The method included an examination of the literature and interviews with three case workers currently employed with CFSA and two families who have received care from this department. This was done to highlight the structure of the department responsible for family services and to identify strengths and weaknesses. The Alberta Progressive Conservative party's Minister of Children's Services and the opposition critic in the Liberal party were also contacted in an effort to gain information from both parties. All interviews were conducted with a written agreement to confidentiality.

The needs of families and children in Alberta are at the forefront of the new system and the recommendations that emerged from the review of Family Services starting in 2001 have been implemented. These include the addition of the Family Enhancement Stream, an emphasis on greater parental responsibility and an increased effort to keep families together. There are several areas where improvements could still take. These include budget increases, re-structuring of hierarchies and processes, follow-up with families from a familiar person and being more responsive and supportive to caseworkers.

Alberta Child and Family Services

Process Used

In Calgary over 70,000 calls are screened by the Social Services Response Team (SSRT) every year. These calls are responded to by recommending outside resources, answering questions over the phone or if further assessment is required referral either to Core Protection (CP) or Family Enhancement (FE). Approximately 8500 assessments are done yearly within the Calgary division of CFSA (CORE 603.02 class notes January 2005). During the initial assessment with either CP or FE case workers, two plans are developed with the family, Plan A includes resources and services that will be utilized in order to support the family in staying together. Plan B is what happens if Plan A does not work and the children need to be apprehended (concurrent planning). This was developed in order to shorten the times to apprehension from 2 or 3 years to 15-18 months (personal correspondence - March 12, 2005).

Philosophical underpinnings of Case Management Style

The recent changes to legislation and the results of the Child Welfare Review have lead to a style of case management called differential response.

The underlining principles are:

• Recognizing the importance of community supports
• Promoting the strengths of the family
• Well-being of children and youth
• Individualized services unique to the child
• Early intervention
• Collaboration and action based on common goals

System's Structure

A hierarchy exists within Alberta Child and Family Services. Caseworkers claim:

"There is little or no boat-rocking as supervisors are worried about job security. They are not unionized and therefore tend to tow the line when making requests of the minister. All decisions are made by bureaucrats with no input from frontline staff. If there is a hot political issue it may affect funding" (personal correspondence-- March 8, 2005).

Decisions are made from the top down; staff have no input at supervisors' evaluation time and feel that their opinions are not a part of the decision making process (personal correspondence-- March 8, 2005).

Child and Family Services Authorities are 100 per cent government-funded. Front-line workers can recommend changes or ask for funding for services but it is at the discretion of the worker's supervisor to send recommendations to the manager, and the manager to send to the Minister.

Professional Issues

Caseworkers are expected to provide efficient and effective services to either high risk or families in crisis. Services must be cost effective and fall within the limits of the legislation and policies governing them. Caseworkers are accountable on many levels, to the children and families, to their superiors (supervisors, managers and ministry), and to the public under the scrutinous eye of the media. Caseworkers have to follow the ethical guidelines as outlined in their policy manuals and maintain confidentiality and respect for their clients while reporting to psychologists, schools, family therapists and the courts. Caseworkers have to be sensitive to cultural issues, particularly aboriginal as many children accessing services in Alberta are First Nations and MŽtis children. (Alberta Children's Services (ACS) 2002). Caseworkers must be able to adapt to changes in policy or procedure while maintaining consistency of service and balancing heavy caseloads, often without support from supervisors (personal correspondence-- March 8, 2005).

Caseworkers have to establish trust with a family in a very short period of time in order to motivate the family to continue with services. They need to enable and empower families to ensure they have a voice in the decisions being made (Dunst, Trivette, & Deal 1988). They must also help families navigate through the complexities of the systems with which they must engage (i.e., the courts, health and education) (Mullahy, 2004).

Supporting Alberta's Families and Children

In 1999 Premier Ralph Klein agreed to endorse the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child. Previous to this date Alberta refused to comply on the basis that the convention interfered with the authority of parents. This endorsement required all parties to submit reports prepared by non-governmental organizations on the government's performance and support of children's rights. The results of Alberta's review revealed that the Child Welfare Act needed revisions in order to support children's rights more in line with the convention's recommendations (Pellatt & The Civil Liberties Research center 1999). The publication of this report may have been the motivation for the provincial government's initiatives to fully review and revise the provision of services to Alberta's children and families. Previous to this the Child Welfare system in Alberta had not undergone a significant review since 1985. Many of the highlighted weaknesses from Pellatt's report have been addressed and amended in the new Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act and with differential response.

Strengths of the Current System

The strengths highlighted below were determined using the reports from the Alberta Government's assessment of services for families in 2001 and from interviews with frontline staff employed within this department.

a). The existing strengths within a family are assessed and used to build a plan that is child centered. The new Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act R.S.A. 2000, c. C-12 highlights several matters to be considered when implementing services for children and families in need. They include:

• The best interests of the child must be considered
• Stable, nurturing, permanent relationships must be established for the child
• There must be focus on collaboration and a multi-disciplinary approach
• There must be emphasis on placing children with extended family members and within their communities
• If there is domestic violence within the family, support must be given to the family and an attempt made to keep the child with their parents (ACS 2004).

b). Families have access to services that have been documented to produce positive results: mediation, kinship care, and support for foster parents and children in foster care (Hawkins & Bland, 2002; McDonald, Burgess & Smith, 2003; Zlotnick, Kronstadt & Klee, 1999). Differential response has created the Family Enhancement stream which did not exist under the old system, Families who were in need of services but were considered low-risk had their cases closed. Now caseworkers can work with families in their homes to offer education, training, and connections to community resources. This was established to address family needs before they became high risk and in need of protection services (ACS 2003).

c). The office of the Child & Youth Advocate is responsible for ensuring that children's rights are protected while they receive support from CFSA. Children are provided with information regarding accessing this service in their initial meeting with a caseworker. This service has been available to children since 1989 and the Enhancement Act requires caseworkers to ensure that children are educated about this service in a way that they can understand. The Child and Youth Advocate's office also provides education and training to individuals and organizations interested in "advocating for vulnerable children and families" (Child and Youth Advocate 2005).

Weaknesses of Current System

Despite the many improvements to services within CFSA many issues still exist. Weaknesses were identified by three caseworkers employed within CFSA and from two families who have received services from this department. A review of the literature provides support wherever possible.

a. Frontline staff are expected to develop two plans with the family during their initial meeting in the event that the family is unable to comply a plan to remove the child is already in place. According to the Alberta Response this was implemented in order to shorten the time that children must spend in neglectful or abusive environments (ACS 2003). What this often does is hinder the caseworkers ability to establish trust with their clients. Parents are intimidated by a professional who may potentially take away their children if they do not comply (personal correspondence - March 8, 2005). Fazil, Wallace, Singh, Ali & Bywaters (2004) discuss the inevitability of power differentials between professionals and their clients. They argue that trust between families and a service provider is essential for successful practice and it is the job of the caseworker or professional to ensure that this trust is established.

b. CFSA is 100% government funded and is hierarchical in nature. Frontline staff feel very separated from decision making and often times are not supported by their supervisors who are busy with administrative duties. Yank & Barber (1994) discussed the hierarchical nature of mental health systems and determined that communication between frontline staff and managers within these systems is often distorted and misinterpreted. They also reported that staff often do not wish to create tension, and so feedback is often not representative of reality.

c. Concurrent planning and differential response have created redundancy and duplication. Twice as many forms need to be filled out which takes up twice as much time. "I would happily take on a higher case load and reduce waiting times for families than have to do twice as much paperwork" (personal correspondence - March 8, 2005). Frontline staff often see management's requirement of extra paperwork as an indication that their judgments are not trusted. This results in staff members feeling as if they are being controlled and results in a loss of autonomy and low morale (Yank & Barber 1994).

d. Major contributors to stress levels for social workers have been identified as insufficient funding, work overload, limited decision making power, insufficient recognition and poor management support. Social workers who work with families in crisis experience higher stress levels and burnout rates than other social workers and greater stress is added when there are statutory responsibilities (Coyle, Edwards, Hannigan, Fothergill & Burnard 2005). Caseworkers have worked very hard with limited budgets to implement the changes to Child and Family services in Alberta under the new legislation and policies. This has lead to staff feeling overstressed and underappreciated (personal correspondence Ð March 8, 2005).

e. There have been great improvements in the areas of assessment of families and setting up supportive community based plans with them. There is still improvement needed with follow-up. Currently, professionals are mandated to meet with children and families in person, only once per month and resolution is expected after three months (personal correspondence - March 13, 2005). Children involved with Core Protection may contact their caseworker by phone any time but there is no certainty of face-to-face contact. Once the file is closed there is no guarantee that families will work with the same person should they require support in the future. Access to someone familiar on a regular basis is critical for success (Zlotnick et al 1999).

Discussion

Based on the weaknesses within the current system many opportunities for change emerge. Rapp & Goscha (2004) identified the following as being critical for successful case management with high needs families:

• small case loads,
• use of paraprofessionals
• service should be time unlimited (if possible),
• access to someone familiar 24/7,
• case managers should foster choice and act as advocates for their clients

Based on the provincial government's expectations of staff to implement change without additional funding, it is not realistic to expect smaller caseloads in Alberta. Additional government funding would be needed to hire and train more staff. Since this is unlikely to happen, an examination of the redundancy and duplication of forms highlighted by staff members could be streamlined in order to reduce the time that staff spend doing paperwork and increase the amount of time spent with clients.

Currently, face-to-face contact occurs only once per month, after three months families are left without personal contact. One caseworker has chosen to provide families with her direct work phone number. She feels it is important for families to be able to contact a familiar person if they need additional support in the long-term. She has found that this has lead to fewer families re-entering the system through the calls lines, and has empowered parents as they do not feel abandoned once formal service has ended (personal correspondence - March 12, 2005).

Paraprofessionals have proven to be very helpful to persons receiving services (Craig, Doherty, Jamieson-Craig, Boocock & Attafua, 2004). This is a cost effective, creative and empowering way to provide support by illustrating real life proof that success is possible. With proper support from trained supervisors this experience is beneficial to both the children and families receiving support and also to the paraprofessional who is providing it. The two families interviewed indicated that the system as a whole was "pretty helpful" but that they often felt intimidated by staff and inundated by paper work. They felt that fewer "experts" and more support from people who had been through the same thing would have been valuable. Families indicated that once their "time was up" they felt cut-off and would have benefited from more follow-up and contact with their original case worker (personal correspondence March 18, 2005: March 19, 2005).

Caseworkers should be supported in their roles as advocates for better funding for qualified psychologists and for improved relationships with lawyers and court officials. "Interdisciplinary collaboration between law and social work is an effective means to advocate for children caught in ... high conflict family law matters" (Birnbaum & Royal, (2003 p.385). Funding for CFSA is very limited and is not able to pay qualified psychologists as much as private agencies; as a result the number of psychologists willing to work in high needs areas for lower pay is shrinking (personal correspondence March 8, 2005).

Conclusion

Child and Family Services in Alberta have undergone many changes and improvements to the way it supports families. The current system is family centered and responsive to the needs of children. Much time and effort went into studying, surveying, analyzing research and interviewing families in order to improve access to services and reduce barriers. The process of assessing families' needs and utilizing community resources has seen enhancements. However, an examination of the weaknesses of the current system reveals several areas that still need improvement.

Follow up with families by someone familiar and the use of paraprofessionals could ensure that families are motivated to improve and continue with services. They should feel empowered by the system not intimidated by it.

Staff need to feel as though they are a part of the decision making process and have a voice with their supervisors and the Ministry. Social workers who work with families and children in crisis work under very stressful conditions. They need to be properly supported and acknowledged in order to improve staff morale and prevent burnout.

Alberta is a diverse province with many families whose needs are constantly changing. We have seen great population growth that will likely continue. If responsiveness to the needs of Alberta's families is to continue to be a priority of the provincial government the voices of both families and caseworkers need to be heard and reacted to. This bureaucratic system needs to streamline the amount of paper work required and the administrative detailing it does in order to put the priorities of Alberta's families and the workers who support them at the forefront. Collaboration with court systems and lawyers as well as psychologists and community resources should be strengthened in order to ensure that families receive speedy resolution and good quality care.

Finally, reviews of the system and its effectiveness should be conducted more often than every seventeen years in order to ensure that services to Alberta's diverse families are effective & supportive.

References

Alberta Children's Services (2003). Alberta response model: Transforming outcomes for children and youth Retrieved March 1, 2005 from University of Calgary Website: www.ucalgary.ca/library

Alberta Children's Services (2002). Aboriginal Children & Families. Government Report

Alberta Children's Services Website (2005). Retrieved March 1, 2005 from: www.child.gov.ab.ca

Alberta Child & Family Services (June 2004). New directions in child welfare: Overview of significant changes in the child, youth and family enhancement act. In New Directions a Community Symposium. Held in Calgary, Alberta, July 21, 2004.

Alberta Child and Family Services (June 2004). Strengthening families, children, and youth: report and recommendations from the child welfare act review. In: New Directions: A Community Symposium. Held in Calgary, AB, July 21, 2004.

Birnbaum, R. & Moyal, D. (2003). How social workers and lawyers collaborate to promote resolution in the interests of children: The interface between law in theory and law in action. Canadian Family Law Quarterly 21, 379-390.

Calgary & Area Child and Family Services Authority (2005) Children's Services Overview, Class notes CORE 603.07. January 2005.

Craig, T., Doherty, I., Jamieson-Craig, R., Boocock, A., & Attafua, G. (2004). The consumer employee as a member of a mental health assertive outreach team: Clinical and social outcomes. Journal of Mental Health, 13, (1) 59-69.

Dunst, C., Trivette, C., & Deal, A., (1988). Enabling and empowering families: Principles and guidelines for practice. Cambridge: Brookline Books.

Hawkins, C.A., & Bland, T. (2002). Program evaluation of the CREST project: Empirical support for kinship care as an effective approach to permanency planning. Child Welfare 81, (2) 271-292.

McDonald, P.S., Burgess, C. & Smith, K. (2003). A Support team for foster carers: The views and perceptions of service users. British Journal of Social Work 33, 825-832.

Mullahy, C. (2004) Case managers handbook 3rd ed. Sudbury, Mass: Jones & Bartlett

Rapp, C., & Goscha, R. (2004). The principles of effective case management of mental health services. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 27, (4) 319-333.

Zlotnick, C., Kronstadt, D., & Klee, L. (1999). Essential case management services for young children in foster care. Community Mental Health Journal 35, (5) 421-430.

Submitted by

Katrina Milaney; Email: kmilaney@ucalgary.ca