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Adoption Services are designed to provide a secure permanent adoptive home
for children under the guardianship of DHS when the parental rights of
their birth parents have been terminated. Services include recruitment of
families for special needs children, purchasing adoption services from
licensed private child placing agencies and registering special needs
children in the Iowa Adoption Exchange, the National Exchange, the Iowa
Foster and Adoptive Parent Association newsletter and the Iowa’s
Photolisting Book in an effort to recruit adoptive homes. Most children DHS
places for adoption have special needs; e.g. 72% of the children are older
than 6 (36% are age 12 or older), and 80% have diagnosed physical, mental,
emotional or behavioral disabilities. Adoption subsidies are available to
provide financial assistance to enable families to adopt children with
special needs.
Family-Centered Services are interventions designed to prevent or treat
child abuse, neglect, and delinquency, to prevent or reduce out-of-home
placements and maintain family reunification. In the family-centered
program, the rehabilitative treatment service components are: therapy and counseling,
restorative living, family and social skill development and psychosocial
evaluation services. Two supportive services, supervision and MR/DD respite
services, are available in the family-centered program. These services are
provided in the setting most appropriate for the child and family and may
be in the family home, and is sometimes provided in a day program setting.
Family Foster Care services provide 24-hour temporary care for children
unable to remain in their own homes, while also offering services to
families of children in order to implement plans for permanent placement.
In the family foster care program, the rehabilitative treatment service
components are: therapy and counseling, social skill development,
restorative living skills, family skills development and behavioral
management services. Supportive services in family foster care include
supervision services, foster family home studies and maintenance. Placement
goals for children in foster care include reunification with family,
placement with a relative or guardian, adoption, independence and long
-term care.
Family Preservation is a highly intensive and time-limited in-home service
intervention that was developed to prevent out-of-home placement of
children. Services are tailored to meet the individual needs of families in
crisis and consist of one or more of the following components: therapy and
counseling, skill development and psychosocial evaluation. Other services
such as supervision, transportation and community resource building are
available to families.
Group Care services are highly structured 24-hour treatment services and
supervision in a licensed group care facility. Children placed in group
care cannot be served in less intensive levels of care due to the intensity
or severity of their emotional or behavioral problems. In the group care
program, the rehabilitative treatment service components are: therapy and
counseling, social skill development, restorative living skills, family
skills development. Supportive services in group care include supervision
services and maintenance. These facilities offer a variety of treatment
modalities, but all offer counseling and skill development services. Some
facilities provide services to the family as well as to the child. The
primary goal is to return the child to a family living situation, when that
is not possible for a youth the goal is to prepare the youth for
independent living.
Protective Services typically begin with a prompt assessment of a report of
child abuse. If necessary, rehabilitative services may be provided so that
the family can remain intact without immediate danger to the child or, when
necessary, a child may be removed from the home. Adult evaluations are
conducted when an adult abuse report is made.
Shelter Care services are usually of an emergency short term nature until
they can be returned home or to other permanent arrangements. Shelter care
services are designed to provide crisis intervention and daily supervision,
protecting the child and meeting immediate needs, rather than providing
long-term treatment of problems.
Supervised Community Treatment provides comprehensive multi-disciplinary
treatment services in a structured setting. Services are closely
coordinated and integrated with the school system. Youth participate in the
program for four to six hours a day for five to six days a week for an
average of ten months. Services are targeted for youths ages 9 through 17
who are experiencing significant behavioral or emotional problems, who are
adjudicated delinquent or who are at risk of delinquency.
Wrap-Around Services/Supports are individualized services or supports,
necessary in order for a child’s group care placement to be prevented or
reduced in length, that are unavailable through other avenues of funding.
Wrap-around services/supports are designed to be individualized,
community-based and focused on the basic needs of children and their
families.
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SERVICES & INFORMATION
