Montana Office of the Public Defender

The document outlines the Child and Family Services Division's Health Care Oversight and Coordination Plan for 2025-2029. Its core purpose is to ensure comprehensive, high-quality, and coordinated medical, mental health, and developmental services for children in foster care. Key strategic areas include implementing initial and follow-up health screenings, establishing protocols to prevent inappropriate diagnoses, enhancing data sharing across various systems, and strengthening supervisor training. A significant focus is placed on rigorous oversight of psychotropic medication use through programs like MPIBH, which involves monitoring, educational interventions, and specific protocols for young children. The plan also details medical necessity and eligibility criteria for Therapeutic Group Homes (TGH), Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF), and Developmental Disability (DD) services, alongside defining Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) criteria.

This Annual Progress and Services Report details the efforts of the Department of Public Health and Human Services Child and Family Services Division (CFSD) in Montana to achieve its vision of 'Keeping Children Safe and Families Strong'. The report outlines progress and challenges across key areas including child safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes, as well as systemic factors such as information systems, case review processes, quality assurance, staff training, service development, community responsiveness, and foster/adoptive parent recruitment. A significant focus is placed on addressing the disparity for American Indian children in the child welfare system and enhancing collaboration with Tribal communities and other stakeholders.

This document outlines the Child and Family Services Division's diligent recruitment plan for foster and adoptive parents, covering the period from 2025 to 2029. The plan focuses on strategies for recruiting and retaining kinship and licensed providers, ensuring comprehensive training for resource families, and providing ongoing support and resources. Key areas include specific recruitment efforts for kinship providers, Native American youth, and children with serious emotional disturbances, as well as detailing training requirements for Child Placing Agencies and Youth Congregate Care Facilities. The overarching goal is to secure sufficient, well-trained resource families, improve placement stability, and reduce timelines to licensure and permanency for children in out-of-home care.

The Annual State Plan Report of the Child and Family Services Division focuses on collaboration with various agencies and stakeholders to enhance child and family well-being. Key areas include improving safety outcomes by reducing maltreatment and recurrence, increasing permanency through timely reunification and adoption, and enhancing family capacity through comprehensive service provision. The plan also addresses workforce development, quality assurance, and responsiveness to community needs, with a strong emphasis on data-driven decision-making and continuous quality improvement.

The Montana Child and Family Services Program Improvement Plan focuses on improving child safety, permanency, and well-being by addressing systemic factors such as high caseloads, staff turnover, and insufficient training. Key strategies include establishing a supportive learning culture, enhancing family-centered practices through meaningful engagement, and improving service arrays through partnerships. The plan aims to reduce child abuse and neglect by coordinating services, promoting early interventions, and tailoring supports for affected families, with a vision of keeping children safe and families strong.