Counties will continue to use their Child Welfare Block, Core, Collaborative Management Program and other funding sources such as Promoting Safe and Stable Families grants, as well as partner with prevention partners and local providers, to provide a continuum of prevention services that best meet the needs of families in their communities. [see:“What funding opportunities are available to help build a continuum of prevention programs in your area?”]

Family First requires that states ensure that, “consistent with the agency’s five-year title IV-E prevention plan, section 471(e)(4)(B) of the Social Security Act requires the title IV-E agency [CDHS] to provide services or programs to or on behalf of a child under an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma and in accordance with recognized principles of a trauma-informed approach and trauma-specific interventions to address trauma’s consequences and facilitate healing.”

Primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention services can be expensive to build and sustain. Partnerships with your behavioral health, public health, home visiting, juvenile justice, collaborative management program, and others in your county and/or region will be key.  Reach out to and start a conversation with your local providers and state partners at CDHS that oversee respective prevention programs.More information is also available in a recorded lunch and learn session, “Funding to Support Prevention Services and Cross-System Financing Strategies,” hosted in partnership by CDHS and CHSDA:  Session Recording and Powerpoint. Counties will continue to use their Child Welfare Block, Core Services Program, Collaborative Management Program and other funding sources, to provide a continuum of prevention services that best meet the needs of families in their communities.  Federal Family First Transition Act Funds: The Family First Transition Act provides critical funding and flexibility to ensure a smooth and successful roll-out of Family First in Colorado. CDHS received over $7.7 Million in transition funding to spend flexibly on implementation efforts. Due to the overwhelming interest from stakeholders regarding the use of transition funds, the Department created a diverse 15-member group, 6 of whom represent county human service departments, in July 2020. The group is charged with reviewing and prioritizing funding proposals and developing recommendations for the Department. Funding opportunities on the prevention services side include: From 2020-2023, CDHS will be awarding up to $1.5 million ($500,000 each calendar year) for efforts that align with 1) Expanding the prevention services continuum in a way that addresses locally identified needs, meets Family First requirements, addresses inequities across the state, and emphasizes cultural responsiveness, and/or 2) Addresses known and potential barriers to Family First implementation. CDHS selected awards for the second round of Family First transition fund grants to support local Family First implementation activities in September 2021.More information about the recipients of awards  is also available: first round awardees; second round awardees. Federal Title IV-E Prevention in the Colorado Child Abuse Prevention Trust Fund: The new federal reimbursement that Colorado receives on Title IV-E prevention services will be deposited into the Colorado Child Abuse Prevention Trust Fund and distributed via an RFP process for purposes of building and expanding programs and services identified in the federal clearinghouse or under evaluation for purposes of petitioning the federal government for inclusion in the clearinghouse. Note: A separate fund is available within the Trust Fund for mini-grants for training on child sexual abuse prevention and training on strengthening protective factors. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF):  Individual county allocations are derived from Colorado’s county block grant using a formula based on economic and demographic factors. TANF funds beyond basic cash assistance are designed to be flexible and can be used for a wide array of services and supports. County departments of human/social services have flexibility in determining the most effective approach for accomplishing the four federal purposes of TANF within their local area and within the parameters established by the state and federal government (Broad-based eligibility: lawfully present, income under $75,000, and a child in the home). Counties in many cases can use their TANF allocations and local reserves for prevention programs. Title IV-B Promoting Safe and Stable Families: SSF funds are awarded via an RFP process for purposes of providing family support services, family preservation services, reunification services, and adoption support services. PSSF awards include a match requirement for 30% of all awarded funds. Awards have been granted for the next five-year funding cycle (FFY 2022-2027), which begins October 2021. The next solicitation will be released 2026. Eligible applicants for a PSSF solicitation include County Departments of Social/Human Services, local Government agencies, and any private or not-for-profit community-based organization. Entities that are not a county department of human services will require a letter of support for the county departments of human services in the counties where they will be offering services. 2021 Stimulus funding: Colorado received an additional $847,869 in stimulus funds for PSSF as a part of COVID relief. This one-year funding is likely to support the first cohort of Child First sites. Reach out to Jill Jordan (jill.jordan2@state.co.us) for more information. Medicaid: Coordination with your Regional Accountable Entity (RAE) and Medicaid will be vital. When considering where Medicaid may be able to pay first before other funding streams for Family First prevention services, a good place to start is with a conversation with the RAE and county at the table together. Counties can also reach out to local providers directly. There is also a group working on the claiming logistics in seeking to address Medicaid as the “Payer of first resort.” You can reach out to Brad Borges (bradly.borges@state.co.us), Ann Bartholomew (ann.bartholomew@state.co.us), and Kelly Sawka (kelly.sawka@state.co.us) for more information.  Home Visiting: Historically, home visiting programs in Colorado have used a myriad of funding sources to build and sustain services. Colorado uses a combination of the following funding sources to fund different home visiting programs. Counties can reach out to the state intermediaries of respective home visiting programs for more information: Federal Funding Sources: Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Stimulus dollars for the MIECHV program will be available to existing MIECHV sites. State Funding Sources: General fund with line item for specific models; Tobacco or similar taxes dedicated to early childhood support; TGYS; and, Colorado Child Abuse Prevention Trust Fund. Local Funding Sources: County Core dollars, local taxes Private Philanthropy Note: The Home Visiting Investment Task Force began meeting in November 2020 to develop a strategy to scale a continuum of home visiting services in Colorado. After the initial phase of work, the group has been reauthorized to continue with implementation around the Task Force Recommendations and Home Visiting Plan. For more information, please reference the group’s reauthorized charter, membership, and meeting details. Title II of the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA): Community Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) Funding in Colorado is currently being used to support cohorts of local communities in creating local child maltreatment prevention plans that align with the Colorado Child Maltreatment Prevention Framework for Action. A request for interest for the next cohort of planning sites is anticipated to be released in late 2021. A request for proposals for implementation funding will be released in late 2022 with funding to start in October 2023. Reach out to Essie Santillano (esmeralda.santillano@state.co.us) for more information.  Colorado Community Response (CCR) is a voluntary prevention program working with families that have been screened out or assessed and closed without child welfare services. The program was developed around the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework to strengthen families and prevent child maltreatment. Program components include strength-based case management, family-driven goal setting, education, and support to improve financial well-being, flex funding, and resource referrals to support goal attainment. The program is awarded through a competitive solicitation. Awards have been granted for the next five-year funding cycle (FFY 2022-2027), which began in July 2021. The next solicitation will be released in 2026. Reach out to Aaron Miller (aaronc.miller@state.co.us) for more information. SafeCare is a voluntary in-home behavioral parenting program that targets risk factors for maltreatment by teaching parents/caregivers skills in three topic areas: home safety, child health, and parent-child/parent-infant interaction. SafeCare targets parents/caregivers of children ages 0 to 5 who have a history of child maltreatment or who have risk factors that may lead to maltreatment. As of July 2021, SafeCare is available in 38 counties across Colorado and is supported by the Kempe Center as the state intermediary. SafeCare is funded by state general funds. Colorado’s Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program (TYGS): Funds are provided to community-based organizations that serve children, youth and their families with programs designed to reduce youth crime and violence, youth marijuana use and prevent child abuse and neglect and school dropout. Eligible TGYS applicants include local governments, schools, nonprofit organizations, state agencies and institutions of higher education. TGYS operates on a three-year grant cycle. The current grant cycle runs July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023. Contact Kristi Griffith (kristi.griffith@state.co.us) for more information.  Behavioral Health: CDHS’s Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) has previously released solicitations for the High Risk Families Cash Fund to support capacity for and provide services to high-risk parents, including pregnant and parenting women, and for services for high-risk children and youth with behavioral health disorders. The Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families (CPTF) aims to significantly reduce child fatalities and child maltreatment for all children zero to five by positively and proactively supporting strong and healthy family formation. The partnership’s three main priorities are: 1) Systems Alignment: Align state and county human services, public health, and health care systems to place family well-being at the center. Focus on funding, data, and policy across systems; 2) Early Touch Points: Strengthen the well-being system service array to improve outcomes for parents and infants throughout pregnancy and the first year of life; and 3) Community Norms: Change community norms related to social connectedness to increase access to information on child development and informal support with parenting with the intent to reduce parental stress and decrease child maltreatment. Counties can engage via three levels--participate, magnify and/or demonstrate--on any or all priority areas. Demonstration sites receive technical support and may be eligible to receive funding for projects. This resource for county directors provides specific examples of ways to engage w/ CPTF and what the Partnership offers, as well as current demonstration site projects and upcoming opportunities. Email Krishna Dahya (kdahya@illuminatecolorado.org) for more information about engaging in the Partnership. Private Philanthropy Local CYDC Funding: The Colorado Youth Detention Continuum (CYDC) is implemented locally within each of the state’s 22 judicial districts. The Colorado General Assembly appropriates funds for CYDC programming and the Statewide Advisory Board is responsible for developing an allocation formula and allocating the funds. Jurisdictions use their allocations for a variety of purposes, including in some cases, providing treatment services to prevent or shorten out-of-home placement and further penetration into the system. Each local CYDC program has a Juvenile Services Planning Committee (JSPC) and a local coordinator to oversee implementation of local CYDC services.

When a child is at risk of not being safe, this report fortifiesthe call for alternative interventions that strengthen ratherthan undermine the sense of feeling safe, which familyconnections provide

As part of the QRTP model, Family First creates a new process for ensuring that a Title IV-Eeligible child needs the level of treatment intervention that a QRTP offers. Within 30 days ofentering a QRTP, a child must receive an assessment from a qualified individual using anappropriate functional assessment tool to determine whether they need care in a QRTP andwhether that particular QRTP can meet their specific treatment needs. The purpose of thisprocess is to acknowledge that QRTPs are a treatment intervention, and that through the processof specialization, not every QRTP will be appropriate for each child’s specific needs

Effective training of assessment professionals in child development, childtrauma, and the types of particular QRTPs and how they meet the needs of individual childrenwill be essential to the effective implementation of this aspect of Family First.

What if our jurisdiction does not have anyone available who meets the qualifiedindividual criteria?There is a process for Title IV-E agencies to obtain from the HHS Secretary a waiver from therequirement that a qualified individual conduct the assessment. Title IV-E agencies must submitdocumentation to the HHS Secretary certifying that trained professionals or licensed cliniciansconducting these assessments shall maintain objectivity in determining the most effective andappropriate placement for a child. This certification process is required to prevent conflicts ofinterest in placing children in QRTPs

What organizations can accredit a QRTP?A QRTP can receive accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of HealthcareOrganizations, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, or the Council onAccreditation. The HHS Secretary may also choose to approve other independent, not-for-profitaccrediting bodies. [§472(k)(4)(G); P.L. 115-123 §50741]

If you are appointed after a petition for removal is filed, advocate forprevention services for the parent, kinship caregiver, or child to be offered asan alternative to removal

(66) “Foster care” means the placement of a child or youth into the legal custody or legal authority of a county department of human or social services for physical placement of the child or youth in a kinship care placement; supervised independent living placement, as defined in section 19-7-302; or certified or licensed facility, or the physical placement of a juvenile committed to the custody of the state department of human services into a community placement.

In 2022, legislators passed SB 22-008 which created a program to provide higher education tuition assistance to foster students.  FosterEd provides free tuition to current and former foster students at all of Colorado’s public colleges and universities.

In foster care from age 13+

d) "QUALIFYING STUDENT" MEANS A RESIDENT OF COLORADO WHOHAS BEEN ACCEPTED FOR ENROLLMENT AT AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHEREDUCATION WHO:(I) HAS BEEN PLACED IN FOSTER CARE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION19-1-103, IN COLORADO AT ANY TIME ON OR AFTER THE STUDENT'STHIRTEENTH BIRTHDAY; OR

This program makes available vouchers of up to $5,000 per year per youth for post secondary education and training for eligible youth.

•OCR attorney emails CC Coordinator to request a CC on a case.•CC Coordinator updates the online Assignment List with broad information

Assignment form

TION 2: CURRENT OR IMPENDING DANGERIf you select "yes," ALL 5 of the following safety threshold criteria must be present:Specific and observable threat (Danger is real, can be seen, can be reported, is evidenced in explicit, unambiguous ways.)Out-of-control

Contract Case Consultant Main ToolsThis page provides a quick reference to tools for

regularly monitor OCR’s Assignment List for potential cases, request case assignments, bill inCARES, and notify OCR at the end of each

If a service is not deemed medically necessary, Medicaid cannot be used,

the Child Welfare Reform Bill created a cash fund that could be used by child welfare agencies to fund prevention and intervention services.

The law also created a task force to help ensure alignment of state policies with the federal 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act (including how to incentivize certain services/placements), among other duties. I

counties determine how TANF dollars are spent and can therefore determine whether TANF is going to be used to help the child welfare agency close out if they over-spend

County local funds are primarily property taxes.

County child welfare agencies can also refer TANF-eligible families to the local TANF agency for supportive services in lieu of using Core Services dollars for supportive services.

Funding sources Many funding sources are used by the state and local child welfare agencies in Colorado.

Counties are required to meet each block’s requirements but have flexibility to choose how to spend their allocations. For example, if a cost can be covered by both the Child Welfare Services block and the Core Services block, counties can choose to apply the cost to either block. However, if a cost can be billed to Medicaid, Medicaid must be used first.

The state provides county child welfare agencies with three block allocations to finance their activities and services: Child Welfare Services block. Also known as the “child welfare block,” this is the largest of the three block allocations and can be used for administration, out-of-home placements, and other child welfare-related services and activities. If a county under-spends this allocation, they can transfer the under-spent funds to the other two block allocations. Family and Children’s Programs block. Also known as “Core Services,” this block provides funding for services for children and families to allow children to remain in their home, return home, or stay in the least-restrictive placement possible.

The placements and services ordered by the courts can affect financing (e.g., ordering the use of more expensive congregate care placements). Judges also need to make judicial determinations in a particular way for a child to be deemed eligible for Title IV-E (see below for more on Title IV-E).

Colorado stakeholders decided to enhance understanding of the state’s child welfare financing landscape by contracting with Child Trends

AFCC Guidelines for Court-Involved Therap

Children may have become accustomed to avoiding problemsrather than dealing with them and may never have developed the active coping skills that are so criti-cal to developmen

. Avoidance is a powerful, if extremelyunhealthy coping strategy and in court-involved families there may be an even greater impetus toresist change

hildren who resist contact with a parent may be more likely to come to the attention of the court,as the excluded parent may seek orders to enforce the parenting plan, provide counseling, a child custo-dy evaluation, or an order for some of the more specialized milieu programs that address disrupted rela-tionships. Many of these families are also poorly served, as they may initially be referred to therapythat is not adequately structured or specialized for this situation. Outmoded and often demonstrablyineffective treatment approaches, such as counseling that is limited to the rejected parent and child, areoften among the first to be attempted. (This is a common structure when courts order “reunificationtherapy,” but a one-sided approach is rarely successful and may exacerbate the problem.

responsive to treatment or fail to elicit the sympathy of authority figures. This underscores

others.Critical among these abilities is that the childactivelyengages with others, in an appropriate way,to get his/her needs met.

(Dunn, Davies, O’Connor, & Sturgess,2001; Pedro-Carroll, 2005; Pedro-Carroll, Sandler, & Wolchik, 2005; Sandler, Tein, Mehta,Wolchik, & Ayers, 2000). These include both coping abilities and coping efficacy, as well as accessto the normal peer and developmental activities that other children enjoy (Pedro-Carroll, 2005). Cop-ing abilities include, but are not limited to, the ability to differentiate one’s own feelings from some-one else’s, appropriately express independent needs and feelings, regulate emotions, managedistress, recognize danger, know the difference between anxiety or discomfort and danger, ask forhelp, and form healthy relationships with others

studies underscore commonelements in successful outcome

symptoms.Trained professionals can identify problem behaviors and intervene early, before problems become entrenched

investigation and litigationmay precede any meaningful attempt at intervention, based on the questionable belief that all elements of causality (or blame)must be established before any effective treatment can occur. Children’s functioning may continue to deteriorate during thistime, undermining their future adjustment and reducing the chance of successful intervention later.

CATCHING THEM BEFORE TOO MUCH DAMAGE IS DONE: EARLYINTERVENTION WITH RESISTANCE-REFUSAL DYNAMICSLyn R. Greenberg, Lynda Doi Fick, and Hon. Robert A. Schnider

Treatment Necessary health care services must be made available for treatment of all physical and mental illnesses or conditions discovered by any screening and diagnostic procedures.

Diagnostic Services When a screening examination indicates the need for further evaluation of an individual's health, diagnostic services must be provided. Necessary referrals should be made without delay and there should be follow-up to ensure the enrollee receives a complete diagnostic evaluation. States should develop quality assurance procedures to assure that comprehensive care is provided.

Other Necessary Health Care Services States are required to provide any additional health care services that are coverable under the Federal Medicaid program and found to be medically necessary to treat, correct or reduce illnesses and conditions discovered regardless of whether the service is covered in a state's Medicaid plan. It is the responsibility of states to determine medical necessity on a case-by-case basis.

Toni spent months reading up on federal Medicaid law, and she learned the state-federal health insurance program is supposed to cover all medically necessary treatments for eligible children.

To Get Mental Health Help For A Child, Desperate Parents Relinquish Custody

SNAP: 10 CCR 2506, Volume 1 at §§ 4.000.1, 4.304.B.1, 4.304.B.3, 4.304.1.A,4.504.6.D.4,4.504.6.D.5, 4.504.6.D.11, 4.604.B, 4.604.G.1, 4.606.B.1.b, 4.606.B.2.b

The Department has reviewed the decrease in SNAP benefits and has determined that it is valid based on your daughter being removed from the home and younot providing meals for her

4.203.1 Designating a Head of HouseholdA. The local office shall allow a household to select an adult parent of children (of any age) living inthe household, or an adult who has parental control over children (under 18 years of age) living inthe household,

4.505.4 Verification of Household CompositionA. If questionable, the local office shall verify any factors affecting the composition of a household.The household's statement regarding food purchasing and preparation shall generally beaccepted because of the difficulty of verifying such arrangements.

2) A household in which at least one (1) member receives services from theFamily Preservation Program.

1) Households in which all members receive, or are authorized to receive,SSI, Colorado Works (CW),

C. Eligibility1. Basic Categorical Eligibility (BCE)a. BCE households are:

4.206 CATEGORIES OF ELIGIBILITYA. Households applying for SNAP must be determined eligible using one of the following categoriesof eligibility: Basic Categorical Eligibility (BCE)

Verification may be done orally or in writing and, in many cases, the type of verification may depend on how the individual is requesting and/or receiving access – whether

For example, a doctor may not require an individual: Who wants a copy of her medical record mailed to her home address to physically come to the doctor's office to request access and provide proof of identity in person.

Unreasonable Measures While the Privacy Rule allows covered entities to require that individuals request access in writing and requires verification of the identity of the person requesting access, a covered entity may not impose unreasonable measures on an individual requesting access

by faxing or e-mailing the request

the individual from obtaining access to his PHI,

provided use of the form does not create a barrier to

Requests for Access Requiring a Written Request A covered entity may require individuals to request access in writing,