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Summary of Issues
State of Colorado
Title IV-E Eligibility Review
Appendix
Strengths
Documentation and File Organization
- Eligibility files were well organized, allowing for information to be located easily
- The Title IV-E eligibility process was thorough including:
document gathering
income and asset verification
interface with other information sources
rationale for eligibility decision
- Eligibility determination form is an excellent tool which emphasizes Title IV-E criteria
- Title IV-E determinations were well documented
- Presence of Title-IV-E and Medicaid information in one file made review process very smooth
- Eligibility determination process was routinely well documented.
Practice Issues
- Preparation for the review allowed for a smooth and efficient review process
- Training for eligibility staff allowed for clear understanding of state and federal policy
- Annual peer reviews also provides for re-enforcement of training and consistency of practice
- Well-documented processes exist that demonstrate a systematic method for backing out overpayments and adjustments for ineligible periods
Areas in Need of Documentation
Documentation and File Organization
- Nun Pro Tunc Court Orders cause confusion on court report dates and are not acceptable practice
- Petitions are recommended for inclusion in all eligibility files
- Recommendation for tracking process to ensure that permanency orders are included, as needed, in eligibility files
- New methods need to be put in place to track the licensing history of providers and documentation supporting decision to license them
- Recommendation that a workgroup needs to determine where items should be located in the eligibility files to promote increased consistency in the files
Practice Issues
- Not having case record available made it difficult to identify areas for which technical assistance could have been provided onsite
- Efforts need to be made to improve the timeliness of permanency hearings for children in out-of-home care
- All court orders need to be dated and child-specific
Addendum
Program Specific Issues
- It appears that there is significant reliance upon court determinations of "reasonable efforts" to prevent removal are not made, or necessary, due to the emergency nature of the situations; questions raised as whether this suggests a lack of preventive or in-home services.
- Observations were made that the current interface between the child welfare and licensing/approval programs appears somewhat unclear
- Observations of some case situations that may not be in the best interest of some children in out-of-home placement; some examples include:
- a one-year old child who was in five different placement settings over a four-month period; and
- young siblings who were placed in different foster home placements