NAC432B.190. Requirements for case plans and agreements with parents.

     1. When it is decided that a case is to be opened for the provision of child welfare services to a child, the caseworker must assume responsibility for planning the child welfare services to be provided, whether the child remains at home, goes into foster care, or is in temporary out-of-home protective custody. It is the responsibility of the caseworker to determine the long-range and short-range goals to be achieved for the protection of the child and the improvement of his care.

     2. All child welfare services must be delivered in a planned manner. Each case must have a written case plan which identifies barriers to the provision of a safe environment for the child, clarifies responsibilities of the involved persons to address those barriers, and defines the overall goals of the case and the step-by-step proposed actions of all persons to reach the goal within a specified time. Each case plan must be reviewed and signed by the supervisor of the caseworker and updated at least every 6 months. Each case plan must include identifying information, a statement of the goal, objectives and activities of the case, and the time to meet each goal, objective and activity. Case plans must be realistically related to the familial situation, safeguard the child, and help the parents to gain the confidence and capacity to care appropriately for their child, and be sufficiently flexible to allow changes in the situation and the use of the services based on a continuing reevaluation of how the child is being affected.

     3. Parents must be encouraged to participate in the development of a written agreement for services, which must be for a specified period of not less than 45 nor more than 90 days, to engage in a set of processes for receiving resources.

     [Welfare Div., Standards for Child Protective Services part Art. III-E, eff. 9-11-87]—(NAC A by Div. of Child & Fam. Services by R045-02, 7-23-2002)