CSA FOR AT-RISK YOUTH AND FAMILIES ADOPTED: 6/93 REVISED: 6/18/14
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INTRODUCTION
A. Purpose of the Implementation PWC Local Policy & Procedures Manual
The Implementation Manual is intended as a reference guide for teams and individuals responsible for implementing This manual provides policy and procedures for local implementation and operation of the Comprehensive Services Act (CSA). It provides the philosophical base and intent of the Comprehensive Services Act, as well as guidelines for addressing the practical realities of service to at-risk youth and their families.
B. Background
In the spring of 1990, the Secretaries of Health and Human Resources, of Public Safety, and of Education formed a cross-secretarial interagency council to recommend changes to the service delivery system for severely emotionally and/or behaviorally disturbed children. The impetus of the formation of the Council on Community Services for Youth and Families was the 1990 Study of Children’s Residential Services conducted by the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget. The study concluded that state and local expenditures on residential care across four child-serving agencies would continue to increase significantly unless the Commonwealth instituted major policy and programmatic changes to its system of care. These agencies and their local counterparts included the Departments of Education, of Social Services, of Youth and Family Services, and of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. Department of Planning and Budget recommended expanding community-based nonresidential services, improving interagency collaboration and service delivery, and adapting the state’s funding policies and management systems.
The Department of Planning and Budget study examined issues that were identified over the past decade by legislative study committees, state agencies, provider organizations, and advocacy groups. Repeatedly, these groups emphasized that children and families have multiple needs and are frequently involved with multiple agencies. These children were often defined by the system they enter – a welfare child, a juvenile justice child, a school system child, or a mental health child. Yet, they were often the same child. In the Department of Planning and Budget study, 14,000 cases across four agencies yielded 4,993 actual children in residential care.
While the number of children served in residential care annually is relatively stable, the cost of care has increased significantly. State and
local agencies spend over $110 million a year on residential care for troubled youth. Seventy-eight percent of these expenditures are restrictive
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and/or out-of-community residential programs. Some of these expenditures have increased for state and local governments at a rate of 22 percent annually. These funds are used to purchase public and private services for individual children in residential and nonresidential settings. Expenditures for residential programs operated by government have increased around 8 percent annually over the past several years.
The 1991 Report to the General Assembly projected that during the 1992-94 biennium, the “Commonwealth would have to spend $42 million in new funds to maintain the current level of services. This same rate of growth will continue throughout the decade unless actions are taken to intervene earlier with families and to control escalating costs.”
The Governor and the 1991 General Assembly appropriated more than $2.4 million in the 1990-92 biennium to begin addressing these issues. These funds survived three series of budget reductions totaling more than $2 billion. Funds were preserved due to the focus on improving services for youth and families, the critical cost avoidance nature of the effort, and the emphasis on using current funds more effectively and efficiently. Most of the appropriation was combined with existing agency funds to underwrite five local demonstration projects to test the process and feasibility of building community-based, collaborative systems of care.
Language was included in the 1990-92 Appropriation Act requiring the three Cabinet Secretaries to submit a report to the Governor and the Chairman of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees in November, 1991. The report was to include:
1. “Preliminary findings from the evaluation of the demonstration projects;
2. “A long-range plan for phasing in community-based nonresidential services across the Commonwealth…;
3. “An interagency plan for redirecting current funds and identifying new revenue sources for funding community-based services, including consideration of …Medicaid; and
4. “Any proposed legislation necessary for implementation.”
In June, 1991, the Council distributed a draft proposal to communities and constituents across the Commonwealth of receive public input.
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A final report, Improving Care for Troubled and “At-Risk” Youth & Their Families, was submitted by the Council to the Governor and the General Assembly in November, 1991. Included in the report were preliminary findings from the five demonstration projects, proposals for restructuring the service delivery system and funding streams, proposed legislation, and language to be included in the Appropriation Act.
In January, 1992, the proposed legislation was introduced to the General Assembly. The General Assembly enacted this legislation as the Comprehensive Services Act for At-Risk Youth and Family Services.
Implementation of the Comprehensive Services Act began in April, 1992 with the formation of the State Executive Council and the State Management Team. Prince William County has its local Community Policy and Management Team (CPMT) and has developed its local policies and procedures for implementing the Act to serve at-risk youth and their families.
CSA FOR AT- RISK YOUTH AND FAMILIES ADOPTED: 6/93 REVISED:
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I. THE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES ACT – INTENT AND PURPOSE
A. Passage of the Comprehensive Services Act by the 1992 general assembly dramatically altered the administrative and funding systems providing services to at-risk and troubled youth and families.
B. The Act has the following intent and purpose:
“It is the intention of this law to create a collaborative system of services and funding that is child centered, family focused, and community based with the Comprehensive Services Act addressing the strengths and needs of troubled and at-risk youth and their families in the Commonwealth” (Virginia Acts of the Assembly, Chapter 880, Section 2.5-745).
This law shall be interpreted and construed so as to effectuate the following purposes:
1. “Ensure that services and funding are consistent with the Commonwealth’s policies of preserving families and providing appropriate services in the least restrictive environment, while protecting the welfare of children and maintaining the public safety;
2. “Identify and intervene early with young children and their families who are at risk of developing emotional or behavioral problems, or both, due to environmental, physical or psychological stress;
3. “Design and provide services that are responsive to the unique and diverse strengths and needs of troubled youths and families;
4. “Increase interagency collaboration and family involvement in service delivery and management;
5. “Encourage a public and private partnership in the delivery of services to troubled and at-risk youths and their families; and
6. “Provide communities flexibility in the use of funds and to authorize communities to make decisions and be accountable for providing services in concert with these purposes (Virginia Acts of the Assembly, Chapter 880, Section 2.1-745).”
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II. VISION, MISSION, MOTTO
A. VISION STATEMENT:
The Prince William County At-Risk Youth and Family Services is a partnership of public and private organizations working to help eligible youth and their families to be positive, contributing members of our community.
B MISSION STATEMENT:
To provide our citizens with a community-based collaborative process to determine appropriate and effective services that are least restrictive, child-centered, and family-focused for troubled youth so that the family can successfully manage or eliminate debilitating conditions.
C. MOTTO:
It is better to build a healthy child than to repair an adult.
III. PROGRAM GOALS
A. Assure quick and easy system access for client, family, and staff case managers on behalf of their clients to receive timely support.
B. Establish a community-based system of care that meets the needs of the family and protects the community.
C. Provide a continuum of intervention services for at-risk youth and their families.
D Keep parents of at-risk youth involved, committed, responsible, and accountable.
F. Assign Empower FAPTs to have and exercise service planning and decision-making responsibilities to front line staff.
G. Promote a continuum of prevention services.
H Promote shared community responsibility and ownership for problems of at-risk youth.
I. Conduct ongoing evaluation and review, including fiscal accountability.
IV. NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
The Prince William County Community Policy and Management Team will ensure that all services are provided on a non-discriminatory basis. Services provided by the Community Policy and Management Team and Family Assessment and Planning Teams will not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, socioeconomic status, handicapping conditions or national origin.
CSA FOR AT –RISK YOUTH AND FAMILIES ADOPTED: 6/93 REVISED: 1/20/95; 6/18/14
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BY-LAWS
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
AT-RISK YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES
I. Community Policy and Management Team (CPMT)
A. Name
The name of this team shall be the Prince William County Community Policy and Management Team hereinafter referred to as the “CPMT”.
B. Purpose
The purpose of the CPMT shall be to create, maintain, and manage a collaborative system of services and funding that is child centered, family focused, and community based when addressing the strengths and needs of troubled and at-risk youth and their families (Code of Virginia, Title 2.1, Chapter 46, Sections 2.1-745 through 2.1-759).
C. Membership
1. Conditions and standards relating to membership are determined by state laws and by local government directive enacted in accordance with state law, which provides as follows:
a) The membership of the CPMT shall meet the requirements of the Code of Virginia (Sections 2.1-750 through 2.1751) but not exceed twenty (20) persons approved and appointed by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. The membership shall include, at a minimum, the local agency heads or their designees who have the authority to approve funds from the following community agencies: Community Services Board, Juvenile Court Services Unit, Department of Health, Department of Social Services, and the local school division. The CPMT should also include a representative of a private organization or association of providers for children or family services if such organizations or associations are located within greater Prince William. This representative shall be required to file a statement of economic interest as set out in the Code of Virginia, Section 2.1-639.15 of the “State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act”. The CPMT shall also include one or two parent representatives who are not employees of any public or private program that receives Prince William County Comprehensive Services Act pool funds.
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b) Agency heads or their designees of Code-mandated organizations shall be permanent members of the CPMT.
c) Other appointed public or governmental agency Management Team CPMT members shall serve at the pleasure of the local governing bodies and may serve unlimited terms.
d) Parent representatives and private providers shall be appointed by the local governing bodies and may serve as many as two consecutive two-year terms.
e) Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms in the same manner as the original appointment.
f) Any member of the CPMT who fails to personally attend or send a designee to at least 75 percent of the regularly scheduled Management Team CPMT meetings within any calendar year may be reported to the local appointing authority by the CPMT. Each team member will designate a standing alternate member(s) who will attend on a regular basis in the event of his/her absence from a meeting.
g) While the CPMT is without authority to expand or alter its membership, it may solicit advisory personnel to assist in achieving its objectives in accordance with its approved program and mandates.
2. Officers of the CPMT:
a) The chairmanship of the CPMT shall rotate annually among the members with the beginning of each fiscal year. The Vice Chair is the member scheduled to replace the Chair.
b) The duties of the chairman shall be:
1) To preside at all meetings of the CPMT.
2) To appoint committees necessary for the operations of the Management Team CPMT.
3) To work closely with the chair of the Administrative Team.
4) To perform any other duties determined by the CPMT.
5) To keep the state Management Team State and Local Advisory Team (SLAT) and the Board of County Supervisors informed of the activities of the Community Policy and Management Team.
c) The vice-chairman shall, in the absence of the chairman, perform the duties of the chairman and any other duties assigned by the CPMT.
D. Powers and Duties
The CPMT, as a governmental entity of Prince William County and as a creation of state law, having been mandated by the general assembly, shall be subject to state and local laws and regulations established to regulate its functioning and shall have the general powers, duties, and responsibilities of a policy and management team as outlined in Section 2.1-752 2.2-5206
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of the Code of Virginia as amended. As set forth in the Code of Virginia, the powers and duties of the CPMT are:
1. Develop interagency policies and procedures to govern the provision of services to children and families in Prince William County.
2. Develop interagency fiscal policies governing access to the state pool of funds by the eligible populations including immediate access to funds for emergency services and shelter care.
3. Coordinate long-range, community-wide planning which ensures the development of resources and services needed by children and families in their community.
4. Establish policies governing referrals and reviews of children and families to the Family Assessment and Planning Teams (FAPTs) and a process to review the teams’ recommendations and requests for funding.
5. Establish quality assurance and accountability procedures for program utilization and funds management.
6. Establish procedures for obtaining bids on the development of new services.
7. Manage funds in the interagency budget allocated to the County from the state pool of funds, the trust fund, and any other source.
8. Authorize and monitor the expenditure of funds by each Family Assessment and Planning Team.
9. Authorize submitting grant proposals which benefit the County to the state trust fund and to enter into contracts for the provision or operation of services upon approval of the governing body.