The CAFCA Brief UpdateCAFCA  BRIEF UPDATE

March 17, 2004

REMINDER: NO GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING THIS MONTH due to our legislative lunch.  The CTS Committee will meet FRIDAY, March 19th 10:30 a.m. – noon at the administrative offices of Devereux Cleo Wallace, 7100 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 210, Englewood, 80111.

CAFCA member agencies still have time to be listed as sponsors in the Annual Education Conference brochure.  The deadline for inclusion is Friday, March 26th.  The sponsorship form can be downloaded from CAFCA’s website at: www.cafca.net. Fax or email it to Mary with your check to follow. We thank the following members who have already signed up as sponsors: Adoption Alliance, Beacon Center, Children’s Ark, Kidz Ark, Namaqua Center, Savio and Third Way Center.

CAFCA Committee Notes
Minutes of the various CAFCA member committees are sent to committee members.  If you would like minutes of meetings but aren’t currently receiving them, please let Peg or Mary know. 

Adoption:  The committee conducted a training for CAFCA member adoption agencies on the Expedited Relinquishment process. Presentations by Virginia Frank, Esq. and Dana Andrews, CDHS Licensing Administrator were followed by a roundtable discussion of practices, barriers, and questions regarding the process. CDHS will be assembling a committee to review the adoption rules in 2004. The next meeting is April 8th in Longmont, fire station #3, 1000 Pace St.

Foster Care:  The next CAFCA-county meeting is April 20th. Dana Andrews has informed CPAs that they cannot withhold the maintenance portion of the monthly reimbursement to ensure families comply with all required documentation and paperwork for annual licensing renewal.  No portion of the reimbursement may be withheld at any time.  The CPA should supply information to the Division of Child Care regarding the pending information prior to the renewal deadline and TRAILS will indicate ‘timely renewal – information pending’.  If this information is not provided prior to the expiration date the home will be closed in TRAILS.  The committee has invited Teresa Spawn, Office of the Child Representative to meet with interested CPAs to discuss the role of guardians ad litem (GALs) and obtain input on how to better work with GALs on behalf of children in the system. The meeting will be Thursday, April 22nd from 9:30 – 12 p.m. at Volunteers of America (26th and Larimer).  The April Committee meeting will immediately follow the discussion with Ms. Spahn.

CTS:  Committee members met with facilitator Karla Raines of Corona Research to develop outcome measures for the RTC Medicaid Rate Plan Application. The group identified five outcomes that are applicable to all RTCs, regardless of services provided or population served.  CAFCA members will track these for FY 2004-05 as a baseline. The next meeting is Friday, March 19th. See above for time and location.

Public Policy:  Thirty-two people representing 16 CAFCA member agencies attended the Annual Legislative Luncheon on March 3rd, and 33 legislators joined them. Peg highlighted several bills to discuss with legislators during the public policy committee meeting that preceded the lunch.  Members are reminded to follow-up with legislators by inviting them to visit their facilities either on a Friday afternoon during the session or once the session ends May 5th. Please also check the CAFCA website for information about current legislation. The next Committee meeting is Tuesday, April 6th, noon-2:00 p.m. at 1120 Lincoln St., 2nd floor conference room. 

Membership/Communications:  The committee reviewed the results of the membership survey tabulated by the Bawmann Group. A majority of the respondents were in favor of doing more research to identify the pros and cons of admitting for-profit organizations.  At the general membership meeting preceding the Legislative Luncheon on March 3rd, members adopted the proposed change to the bylaws that permit up to two people from the same agency to serve on the board of directors. 

Training: The “Criminal Thinkers” workshop was a huge success with would-be registrants turned away due to space limitations. Wendy Lee of Turning Point shared her expertise with more than 100 participants.  Enrollment in the April 14th workshop on “Methamphetamines and Its Effects on Children” will close soon due to space limitations, so get your registration in ASAP. Brochures for CAFCA’s June 11th annual education conference, “Staying on Track,” will go out within the next few weeks. More information can be found at the CAFCA website at www.cafca.net - to go the Upcoming Events / Training page.

From the Executive Director:

Budget Update: Based on the administrative agency budget hearings it has been conducting for the past month, the JBC will be submitting its proposed budget to both chambers for review, discussion, debate and amendments.   As many of you already know, the JBC has proposed significant cuts to some programs, including the Senate Bill 94 funding for juvenile diversion programs. The Governor has submitted a callback request regarding these cuts.  No word yet on the JBC’s response.

Legislative Update: The current status of every bill can be checked by going to the General Assembly web site: www.leg.state.co.us. Click on either House bills or Senate bills.  Click on the bill series containing the bill number of your interest, then click GO.  Scroll down to the bill number you are interested in and click on the “all versions” column. This will give you a choice of the House and Senate latest version. In most cases, the bill will have only passed a single chamber. CAFCA may be involved with some late bills, particularly one that establishes a Child’s Ombudsman and Child Fatality Review Team.  Two bills have already been signed by the Governor: HB1119, Extends Child Care Facilities Tax Credit and HB1216, Notice in Expedited Relinquishments.

Grants Got You Down?

If you have trouble finding the time to write grants, or find that you are being turned down more often than not, CAFCA can recommend the services of a grant writer/trainer/consultant. We have worked with Kim Jacques, who is an experienced grant write of federal grants as well as the Colorado common grant application.  Her work is excellent!  If you need assistance, please contact Kim at 303 394-3813. 

Upcoming Training Opportunities:

The Child Welfare League of America is hosting a teleconference series, Competence on Call.  Each teleconference includes presentations by national experts along with reports from agencies engaged in challenging and groundbreaking work. Participants will receive extensive, practical resources to use both during and after the teleconference.  The registration fee for each call is $145 for CWLA members and $195 for nonmembers.  Register online at: www.cwla.org/conferences or contact Naomi Goldman at 617 769-4003. Next up in the series are two subjects of potential interest to CAFCA members: 

Implementing a Program-Wide Anger Management Intervention
Thursday, May 13, 2004 2:00 p.m. eastern daylight time

This workshop presents the rationale for initiating program-wide and agency-wide anger management intervention, specific anger management skills that are generally taught in such programs, the critical steps to getting a program started, and the most common barriers to ensuring and maintaining effective implementation over time.  The intended audience is staff in treatment and educational settings who already have implemented or are considering development of anger management intervention.

Calming Children in Crisis: Designing Safety Plans That Work
Thursday, July 15, 2004 2:00 p.m. eastern standard time

This workshop describes a three-step approach to helping children manage their own behavior in crisis situations. Emphasis is placed on identifying the skills children need to learn, staff behaviors that facilitate children’s use of these skills, and the most common errors staff make when working with angry children. The intended audience is program managers, supervisors, direct care staff, and others who work directly with children in treatment and care settings.