Probation: Setting the Stage for Quality Caseworker Visits

Since the federal passing of the Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 and California’s enactment of SB 342, federal and state legislation has established increasingly higher performance standards for probation and social worker visits with youth in out-of-home care. Federal and state guidelines have been implemented in relation to the frequency, location and quality of caseworker visits, which have been noted to have a strong correlation to positive outcomes for foster care youth.

This class is designed to provide a framework for understanding caseworker visits with foster youth and the required mandates. The class has a primary focus on best practice guidelines for quality visitation with children and youth, alternate care providers and parents or guardians.

Upon completion participants will be able to:
  • Recognize federal and state regulations for caseworker visits with youth in placement
  • Identify the link between the frequency and quality of visits to safety, placement stability, and permanency
  • Demonstrate strategies to address three areas of assessment: safety, permanency, and well-being
  • Demonstrate key elements of a quality visit
  • Identify how and where to document visitation requirements
Course Code
504713