Funding to support keeping families together
Under the 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act, states, territories and tribes can spend Title IV-E dollars directly on the prevention of child abuse and neglect, with the goal of keeping families together and out of the child welfare system. The law is limited to four specific types of prevention activities: in-home parenting programs, mental health services, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and kinship navigator services. The act also created a new type of residential care setting, called Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP), for young people who need short-term services to stabilize before they return home or to a family-like setting.
Title IV-E Prevention PlanFAQQRTP and specialized careFamily Preservation in Oregon
Implementing FFPSA in Oregon
ODHS is committed to increasing families' access to supportive services prior to child welfare interventions so that more children can remain safely with their parents and kin caregivers. Quality prevention services and strong federal, state and community collaborations will be the foundations for Oregon's Family First implementation.
These services include:
- In-home, skill-based parent supports
- Mental health and substance use disorder treatment and prevention
- Kinship navigator programs
Oregon Title IV-E Prevention Plan
The Oregon Title IV-E Prevention Plan is the first step toward Oregon's goal of transforming to a prevention-oriented system. This plan was approved by the United States Children's Bureau on April 1, 2021.
Executive Summary Oregon Title IV-E Prevention Plan Overview Presentation
Frequently asked questions
The federal Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 changed the landscape of federal child welfare funding in significant ways to support children to remain safely in their homes and encourage family-based placement when foster care placement is necessary. The legislation expands opportunities to use research and data to drive decision making and direct funding to ensure that children and families receive the most effective services.
The Oregon Department of Human Services has deliberately engaged a diverse array of internal and external partners during planning and implementation of Family First. Workgroups, comprised of Child Welfare and Self-Sufficiency leaders, impacted youth, Tribes, birth parents, resource parents, community partners, and service providers are helping ensure many voices are included in Oregon's plan implementation.
We want to share what we're learning about how to best support families so they can stay together, stable and safe. Your feedback and input are valuable, and we will reach out as we continue to learn, grow and transform how we support families through this effort.
Please email us if you have questions or want to get involved.
The five year Oregon Title IV-E Prevention Plan was approved by the federal government in April 2021.
Oregon is utilizing the technical assistance of Casey Family Programs and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago to implement the Oregon Title IV-E Prevention Plan.
- A child who is a candidate for foster care but can remain safely at home or in kinship care and is identified as being at imminent risk of entering or re-entering foster care.
- Parents or kin caregivers where services are needed to prevent the candidate from foster care placement.
- A child whose adoption or guardianship arrangement is at risk of disruption or dissolution.
- A child in foster care who is pregnant or parenting.
Family First requires that in order to be eligible for 50 percent federal reimbursement, placement prevention services must be categorized as promising, supported or well-supported on the
Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse.
Services are reviewed by the federal government and, once approved, posted on the Clearinghouse. The services array review process is ongoing and services eligible for federal reimbursement are limited.
Implementation of Family First funding requires a robust continuous quality improvement process. We are taking a gradual implementation approach that will start modestly and scale up as lessons are learned and resources become available. Budget, scope, Clearinghouse rating, and evaluation needs were part of the considerations for what services are initially chosen for Title IV-E funding.
Oregon must commit 50 percent of the Title IV-E Prevention funds to services that are well-supported before other levels of services may be funded.
All services must be trauma-informed and evidenced-based with a rating of “promising”, “supported”, or “well-supported” as identified by the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse.
In-home parent skill-based programs
- Eligible parent skill-based programs and services include those that are psychological, educational or behavioral interventions or treatments that work directly with a parent or caregiver.
- Children may be present or involved, and contact with a parent or caregiver may be face-to-face, over the telephone or video, or online.
- Programs may be delivered in a traditional home environment or in a residential facility, shelter or prison where a parent or caregiver lives.
Mental health prevention and treatment services
- Family First eligible mental health services are those that aim to reduce or eliminate behavioral and emotional disorders or risk for such disorders.
- Programs and services may target any mental health issue and participants are not required to have a diagnosis.
- Eligible programs and services can be delivered to children and teens, adults or families.
Substance abuse prevention and treatment services
- Family First eligible substance abuse prevention and treatment programs and services are those that have an explicit focus on the prevention, reduction, treatment, remediation and/or elimination of substance use, misuse or exposure in general of alcohol, marijuana, illicit drugs, or misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
- Eligible programs and services can be delivered to children and teens, adults or families.
Kinship services
- If it is not possible to ensure the safety and well-being of a child or teen in their own home, a caseworker looks to family or friends willing to provide a temporary home while the parent or caregiver works to improve the situation at home. These families are known as “kinship families.”
- Any safe adult with an established and trusted relationship with a child or young person - grandmas, uncles, teachers, neighbors or even a friend’s parent - can be a kinship parent.
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When no kin is available, foster families provide a safe, temporary home for children or teens to grow up in while their parent addresses safety concern.
A kinship navigator program is a service model that assists kinship caregivers to learn about, find, and use programs and services to meet the needs of the children they are raising.
All kinship caregivers who are caring for children, regardless of child welfare involvement, are eligible.
Oregon is in the process of developing, evaluating and implementing its own Kinship Navigator program through a federal grant process. This program is overseen by Greater Oregon Behavioral Health and provides:
- A website and toll-free line for accessing information, education materials, referrals and supports.
- Outreach services and online support group
- A statewide advisory committee
Residential treatment: QRTP and other specialized care
Sometimes a child or young person needs short-term, clinically indicated treatment to provide the services and stability they need before they can safely return home or transition to placement in a family-like setting. The Family First Prevention Services Act created a new type of care setting called a
Qualified Residential Treatment Program or "QRTP." In Oregon, Senate Bill 171 requires residential placements occur in a Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP) setting, or in other approved specialized care settings in specific circumstances.
Below is a list of approved types of congregate care settings in which Oregon Department of Human Services Child Welfare can place a child or young person, effective July 1, 2020.
Qualified Residential Treatment Programs
- QRTP settings must be time-limited, trauma informed, judicially reviewed, and focused on engaging the child’s family during and after treatment, with the goal of preparing the child or young person for a swift return to family and community life.
Other specialized care settings
- Programs that provide prenatal, postpartum or parenting supports
- Independent Residence Facility for young adults age 18-21
- Programs that serve children who are at risk of becoming a victim of sex trafficking
- Psychiatric treatment programs
- Substance use disorder programs
- Specialized group homes for children with a developmental disability
- Specialized residential, family style settings
- Residential facilities or runaway and homeless facilities that provide short term assessment and stabilization services. The maximum continuous length of stay in this kind of program is 60 days, or 90 days cumulative in a 12-month period. If the residential facility serves youth served by the county juvenile department or committed to Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), children in the care and custody of ODHS cannot be placed in the program.
View a list of contracted programs that provide Behavior Rehabilitation Services in Oregon.
Oregon QRTP providers must:
- Engage the family in treatment planning and intervention.
- Provide access to 24-hour nursing in accordance with the treatment model.
- Provide six months of services for the child or teen and their family after they have transitioned out of the program.
- Be accredited by a national accrediting entity and licensed by the State of Oregon.