The act appropriated the funds as follows    $9 million for CFSA, of which $2 million would be to establish an early  intervention program to provide intensive and immediate services to  foster children; $1 million would be to establish an emergency support  fund to purchase necessary items to allow children to remain in the  care of a licensed, approved family member; $3 million would be to  establish a student loan repayment program for caseworkers; and   $3 million would be to upgrade CFSA’s automated case management  system, known as FACES, to a Web-based system and to provide  computer technology to caseworkers;    $3.9 million for DMH to provide all court-ordered or agency-required  mental health screenings, assessments, and treatment to children in the  care of CFSA; and    $1.1 million for COG to develop a program in conjunction with the  Foster and Adoptive Parents Advocacy Center to provide respite care  for and recruitment of foster parents. CFSA Has Actively Recruited Caseworkers and Implemented Retention Strategies; however, Caseworkers Cited Management Practices That Adversely Affected Their Performance and Morale

CFSA has implemented various caseworker recruitment and retention  strategies; however, caseworkers told us about several management  practices that adversely affected their ability to perform their duties and  lowered their morale. CFSA successfully hired 147 new  caseworkers, which enabled the agency to exceed most of its staffing  goals and lower caseworkers’ caseloads. Experts in the child welfare community endorsed several of  these strategies. Required supervisory training. The quality of  supervision of caseworkers at CFSA is not a new issue. Agency officials said that they  are planning to develop policies and procedures for a formal rewards and  recognition program. CFSA Has Developed a Recruitment Plan and Established New Licensing Standards for Foster and Adoptive Homes, but More Foster Families than Expected Have Stopped Serving

CFSA has taken several steps to recruit and license an adequate supply of  safe foster and adoptive homes. The recruitment plan identifies  specific strategies for recruiting new families. Some Foster Children Remain in Unlicensed Homes

CFSA has taken a number of steps to ensure that children are placed in  licensed foster care homes, yet as of May 2004, 495 children—about   22 percent of children in CFSA’s care—were in unlicensed homes. CFSA Has Begun Collaborating to Centralize and Track Mental Health Services for Foster Care Children, but Challenges Remain to Ensuring Timely Delivery

CFSA has begun implementing a centralized mental health referral process  in collaboration with DMH and the Family Court and has developed a  database to track service delivery; however, challenges remain in meeting  the statutory timeframes for initiating services and for completing and  reporting on assessments. To increase the continuity of care between the  foster care and mental health systems, CFSA and DMH designed a  standard process for referring foster care children to DMH for mental  health assessment and treatment and for tracking service delivery. CFSA and  DMH began using the referral process in March 2004, and CFSA began  using its newly developed database for tracking service delivery in August  2004. While officials were able to report some of the data collected manually,  CFSA had not analyzed the information to determine whether foster care  children were receiving mental health services within the statutory  timeframes. DMH has made some progress in expanding its capacity to meet the  assessment and treatment needs of foster care children. For example,  CFSA officials meet with their evaluators to encourage them to contract   with DMH. Future Funding for Some of the Long-Term Projects in the Plan Is Uncertain

While the expenditures proposed in the District and COG spending plans  appear to be in line with the intentions of the act, it is unclear how the  District and COG plan to support all of the programs and initiatives  outlined in the spending plan in the long-term. As of June 30, 2004, Only a Small Portion of the $14 Million Had Been Obligated or Spent

The District and COG did not receive authority over their funding until   6 months into fiscal year 2004. Despite CFSA’s new efforts and  attention to recruiting foster and adoptive families, the agency does not  have a process for assessing the effectiveness of its recruitment efforts. Additionally,  CFSA does not have sufficient information about the reasons foster  families stop serving and leave the foster care system because it does not  have a process to solicit feedback from them. Specifically, we reviewed CFSA’s strategic and annual  plans for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 and CFSA’s recruiting and retention  plans for fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005. Additionally, we interviewed officials from the Adoption  Resource Center in Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Washington  Council of Governments (COG).
Why GAO Did This Study

The District of Columbia's Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is responsible for ensuring the safety and well being of about 3,000 children in its care and ensuring that services are provided to them and their families. In fiscal year 2003, CFSA's total budget was about $200 million. Concerns have been raised about CFSA's supply of caseworkers, the foster care and adoptive homes, and the quality and timeliness of mental health services for foster care children. To help address these issues, the Congress appropriated $14 million in fiscal year 2004 to CFSA, the Department of Mental Health (DMH), and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) specifically for foster care improvement. GAO examined CFSA's (1) strategies for recruiting, retaining, and managing its caseworkers; (2) efforts to license an adequate supply of safe foster and adoptive homes; and (3) efforts to collaborate with DMH and the Family Court to provide timely mental health services to foster care children. GAO also reviewed plans for and use of the federal foster care improvement funds.

What GAO Found

CFSA actively recruited caseworkers and implemented retention strategies; however, caseworkers cited several management practices they said lowered their morale and adversely affected their ability to perform their duties. CFSA employed several recruitment approaches recommended by a number of child welfare organizations and exceeded most of its staffing goals for fiscal year 2003. Caseworkers cited high salaries and the training for new caseworkers as factors that encouraged them to remain at CFSA. However, GAO found a general consensus among the caseworkers with which GAO met that some management practices--poor communication, a lack of resources, poor supervision, and no rewards and recognition program--adversely affected their performance and morale. Agency officials said they had made some changes and were planning to take other actions to address these issues. CFSA has developed goals and strategies for recruiting new foster and adoptive homes and improved licensing requirements. CFSA has made progress licensing new families, although more families have stopped serving than expected. Further, CFSA does not have processes for identifying the reasons foster parents stop serving or for determining the effectiveness of its recruitment strategies. CFSA has standardized and raised licensing requirements for all foster and adoptive homes, but as of May 2004, 308 foster homes were unlicensed, with about 22 percent of CFSA's foster children residing in them. CFSA has begun collaborating with DMH and the Family Court to centralize and track mental health services for foster care children, but challenges remain to ensuring timely delivery. CFSA and DMH designed a standard process for referring foster care children to DMH for assessment and treatment and for tracking service delivery. DMH has also started expanding its service capacity for foster care children. For example, it has begun recruiting additional evaluators to perform assessments. While CFSA began using a database to track service delivery in August 2004, it has not analyzed the service delivery data collected on paper prior to August 2004 to determine whether foster care children were receiving timely services. Additionally, CFSA and DMH still face certain challenges, such as integrating caseworkers and Family Court judges into the new referral process. CFSA, DMH, and COG have spending plans that are consistent with the statutory language providing the federal funds, but only a small portion of the foster care improvement funds had been obligated or spent as of June 2004, in part because funding was not received until March 2004. Further, it is unclear how the District and COG plan to support some of these programs in the long-term because future funding is uncertain.