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RUNNING HEAD: AGENCY PROFILE

Agency Profile
Maggie ONeal
February 11, 2015
Wilmington University, AHS8100

AGENCY PROFILE
Agency Profile
I am completing my internship at the Division of Family Services Weekend/Holiday Unit
in Milford, Delaware. I attend my internship every Saturday for approximately ten hours. The
Division of Family Services is the State of Delawares child protection agency. The Mission of
the Division of Family Services is to promote the safety and well-being of children and their
families through prevention, protection, and permanency. The vision is that our children are our
future and our responsibility, (Department of Services for Children, Youth, & Their Families:
Division of Family Services, 2015).
The average age of a child involved with the Division of Family Services is 9 years old.
Approximately 53% of all clients are African American. Ninety percent of the Divisions clients
are in-home services cases. These cases are families who require assistance in obtaining
resources to maintain their independence. Resources they may need help in locating are mental
health services, drug and alcohol services, daycare, etc. Once families successfully engage with
these services, they are usually able to have their cases closed and they can continue their
services on their own.
In 2013 alone, over 17,000 reports of child abuse were received at the hotline. Of those,
8,000 were accepted for investigation and 1,500 of those were substantiated cases. Of
substantiated cases, 46% were due to neglect, 36% were due to physical abuse, and 11% were
due to sexual abuse. There are currently 700 children in foster care in the State of Delaware.
This number includes children placed with relatives, children in residential treatment facilities,
and children in group homes.
In the Division of Family Services, we have undertaken a new approach called
Outcomes Matter. This effort has been led by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, who had

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members here for approximately two years to guide us and help us develop proper policies and
procedures. This approach is dedicated to keeping the child as the main focus in our work and in
every effort. A policy put in place recently is Structured Decision Making. At the intake level,
this policy instituted a screening tool which allows intake and hotline workers to answer
appropriate questions regarding whether reports of abuse and neglect are intrafamilial, whether
they are physical, what kind of injury, whether there is neglect present, whether it is
abandonment or failure to protect, etc. After answering all of the sections in the tool, it is then
possible to come to a final screening decision. The possibilities are: screen out, priority one
(response within 24 hours), priority two (response within 3 days), or priority three (response
within 10 days).
Another policy recently implemented is Team Decision Making. This is a meeting which
is held when the possibility of custody seems imminent. The caseworker makes a referral to the
Team Decision Making Facilitator. On the referral, are all involved and interested parties. A
meeting is normally held within 24-48 hours. At the meeting, everyone puts all the issues on the
table. The caseworker lays out why the child may not be able to remain in the home. The family
discusses if there is another relative that may be able to step in and help with the child. The
facilitator is there to keep everyone calm, focused, and on task. These meetings can often run
high on emotions. These meetings have proven to be helpful in determining appropriate relatives
as supports for families.
Safety Organized Practice is another policy introduced within the last two years. This
policy encompasses many different aspects related to the safety of children. As its title suggests,
it is primarily concerned with the safety of children and keeping them safe. It aims to do this by
recruiting family members and friends of the family to be active supports and participants in the

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childs life. It also encourages the importance of maintaining accurate and detailed records of
what harm and danger may come to the child due to the parents/caregivers behaviors. It is
important to be specific. Do not generalize or use jargon. Safety Organized Practice also
encourages the use of tools in interviewing children. These tools allow the children to feel less
intimidated and usually allows them to give the caseworker honest, valid answers to questions.
Another policy, Family Search and Engagement, is a policy dedicated to finding and
building connections for youth in foster care. In accordance with the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, child welfare agencies are required to provide
written notification to grandparents and all other adult relatives when a child requires out-ofhome placement. The purpose of this contact is to discuss a range of placement and support
options that they might provide to the child. The rationale for such federal laws is to eliminate
children leaving care without connections and to prevent the loss of natural supports for children
entering care, (Family Search and Engagement, n.d.).
Finally, there is Recruitment, Development, and Support. This policy is geared towards
our foster parents and providing them with the support they need while they have children in
their homes. Each foster parent has a designated Foster Home Coordinator. The Foster Home
Coordinator makes contact with their foster parents every month, regardless of whether or not
they have any children placed in their homes. When a foster parent receives a new placement,
the Foster Home Coordinator meets with the child and foster parent within 24-hours of the
placement. There has been a 24-hour Warm line put in place just for foster parents to call and
receive support. This phone line is for foster parents to ask questions about respite, behaviors,
foster parent classes, etc.

AGENCY PROFILE
Some procedures that the Division of Family Services has in place are mandatory new
worker training, FACTS training, and sex offender investigations. Mandatory new worker
trainings are divided into either Investigation, Treatment, or Permanency tracts. These trainings
take place over the course of three months. Every new worker must successfully complete each
required training. Random drug screenings have become a required part of the employment
process of the Division of Family Services. Following new worker training and random drug
screenings, is FACTS training. FACTS is short for Family and Child Tracking System. This is
the database that the Division uses to keep our electronic records up-to-date. Maintained in this
system are court orders, worker notes, placement histories, case histories, medical histories, etc.
A newer procedure introduced in the Division is mandatory sex offender investigations. This is a
Delaware Law located in the Delaware Code, Title 13, Domestic Relations, Child Protection
from Domestic Violence and Sex Offenders Act. If the Division receives a report of a Tier II or
III sex offender living in the home with a child, then there is an automatic acceptance and
assignment of an investigation. The sex offender must prove to the Division that they have
completed all recommendations and any sex offender treatment. If they have not, then they must
leave the home, or the child will have to leave the home.
The organizational structure for the Division of Family Services, because it is a State
agency, is quite simple. At the top, we have Governor Markell and the taxpayers of Delaware.
Next, we have Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families,
Jennifer Ranji, who is appointed by the Governor. Then we have the Director of the Division of
Family Services, Vicky Kelly, followed by the Deputy Director, Shirley Roberts. After them, we
have Regional Administrators for each region. Im just going over Sussex County. The Regional

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Administrator for Sussex is Susan Taylor-Walls, followed by the Assistant Regional
Administrator, Trenee Parker. Then we have the supervisors of each unit in Sussex County.

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The Division of Family Services is governed by the State of Delaware and the
Administration of Children and Families Childrens Bureau. Our policies and procedures come
from Delaware Code, as well as federal mandates and court decisions.
Funding is provided to the Division of Family Services by several different sources. The
primary source of funding is grants. These can be federal and state grants. The Division is
included as part of the budget when it is presented by the Governor to the General Assembly.
The Division also receives monetary and material donations. Material donations are most often
used for children involved with the Division. Acceptable donations are items for hygiene,
clothing items, age-appropriate toys, books, and gift cards.
Human service relationships are very important to the Division. Sister agencies that the
Division works closely with are the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health and Youth
Rehabilitative Services or juvenile probation. The Division and its sister agencies share many
clients in common and provide the best service to the client by sharing information. Other
agencies which the Division works closely with are the Department of Correction or Probation
and Parole, State and local law enforcement agencies, area therapists, Social Services, etc. Some
social service agencies are Children and Families First, Childrens Choice, Delaware Guidance
Services, etc. These agencies provide foster care services and counseling to children and youth
in our system. All of these agencies are able to help the Division with providing necessary
resources to clients and children.
Strengths of the Division are having knowledgeable, professional, and helpful staff. Staff
wouldnt be in this profession if they didnt truly want to help others. Another strength is having
strong leadership. The Division also has a diverse workforce.

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Trends associated with the Division of Family Services are an increase in reports of child
abuse and neglect, an increase in investigations of child abuse and neglect, and an increase in
substantiations of abuse and neglect. A positive trend is that the Division does continuously meet
federal standards and requirements.
Challenges known to the Division are the new policies and procedures, and the training
required in order to learn the new policies and procedures. Other challenges are burn-out and
vicarious trauma. Seeing the issues which bring families to the involvement of the Division can
be very traumatic and can cause severe trauma on the caseworker and all who are involved in the
case. It is important to maintain focus and talk about cases and how they are having an impact
on everyone, both personally and professionally. High caseloads and court hearings are two
other challenges associated with the Division. These can cause their own kinds of stress.
Having to prepare for court hearings and read cases to ensure that the caseworker knows all of
the answers to any question that may be thrown at them at court can take a great deal of time.
This takes time away from other cases that may need to be seen and dealt with as well.
My role as an intern is to enter and update hotlines into the FACTS system. I maintain
accurate records of hotlines as received by me. I strive to illicit appropriate information from
reporters. I respond to priority 1s with a caseworker as they are assigned. I assign priority 2s
and 3s as appropriate. I maintain professional decorum, including dress and attitude at all times.
I will request guidance and assistance as needed.
In conclusion, the Division of Family Services is a rewarding place to work. It can be
very stressful and heart-wrenching at times, but the end results are usually worth it. Seeing
smiles on childrens faces make the bad days seem like pebbles in the sand. Children are the
number one priority in all that is done at the Division. Safety, stability, permanency. These are

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the goals that are strived for at all times. I have learned more as an intern in the past month, than
I ever thought possible. I thoroughly enjoy the team I work with and the supervisor. They are all
supportive and willing to help out no matter what.

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References
3P Consulting, LLC. (n.d.). Family Search and Engagement: Confidentiality and FSE Dos and
Donts. Retrieved from http://www.3pllc.net.
Department of Services for Children, Youth, & Their Families: Division of Family Services.
(2015). Retrieved from http://kids.delaware.gov/fs/fs.shtml.