Assessing the Whole Household for Child Safety

Parents, Caregivers and Others

The Power of Partnership

The Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence is Washington’s first comprehensive statewide

training partnership dedicated to developing professional expertise for social workers and

enhancing the skills of foster parents and caregivers working with vulnerable children and

families. 

What do we mean by the whole household?

• Persons being considered for placement of a child• Other adults who reside in a

parent’s/ caregiver’s household• Adults with frequent

unsupervised access to the child

Assessing the whole household for child safety:

Today we will cover:• Background Check Processes• CA/N history checks in FamLink and MODIS• Other assessment tools available to all programs• Expectations and how are they measured

But First! Tell About a Time…• Break into pairs• Tell about a time when your

assessment of others in a household went fairly easily and why?

• Tell about a time when you had difficulty assessing others in a household and why?

• Five minutes each• Large Group Discussion

Criminal Background Checks

Background Check Process

Handout - Criminal History and Child Abuse and Neglect History checks for out-of-home placement

You could hang this on your cubicle wall

What are the legal requirements?• RCW 13.34.138 requires DSHS to assess all individuals who will care for a

child who is dependent, regardless if they are party to a dependency (Sirita’s Law)

• RCW 26.44.030 for CPS investigations• RCW 43.43 sets requirements for WSP to conduct criminal background

checks and authorizes release• RCW 74.15.030 requires DSHS to conduct background checks for

persons caring for children or who are seeking licensure• WAC 388-06 describes the responsibilities of the background check unit• PL 109-248 (Adam Walsh Act) also requires background checks

WHO are we required to background check? (5512 in handout has full list)

• All adult caregivers providing out-of-home care to a child in the care and custody of DSHS (includes VPAs)

• All household members of caregivers, 16+ • Individuals with frequent, unsupervised access to children in

out-of-home care • All adults residing in the home of a parent-prior to reunification• All non-professional participants of a safety plan

CA Requirements

• A child may not be placed in the home if any adult in the household has a disqualifying event from the DSHS Secretary's List of Crimes and Negative Actions or a Category 3 or 4 crime or negative action

• No individual can act as a safety plan participant if they have a disqualifying event from the DSHS Secretary's List of Crimes and Negative Actions or a Category 3 or 4 crime or negative action

WHO might we want to check?

• Subjects of CPS investigations• Other adults residing in the home of

families involved in CPS and FVS • Other adults who have frequent,

unsupervised access to the child(ren) in CPS and FVS

WHAT KIND OF BACKGROUND CHECK DO I USE?

NCIC

NCIC-C: Subjects of CPS investigations and adults associated with CPS Intakes (must be completed prior to safety assessment being approved)

NCIC-X (Emergent Placements Only)• CA staff may not approve an emergent placement of a child with an

unlicensed caregiver until the following has been completed:FamLink check on all adults in the homeNCIC Purpose Code X check on all adults in the home

• The child must not remain in the home if an adult does not submit fingerprints in 10 days or refuses to be fingerprinted.

See handout for process instructions

Name and Date of Birth Checks (NDOB)

Fingerprints are required on caregivers and household members who are 18 years or older.

Who gets which check (other than NCIC)?NDOB with Fingerprints

• All adult caregivers providing out-of-home care to a child in the care and custody of CA

• Individuals with frequent, unsupervised access to children in out-of-home care who have lived in another state in the last three years

NDOB• All household members of caregivers,

16 and 17 years old• Individuals with frequent,

unsupervised access to children in out-of-home care

• All adults residing in the home of a parent-prior to reunification

• All non-professional participants of a Safety Plan

• Adults in the home of a CPS or FVS family

But Wait! We aren’t done yet!

• Criminal Background checks are only one way we get information about a child’s safety in a home• Next, let’s talk about CA/N checks

CA/N Records checks• FAMLINK/MODIS: Required for all persons in the household of

a child in out-of-home care (section 5512 of your handout)• FAMLINK/MODIS: Can be completed on any adult/youth to

help assess the safety of the child(ren) in the home during CPS involvement/FVS intervention

CA/N Records Check

MODISMay contain information on individuals not

contained in the physical file, as well as historical information

MODIS is available through the CA Intranet Page

Out-of-State CA/N Records Check• Required for any individual living in the

home where a child in the custody of CA has been placed if they lived out of WA State in the last five years.

• Must be completed for all states the individual has lived in the past five years.

• You may have an individual available to your office to assist with this process

• Let’s look on the CA Intranet for more information on this process

For assistance/questions about obtaining CPS history or find out who the contact person is for a

given state:

canhistorychecks@dshs.wa.gov OR

Call 800-562-5624: ask for the CA/N history checks specialist

social worker of the day

Don’t Forget!

• Adults/youth who move in after initial placement, including former foster youth• Caregiver partners• Parent partners

• The social worker should conduct a FamLink search

Background Check Results:What if there

is history? All checks completed? All information reviewed?Discussed concerns with placement?

Think:Is this a safe place? Is this a permanent option?Do we need an FTDM?

Ask:Administrative Approval15-367

Background Checks: Common Mistakes

• Criminal history not completed on all adults and 16-17 year old youth

• Everyone in home/property not checked• Criminal history not reviewed • Administrative approval not sought

when required• Child Abuse records search not

completed or history missed

There are other ways we assess child safety.

Conversation with Parent/Caregiver• Who resides in the home?• Who will have unsupervised access to the child?– Are they appropriate? Cleared?

• The Safety Framework (gathering) questions: – How do they discipline the child?– What are their overall parenting/child care practices?– How do they manage their own lives on a daily basis?

• History of substance use, mental health and domestic violence• Relationship with parent

Other Assessment Tools

Initial determination of suitability of a caregiver’s homeHaving conversations with the potential caregiver Initial walk-through (DSHS Form 10-453)Does what you observe appear consistent with information

you’ve been provided?Talk with the child about the caregiver prior to placement

(relative/suitable other if developmentally appropriate)

Refer for Home Study if Placement Made

Caregiver

•The Fact Sheet (DSHS 10-444)•Complete the Home Study Pre-

Screen for Relatives/Suitable Other Placement (DSHS 10-449)•Unlicensed Caregiver Checklist

(DSHS 15-280)•Placement Agreement (15-281)

Social Service Specialist

• Home Study Referral Form (DSHS 10-447)

• Court Report (CFE)• Placement Referral• Dependency Petition• Background Check Results

Conversation with Parent/CaregiverAnyone providing care for the infant should be provided with the Period of Purple Crying and Safe Sleep material

Conversations with Children

During child interviews and Health and Safety Visits

• “Tell me about who you spend time with”• “Who takes care of you when parent/caregiver has to leave?”

What are some other way you can ask children about others in their lives?

Non-CA Databases• ACES• Barcode• WA State Superior Court records search

Any other databases you’ve used?

How do we know if we are meeting expectations around assessing others?

Examine the Central Case Review Tool questions used to evaluate whether casework is in compliance with this particular

performance measure

Reflection Activity

• Review the tool provided• Think of a case where you believe the case would have been

assessed as being in compliance. What helped make that happen?

• Think of case where you believe the case would not be found in compliance. What were the barriers?

• Large Group Discussion

A Final Note - Documentation!

Background check results are documented in FamLink within three days of receiving information! Check with your supervisor if you are unsure if your office has a central person who does this for you.

Don’t forget to document the good work you are doing: Other

than the results of background checks, document information gathered in assessments and/or case notes.

NCIC DocumentationPurpose Code X Disqualifying Information: If the NCIC name and date-of-birth check reveals the individual was convicted of or has a pending charge for a disqualifying crime, CA:

1. May indicate to the parties and court that the initial criminal NCIC check reveals a conviction or pending charge for a disqualifying crime and an accurate fingerprint- based background check must be completed before a placement could be made. 2. May not print the NCIC record. 3. May not share specific information about the conviction with other parties – therefore only a summary is included in documentation.

NCIC Check information:1. May not print the NCIC record. 2. May not share specific information about the conviction with other parties. 3. May not include information obtained in a dependency petition.

What can I share and put in case notes?• Information provided by the individual• Information gathered from fingerprint

checks• Information provided by the background

check unit based on NDOB checks with clarification that this information is not based on fingerprints

• Information from other databases

Case Scenarios

• Read the case scenario provided.

• What are the next steps the social service specialist should take in order to complete the suitability of the potential caregiver?

• We will debrief when you are done.

Any Questions?

Thank you for all you do!