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Contents
Purpose of the FASP Reference Guide
The FASP Reference Guide is designed to assist those who are responsible for completing, contributing to, and/or approving FASPs to do so in an effective and efficient manner. Use of this guide will help support case assessment, planning, decision making, legal actions, supervision, and documentation that are consistent with applicable casework standards. This guide is intended to make case plans more thorough, focused, consistent, and targeted to address the most significant needs of families and children that impact safety, permanency, and child well-being.
This guide can be useful, following appropriate training, as a job aid for completing FASPs once you are familiar with the underlying principles, protocols, and regulations that guide child welfare practice. However, this guide is not intended as a substitute for hands-on training on how to write FASPs. Nor is this guide meant to substitute for ongoing supervision, which provides caseworkers with guidance and feedback in making thorough, balanced assessments and sound decisions, and in implementing effective case-specific plans.
Who Should Use This Guide
The FASP Reference Guide may be helpful to any child welfare provider who has a role in completing, contributing to, reviewing, and/or approving FASPs. Regardless of one’s assigned CONNECTIONS role in a given case, (e.g., Case Manager, Case Planner, Case Worker).
This guide will assist FASP reviewers/approvers in determining whether specific questions have been answered accurately, thoroughly, and in a manner consistent with casework standards. When necessary, it can provide caseworkers with specific guidance for requesting additional information/clarification on a case or for providing feedback to the FASP author regarding the need to reframe or rewrite specific responses. This guide may also help supervisors provide constructive developmental feedback to workers about the focus, intensity, and direction of their casework activities, and the clarity and/or thoroughness of their documentation.
How to Use This Guide
This guide is organized into a series of modules that mirror the sections of the FASP tree. Each module begins with a brief introduction to the module, and rationale for that section of the FASP. FASP screen shots are paired with Quick Tips for completing each window, followed by more detailed information about what should be addressed within each window.
Family Assessment Service Plan Guide
Complete Guide
You may also use the Complete to search the entire document if you cannot find what you are looking for through the list of modules below.
Modules
Click on the module title in the table of contents below to open that specific module.
- Cover and Acknowledgement
- Table of Contents
- Introduction to the FASP Reference Guide
- CONNECTIONS Fundamentals
- The FASP
- Person List Window and Tracked Children Detail Window
- Family Update Window
- Safety Assessment
- Risk Assessment
- Strengths Needs and Risks Scales
- Foster Care Issues
- Non-LDSS Placement
- Family Assessment Analysis
- Service Plan
- Programmatic Eligibility
- Service Plan Review
Acknowledgment
This material was developed by the Professional Development Program, Rockefeller College, University at Albany, through the Research Foundation for SUNY, under a training and administrative services agreement with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
Disclaimer
While every effort has been made to provide accurate and complete information, the Office of Children and Family Services and the State of New York assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions in the information provided herein and make no representations or warranties about the suitability of the information contained here for any purpose. All information and documents are provided “as is,” without a warranty of any kind.