March 2015Vol. 16, No. 2Tool for Quality Intensive Family Preservation Services
Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) are family-focused, community-based crisis interventions designed to maintain children safely in their homes and prevent the unnecessary separation of families. They are often offered to families as an alternative to their children's out-of-home placement. It is important to ensure that these programs are effective in their approaches to promoting wellness, permanency, and safety for children.
The National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) developed a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Instrument to assess, sustain, and enhance the quality of IFPS on the State and local levels. This tool helps providers assess current levels of effectiveness and also areas needing improvement. The CQI-IFPS Instrument provides additional resources, including information on the benefits of family preservation interventions and quality assurance, a tally sheet for conducting specific case studies, and instructions for how to utilize the tool effectively.
More information on the CQI-IFPS Instrument and purchasing instructions are available at http://www.nfpn.org/assessment-tools/cqi-ifps-instrument.
To learn more about NFPN and its mission, visit http://www.nfpn.org/home.
Related Item
The Children's Bureau's 2012 Information Memorandum (IM) for State title IV-B and IV-E child welfare agencies addresses the importance of establishing and maintaining CQI systems. Access the IM at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/im1207.