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Agency protective services supervisors were notified in January that effective 1/1/2022, all emergency protective services (EPS) notifications will be made electronically by the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center (MAARC) using the Social Services Information System (SSIS). Supplemental phone calls to agencies, or an agency's designee, after the agency's normal business hours, on weekends, and state designated holidays will be discontinued. This action supports service levels for reporters and APS response to the vulnerable adult by access to the complete MAARC report information and EPS intake tools located in SSIS. This is not a change to agency's current statutory responsibilities for response to the vulnerable adult maltreatment report as soon as possible, but no longer than 24 hours from the information being received, for emergency adult protective services notifications. This change may involve planning for agencies that do not currently review SSIS on weekends and holidays.
Two weeks prior to making changes to agency accounting system servers (changing out servers, firewall and password changes), agency IT staff are asked to email the SSIS Help Desk to coordinate updates for fiscal interfaces. Fiscal interfaces must take place in order for payment and vendor features in SSIS to continue successful operation after changes have been made. .
This notification information should also be used for any changes made to the OpenLink server.
Please share this information with your agency’s IT personnel.
Emergency Background Studies
Instructions with the steps and information entities need to submit an emergency background study are available on NETStudy 2. Frequently asked questions about emergency background studies are also available on the background studies COVID-19 webpage.
Adoption-only background studies and emergency background studies for foster care
This information was originally released in the February 2021 Permanency Support Issue of the CSP Update.
When a child foster care provider is planning to adopt a child under guardianship of the commissioner, but their foster care home study was approved using emergency background studies, adoption-only background studies can be completed on each prospective adoptive parent and all required household members to fulfill background study requirements for adoption and Northstar Adoption Assistance eligibility. This option is only currently available to foster families who are adopting a child under guardianship of the commissioner and whose foster care license was issued using emergency background studies.
Adoption-only background studies have different procedures than child foster care and emergency background studies. Adoption-only background studies are completed using hard fingerprint cards, where fingerprints are taken manually, not electronically, and processed via the former NETStudy system (not NETStudy 2.0). Gemalto Thales fingerprinting sites cannot be used for fingerprint requests for adoption-only background studies, as those locations are for electronic fingerprinting for NETStudy 2.0.
If pursuing this option, agencies should provide fingerprint authorization forms to prospective adoptive parents and all required household members, and direct them to take the form to a location that will complete hard fingerprint cards, such as a local law enforcement or sheriff’s office. The agency who completed the foster care home study for a family must complete a home study update upon receiving the adoption-only background study results.
When submitting Adoption Placement Agreements (APA) to DHS staff in this situation, results from both types of background studies (emergency and adoption-only) must be submitted with the APA.
If you have questions about this option, contact Kathleen Hiniker, permanency unit supervisor, at kathleen.a.hiniker@state.mn.us.
Family First Prevention Services Act
The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) requires that all staff working in a Title IV-E Group Children’s Residential Facility (CRF) receive fingerprint-based “Adam Walsh” background checks in order to meet Title IV-E child safety requirements.
To assist counties and initiative tribes with claiming Title IV-E reimbursements for these placements, we will periodically update the list of facilities that have met the background checks safety requirements.
Click here for an updated list of facilities in compliance
Welcome Staci Stoner and Samantha (Sam) Breidenbach to the SSIS Help Desk Team! Staci and Sam bring extensive experience supporting social service programs and both have served as an SSIS mentor at the agency level. Feel free to reach out to Staci and Sam at the SSIS Help Desk and welcome them to SSIS Business Operations.
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