La Crosse County Human Services

Purpose:

To provide a fair and equitable means for eligible children accessing services through Family Support Program, Children's Long Term Support Waiver, Children's Mental Health Supportive Services and Community Options Program.

Applicability:

Applies to all children seeking services through Family Support Program, Children's Long Term Support Waiver, Children's Mental Health Supportive Services, and Community Options Program.

Definitions:

Developmental Disability (DD)
Physical Disability (PD)
Severe Emotional disturbances (SED)
Family Support (FSP)
Children’s Long Term Support Wavier (CLTSW) includes the target groups DD,PD, SED
Children’s Mental Health Supportive Services (CMHSS)
Community Options Program (COP)
Eligible Child means a child that:
1. Meets financial guidelines
2. Is functionally eligible as determined by the Children's Functional Screen.

Policy/Procedure:

Requests for services can be made to the La Crosse County Human Services Department's (LCHSD), Family and Children’s Intake. A Children with Special Needs referral will be completed and forwarded to the Supervisors of Children with Special Needs Unit I & II.
Supervisors will consult and determine which unit will follow up on the referral.
A social worker from the Family & Children's Section will be assigned the referral and will complete a CLTSW Functional Screen to determine eligibility.
Once a child is determined eligible, (a) through (c) will occur:

(a) The family/child will be offered a full assessment and services will
be provided based on assessed needs and availability of Service
Coordination time and service dollars.
(b) The child’s name will be placed on the waiting list based on the
date he/she was found functionally eligible. The family will be
notified in writing of their position on the waiting list. The
Department shall make an offer of assessment, which if accepted,
must be completed within 45 days. If the applicant agrees, the
assessment may be delayed until a time nearer to when funds
would be available.: (c) The child’s name will be placed on the waiting list per (b) and the; child will be offered the support of the Family Resource Liaison to; help the family connect with community resources.

If a child is found ineligible, the family will be notified of the appeal process. The family will be informed of other community resources by the Family Resource Liaison.
Once notified, the department shall ensure that children from another county who move into La Crosse County are placed on the local waiting list.
LCHSD will notify children/families of their status on the waiting list as well as an estimate of when funding for support and services may become available in January and July of each calendar year.
Supervisors will monitor the availability of service funds, Support and Service Coordination capacity and projected expenses to determine when a child would begin services. Prior to taking a child off the waiting list, the Department must ensure that the health and safety needs and other assessed needs of existing children are being adequately funded.
Children will be added to the waiting list according to the date eligibility was established. Children will be taken off the waiting list on a first come first served basis. The Department agrees to:

(a) Make reasonable efforts to serve children with a higher level of
service needs that may include the provision of services based on
partial funding availability.
(b) When full funding is not available, the Department may provide
for less than all of the assessed services, but must assure the
health and safety of the child.
(c) The Department will notify the consumer and their family of any risk
inherent in the implementation of the partially funded plan.
(d) Once partial services are established and health and safety are
assured, the remaining services must be added when funding
becomes available.

Exemptions to the first come first served policy may be granted under the following circumstances:

(a) Court ordered placements
(b) Children currently funded by the FSP or CMHSS (assuming
they meet financial and functional eligibility) where current
services dollars are not adequate to meet their health
and safety needs.
(c) Emergency situations where it is likely that an out of home
placement will result if services were not provided.: (d) Children between the ages of 3 and 8 who enter the CLTSW; Program through the Intensive Autism Benefit. These children could; be added to the waiting list for services not covered by the Autism; Benefit, based on the date the assessed need was identified.
(e) Situations were there may be a terminal condition or other high
medical needs that would result in significant issues with health and
safety concerns.

In the event that the LCHSD is unable to contact the parent or legal guardian of a child when the child’s name comes up on the waiting list, the child’s name will be removed from the waiting list. The Department will attempt to first contact the parent or legal guardian by phone and then by certified letter.

The following criteria have been established by the Family Support Advisory Committee in allocating Family Support Funds:

Family Support Priority Status
1) Children with Severe Disabilities (meeting the CLTSW functional screen) that are at risk of out of home placement.
2) Children with Severe Disabilities (meeting the CLTSW functional screen) that do not have any other county funding attached to them.
3) Children with Severe Disabilities (meeting the CLTSW functional screen) that have other county funding attached to them.

Each child’s priority status will be reviewed annually (September – October). Having funding one year does not guarantee funding the next year.

Annually individual budgets will be established based on agreement of assessed needs between the family and the service coordinator. Criteria in section (B) will be used to prioritize family budgets and overall FSP budget and to manage the waiting list.

Annually the FSP Service Coordinators will review in order of priority to determine funding options:
1) Children who currently have FSP funds or are at risk of out of home
placement
2) Children on the FSP waiting list with no county funds attached to
them
3) Children with MA Waiver Funding in need of services or goods that
are not waiver allowable.

(A) Emergency funds of $10,000
1. In crisis situations which is defined as a period of time marked by high stress in the family. The stress may be caused by one of a number of factors including but not limited to: marital problems, poverty, single parenthood, more then one child with a disability, a child with a terminal illness, etc. The stress may be exaggerated by circumstances such as illness, birth of a child, divorce, etc.
2. Considering out-of-home placement for the child.
3. Planning to bring their child home from an out-of-home placement.

(B) In considering ongoing budget requests for Family Support Funding, the
following priorities are established:
1. Meeting the child’s health and safety needs.
2. Meeting family needs for building modifications, ramps, bathroom adaptations etc.
3. Transportation issues related to vehicle modifications.
4. Educational needs not supplied by the schools, i.e. computer software for home programs that will enable the child to be more independent, programs or materials that can be used to stimulate the child’s development.
5. Social / Recreational activities