F. Evaluating Client Progress

[Pages:860]FSML - 60

January 1, 2011

Case Management F ? Evaluating Client Progress

F - 1

F. Evaluating Client Progress

Intent: The intent of evaluating progress is to maintain client communication and accountability, and to continue providing the most appropriate services to the client and family. These services include not only case plan activities but program benefits. Evaluation allows for an ongoing review of eligibility for services and benefits.

1. Evaluation Requirements

REF, SNAP and TANF mandatory clients must cooperate with employment program requirements.

General Provisions: 461-130-0305 General Requirement; Pre-TANF, REF, TANF: 461-130-0315

Specific Requirements; SFPSS Eligibility: 461-135-1195

REF, SNAP and TANF mandatory clients' claims of good cause for noncooperation with employment program requirements must be evaluated.

Good Cause: 461-130-0327

2. Evaluation Expectations

? Contact clients and partners regularly for effective case management and for accurate delivery of benefits;

? Review attendance reports regularly; ? Continue to help clients take an active role in identifying their strengths and needs; ? Review case plans and client reports, such as income reporting, periodic reviews

and reported changes for eligibility and case management information; ? Information gathered in evaluation includes:

- Client progress, attendance and observed behavior in case plan activities; - Client's best thinking on the case goals, services and time lines; - Ongoing assessment by partners and the client themselves of abilities,

needs and strengths; - Partner input on case plan goal, activities and time lines; - Input from other family members;

F - 2

Case Management F ? Evaluating Client Progress

- Other progress and eligibility information.

FSML - 60 January 1, 2011

3. Integrating Case Plan Evaluation and Eligibility Review

Many of the steps of evaluating client progress have already been explained in describing ongoing assessment, case plan development and brokering. Just as in eligibility determination, where client assessment is integrated with reviewing eligibility factors, evaluation involves both case plan and eligibility review. Review each piece of eligibility information for case plan implications; review each piece of case plan information for eligibility implications.

4. Client and Provider Contacts

We use regular and frequent client and provider contacts to evaluate progress as follows:

? Have a regular contact schedule for all case managed clients and a tickler system to remind you of scheduled contacts;

? Include provider contacts in your client contact schedule; negotiate with case plan activity providers to develop a regular schedule and format for sharing client information;

? Contacts may be in person, in the office or the client's home, in the form of reports or evaluations, joint staffings or phone conversations, depending on the purpose of the contact and the urgency of the issue;

? Narrate the content of case management and eligibility contacts in TRACS;

? Use tools such as TRACS to simplify, organize and record your monitoring contacts;

? Continue to use open-ended questions, summarizing and other communication techniques to assess how the client is progressing and what their abilities are;

? Expect that the client will share more about themselves as trust increases;

? Remind the client immediately of their accountability for participation, progress and reporting eligibility information;

? Use the re-engagement process to assess client's motivation and goals for outcomes and to determine whether an aspect of a known disability causes the lack of participation. Also, ensure that all required screenings have been offered.

FSML - 60

January 1, 2011

Case Management F ? Evaluating Client Progress

F - 3

5. Tracking Outcomes

Our case management activities are directed toward client outcomes, and we monitor progress toward outcomes by:

? Keeping track of the outcomes of all case plan referrals, activities, goals and eligibility issues, and narrate these outcomes in TRACS;

? Using client and partner contacts and staffings with partners and team members to get information on progress toward outcomes;

? Updating outcome expectations based on more complete information on client needs and abilities;

? Following up immediately on all no-shows and other potential instances of noncooperation;

? Using the re-engagement process to assess client's motivation and goals for outcomes and to determine whether an aspect of a known disability causes the lack of participation. Also, ensuring that all required screenings have been offered.

FSML - 60

F - 4

Case Management F ? Evaluating Client Progress

January 1, 2011

This page intentionally left blank.

FSML - 60 January 1, 2011

Employment and Self-Sufficiency TOC

Employment and Self-Sufficiency Services Table of Contents

A. Support Services

1. Supporting Self-Sufficiency, Family Stability and JOBS Case Plans 2. Support Service Payment Process 3. Noncustodial Parent Payment Process

B. Job Preparation and Entry Services

1. JOBS Program Entry 2. JOBS Initial and Regular Job Search 3. JOBS Life Skills 4. JOBS Basic Education and English as a Second Language (ESL) 5. JOBS Parents as Scholars (PAS) 6. JOBS Job Skills Training 7. JOBS On-the-Job Training 8. JOBS Microenterprise 9. JOBS Vocational Training 10. JOBS Sheltered/Supported Work 11. JOBS Work Experience 12. Community Services Program 13. Providing Child Care for Community Services Program Participants 14. JOBS Work Supplementation 15. JOBS Plus for TANF Clients 16. JOBS Plus Process for TANF Wage Supplements 17. JOBS Plus SNAP Emergency Payments 18. JOBS Services to Noncustodial Parents 19. Referral to Tribal Programs

C. Retention and Wage Enhancement Services

1. Retention Services 2. Working Parent 3. Child Support Development 4. Post-TANF Program 5. Other Services in the Community

D. Self-Sufficiency and Intervention Services

1. Crisis Intervention 2. Alcohol/Drug (A&D) Treatment 3. Domestic Violence Services 4. Family Support and Connections 5. Mental Health 6. Rehabilitation Activities 7. Medical Issues Services 8. Child Health and Development

Page - 1

Page - 2

Employment and Self-Sufficiency TOC

9. Stabilizing Living Situation/Housing Services 10. SSI Services 11. Other Self-Sufficiency Services

E. Youth and Child Services

1. Job Preparation and Entry for Teens 2. Self-Sufficiency Services

F. Teen Parent Services

1. High School Completion 2. Basic Education 3. Life Skills 4. Teen Parent Counseling 5. Other Teen Parent Services in the Community

G. Local Services: Partners, Activities and Procedures

H. JOBS Intervention and Stabilization Track (IST)

FSML - 60 January 1, 2011

FSML ? 60 January 1, 2011

Employment and Self-Sufficiency Services A ? Support Services

A - 1

A. Support Services

Intent: The intent of support services is to provide individualized assistance, subject to the limitations of state funding, that allows clients to participate in case plan activities, build skills for and reduce barriers to employment, accept job offers and retain employment after other resources have first been explored and exhausted.

1. Supporting Self-Sufficiency, Family Stability and JOBS Case Plans

? Basic needs payments (such as shelter costs, utilities, household supplies and personal incidentals) made during the Pre-TANF Program are made from TANF funds issued through the support services payment process. Applicants in the PreTANF program may also receive support services that are needed to complete case plan activities.

? Support services are available to support JOBS, JOBS Plus, Pre-TANF, PostTANF, TA-DVS, SFPSS, family stability or self-sufficiency case plans.

? Support services are subject to the expectation below.

Specific Requirements; Pre-TANF Program: 461-135-0475 Standards for Support Service Payments: 461-190-0211 Transition Services; JOBS: 461-190-0241

) FOR INFORMATION ON REQUIREMENTS FOR BASIC NEEDS PAYMENTS, SEE SECTION D IN THE PRE-TANF PROGRAM (PRT D.2).

The Department of Human Services (DHS) supports individuals to succeed in attaining self-sufficiency by providing payments for items that clients may need to be able to participate in JOBS or self sufficiency activities and cooperate with their case plans.

? These payments can include items such as child care, housing (see limitations under "Housing and Utilities," later in this chapter), transportation, clothes and tools. DHS also makes payments when clients need help to get or keep a job.

? Support service payments are authorized in advance of the client beginning the self-sufficiency activity, JOBS activity or employment, meaning that they should be issued in time for the client to be able to participate in the planned activities.

? In approving support service payments, the department must consider lower-cost alternatives. It is not the intent of the department to supplant department funding with other funding that is available in the community. It is also not the department's intent that clients be sent to community organizations seeking their own support to participate in DHS self-sufficiency activities. It is the department's expectation that case managers and clients will work collaboratively to seek

A - 2

Employment and Self-Sufficiency Services A ? Support Services

FSML ? 60 January 1, 2011

resources that are reasonably available to the client in order to participate in activities.

It is not intended to use support services to cover the following items:

? Nonessential items such as television, cable, Internet, etc.;

? Items such as fines, reinstatement fees, restitution, legal fees, court costs or other costs associated with a penalty;

? Purchase of a car, recreational vehicle, motor home, etc.;

? Pet-related costs including pet deposits, pet fees, kennels, etc.;

? ERDC copayments;

? Other costs not related to completion of the case plan.

Eligible People

In order to receive a support service payment, a client has to meet both of the following criteria:

(A) The client has to be one of the following people:

? A TANF applicant or recipient;

(a) Participating in the Pre-TANF program;

(b) Participating in substance abuse or mental health diagnosis, counseling or treatment programs;

(c) Who is receiving TA-DVS benefits and cooperating with the conditions of a case plan;

(d) Disqualified for failure to complete substance abuse, mental health or other treatment who is volunteering for the JOBS Program.

? A TANF-related program recipient or non-TANF recipient who is:

(a) A noncitizen who is ineligible for TANF but who is: a) legally able to work in the United States, and b) has a child receiving TANF;

(b) Disqualified from the TANF program for failure to comply with the Child Support requirements without good cause;

(c) A minor parent who has become ineligible for TANF because they returned to the parent's home (per TANF policy) in the last 40 days;

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download