an overview georgia program improvement plan - Department of ...

1 st Quarter Response: In May of 2002, the DHR Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program hosted the 5 th Annual Safe Families
Symposia. The fifth in a series of statewide training and technical assistance conferences, the Symposium provided an opportunity for
241 front line workers, supervisors and community based services providers to expand their practice skills in the areas of assessment
driven, family centered practice. The Safe Families Symposium Series has been designed to enhance the practice, supervisory and
management skills needed to improve the quality of community-based supports, services and outcomes for children and families. In
direct response to CFSR Systemic Factor -- Item 35 Service Array, training offerings for the 2002 Symposium addressed the
practice improvement recommendations of federal and state child welfare experts identified in Georgia's CFSR. Improving
Outcomes: Comprehensive Assessment and Individual Family Action Plans was developed and delivered by the Child Welfare
Policy and Practice Group, Montgomery Alabama. Designed to improve the practice skills of front line workers and direct service
providers, the training offered an intensive overview of the interlocking steps necessary to assess and respond through service
coordination, to the underlying family needs which create safety concerns for children. Topics covered included strengths-based
assessment and solution focused interviewing techniques.
2 nd Quarter Response: In May of 2003, the DHR Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program hosted the 6 th Annual Safe Families
Symposia. The sixth in a series of statewide training and technical assistance conferences, the Symposium provided an opportunity for
280 front line workers, supervisors and community based services providers to expand their practice skills in the areas of assessment
driven, family centered practice. The Safe Families Symposium Series has been designed to improve the quality of community-based
supports and services and outcomes for children and families.
In direct response to CFSR Systemic Factor -- Item 35 Service Array, training offerings for the 2003 Symposium addressed the
assessment practice improvement recommendations of federal and state child welfare experts identified in Georgia's CFSR.
Workshop Offerings at the 2003 Symposium included:
Substance Abuse and Family Functioning developed and delivered by OASIS Counseling Center, was designed to explore
behaviors, patterns and lifestyle habits typically seen in substance abusing families and presenting family issues. Additional workshop
offerings included identification of the relational dynamics present in families affected by parental substance abuse, discussion of the
disease concept of addiction, symptoms that make up the diagnosis of chemical dependency and the components of the alcohol and
drug assessment.
Mental Health Issues and Families in Crisis delivered by Judy Plecko, Director of Family Support and Social Work at the Marcus
Institute of Emory University trained participants on how to assess the major behavioral indicators of mental illness in a family
system, specific mental/brain disorders and effective interventions for improving family resiliency;
Dynamics of Domestic Violence, delivered by Nancy Grigsby, Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic
Violence focused on the child welfare implications of domestic violence, patterns of abuse and barriers to violence-free households,
including victim and child socialization, effects of trauma and childhood abuse. The training provided valuable insight into working
with families impacted by domestic violence from assessing the danger to coordinated intervention including, screening, risk
assessment, child impact, safety and case planning and coordination of family resources.
Safe Futures – A Plan for Program Improvement
Georgia Department of Human Resources
November, 2004 Quarter 8 – Work Plan Q Page 5