CHILD WELFARE MANUAL

Section 5, Chapter 2 (Documentation), Subsection 8 – Specifics on Documentation in Case Management

Effective Date:  5-1-19

 

In addition to the information listed in previous parts of this chapter, the following section pertains specifically to Case Management (FCS and AC).

It will be necessary to utilize the following recording guidelines to organize the massive amounts of information sometimes assembled by the Children’s Service Worker.

FACES data entry refers to the written documentation compiled and included in the case record to describe casework activity. This documentation will be written in a specific format that includes the following elements:  an opening summary, case contacts, quarterly progress summaries, a closing summary (when terminating services), and a transfer summary (when transferring an open case to another worker or county).

These elements are defined below and are used to document the Children’s Service Worker’s efforts to address and eliminate the safety concerns placing child(ren) at risk of abuse or neglect.

  • Opening Summary – a brief descriptive summary used when opening a case. Certain fields are required to be completed in FACES.
  • Case Contacts – contacts made during the day to day course of service provision. This documentation should be succinct and relevant to the case work. These contacts shall be entered within seven (7) days of the contact occurring.
  • Quarterly Progress Summary – a treatment-focused summary completed quarterly to summarize progress made towards treatment goals. Quarterly summaries should reflect the work done during that specific quarter. The quarters are defined as follows:

 

Dates Covered

Date Summary Due

1st Quarter

January 1 – March 31

April 1

2nd Quarter

April 1 – June 30

July 1

3rd Quarter

July 1 – September 30

October 1

4th Quarter

October 1 – December 31

January 1

 

Note: if a case has just been opened at the end of a quarter, a summary is still due for that case.  It is recognized that in this event, the summary will be brief (there is no need to repeat case opening reasons as this is recorded in the opening summary).

For a contract entry to count in FACES as the quarterly summary, it must have the purpose of “Quarterly Summary” and be dated within the date range the summary covers. For example, a worker receives an alert on January 1 about the previous quarter (Oct-Dec).  The worker writes a contact entry on that day.  The contact must have a purpose of “Quarterly Summary” and be dated October 1 to December 31. 

It is suggested that if the summary is written after the alert date, then the date of the last day of the quarter be used on the contact (Dec 31 in the previous example). If the summary is written prior to the alert, use the date the summary is written.  If the summary is written too far prior to the end of the quarter, the information will not be as current and therefore it is more likely key information could be missed.

  • Transfer Summary – a summary of case activity up to the point of case transfer.
  • Closing Summary – a summary completed when terminating services with a family.

These elements shall be completed no more than seven (7) days after their occurrence. A case transfer summary shall be completed prior to the date of the transfer.