Services
Child Protective Services
Family Preservation Programs
Adoption and Guardianship Program
Community Care Licensing
Foster Care for Children & Youth
Residential Care for Children & Youth
Alaska Children's Trust
Child Protective Day Care
Interstate Compact on the
Placement of Children (ICPC)
Independent Living Program
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Program
Family Nutrition Services (WIC) Program
The division strives to accomplish its mission by focusing
on four broad goals:
Child Safety
The child welfare system must protect children. All child welfare protective
activities and intervention must be toward the goal of protecting the
child from harm. In the provision of services the safety of the child
is always the first consideration in performing risk assessments, developing
case plans, and identifying services for children and families. Safety
of the child is paramount in all decisions effecting children.
Permanency for Children
Child welfare services must promote permanence for all children. All
children have a right to a permanent and safe home environment. The most
desirable plan for a child is to work with the family to remedy the conditions
that led to the child's safety concern. The Division has a firm commitment
to the concept of permanency planning and will strive to maintain the
child in his/her own home whenever possible, and when it is not possible,
the division will work steadfastly to promote an alternate permanent
home for the child. When appropriate, concurrent planning will be implemented
to expedite permanency for the child.
Cultural Continuity for Children and
Families
Child welfare services must be culturally competent. Cultural competence
is the capacity to relate with persons from diverse cultures in a sensitive,
respectful, and productive way. Sensitivity to a child and family's culture
is important throughout the child and family's experience with the Division.
As the state agency responsible for making decisions on behalf of children
and families from different cultural backgrounds, the Division has a
firm commitment to cultural competence. The Division's practice is guided
by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, the Multiethnic Placement Act,
and the NASW Code of Ethics. Preference is also given to culturally relevant
services, where available.
Child and Family Well-being
Child welfare services must be child-focused and family centered. It
is always in the child's best interests to remain with his or her own
family, if the family can be helped to provide an environment that provides
basic care and nurturance, and is safe from abuse and neglect. When children
have experienced maltreatment in whatever form or duration, they will
require remedial or treatment services. The Division is committed to
creating and maintaining strong linkages to the variety of service providers
who are partners in remedying the effects of abuse and neglect on a child
and changing the conditions in the family that led to the Division's
involvement with the family.
Supporting Families
The division provides funds to 28 not-for-profit agencies across the
state to provide family support services. There are three types of service
program options available: family support services, family preservation
services, and time-limited family reunification services. A description
of each service category is provided below.
Family Support Services are defined as community-based services to promote the safety and well-being
of children and families designed to increase the strength and stability
of families (including adoptive, foster and extended families) to increase
parents' confidence and competence in their parenting abilities, to afford
children a safe, stable and supportive family environment, and otherwise
to enhance child development.
Family Preservation Services are services for OCS referred clients that are designed to help children
and families (including adoptive, foster and extended families) at risk
or in crisis. These services include:
- intensive preplacement preventive services programs, designed to
help children at risk of foster care placement remain safely with their
families
- service programs designed to provide follow-up care to families to
whom a child has been returned after a foster care placement or after
a child abuse and neglect investigation has been substantiated
Time-Limited Family Reunification Services are defined as services
and activities for OCS referred clients that are provided to a child
that is removed from the child's home and placed in a foster family home
or a child care institution and to the parents or primary caregiver of
such a child, in order to facilitate the reunification of the child safely
and appropriately within a timely fashion, but only during the 15-month
period that begins on the date the child enters foster care.
Examples of services throughout the three types of program options include
the following:
- in-home visits, parent support groups, and other programs designed
to improve parenting skills (by reinforcing parents' confidence in
their strengths, and helping them to identify where improvement is
needed and to obtain assistance in improving those skills) with respect
to matters such as child development, family budgeting, coping with
stress, health and nutrition
- structured activities involving parents and children to strengthen
the parent-child relationship
- drop-in centers to afford families opportunities for informal interaction
with other families and with community- based staff
- information and referral services to refer families to other community
services, including child care, health care, nutrition programs, education
and literacy programs, and mentoring services
- early developmental screening of children to assess the needs of
such children, and assistance to families in securing specific services
to meet those needs
- services to improve parenting skills (by reinforcing parents' confidence
in their strengths, and helping them to identify where improvement
is needed and to obtain assistance in improving those skills) with
respect to matters such as child development, family budgeting, coping
with stress, health, and nutrition
- intensive Home Based Services for High Risk Families (May include
both cases where there is a high risk of removal and cases where a
separation has occurred and there is a need for preparation for reunification;
minimum of eight hours per week; 24 hour availability)
- non-intensive Home Based Services (minimum of two hours per week
or two visits per week) (Home Based Services includes household management,
child management, physical care, supervision, communication techniques,
problem solving and coping skills, parenting classes or instruction)
- crisis intervention and mediation services for runaways and their
families
- respite care for OCS referred clients (including birth parents,
foster parents, and relative caregivers)
- individual, group and family counseling
- inpatient or residential substance abuse services for children placed
with their parents
- mental health treatment services for children and families
- child Sexual Abuse Intervention and Treatment for victims, victims
families and offenders, outreach services to non-abusive parents
- assistance to address domestic violence
- services designed to provide temporary child care
- transportation to or from any of the services and activities above
- case conferences or case review meetings with OCS
- supervised visitations when children are physically removed from
their parents and the case plan for the family only allows supervised
visitation (written observation required)
Child Protective Services
The purpose of Child Protective Services (CPS) is to identify,
treat, and reduce child abuse and neglect, as well as to ensure that
reasonable efforts are made to protect and maintain children in their
own homes.
The OCS staff provide protective services for children by:
Community Care Licensing
The licensing of community care facilities is a preventive service that reduces predictable risks to the health, safety and well-being of children in out-of-home care. Licensing requirements establish acceptable standards of care, while the licensing and monitoring processes provide support and quality control services to the care providers.
OCS has statutory responsibility for the licensing of:
OCS may enter into an agreement with a local agency to evaluate and inspect community care foster homes.
Residential Care for Children and Youth
Residential care facilities provide treatment services within a therapeutic
environment that is staffed 24 hours a day. Residential care facilities
may offer short-term emergency shelter as well as more long-term residential
treatment. Placement in a residential facility is for a specified period
of time, and generally occurs only after less restrictive placement options
have been found inappropriate or have been exhausted.
Child Protective Day Care
Child Protective Day Care services provide day care to children of families
where the children are at risk of being abused or neglected. The services
are designed to lessen that risk by providing child care relief, offering
support to both the child and the parents, monitoring for occurring or
reoccurring maltreatment, and providing role models for the parents.
Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children (ICPC)
The Interstate Compact On The Placement of Children (ICPC) is a uniform
law in all 50 States that establishes procedures for the interstate placement
of children. The ICPC also places specific responsibilities on those
involved in placing the children. The three principle goals of the ICPC
are to: