What is the purpose of a Home Visit?

The purpose of a home visit is to assess the safety, permanency, and well-being of the child, as well as address concerns and needs of the child and/or caregivers, determine appropriateness of the placement, and provide the caregivers the support and inform the progress and permanency of the case.

When must a Home Visit be done?

• Initial face-to-face (FTF) contact with the child and caregiver is to occur within 2 working days after the case is accepted for case management services at the child’s current place of residence.
• When a child is in Shelter Status, FTF contact shall occur every 7 days. (Shelter Status = legal status that begins when the child is taken into protective custody of the department and ceases when the court grants custody to a parent and/or after disposition of the petition for dependency.)
• Once the child has been Adjudicated Dependant (after Disposition) by the Court, FTF contact is required with each child a minimum of once every 25 days in the child’s current residence. FTF contacts must occur more frequently when the child’s situation dictates more frequent contact as assessed by the case manager and the case manager supervisor.
• Minimally, once every 3 months the case manager must make an unannounced home visit to the child’s current residence, more often if warranted, and document it as such. An attempted unannounced home visit, if the child and caregiver are not home, does not satisfy this requirement but attempt should be documented as an attempt.
• Once a child in runaway status returns, a FTF home visit should take place immediately in order to assess the child’s mental/physical state and gain insight into the reason he/she ran away.

Expectations/Guidelines of a Home Visit
The home visit information must be documented in FSFN within 48 hours of the visit occurring.

• Meet with the child and caregivers in their current residence.
• Speak with each child individually, alone, and away from others, to assess the child’s adjustment, progress, needs and/or concerns and overall well-being. Involve the child in case planning as age appropriate.
• Examine the child for cleanliness, health, and signs of injury, abuse and/or neglect.
• Evaluate the home environment for appropriateness and safety.
• Assess and discuss the Safety Plan in effect with the current participants, their role in the plan and the safety management actions being utilized to determine if the current Safety Plan is still effective.
• Discuss concerns and/or needs with the caregiver and provide referrals for services.
• Discuss stages of change, conditions for return, and progress and/or concerns with services.
• Inform the caregiver and child (if age appropriate) of upcoming court hearings, staffings, etc. and their right to be heard in court.
• Review and sign the Child Resource Record at each home visit to ensure that information is current.
• Obtain updates and copies of the child’s medical, dental, and mental health records, appointments, procedures, and prescriptions. Discuss all medications, including specific requirements for psychotropic and opioid medications.
• Obtain updates and copies of the child’s educational records and progress (if age appropriate).
• Observe interactions between the caregivers, family members, and the child.
• Obtain updated photographs of the child using the Mindshare Mobile Application.
• Follow up on previous concerns or referrals with caregiver and/or the child.
• Discuss how visitation is going with parents/siblings.
• Discuss safe sleep for infants and document this conversation as well as where all children sleep and who (if applicable) sleeps in the bedroom with the child.
• Discuss Independent Living skills/needs, if applicable.