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Level of Care
Proposal
November 2002
The Level of Care System of Placement is being developed
to facilitate the needs of at risk children. Under development since 1998
by public and private collaboration including DHR, DJJ, and private
providers, the LOC plan has won wide consensus. This system of services
for children will facilitate the goals of the state and providers and most
importantly the children, that we are committed to serve.
As Georgia struggles with it's child welfare crisis, placement options
continue to challenge the State. Too many children are coming into a
system that is ill equipped to provide the care and nurturance that
Georgia promises to it's abused and neglected children. Georgia’s foster
parents are doing a heroic job of providing care to an increasing number
of foster children. Foster homes are often over burdened with too many
children with multiple issues. Group homes, too, are challenged to take
children that are beyond their capacity to provide specialized services
and care. We know from the State's First Placement/Best Placement data
that foster children with mental or behavioral issues are not likely to
get the type of placement that they need. These deficits in the child
welfare system are widely known.
In the ideal world of child welfare, foster children would be able to get
their placements determined based upon their needs. In this ideal world,
these services would follow the children, whether they were at home, in
foster care or in group home placements. Each child would be served in the
least restrictive, most family-centered and community based setting that
meets his/her treatment needs and ensures the safety of the child, the
family, and the community. Wrap around services would support a child
whether he/she were in foster care or group home placement. Quality,
efficiency and efficacy would be assured by a system of competitiveness,
accountability, licensing and adequate funding. In the real world, this is
not the case, but rather is the exception.
Because of these deficits in Georgia's child placement system, a Level of
Care System for Placement of foster children was proposed by the
Department of Human Resources in collaboration with others. Level of Care
(LOC) would guarantee that a child’s first placement would be the child's
best placement. As a child enters the system, each child would be
“leveled” to reflect their needs. Attached to each level would be
resources and services to address those needs.
The assessment of the child would determine what level of services a child
needs in order to succeed in their placement of choice. The level would
assure that the child has the resources to get the services in whatever
placement the child is assigned.
Levels of Care will positively impact children by:
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Children will be served with services based on their
needs.
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Increase the flexibility by which services can be
rendered to children who are in the custody of the State.
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Improved outcomes for children in State care.
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More mental health services.
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Children will no longer fail their way through the
system.
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Improved efficiency and effectiveness in service
provision.
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Improved maximization of Federal Funds.
There are certain general provisions that apply to all levels of care.
- All levels of care provide individualized treatment and support
services based upon an individual written service plan that identifies
for each child and family the treatment goals and needed services and
resources.
- Within the levels of care there are a variety of treatment options
and settings to meet each child's own unique needs for treatment and
support, no matter where the child resides.
- At all levels there are children for whom psychotropic medications
are prescribed for their mental health conditions. Medication management
is more frequent and complex at the higher levels of care.
- Each child will participate as fully as possible, according to the
child's own treatment and safety needs, in community-based recreation,
services and the local public school.
- Each child is to be served in the least restrictive, most
family-centered and community-based setting that meets his or her
treatment needs and ensures the safety of the child, the family and the
community.
- The success of Levels of Care will be based on its implementation
with funding that is sufficient to cover the cost of services to
children.
This is a system that Georgia's at-risk children need for the care that
we, as their custodians, have sworn to provide. |
