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Content submission deadline: Jan. 15, 2021
If you have any topics you would like to see covered in this newsletter, please email: Contracts.Adoption.DHS@state.mn.us
The Permanency Support Unit update is a collaborative effort by Permanency Support Unit staff.
Commitment to anti-racist work and inclusivity: Continuing the work in 2021
The Permanency Support Unit is continuing to review policies, practices, and laws to determine where and how changes can or should be made to ensure racial equity and inclusivity, and promote better outcomes for children and families who are disproportionately represented in permanency and adoption.
In our last update of the year, we would like to reflect on our previous updates around our work towards anti-racism and inclusivity. We formally announced our unit’s commitment to anti-racist work and inclusivity in June. In August, our staff attended the DHS Children and Family Services (CFS) Administration’s Virtual World’s Fair, where CFS staff heard from speakers and engaged in discussions around equity, race and inclusion (see our July 2020 update). Our unit staff have continued to have these discussions as part of regular team meetings.
Beginning with our August update, we have made it a point to highlight specific areas we have identified as crucial for improving racial equity in permanency.
- The August update focused on cultural considerations when defining and engaging relatives, recognizing that our legal definition of relative may not be inclusive of all cultural and familial definitions of relative, and that relatives may need additional support and guidance to successfully complete licensing and home study requirements.
- In September, we wrote about the importance of honoring and embracing the spirit of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA) to ensure the best interests of Native American children are met in permanency.
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October's update highlighted a Star Tribune article about a transracial adoptive family who considered their children’s cultural and racial identity development needs in making big family decisions. We clarified how agencies can consider children’s needs in these areas without violating federal or state anti-discrimination laws.
- In November, we celebrated both National Adoption Month and National Native American Heritage Month; at the same time, we recognized that past adoption practices and laws did not take into consideration Native American cultural values and ways of life, and that they contributed to the historical trauma that still impacts Native American communities today.
In each of these areas, we note the importance of understanding and taking into consideration other perspectives, worldviews, and values. Community and stakeholder engagement is critical to our anti-racist work. As we close out 2020, the Permanency Support Unit looks to 2021 as an opportunity to continue reviewing system policies and procedures that may have racist undertones and/or do not consider multiple perspectives. We are focused on continuing to improve our work and outcomes for children and families. Anticipated areas of concentration include the following, though this list is not exhaustive:
- ICWA/MIFPA and permanency
- Relative identification, engagement, and placement
- Private adoption policy and procedures
- MEPA-IEAP
- Improved community and stakeholder engagement
If you have any feedback, or have ideas regarding other areas of focus we should consider, we would love to hear from you.
Two permanency eDocs published this month
The instructions, application form, and agreement for the Nonrecurring Adoption Expense Reimbursement Program for Northstar Adoption Assistance (DHS-4426-ENG) have been updated and published on eDocs. This is for families adopting children with special needs who are not eligible for Northstar Adoption Assistance.
We also published a new eDoc, Child Foster Care Notice to Relatives: Permanency (DHS-3799B-ENG), to assist local social services agencies in sending notice to relatives at the point of permanency. This notice can be filled out electronically, or it can be printed and filled out by hand.
If you have questions about these eDocs, contact the permanency quality assurance team at northstar.benefits@state.mn.us.
Educational neglect bulletin issued
DHS recently issued a bulletin that provides guidance on educational neglect during the peacetime emergency as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This bulletin helps school staff and local social services agency staff understand when educational neglect should be reported as well as how local social services agency staff should respond to reports of educational neglect. View DHS Bulletin #20-68-23: Guidance for reporting and responding to educational neglect reports during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency.
Updated foster parent agreement
The Agreement between Foster Parents and Child Foster Care Licensing Agency has been updated. Updates to the foster care licensing agency section are:
- Added agreement to discuss their agency practices regarding assisting families interested in becoming a permanency resource
- Added agreement to notify the commissioner immediately upon learning about safety concerns
Updates to the foster parent section are:
- Reinstated agreement to notify licensing worker within 24 hours of accepting a placement
- Added agreement to engage with a child’s parents/guardians when reunification is the permanency goal
- Modified language regarding requirement to report a missing child to the placing agency and responsibility to contact law enforcement
- Added agreement to immediately notify the agency of any safety concerns.
Adoption disruption and dissolution work group
Last summer, Permanency Support Unit staff began conducting case reviews of disrupted and dissolved adoptions. As we review cases, we are compiling data and identifying themes to help develop strategies to better support agencies and families throughout the adoption process. As we continue to refine our process to review cases, permanency professionals should be aware we may contact workers for additional information to assist in our review process. As our work progresses, we hope to be able to share information, make changes, provide guidance, and make recommendations for professionals assisting with adoptive placements.
Conferences and events
Registration is open for the 128th annual Minnesota Social Service Association (MSSA) training conference and expo. This virtual conference will occur March 17-19, 2021. Breakout session content will be available for 30 days post-conference for over 80 CE hours. Permanency quality assurance staff from our unit will be presenting. Register here.
Registration is open for the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health virtual conference. The online conference will be held April 18-20, and will feature over 50 workshops that will be available for 30 days to participants following the conference.
Other training opportunities
The MN ADOPT Education Program has many training opportunities for January 2021. Everything is online, so you can access it wherever you are. One to highlight is: “Being a permanency competent professional… What does that mean and how do I do it?” This will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 10 a.m. This webinar will offer a wide range exploration of the many facets of permanency: the family dynamics of all parties, the interweaving of professional and personal, and, at the core, the hearts and minds of the youth involved. Register here.
When a county-licensed foster parent wants to adopt privately
The commissioner’s designated one-study format for foster care and adoption is intended to facilitate concurrent planning and reduce barriers to permanency. Counties should assess a family’s intentions and readiness to adopt, even if a family is not open to adoption at the time of the study. If recommending approval, counties should note that the family may be open to adoption in the future.
On occasion, current foster families, who are licensed by a county, may become interested in adopting a child privately. If the home study approval and recommendation did not include approving the family for a private adoption, the study must be updated. Approval for foster care and adoption of a child from foster care is not the same as approval for a private adoption. County staff should consult with their leadership regarding how to proceed if a current foster family or new applicant has expressed interest in pursuing a private adoption. Counties may choose to complete the private adoption approval and recommendation if they are open to providing this service for families. It is important to note that post-placement supervision is also required in private adoptive placements, and is typically provided by the home study agency.
However, counties may also choose not to provide this service and instead, refer the family to a private child-placing agency. If the family is referred to a private child-placing agency and has a current foster care home study with the county, please consult with DHS on how to proceed with the family’s home study.
Recording an adoption disruption event in SSIS
If a child’s adoptive placement disrupts prior to adoption finalization, county staff must enter the disruption in SSIS. This involves ending the pre-adoptive placement and disrupting the adoptive placement verification. Taking these actions ensures DHS staff receive notice of adoptive placement disruptions. If the adoptive placement is not disrupted, this can impact process times for Adoption Placement Agreements and Public Private Adoption Initiative placement and reimbursement. For step-by-step instructions on how to disrupt an adoptive placement in SSIS, view pages 35 and 36 of the SSIS Adoption Workflow.
Updated SSIS guidance: MAPCY tutorial, client eligibility, ICWA/MIFPA, and sibling entry
MAPCY: The Minnesota Assessment of Parenting for Children and Youth (MAPCY) in SSIS Tutorial is updated for agency reference. The revised MAPCY tutorial contains up-to-date policy and technical information and outlines procedures as well as tips/tricks that county and tribal agency staff should follow when completing the assessment in SSIS. This document can be found on the SSIS Resource Page under Worker Documentation.
Client eligibility: The Title IV-E Client Eligibility Log tutorial has been updated for agency reference. This document replaces the previous Client Eligibility Module and can be found on the SSIS Resource Page under Worker Documentation.
ICWA/MIFPA: The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA) SSIS data entry tutorial has been updated for agency reference. This tutorial combines previously published ICWA/MIFPA data entry documentation and can be found on the SSIS Resource Page under Worker Documentation.
Sibling entry: After the addition of the sibling tab in the 20.4 release, there have been questions about the expectation for entry of siblings in SSIS. All siblings should be included, even those who are the placement responsibility of another agency (county/tribe/state) or not in placement. Please refer to the Help Text for the Sibling tab for more information (available on the Sibling tab in SSIS) for more information.
Policy on Allow Natural Death/Do Not Resuscitate (AND/DNR) or other end-of-life care orders for children under guardianship of the commissioner
The commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services has the exclusive right to consent to the medical care plan for treatment of a child under the commissioner’s guardianship, if the child is at imminent risk of death, or if the child has a chronic disease that, in a physician’s judgment, will result in the child’s death in the near future, including a physician’s order not to resuscitate or intubate the child.
If a physician is recommending an end-of-life care order (including do not resuscitate, do not intubate, and allow natural death orders) for a child under guardianship of the commissioner, the child’s responsible social services agency is not authorized to give consent. Instead, agency staff must contact the commissioner’s designated agent to initiate the consent process. The commissioner’s designated agent is Heidi Ombisa Skallet, adoption and kinship policy specialist. She can be reached via email at heidi.ombisa.skallet@state.mn.us, or via phone at 651-895-4067. Due to the time-sensitive nature of these requests, be sure to include “AND/DNR request” in the email subject line (if contacting by email).
Review the policy on Allow Natural Death/Do Not Resuscitate (AND/DNR) or other end-of-life care orders for children under guardianship of the commissioner, and required documentation to be submitted with a request for consent, on the Permanency Support Unit’s CountyLink webpage. If you have questions about the policy and/or the process, email Heidi Ombisa Skallet at heidi.ombisa.skallet@state.mn.us.
Program spotlight: Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota provides statewide foster care, adoption and permanency services, and kinship support to communities throughout Minnesota. They are contracted to host and support ongoing virtual support groups that meet at least 10 times a year whose focus is on serving families in Greater Minnesota who are providing foster, preadoptive, adoptive, relative, and kinship care. Families from any region of Greater Minnesota are welcome to attend with staff hosting from the Duluth, St. Cloud and Red Wing areas. To learn more about Monthly Support Groups, please contact Heidi.Wiste@chlss.org or 651-646-7771, or visit www.chlss.org.
Reel Hope Mini Reel Opportunity!
There have been some scheduling challenges with Reel Hope videos due to health concerns and COVID-19 restrictions. Traditional reels continue to be filmed and scheduled, but an alternative option will be available. On Jan. 25 and Jan. 29, 2021, Reel Hope will be offering an opportunity for social workers to film 'Mini Reels' highlighting kids on their caseload. Review examples of what these will look like here. This is intended to be a temporary tool to address the COVID-19 restrictions. If interested, please complete this submission form along with the appropriate release form (Hennepin County or All Other Counties) and email to info@thereelhopeproject.org by Jan. 22, 2021. Please also select your preferred time slot here (select one time slot per child). If you have any further questions, contact the Reel Hope team.
MN ADOPT library series recruitment opportunity
Build your community support and awareness by hosting a Library Series event, where a panel of professionals will share the history and myths about Foster Care and Adoption and answer your questions. Common myths can make the prospect of fostering/adopting more intimidating than it should be. Virtual Library Series can be set up via Zoom or, when it is safe, in person. Contact Kim Sacay for more information at ksacay@mnadopt.org.
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