Effective Date: 11/05/2025
The purpose of this policy is to describe the requirements for supervisor consults and quarterly observations of worker-child and/or worker-parent visits. This policy should be used for all cases in which Children’s Division has legal custody, regardless of where the child is physically placed, and any ICPC cases that are assigned to the worker.
4.10.4.1 Monthly Supervisor Consult Requirements
The supervisor consult is an interactive solution-focused conversation between the supervisor (or a person given supervisory authority through their job classification) and worker. The consult should encourage critical thinking focused on child safety concerns and risk factors, barriers and complicating factors, family strengths and existing safety. The consult must include supervisor recommendations and next steps that are time-limited and actionable, which moves the case toward permanency.
All alternative care (AC) cases, and ICPC cases from another state assigned to the worker, shall have a supervisor consult once monthly. Consults should occur in person, or virtually with cameras on, to enhance the collaborative process and interactive communication and to produce a shared understanding of both the discussion and recommendation(s) from the consult. There may be a need to have consults more frequently if the worker is inexperienced or if there is a high-risk situation. The AC Supervisor Consult Template and Tool (CD-332) should be used to guide and document the consult. The template contains broad topical headings which should be included in the documentation of the consult in the system of record (FACES). The guide offers suggested questions to explore during the consult. Supervisors should use their critical thinking skills, and knowledge of the individual case, to ensure they discuss appropriate topics under each heading.
The consult should include discussion about all members of the household, including children who may remain in the parental home, regardless of who has legal custody.
Consult Template Headings
- Case Goals
- Parent Goals
- Court Orders
- Diligent Search
- Safety and Risk in Child/Youth’s Current Placement
- Child/Youth Education & Well-Being:
- Psychotropic Medication
- Placement Provider Strengths, Needs, Services and Supports
- Family Visitations
- Safety and Risk of the Parental Home(s)
- Can case closure be recommended? Why or why not?
- Other Relevant Information
- Supervisor Recommendation and Next Steps
During each supervisor consult, the supervisor must identify if both parents are known, located, contacted, and documented appropriately in the electronic case record.
- If a parent’s identity is unknown, or unconfirmed (e.g., paternity needs to be determined), or their location is unknown, diligent search efforts must be documented in the case consult until the parents’ identity is known, confirmed and contact has been made.
- The supervisor should also confirm that the parental role, relationship and contact information in the electronic case record is updated accordingly when changes occur (e.g. address changes, paternity is confirmed). Reference PA25-AC-07 for guidance on accurate address entry in FACES.
While the electronic case record only allows for two individuals to be given the role of parent/substitute it is important to assess, engage and plan with any adult (e.g. stepparents, legal guardians) serving in a parental role.
The Circuit Manager or designee is responsible for ensuring supervisor consults occur and are documented in the electronic case record. The designee should be a member of the local or regional management team.
If any concerns regarding the safety or well-being of the child becomes known during the consult, appropriate and immediate action should be taken. Any mandated reporter, with reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect, shall report such concerns to the child abuse and neglect hotline unit by making a report via the Online System for Child Abuse & Neglect (OSCR) or calling the hotline at 800-392-3738.
FACES Entry Requirements
Monthly consults must be entered into FACES by the supervisor (or designee) completing the consult. All template headings should be entered into a contact and corresponding case information listed under the appropriate heading. Documentation should be entered no later than three (3) business days after the consult occurs.
FACES entry guidelines:
- Location of Documentation: Alternative Care (AC) Monitoring —> Contact Communication Log
- Purpose: Case Consult with CD Staff
- Individuals Involved: Supervisor, case worker, and any others participating in the consult or discussion should be selected.
- Associated Functions: All associated functions the consult or discussion applies to should be selected.
4.10.4.2 Supervisor Discussions
There are a variety of other types of meetings needed during an AC case which require either in-depth or brief, situation-specific discussions between a worker and a supervisor. These do not replace the required monthly supervisor consults.
Below are common types of Supervisor discussions that occur in an AC case:
Case Opening: When staff are assigned a new case, the worker and supervisor should discuss the case prior to the 72-hour meeting occurring. The worker should utilize the information gathered during the case opening discussion and complete the Opening Summary in the Case Narrative screen in FACES.
The supervisor must review and approve the opening summary and case function within two (2) business days of worker submission.
When approving the Opening Summary, the supervisor must look for two parents in the Case Member screen. If two parents are not listed with a role of Parent/Substitute, the supervisor should address this with the worker to identify why. Supervisors should also confirm that individuals with the role of Parent/Substitute are individuals with the relationship of natural parent, legal parent or adoptive parent. If two parents are not identified for each child, the reason should be documented in the Opening Summary in the Initial Diligent Search on the Case Narrative Screen text box along with documentation of what is known about the parent, and efforts that have occurred to identify or locate the parent. Next steps for on-going diligent search or parental confirmation action steps should be established.
Refer to the following policies for additional information:
Section 4, Chapter 10 (Case Management Activities) – Overview
Section 5, Chapter 2, Subsection 8 (Specifics on Documentation in Case Management)
Case Transfer
When a case is transferred to a new worker, county, or agency, or there is a change in court jurisdiction, the current worker must document a summary of case activity up to the point of case transfer in the Transfer Summary in the Case Narrative screen in FACES. The receiving worker and supervisor must review the transfer summary information and seek additional information if needed in order to deliver cohesive services to the child/family.
Refer to the following policies for additional information.
Section 5, Chapter 4 (Case Record Transfer Procedures)
Psychotropic Medication Monitoring
Discussion between the supervisor and worker must occur once every 90 calendar days regarding psychotropic medication informed consent decisions.
Refer to the Psychotropic Medications-Initiation and Monitoring subsection found in Section 4, Chapter 4, Subsection 3—Medical and Behavioral Health Planning for specific information.
Special Circumstances
Special circumstances may occur which require important decisions to be made. These decisions require the supervisor to give guidance to the worker and should be documented in FACES with a notation of the type of conversation that occurred. Examples include, but are not limited to, an adoption staffing, missing youth, and placement concerns. These discussions should be entered into the Contact Communication log in FACES.
Case Closing
Prior to a case closing, the supervisor and worker should discuss how the family will be able to continue to ensure child safety and discuss the family’s awareness of necessary resources and supports. The supervisor should also be certain the worker is aware of required case closing actions and provide any needed instructions. The worker must enter a Closing Summary in the Case Narrative screen in FACES and complete the function closing within two (2) business days of the Court releasing custody of the child. The supervisor must review and approve the summary and function closing within two (2) business days after worker submission.
Refer to Section 4, Chapter 10, Subsection 5 (Case Closure) for specific information.
4.10.4.3 Casework Quality Assurance
Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the quality of casework. Supervisors should develop procedures to regularly review case documentation, observe and/or participate in FST meetings, and observe workers’ participation and testimony during court hearings. They should also ensure documentation is being entered in FACES, including but not limited to, opening, closing and transfer narratives, monthly worker-child and worker-parent visits, and visits the child has with siblings and other family.
Supervisors should provide constructive feedback, which assists the worker in improving their skill set; identifies both personal and case objectives and plans to achieve these goals; and provides strategies to enhance their effectiveness in meeting organizational performance measures.
Quarterly Visit Observations
Supervisors are required to partner with each of their workers a minimum of once per quarter to participate in and/or observe a worker-child or worker-parent visit. Additional observations will be conducted for newly onboarded workers and as deemed necessary based on individual worker performance. The quarters are defined as:
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
Feedback and Documentation
Case-specific information should be captured in the monthly supervisor consult documentation in FACES. Coaching related to knowledge and skill development should be captured in monthly Engage notes.
The Circuit Manager or designee is responsible for ensuring that this practice occurs. The designee should be a specialist or member of local or regional management.