Creating a New Court Action from the Case Details and Participants Folders

SSIS Training

Entering Court Actions

Court Actions can be entered from three different locations in SSIS as illustrated below. It is important to enter Court Actions in workgroups including child placements because IV-E data is entered on the Child Findings tab. You can enter a Court Action on any member of a workgroup, regarding several different types of court hearings, to assist with global case management and record keeping. Court Actions may be copied between clients if entered from the Case Details folder.

Creating a New Court Action from the Case Details and Participants Folders

Documenting a court hearing related to any client begins by creating a New Court Action. The preferred location to create a New Court Action is from the Case Details folder because of the ability to copy (orCreate Duplicate) theCourt Action to any client,in any workgroup, within the same case.

Creating a New Court Action fromeither the Case Details folder or the Participants folder utilizes the same steps outlined below. However, this court action may only be copied to the same client if created in the Participants folder, as opposed to being able to copy it to any other client if created from the Case Details folder.

Court Actions Folder - New Court Action

To enter a New Court Action:

1.Right-click on a Court Actions folder to access the Action menu.

2.Select New Court Action.

3.The Court Hearing tab displays.

When a New Court Action is created, two separate tabs display. The first tab is the Court Hearing tab, and the second tab is the Child Findings tab. (The second tab may not be relevant to each Court type, but is required when documenting Juvenile Court Hearings).

New Court Action – Court Hearing Tab

The Court Hearing tab is used to document information about the type of hearing that occurred, what was ordered by the court, and the corresponding dates. Different types of court hearings relating to the same clients or workgroup can be documented in the Court Actions folder. For example, in a Child Protection workgroup the caseworker may have a Juvenile Court hearing, but may also learn of – or participate in – a Criminal, Family, or Probate court hearing related to the same clients. Each of these court hearings can be documented as a separate Court Action, but part of the same case. Each selection made in the Court Hearing tab field determines the available selections in the next field.

4.Complete the fields on the Court Hearing tab.

5.Click on the Child Findings tab.

Hint: In a workgroup involving ICWA for a change of venue from county to tribe, or a court case supervised by a tribal agency, select Tribal court type.

New Court Action – Child Findings Tab

While the Court Hearings tab records specific data about the hearing, the Child Findings Tab relates directly to Title IV-E reimbursement and is specific to juvenile court hearings. The Child Findings tab is required when a child’s Juvenile Court Hearing includes review of an out-of-home placement.

Best Practice:For workgroups with a child is in placement, the Out-of-Home Placement Plan reflective of that child’s type of placement must be filed with the court within 30 days of the date the child was removed from the home.

Hint: Ensure that the Continuous Placement folder has been completed before entering a Court Action. The Child Findings tab requires the selection of a Continuous Placement date – if none has been entered to select, then this screen cannot be completed.

Information regarding the Best Interest Statement, the Reasonable (Active) Efforts statement, and Reasonable Efforts to finalize permanency plan are reflected on the Child Findings tab. This information is critical in obtaining IV-E reimbursement for out-of-home placements. The following timelines are required when obtaining both required statements:

• Best Interest Statement:Required in the first court order regarding the child’s placement, which is typically the Emergency Protective Care (EPC) Hearing, although depending upon the placement circumstances; it may also be a Review of a Voluntary Placement. If the Best Interests Statement is obtained in any court order after the initial order, the child will not be IV-E eligible, and the agency cannot claim for any federal reimbursement related to this placement episode.

• Reasonable (Active) Efforts Statement:Required in any court order within the first 60 days of the date of placement. Active Efforts are required for children who qualify under ICWA. If the Reasonable or Active Efforts Statement is obtained in any court order after the 60th day of placement, the child will not be IV-E eligible.

Both the Best Interest Statement and the Reasonable (Active) Efforts Statement are required to secure IV-E reimbursement.

6.Complete the Child Findings tab (if applicable).

7.Click Save.

Once saved, the Court Action displays in these three Tree View locations:

• Beneath the Case Details folder,
• Within the client’s individual Court Actions folder, and
• Under the Reviews tab within the Permanency folder’s Continuous Placements sub-folder. (IF the child is in placement and the oval next to Judicial Findings Meet Placement Review Requirements on the Child Findings tab is selected.)

Best Practice:A Voluntary Placement Agreement (VPA) must be reviewed by the court prior to the 180th day of placement to determine whether to reunify the child, continue the placement under court order, or pursue termination of parental rights. This first court appearance would need to include the Best Interest statement clearly recorded in the court order.

New Court Action from the Cont Plcmts - Reviews Tab:

Court Actions entered from the Continuous Placements folder’s Reviews tab are specific only to a child in placement.

Two types of Reviews can be entered from the Reviews tab:

• ACourt Review (as previously described) and,
• An Administrative Review.

A Court Review is entered as each hearing occurs. An Administrative Review may or may not be entered depending upon the length of time the child is in placement, and may or may not include a hearing within a courtroom.

New Court Review

Administrative Reviews are conducted:

• Prior to the child/youth’s 180thdate of placement, and
• Every six months thereafter until permanency is achieved.

Continuous Placements Folder – Reviews Tab - New Administrative Review

To enter a New Administrative Review from the Reviews tab:

1.Expand the child’s Permenancy folder.

2.Expand the Continuous Placementsfolder and click on the current Contplcmt node.

3.Right-click on the Reviews tab to access the Action menu.

4.Select New Administrative Review.

5.Enter the Administrative Review date in the Review date field.

6.The Review Type defaults to Administrative.

7.Click Save.

Further information regarding the scope of an Administrative Review is defined within the blue SSIS Help Text, and may also be found by referencing MN Statute 260C.203 Administrative or Court Review of Placements.

Reference: Link to MN Statute 260C.203:

Administrative Reviews may, or may not, be conducted in court. Present at the Administrative Review must be one individual not responsible for the case management, or service delivery, to the parent or the child/youth. The Administrative Review may be attended by the caseworker, the supervisor, counsel to the agency or any party, parent(s), the child/youth, foster parents, the Guardian ad Litem, the Tribe (if applicable) and service providers. Administrative Reviews are conducted primarily to monitor progress towards reunification and/or alternative permanency plans.

Hint: When a child is age 16+ and has a permanency finding, both an OHPP and an Independent Living Plan are required to be reviewed during an Administrative Review hearing as well as during the court review.

Hint:For a 17 year old youth who will ‘age out’ of care, the agency is required to develop a 90-day Transition Plan with the youth at least three months prior to the date it is anticipated the youth will exit placement.

Hint:Document that the agency provided the youth with the required notice regarding their right to remain in, or return to, Continued Foster Care up to the age of 21, as well as the right to appeal any denial by the agency to continue the youth’s foster care services.

New Court Review from theReviewsTab

A New Court Review opens to the same Court Hearing and Child Finding’s tabs, and is easily accessible from the Reviews tab.

Reviews Tab – New Court Review

To enter a New Court Review from the Reviews tab:

1.Right-click on the Reviews tab to access the Action menu.

2.SelectNew Court Review.

3.The screen defaults to theCourt Hearingtab.

Hint: If a Court Action is not being copied (Create Duplicate), than the original Petition type Filing date is entered – not the date of the current court hearing.

To complete the Court Hearing tab:

1.Select the Court typein the corresponding field.

2.Select the Petition type. Note: If this Court Hearing is not the result of a new Petition, than the same Petition type and Filing date should be copied from the previous Court Hearing.

3.Select additional detail in the Petition detail field- if applicable.

4.Select the type of hearing in the Hearing type field and enter the date the hearing occurred in the Date field.

5.Click the applicable check boxes in the Order/disposition box.

6.Enter the date that the Order/disposition was made in the Date field.

7.Click Save.

If the Court Action being entered under the Reviewstab, and

• It is an additional court hearing within the same Petition, and
• The Best Interest Statement – and Date – were previously documented, and
• The Reasonable/Active Efforts Statementand Datewere previously documented,

then thesefields on any subsequent New Court Action are not changed. Rather – the previous entries and dates are re-entered in these fields from the original Court Action reflecting when each statement was first obtained.

Warning: Re-enteringnew or incorrect datesin the Best Interest or Reasonable/Active Efforts fields creates errors with IV-E claiming and reimbursement.

Hint:A determination for Reasonable Efforts to Finalize the Permanency Plan is not required in the initial placement review.

To complete the Child Findings tab:

1.The Continuous placement field defaults to the current placement.

2.Indicate whether the Best interest statement was obtained regarding this Petition and placement – and the corresponding Date. This may be the same response and Date as a preceding Court Action – or it may be new – depending upon the timeframe.

3.Indicate whether the Reasonable/Active efforts statement was obtained regarding this Petition and placement – and the corresponding Date. This may be the same response and Date as a preceding Court Action – or it may be new – depending upon the timeframe.

4.If this is a Review Hearing, indicate Yes or No as to whether Reasonable efforts to finalize the permenancy plan have been made, and the Date.

5.Indicate Yes or No as to whether the Judicial findings meet placement review requirements. (Did the court review (b) (1-6) during this court hearing as listed in the blue help text?)

6.Click Save.

Hint:It is not always possible for the agency to have made Reasonable, or Active Efforts to prevent placement – such as in an emergency situation where placement was required to protect the child from imminent danger. In such circumstances, document that Reasonable/active efforts were not required in the same fieldon the Court Hearing tab if that finding is made by the court.

Hint: A hearing in court to review an out-of-home placement is required every 90 days, even for children placed solely because of a disability.

Hint: Caseworkers may enter any Court Actionsduring the course of case management. However, to satisfy the requirements for court review of a child/youth’s placement, the entry of a Juvenile Court Hearing for a child’s out of home placement is required.

Hint: Court Reviews entered from the Reviews tab will copyupthe Tree View to the Court Actions folder under the child’s Client node, and into the Case Details folder.

Hint: Court Actions entered in the Case Details or individual Court Actions folders will not display under the Reviews tab of the Continuous Placements folder unless the Judicial findings meet placement review requirementsoval is selected on the Child Findings tab.

SSIS Worker Tutorial – Entering Court Actions

Version 13.3 - July 2013 FINALPage 1 of 8