a periodic measure of behavioral health change over time. JJS- Field Services aims to have this process fully implemented no later than June 30, 2013.

REDEFINE ROLE OF bEhAVIORAL hEALTh CLINICIANS IN bOTh ThE FACILITIES AND FIELD SERVICESJJS is working to redefine the role of be-havioral health clinicians. Currently, the vision includes exploring whether the JJS Children's Behavioral Health Clini-cians (CBHCs) can provide therapeutic services to clients that are not readily available in the community. Another option is to provide short-term transi-tional group therapy to clients transi-tioning back to their communities from secure commitment in order to increase successful reintegration. Programmatic decisions regarding service delivery by CBHCs will determine how to most effectively utilize the statewide CBHC manager position.

In the facilities, JJS has initiated an effort to have the behavioral health clinicians play a role that is more collab-orative with the entire treatment team, creating a therapeutic milieu for our clients. The facility leadership’s intention is to provide shared supervision be-tween the director of behavioral health and the facility superintendents for each

program’s behavioral health clinician. The behavioral health clinicians will be expected to run the Cambiar peer support groups with the clients, provide one-on-one therapy, and take a lead with treatment.

Within Field Services, the vision for CBHCs is to provide clinical services to children and their families that are not readily available from community agencies and are juvenile-justice-orient-ed. Other clinical therapeutic pro-gramming would be the provision of short-term transition groups for youth returning from commitment in order to further increase successful reintegration into the community. To accomplish this, Field Services is exploring the various possibilities including: 1. Creating a CBHC Supervisor Core

training program that would be a mandatory employment require-ment for all CBHC supervisors. This CORE would focus on training our CBHC supervisors to become certi-

fied to train staff in various clinical models as well as to train clinicians in the administration and interpre-tation of instruments for general diagnostic and treatment purposes;

2. Training clinicians to conduct Sex Offender Risk Assessments (SORA);

3. Identifying diagnostic and treat-ment-oriented assessment tools that would be in line with the vision for CBHCs;

4. Requiring CBHC supervisors to meet monthly to manage the vision and activities of behavioral health. One of the suggestions is that CBHC supervision no longer be divided be-tween CBHC supervisor and district chief but that the CBHC supervisor be fully responsible for oversight of the CBHCs within their region; and

5. Ensuring all CBHCs are in compli-ance with the directive requiring their attendance and participation at a client’s primary review date MDT.



Program Support InitiativesINFORMATION TEChNOLOGY: EPICSIn FY12 and FY13 CYFD ECS has worked on the design and development of EPICS Phase I which includes the Child Care Provider Background Check and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) modules. CYFD will begin piloting EPICS Phase I in June 2013. The production implementation of EPICS Phase I is scheduled for Octo-ber 2013.

The Child Care Provider Back-ground Check and CACFP modules of EPICS are just the first step in a multi- year, multi-phase project. EPICS will eventually replace and consolidate all CYFD systems, including FACTS, into one web-based environment.

The following are some of the many benefits that EPICS, when com-plete, will bring to CYFD, the provider community and constituents we serve:• Verification of child care provider

employee background check status resulting in increased safety of New Mexico’s children by automating communication to appropriate staff when a provider’s background check has been denied due to criminal conviction and/or protective services history allowing increased efficiency with appropriate safe measures and actions;

• Expedited referral, application and/or verification of services will promote faster access to services, reduce wait time—particularly in times of family crisis (for example, the first phase, CACFP providers will submit food claims online and with the eventual interface to the SHARE accounting

system, immediate processing of program payments to providers will occur);

• Improved access to data and infor-mation across social service agen-cies to audiences such as legislators resulting in more informed decisions being made ultimately resulting in improved services to the children of New Mexico.

• EPICS will be aligned and interop-erable with the P-20 education data warehouse system, including other early learning data systems located in other state departments and external entities, such as the Public Education Department (PED) and the Depart-ment of Health (DOH). Most notably, common educator and child iden-tification numbers across multiple early education systems such as PED and DOH, will enable the ability to track children longitudinally with the goal being to ensure children make a smooth transition from early educa-tion into the public education system focusing initially on school readiness;

• EPICS Phase 3 Service Management will also begin in July 2013 and will consolidate remaining CYFD stand-alone systems into EPICS to include: JJS Facility Management, expanding background check functionality and the migration of current ARTES (do-mestic violence/JJS Community Cor-rections). In addition, work has begun on the SACWIS pre-planning Ad-vanced Planning Document (APD). The focus during the pre-planning phase will be to identify key project documents that will be required to initiate the APD with the federal government.

1 6 2 0 1 3 A n n u A l r E P o r t A n D s t r A t E G i C P l A n


APPENDIx

CYFD Trends

Frequently requested trends and data are p resented.



Early Childhood Services Trends

1

EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES

Percent of children receiving subsidy in Stars/Aim High

programs levels three through five or with national

accreditation

FY09

FY13

FY13 Target: 20.0%

FY10

FY11

FY12

Desired trend

Objective

• Increase the percentage of children in higher quality child care programs.

Issues

• A smaller percentage of providers in rural areas of the state have three- through five-Star licenses, compared to metro areas. This is most likely due to a lack of access to resources.

• Per the 2011 market rate survey, reimbursement rates for most child care providers serving families receiving child care assistance were below the federally recom-mended level—the 75th percentile of current market rate.

• CYFD/ECS is managing a waiting list for all new applicants for child care assistance with an income between 100 -200% of the Federal Poverty Level (excluding TANF participants, teen mothers and special needs children).

• The Aim High System is being transitioned into the new FOCUS TQRIS for three- through five-Star levels. Currently, there are programs waiting to be verified for Stars three and four.

• There are inconsistencies in the quality standards between accredited five-Star programs.

• Restructuring TTAP agencies from eight programs to four created a disruption in services during transition time.

Action Plan

• Provide information to parents seeking child care on the importance of quality and how to identify quality programs.

• Promote and provide incentives for the inclusion of children with special needs (including children with behavioral challenges and those in families that are homeless) in child care programs statewide.

• For the first time CYFD/ECS will conduct a market rate survey at a zip code level. This will assist with a study and plan for reimbursement rates per community.

• Increase child care program quality through the resources of the statewide Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance Programs (TTAPs) through the FOCUS program and other supports.

• FOCUS TQRIS is schedule to start in January 2013. Infrastructure must be in place with trained consultants, diverse early childhood programs must be selected and a comprehensive system to ensure the validity of the process must be defined.

• The Child Care Licensing staff will continue working with all one-Star child care facilities to assist them moving to two-Star level, providing them with the necessary train-ing and technical assistance to accomplish the task.

• Continue with implementation of the plan for moving families off the waiting list.

• As TTAP agencies hire staff from the communities served, verification visits are taking place on a priority system basis.

• Currently, a crosswalk process is taking place between the diverse accreditation standards by an external entity. The purpose of this crosswalk is to identify the accrediting standards that meet the quality requirements established in FOCUS.

• Revised TQRIS Standards will be evaluated by a national evaluating entity to ensure reliability.

• Recruitment of programs to participate in the TQRIS/FOCUS is currently taking place for a variety of early childhood programs: center-based, family child care, group homes, three through five Stars, rural, urban, Early Childhood Investment Zones programs, etc.

Corrective Action Plan

• Not applicable.

Data Source/Methodology

• System: Family Automated Client Tracking System (FACTS)

• Windows: In-Home Services, Home Provider License, Private Provider License

• Report(s): sm10a16 (“FS Providers with Active Licenses”)

• Numerator: Number of subsidy children served at Stars level three through five.

• Denominator: Number of subsidy children served.

New measure / baseline year

Q1 38.0%(7,638/20,110)

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

38.3%(7,760/20,258)

Q2

39.0%(7,803/20,030)

Q3

39.5%(7,853/19,906)

Q4/Final

2

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12

Desired trend


Percent of mothers participating in home

visiting who are identified as having symptoms of

postpartum depression who were referred to services

then received services

Objectives

• Identify postpartum depression as early as possible by utilizing the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Screen.

• Refer for services all screens with a positive score for postpartum depression.

• Support the mother regardless of use of formal services, while continuing to encourage mother to seek services.

• Work with the parent and infant in order to ameliorate possible impact of postpartum depression on the infant’s development.

Issues

• Some communities do not have resources available for women to access services for postpartum depression.

• Transportation to services may not be available.

• Untreated postpartum depression may have long-lasting impact on the infant’s healthy development.

• Services are impacted by the mother’s engagement in the services referred. Engagement in services is voluntary and some mothers may not receive appropriate service. Mothers may choose not to receive postpartum depres-sion services.

• The implementation of the Early Childhood Investment Zones for expansion funds presented a challenge as communities did not have the capacity to respond to Re-quest for Proposals or submit an application for services.

• There is an increase of home visiting programs that are not funded through CYFD (state or federal); this presents a challenge in the coordination and collaborations of programs in some communities.

Action Plan

• Train providers on all screening tools and monitor that screening tools are being completed and administered consistently.

• Train providers regarding the importance of parent and child interactions.

• Provide activities to promote a healthy brain develop-ment so the child has cognitive, social, and emotional capacity to succeed in school and life.

• Train home visitors to recognize when a mother may be stressed and provide the support needed to reduce stress. A healthy mother is essential for a healthy baby.

• Align the federally-funded home visiting programs and the state programs for identification and referral to services for postpartum depression as well as all other aspects of home visiting services.

• Create community coalitions to address the need for support and services to foster the social and emotional development of the child and his/her parent(s), care giver(s).

• Work in partnership with county and city governments and assist local community programs to develop the skills and infrastructure to respond to a Request for Pro-posals in compliance with state procurement regulations.

• Create local partnerships for non-CYFD-funded programs and implement a common referral system to ensure best fit for families.


• Not applicable.


• Home visiting data provided by University of New Mexico Continuing Education Division.

• Numerator: Number of mothers identified as having symptoms of postpartum depression using the Edinburgh assessment tool and received services.

• Denominator: Total number of mothers who were given the Edinburgh assessment tool and screened a positive score for postpartum depression.

FY13 Target: 25.0%

n/a

n/a

n/a

Q1 40.5%(15/37)

44.5%

42.7%(35/82)

Q2

41.7%(55/132)

Q3

36.7%(66/180)

Q4/Final



3

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Percent of children who are not the subject of

substantiated maltreatment within six months of a prior determination of

substantiated maltreatment

FY13 Target: 93.0%

93.6%

91.4%

91.8%

Desired trend

Objectives

• Continue to implement practices and strategies that have been determined to be effective in addressing those contributing factors to the occurrence of repeat maltreatment.

• Continue with implementation of the new safety man-agement model and upgraded safety assessment tool.

Issues

• Successful achievement of the target is dependent upon accurate and timely assessments of safety threats, protective capacities, risk factors and upon having ad-equate staffing levels and a sufficient array of resources available to families throughout the state.

Action Plan

• Continue to implement enhanced processes for safety assessment and management for investigation, in-home services, and permanency planning cases to achieve optimal safety outcomes for children.

• Through continuing implementation of the clinical supervisory CORE training, enhance supervisory skills to improve monitoring and management of child welfare cases.

• Continue efforts with the Behavioral Health Purchasing Collaborative and other public and private sector entities to identify and direct needed resources to children and families in the child welfare system, with a particular emphasis on the needs of rural communities.

• Work with the Court Improvement Project to continue cross training efforts with judges, attorneys, court per-sonnel and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) on the safety management model.


PS-CYFD is working to maintain sufficient service provi-sion to children and families, given increases in worker caseloads resulting from vacancies and growing demand for services. The child welfare system endeavors to balance this measure’s interaction with the reunification measure and the measure for reentry within 12 months.

• Continue to implement county-specific plans to address pending investigations. Temporary workers were hired and trained in July 2012. These workers will assist counties in closing pending investigations.

• Continue with focused hiring strategies to ensure suf-ficient staffing levels in the county-based field offices.

• NM Practice Model has been implemented in eight coun-ties. In October 2012, three additional counties were added. The initial implementation sites expanded their practice to In-Home Services.

• A Memorandum of Instruction was issued on November 1, 2012, requiring every child in custody to be screened for Severe Emotional Disturbances (SED). The screening is completed by PS workers. If a child is determined to meet the criteria for SED a referral is made to the local Core Service Agency (CSA). The agency will complete a diagnostic and psycho-social assessment on the child and the family. Services are provided in the the com-munity and the foster home to address trauma. Services are provided to the family while child is in custody, during reunification phase and then upon reunification by the CSA.

• As part of our Continuous Quality Improvement Initiative we will be including In-Home Services Interventions in our qualitative and quantitative analysis. This will allow us to identify strengths, areas in need of improvement or technical assistance opportunities.

• Family-Centered Meeting procedures were revised and issued in January 2013 to require meetings for certain scenarios. These scenarios include Imminent Risk of Removal, 48-hour custody, referrals for children under age 5 and three or more referrals.

Data Source

• CYFD FACTS Data System.

91.0%Q1

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12

Q4/Final 91.3%

92.3%

91.0%Q2

91.6%Q3

Protective Services Trends

4

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Percent of children who are not the subject of

substantiated maltreatment while in foster care

93.0%

93.6%

91.4%

FY13 Target: 99.7%

99.50%

99.67%

99.72%

Desired trend

Objectives

• Continue to implement those strategies that have demonstrated to be effective in addressing the factors contributing to the occurrence of maltreatment in foster care.

• Continue utilizing the SAFE Home Study process for all new foster homes and for the recertification of existing foster homes.

Issues

• The target is based on the National Standard for Round II of the federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR). Successful achievement of the target is dependent upon having a sufficient pool of foster care homes, providing the training to enhance the skills of foster parents, providing sufficient support to foster parents, ensuring access to community-based services, and providing foster parents with adequate financial reimbursement for the cost of caring for children placed in their home.

Action Plan

• Provide a sufficient number of case worker visitations within the first 30 days of any new placement to assess the foster parent’s needs and ability to care for child. Thereafter, provide for a minimum of monthly case worker child visits with a majority of visitations occurring within the child’s residence.

• Continue statewide recruitment processes to manage, monitor and refine foster family recruitment. Continue to partner with Adoption Exchange to implement awarded federal grant for diligent recruitment.

• Continue conducting quality assurance reviews of the homestudy, licensing and re-licensure processes to assure compliance with agency standards.

• Coordinate and assure ongoing training for new staff and contractors on the administration of the SAFE Home Study process.

• Provide for Family Support Services to foster parents to assist and support them in meeting the needs of the children placed in their homes.

• Continue to support county-based foster parent liaisons to provide hands-on training to foster parents and strengthen communication between case workers and foster parents to enhance agency’s ability to respond to foster parents’ needs.


• A Memorandum of Instruction was issued on November 1, 2012, requiring every child in custody to be screened for Severe Emotional Disturbances (SED). The screening is completed by PS workers. If a child is determined to meet the criteria for SED a referral is made to the local Core Service Agency. The agency will complete a diag-nostic and psycho-social assessment on the child and the family. Services are provided in the the community and the foster home to address trauma. Support services are provided to the foster parent to intervene effectively with the child in their home.

• Foster parent mandatory training for FY13 is based on the Child Trauma Academy’s Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics in conjunction with Dr. Bruce Perry. Each foster parent will attend six hours of training, focused on the impact of trauma and the brain developement. The training provides specific interventions to foster parents to assist them in working with the children in their home.

• Review agency procedure for foster parent licensure and ensure that requirements meet federal standards and are not barriers to licensing qualified, competent families.

Data Source


Q1 99.43%

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12

Q4/Final

99.48%

Q2 99.15%

Q3 99.54%

99.72%




5

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Percent of children reunified with their natural families in less than 12 months of entry

into care

FY13 Target: 65.0%

72.7%

71.5%

63.6%

Desired trend

Objectives

• Continue to develop and utilize program strategies which identify factors which contribute to the timely and appropriate return of children to their homes.

Issues

• Up through FY10, PS-CYFD utilized a state-based calculation approach which included reunification for all children in foster care. Under that approach, PS was able to meet the annual strategic plan target. In 2011 New Mexico adopted the federal calculation approach. The federal approach excludes children who were reunified in less than eight days. Approximately 40% of children coming into foster care in NM are reunified in less than eight days. The level of effort required for PS-CYFD to meet the safety needs of children in the foster care system for fewer than eight days is therefore not represented by the calculation approach utilized by the federal measure.

• Premature reunification can result in additional harm to a child through recurrence of maltreatment and a subsequent re-removal and placement into foster care. The CFSR Round II national median for exits to reunifica-tion in less than 12 months is 69.9%. In FY12 the New Mexico goal was established at 71.5% The ability of PS to work with families to provide for timely reunification is impacted by staffing levels. Increases in vacancy rates resulting in increased caseloads negatively impact staff’s ability to work with families.

• Further, in New Mexico, entry into and exit from foster care is impacted by two entities outside of PS–law enforcement and the courts. Law enforcement may place children directly into PS custody on an emergency basis. A significant proportion of PS resources are required for

these children and families with urgent needs, despite their brief time in custody. Also, the child welfare court system impacts timeliness of reunification for children remaining in custody beyond eight days. Here, delays in the timeliness of court hearings can delay family reunification. Lack of sufficient service array, especially in rural settings, additionally contributes to delays in timely family reunification, as families are not able to immediately access the services needed to assure child safety.

Action Plan

• Infuse program “Best Practices” through implementa-tion of the Piñon Project, the PS practice model being developed and implemented through the federal child welfare Implementation Center Project.

• Continue utilizing client service agents (CSAs) to assist caseworkers in implementing and monitoring case plans, including supervising parent-child visitation.

• Utilize strategies like Family-Centered Meetings (FCMs), icebreakers, structured parent-child visitation and time-limited reunification contracts to promote timely and safe reunification.

• Collaborate with the courts through the Court Improve-ment Project to address court scheduling issues impact-ing timely reunification.

• Work with the Behavioral Health Purchasing Collabora-tive and other public- and private-sector entities to advocate for timely access to behavioral health and other community-based services for families involved in the child welfare system.

• Work with DFA and SPO to allow for hiring of front line social worker and case worker positions while also maintaining budget.

• As part of CQI we will continue to examine vacancy rates and pending investigations.


• A Memorandum of Instruction was issued on November 1, 2012, requiring every child in custody to be screened for severe emotional disturbances (SEDs). The screening is completed by PS workers. If a child is determined to meet the criteria for SED a referral is made to the local Core Service Agency. The agency will complete a diag-nostic and psycho-social assessment on the child and the family. Services are provided in the the community to the child, biological parents and foster parents. This process will allow us to address trauma early in the case, provide services to the family to increase protective capacities that are community-based, provide support for foster parents to intervene to have a positive impact of the child’s brain development.

• As part of our continuous quality improvement initiative we identified permanency for children as one of our priorities. We will focus on evaluating data related to reunification and identify areas of strength and need for improvement to enhance our outcomes in this area.

Data Source


66.4%Q1

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12

Q4/Final

67.3%

65.3%Q2

66.7%Q3

62.4%

6

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Percent of adult victims or survivors receiving domestic

violence services who have an individualized safety plan

FY13 Target: 70.0%

72.5%

92.4%

92.9%

Desired trend

Objectives

• To establish an individualized safety plan for every adult victim who is receiving services.

• To establish an individualized safety plan which will al-low the victim to become more prepared when a violent situation arises.

Issues

• Survey is voluntary and anonymous, as per federal Family Violence Prevention Services Act (FVPSA) require-ments.

• Survey is administered one week per month to clients currently receiving services.

• Clients may choose not to develop a safety plan and agencies will respect the client’s choice to deny creation of a safety plan.

• Clients may not remain in services long enough to develop a safety plan.

• Attempting to develop a safety plan during a crisis situa-tion could present unique challenges.

• Evaluating the impact of an established safety plan regarding repeat victimization is challenging due to federal confidentiality requirements that restrict reporting of personally identifying information.

• Providers may not be able to contact clients after they leave services to determine the effectiveness of safety plans due to confidentiality and safety issues. Contacting former clients after they have discharged from services can jeopardize their safety, especially if the client has returned to the abuser.

• The data collection method for this measure will change due to federal government recommendations and re-quirements of anonymous surveys. This method change has impacted the numbers reported.

Action Plan

• Ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and technical assis-tance with providers regarding survey collection process.

• Increased communication with providers emphasizing the importance of safety planning and survey distribu-tion and collection.

• Continued distribution of statewide funds to quality services that are available to clients.

• Implementation of CYFD Domestic Violence Service Definition Manual, which outlines the services to achieve the objective.


• Not applicable.

Data Source

• Domestic Violence Adult Victim/Survivor Survey.

• Windows: Domestic Violence Survey Window.

• Reports: Adult victims/survivors receiving domestic violence services who report they learned how to plan for their safety.

• Numerator: Total number of DV adult victim witnesses who report they received information that helped them plan for their safety.

• Denominator: Total number of DV adult victims/survivors surveyed.

Q1

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12

Q4/Final

92.9%

89.7%(556/620)

Q2 91.6%(1,321/1,442)

Q3 92.2%(2,024/2,195)

92.3%(2,703/2,929)




7

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Percent of adult victims or survivors receiving domestic

violence services who are made aware of other

available community services

FY13 Target: 70.0%

87.1%

88.6%

Desired trend

Objectives

• Decrease victim isolation and increase victim empower-ment by providing advocacy, life skills education, and counseling support.

Issues

• Survey is voluntary and anonymous, as per FVPSA requirements.

• Survey is administered one week per month to clients currently receiving services.

• There has been a significant decrease in the availability of community-based services as a result of current economic challenges.

• The data collection method for this measure changed due to federal government recommendations and re-quirements of anonymous surveys. This method change has impacted the numbers reported.

Action Plan

• Monthly review of client billing data and quarterly review of performance measure data submitted by contractors.

• Conduct annual on-site review of client documentation to determine compliance with the DV Service Definition Manual to ensure quality services.

• Continue to emphasize and facilitate collaboration of domestic violence service providers with their local community-based organizations to ensure clients are given current resource information.


• Not applicable.

Data Source

• Domestic Violence Client Survey.

• Windows: Domestic Violence Survey Window.

• Reports: Domestic Violence clients who report they have increased knowledge in how to access available com-munity resources.

• Numerator: Total number of adult victims receiving services who report they know more about how to access community resources.

• Denominator: Total number of adult victims surveyed.

Q1

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12

Final

89.0%

n/a

89.2%(553/620)

Q2 87.7%(721/822)

Q3 87.4%(658/753)

FY09

Q4 86.7%(639/734)

87.7%(2,568/2,929)



Juvenile Justice Services Trends

9

JUVENILE JUSTICE SERVICES

Percent of clients re-adjudicated within two years of previous

adjudication

FY13 Target: 5.8%

6.4%

6.2%

6.7%

Q1

Objective

• Reduce recidivism through improved community-based services.

Issues

• FY13 Q4 numbers are preliminary and subject to change.

• Note that once a client is discharged from JJS custody they can only be tracked for two years following the year and quarter of discharge pursuant to changes to the NM Children’s Code.

Action Plan

• Identify risks and needs at the onset of JJS involvement with the GAIN-SS serves as a periodic measure of a clients’ behavioral health change over time.

• Expand the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative efforts from Bernalillo County to other sites across the state while protecting public safety and improving youth outcomes.

• Strategize on improvements to JJS systems and data tools to establish better data management reports for improved decision making.

• Require Juvenile Justice probation officers to visit their clients one time per month in the field.


• Not applicable.


• JJS Family Automated Client Tracking System (FACTS).

• MS Access Query: Field Production Reports & Readjudi-cation Checking.

• Numerator: Clients receiving a judgment during period who have a previous judgment and a break in service (period after release/case closure and before new adjudication). The break in service must not exceed two years.

• Denominator: Clients receiving a disposition during the reporting period. Clients with a Consent Decree, Dismissed, Nolle Prosequi or time expired disposition are excluded.

6.2%(25/404)

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12 6.6%

Desired trend

Q2 6.3%(53/837)

Q3 6.5%(78/1,210)

Q4/Final 5.8%(94/1,630)

8


Percent of clients who complete formal probation

FY13 Target: 92.0%

91.0%

90.6%

92.0%

Desired trend

Q1

Objective

• Reduce recidivism through improved community-based services.

Issues

• FY13 Q4 data is preliminary and subject to change.

Action Plan

• Reorganize to bring the Field Services Division (juvenile probation) and all front-end community service components of the former Youth and Families Services division back to the Juvenile Justice Services division. This allows for a continuum of services throughout a client’s involvement in JJS through collaboration and the coordination of services consistent with the Cambiar model.

• Implement the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs – Short Screener (GAIN-SS) instrument to identify client risks and needs. The GAIN-SS is administered upon the client’s intake (Preliminary Inquiry) during the second half of the intake meeting with the family and the client. This tool identifies, at the onset of JJS involvement, any significant areas of concern including possible psychiatric disorders; substance abuse disorders; and/ or a propen-sity for crime or violence.

• Redefine the roles of the behavioral health clinicians to best serve the needs of our clients and families. Amongst other client services, the JJS behavioral health clinicians will use their training and licensure to provide or expand upon clinical services that are not readily available to clients on probation and supervised release in their respective communities.

• Implement the coordination of care triage process for JJS clients on probation and supervised release where a higher level of care is deemed necessary. This collabora-tive process involves the clients, families, providers and Core Service Agencies and aims to maximize treatment for field clients with the highest behavioral health needs.


• Not applicable.


• Family Automated Client Tracking System (FACTS) - Query #9 - Additions and Releases

• Numerator: Clients released from formal probation with a satisfactory or unsatisfactory release only.

• Denominator: Clients who released from formal proba-tion. Clients with a release reason of New Juvenile Probation or Continued on Supervision are excluded.

91.7%(561/612)

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12 90.7%

Q2 91.6%(1,098/1,199)

Q3 92.0%(1,555/1,690)

Q4/Final 92.1%(2,062/2,239)



Juvenile Justice Services Trends

10


Percent of clients recommitted to a CYFD

facility within two years of discharge from facilities

10.1%

7.5%

10.7%

Q1

Desired trend

Objective

• Reduce recidivism through improved facility programs.

Issues

• Methodology reflects consistency with practice of limiting tracking of youth to only two years of release/discharge.

• Note that once a client is discharged from JJS custody they are tracked for two years following the year and quarter of discharge consistent with our statement on recidivism and consistency with recommendations by Council of Juvenile Corrections Administrators (CJCA).

Action Plan

• Fill facility leadership positions that include super-intendent positions at the facilities. Two of the three field regional administrator positions were reclassified to associate deputy directors with added oversight responsibilities regarding client transition planning and supervised release.

• Increase efforts to sustain Cambiar including amending the contract with Missouri Youth Services to increase training and advanced facilitation skills for unit staff.

• Integrate the educational services and behavioral health services as Cambiar group participants and facilitators.

• Focus on utilizing the reintegration centers as a step-down for clients entering supervised release.

• Increase numbers of clients achieving a high school diploma or GED.

• Coordinate efforts to bring vocational training and additional higher educational opportunities to post-graduates in the facilities.

• Conduct consistent quality assurance monitoring of Cambiar reporting to monitor effectiveness of JJS services for committed clients and the quality of JJS staff interactions.


• Not applicable.


• FACTS Facility Admissions Query

• Windows: Domestic Violence Survey Window

• Numerator: Number of clients admitted to a JJS facility on a judgment of commitment during the most recent quarter who had a previous commitment end during the previous two years. Concurrent commitments are not included because client must have a break in service.

• Denominator: Number of clients admitted to a JJS facil-ity on a judgment of commitment during the reporting period.

3.5%(2/57)

FY13 Target: 9.0%

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12

Q4/Final

12.4%

Q2 7.6%(9/118)

Q3 8.3%(14/169)

9.0%(20/223)

11

Desired trend


Number of physical assaults in juvenile justice facilities

261

64Q1

n/a

n/a

Objectives

• Aide assessment of behavioral management programs.

• Provide additional measurement related to implement-ing and sustaining Cambiar facility rehabilitative model.

Issues

• This measure is moving toward its desired trend. CYFD notes various contributing factors with this measure moving toward its desired trend. The most crucial factor is the routine monitoring by the Quality Assurance Division made up of a quality assurance manager, supervisor and investigators.

Action Plan

• Continue proactive response to a noticeable rise in facility incidents. For example, QA provides continuous monitoring and weekly, monthly and quarterly reports to assist with technical assistance and corrective action when the number of physical assaults begins to increase, thus moving away from the desired trend.


• Not applicable.

Data Source

• Facility Incident Reporting system, FACTS FY13Q4.

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12

304

FY13 Target: <800

119Q2

176Q3

249Q4/Final



Program Support Trends

12

PROGRAM SUPPORT

Turnover rate for youth care specialists

FY13 Target: 18.0%

15.8%

11.4%

18.0%

Desired trend

Objective

• Decrease the turnover rate for youth care specialists.

Issues

• JJS continues to face challenges in recruitment and re-tention of staff. The turnover rate for YCS-1 continues to be a concern for the program and negatively impacts the JJS budges in the form of overtime expense, recruitment and training expenses, travel and per diem expenses, pre-employment screening expenses and contractual services expenses due to nursing vacancies.

• The most significant turnover in the program is within the youth care specialist (YCS) classification. The workers in these positions provide direct client services within secure facilities.

• The cost of hiring and training one YCS is equivalent to the salary for nearly six months (approximately $15,000).


JJS has seen progress over Q3 in driving down the vacancy factors and overtime rates in both the field services division and the facilities. Recognizing that JJS must make more progress in these areas to reach our goal of a 10% vacancy rate while reducing overtime costs, the corrective action includes:

• Careful review of all the education and relevant work experience of all potential hires to justify an initial hourly salary above the minimum hourly rate.

• Establish a mentoring program partnering new employ-

ees with seasoned employees who can provide guidance and direction to ensure their success.

• Partner with universities and community colleges to establish a curriculum, both classroom and online, that aligns with the Cambiar rehabilitative model that has been implemented and continues to be enhanced within the Juvenile Justice facilities.

• Establish annual training requirements that emphasize professional development consistent with the Cambiar rehabilitation model in addition to annual recertifica-tions.

Data Source

• SMART Database - hand count.

3.3%Q1

Q4/Final

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12 33.2%

Turnover rate for protective services workers

15.8%

14.0%

13.3%

Desired trend

6.0%Q1

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12 20.4%

n/a

6.6%Q2

10.4%Q2

12.5%Q3

10.4%Q3

15.2%

19.2%Q4/Final12

PROGRAM SUPPORT


FY13 Target: 18.0%

15.8%

11.4%

18.0%

Desired trend

Objective

• Decrease the turnover rate for youth care specialists.

Issues

• JJS continues to face challenges in recruitment and re-tention of staff. The turnover rate for YCS-1 continues to be a concern for the program and negatively impacts the JJS budges in the form of overtime expense, recruitment and training expenses, travel and per diem expenses, pre-employment screening expenses and contractual services expenses due to nursing vacancies.

• The most significant turnover in the program is within the youth care specialist (YCS) classification. The workers in these positions provide direct client services within secure facilities.

• The cost of hiring and training one YCS is equivalent to the salary for nearly six months (approximately $15,000).


JJS has seen progress over Q3 in driving down the vacancy factors and overtime rates in both the field services division and the facilities. Recognizing that JJS must make more progress in these areas to reach our goal of a 10% vacancy rate while reducing overtime costs, the corrective action includes:

• Careful review of all the education and relevant work experience of all potential hires to justify an initial hourly salary above the minimum hourly rate.

• Establish a mentoring program partnering new employ-

ees with seasoned employees who can provide guidance and direction to ensure their success.

• Partner with universities and community colleges to establish a curriculum, both classroom and online, that aligns with the Cambiar rehabilitative model that has been implemented and continues to be enhanced within the Juvenile Justice facilities.

• Establish annual training requirements that emphasize professional development consistent with the Cambiar rehabilitation model in addition to annual recertifica-tions.

Data Source

• SMART Database - hand count.

3.3%Q1

Q4/Final

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12 33.2%


15.8%

14.0%

13.3%

Desired trend

6.0%Q1

FY09

FY13

FY10

FY11

FY12 20.4%

n/a

6.6%Q2

10.4%Q2

12.5%Q3

10.4%Q3

15.2%

19.2%Q4/Final



Measure FY10 FY11 FY12FY13 Q1

FY13Q2

FY13Q3

FY13Q4

FY13Final

FY13Target

De-sired Trend


Percent of children receiving subsidy in Stars/Aim High programs level three through five or with national accreditation

n/a n/a n/a 38.0% 38.3% 39.0% 39.5% 39.5% 20%

Percent of mothers participating in home visiting who are identified as having symptoms of postpartum depression who were referred to services then received services

n/a n/a 44.5% 40.5% 42.7% 41.7% 36.7% 36.7% 25%

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Percent of children who are not the subject of substantiated maltreatment within six months of a prior determination of substantiated maltreatment

91.4% 91.8% 92.3% 91.0% 91.0% 91.6% 91.3% 91.3% 93.0%

Percent of children who are not the subject of substantiated maltreatment while in foster care

99.67% 99.72% 99.48% 99.43% 99.15% 99.54% 99.72% 99.72% 99.7%

Percent of children reunified with their natural families in less than 12 months of entry into care

71.5% 63.6% 67.3% 66.4% 65.3% 66.7% 62.4% 62.4% 65.0%

Percent of adult victims or survivors receiving domestic violence services who have an individualized safety plan

92.4% 92.9% 92.9% 89.7% 91.6% 92.2% 92.3% 92.3% 70.0%

Percent of adult victims or survivors receiving domestic violence services who are made aware of other available community services

87.1% 88.6% 89.0% 89.2% 87.7% 87.4% 86.7% 87.7% 70.0%


Percent of clients who complete formal probation

90.6% 92.0% 90.7% 91.7% 91.6% 92.0% 92.1% 92.1% 92.0%

Percent of clients re-adjudicated within two years of previous adjudication

6.2% 6.7% 6.6% 6.2% 6.3% 6.5% 5.8% 5.8% 5.8%

Percent of clients recommitted to a CYFD facility within two years of discharge from facilities

7.5% 10.7% 12.4% 3.5% 7.6% 8.3% 9.0% 9.0% 9.0%

Number of physical assaults in juvenile justice facilities

N/A 304 261 64 119 176 249 249 <800

PROGRAM SUPPORT


11.4% 18.0% 33.2% 3.3% 6.6% 10.4% 15.2% 15.2% 18.0%


14.0% 13.3% 20.4% 6.0% 10.4% 12.5% 19.2% 19.2% n/a

FY13 Key Performance Measures at a Glance



A look at CYFD's county office and facility locations across the state.

S E R V I N G N E w M E x I C O

N E W M E X I C O

Child Care OfficeProtective Services OfficeJuvenile Probation Office

CCPSJP

Key to map symbols

juvenile justice Facilities

ENRC Eagle Nest Residential Center YDDC Youth Diagnostic & Development Center ABC Albuquerque Boys Center ARC Albuquerque Residential Center CNYC Camino Nuevo Youth Center CRC Carlsbad Residential Center JPTC J. Paul Taylor Center LPYC Lincoln Pines Youth Center (begins operations Oct. 2013)

2 6 2 0 1 3 A n n u A l r E P o r t A n D s t r A t E G i C P l A n


Alamogordo 2200 indian Wells rd. (cc, ps, Jp)

Albuquerque 5100 second st. (Jp) 1031 lamberton pl. ne (ps) 300 san mateo Blvd. ne (ps) 3401 pan american freeway ne (cc) 4000 edith Blvd. ne (yddc, aBc, arc) 4050 edith Blvd. ne (cnyc)

Anthony 945 anthony dr. (cc, ps)

Artesia 2215 W. main st. (ps, Jp)

Carlsbad 401 pompa st. (cc) 901 de Baca st. (ps) 102 n. canal st. (Jp) 106 n. Mesquite st. (CrC)

Clayton 834 main st. (ps)

Clovis 221 W. llano estacado Blvd. (cc, ps, Jp)

Deming 918 e. pear st. (cc, ps) 120 e. poplar st. (Jp)

Eagle Nest 28783 us Highway 64 (EnrC)

Española 912 n. railroad ave. (cc, ps, Jp)

Estancia 214 s. 5th st. (ps, Jp)

Farmington 2800 farmington ave. (cc, ps, Jp)

Gallup 1720 e. aztec ave. (cc, ps, Jp)

Grants 1019 e. roosevelt ave. (cc, ps, Jp)

C O U N T Y O F F I C E / F A C I L I T I E S L O C A T I O N S

Hobbs 907 W. calle sur (cc, ps, Jp)

Las Cruces 760 n. Motel Blvd. (CC, Ps, JP) 10015 robert larson Blvd. (Jptc)

Las Vegas 2518 ridge runner rd. (cc, ps, Jp)

Lordsburg 524 demoss st. (Jp)

Los Lunas 475 courthouse rd. (cc, ps, Jp)

Portales 1223 W. fir st. (cc, ps, Jp)

Raton 1900 hospital dr. (cc, ps, Jp)

Rio Rancho 4359 Jager dr. ne (cc, ps, Jp)

Roswell 4 Grand ave. (cc, ps, Jp)

Ruidoso 507 mechem dr. (ps, Jp)

Santa Fe 1920 5th st. (cc, ps, Jp)

Santa Rosa 244 s. 4th st. (Jp)

Silver City 3082 32nd st. Bypass (cc, ps, Jp)

Socorro 104 s. 6th st. (CC, Ps, JP)

Taos 1308 Gusdorf rd. (cc, ps, Jp)

Truth or Consequences 161 new school rd. (Ps, JP)

Tucumcari 107 W. aber st. (ps, Jp)

Office of the Secretary (505) 827-7602

Public Information Officer (505) 827-7602

Constituency Affairs (505) 827-7606

Early Childhood Services (505) 827-7659

Protective Services (505) 827-8400

Juvenile Justice Services (505) 827-7629

Administrative Services (505) 827-8069

C O N T A C T I N G C Y F D

Office of Community Outreach and Behavioral Health Programs (505) 827-8008

Office of the General Counsel (505) 476-0471

HIPAA Privacy Office (505) 827-6412

Employee Recruitment Hotline (505) 841-2968 (JJS jobs) (505) 827-7620 (all others)

Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline #SAFE from a cell phone or (855) 333-SAFE

Foster Care and Adoptions Hotline (800) 432-2075

N E W M E X I C O

P.O. Drawer 5160Santa Fe, NM 87502-5160

N E w M E x I C O C h I L D R E N , Y O U T h A N D F A M I L I E S D E P A R T M E N T

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new mexico's children, youth department - cyfd · by helen quintana, cyfd chief of staff, and...

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