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

5 th Quarter DCOUMENTATION:
Reporting Form - Monthly Termination Legal Progress Report
6 th Quarter Report: The Monthly Termination Legal Progress Report was transmitted to Field Directors and County Directors on
February 19, 2004. The first reports were received in mid-March to document/track issues with completion of TPR petitions, hearings
and court orders. A system to compile the data will need to be completed in order to assess patterns and issues. However, this has not
delayed the goal of reporting issues that have caused delays with the Law Department.
6 th Quarter DOCUMENTATION:
Reporting Form-Monthly Termination Legal Progress Report and Instructions
E Mail to the Field Managers from Janet Oliva, Division Director
6 th Quarter Federal Response: Will you be able to compile the data needed to assess patterns and issues by July 2004?
E6: The State will need to continue to report progress until the system is fully implemented, particularly as this work is also referenced
in E22.
7 th Quarter Report: The state considers this action step achieved. County DFCS staff are submitting the new mandatory reporting
forms. The 1 st quarter documentation provided the protocol developed and the 5 th quarter documentation provided a copy of the
Monthly Termination Legal Progress Report form.
The reports for March, April and May have been received and reviewed by our Legal Services Office. It has been noted that delays in
filing petitions after DFCS referral to the SAAG is primarily concentrated in specific areas represented by a small percentage of the
SAAGs. Referrals have been made by our Legal Services Section to the Law Department to address these issues with the identified
SAAGs. The Law Department has been cooperative in addressing the concerns with the appropriate SAAGs and working with
individual SAAGs in corrective action or termination. In three counties action was taken to replace the SAAG or add new ones.
This action step, developed to enable the DFCS Legal Services Section to identify the SAAGs who were not timely in filing petitions
and preparing court orders in order to bring these issues to the attention of the Law Department, has been accomplished. This
accomplishment was made possible by the development of protocol and a system for the counties to report legal milestones to the
State DFCS Legal Service Section. The Division does not have an automated method to calculate the length of time from the SAAG
receiving the Legal Services Referral to filing of TPR; however, manual review of the form has enabled the state to identify areas of
concern. The state recognizes the advantages of an automated version of this system to more broadly assess pattern and trends.
Safe Futures – A Plan for Program Improvement
Georgia Department of Human Resources
November, 2004 Quarter 8 - Work Plan E Page 6