The Child Welfare Fiscal Academy offers training opportunities and resources for California county child welfare fiscal and program representatives, which include all System of Care partners. We invite you to include us in your learning by exploring available resources and scroll down this page for current course offerings. The training opportunities listed here are sponsored by the California Department of Social Services, in close cooperation with UC Davis Human Services
Fiscal Academy News and Announcements
New Resources and Desk Guides!
We have an exciting announcement! The Foster Care Eligibility, Kin-GAP and Juvenile Court Participant Guides, developed in partnership with CDSS, are now available for download below.
The guides include a comprehensive review of all current state and federal foster care eligibility regulations. We encourage you to share them with your colleagues and utilize them to best support your practice and your county's needs.
Courses
Courses Available in:
Level of Care Protocol (LOC)
As part of Continuum of Care Reform, the Level of Care (LOC) Protocol is a placement rate methodology designed to identify the individual care and supervision needs of a child or youth, which are translated to an appropriate LOC rate to support their placement. Care and supervision needs are identified based on five Core Domains (Physical, Behavioral/Emotional, Educational, Health and Permanency/Family Services) and scored based on a weighted point system. The Level of Care Protocol has been developed for use by county child welfare and probation placement workers.
- Access our LOC resource page
- Enroll in an upcoming training (offered through our Fiscal Academy)
Webinars
Upcoming Events
Coming soon!
Past Events
- Fiscal Academy Webinar
- Wednesday, August 21, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
What's New: A Sneak Peek at Fiscal Academy Courses
Watch the webinar recording | View the accompanying PowerPoint handout
RCFFP is excited to share our latest course offerings and resources to Fiscal Academy! Our new courses cover foster care eligibility funding and various other funding streams critical to the claiming process.
We are also excited to announce and share that we have created three (3) comprehensive practice and policy guides pertaining to Foster Care Eligibility, developed in partnership with and approved by CDSS. We are hopeful that these guides will support county foster care eligibility staff to enhance their knowledge about AFDC-FC, Kin-Gap programs, Juvenile Court, and support the county's goal to improve their overall accuracy in foster care eligibility determinations, ensuring appropriate funds are drawn for youth in foster care.
Join us for this upcoming webinar where we will provide a high-level overview of these courses and what you can expect to gain from them.
Presenters:
Elizabeth "Lizzy" Dembosz is a Public Education Specialist with the Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice at UC Davis Human Services. She has worked in human services for over 10 years, where she started her career as a rehabilitation specialist in the mental health field, supporting youth in- and out-of-home care. Dembosz transitioned to child welfare services as a social worker and supervisor for five years. she has specialized expertise in Safety Organized Practice, voluntary family maintenance, and child and family teaming. She is passionate about best practices in teaming, collaboration and engagement, and she fuels this passion by coaching and training human services professionals.
Jerelyn Bourdage, M.S.W., LCSW, is a public education specialist with the Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice at UC Davis Human Services. Bourdage worked in the field of child welfare for over 22 years, delivering direct practice to children, youth and families in multiple programs, provided Safety Organized Practice coaching and best practice support to line staff and leadership and managed policies and procedures as a policy analyst. - County Fiscal Letter Webinar
- Wraparound Program Comprehensive Claiming Instructions - County Fiscal Letter (CFL) 20/21-94
Watch the webinar recording
This webinar walks participants through County Fiscal Letter (CFL) 20/21-94 entitled Updated Comprehensive Claiming Instructions for the Wraparound Program, which includes claiming Wraparound expenses via the County Expense Claim (CEC) and County Assistance Claim (CA-800) processes. The focus audience is primarily county child welfare and probation agencies, but behavioral health, providers and other system partners are encouraged to view to learn more about accessing child welfare funds for Wraparound programs.
Resources and Desk Guides
New Desk Guides!
Now available for download:
Foster Care Eligibility Desk Guide
Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP) Desk Guide
Juvenile Court Foster Care Eligibility Desk Guide
- Learn more about the guides
Our Foster Care Eligibility, Kin-GAP, and Juvenile Court Participant Guides were developed in partnership with CDSS. The guides include a comprehensive review of all current state and federal foster care eligibility regulations, and include sections highlighting the following:
- Definitions
- List of common forms & links to the forms
- Abbreviations and acronyms
- Title IV-E Review Tool
- Information about the impact of Family First Prevention Services Act and Continuum of Care Reform to the foster care eligibility funding programs
- Supplemental Programs
These desk guides also emphasize the importance of teaming and collaboration and cultural awareness when working with children and families. These desk guides are designed for versatile use. We encourage you to share them with your colleagues and utilize them in ways that best support your practice and your county’s needs. Additionally, these guides will serve as supplemental learning materials in our foster care eligibility courses.