Rockingham County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services (RCDHHS-DSS) began their journey with the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) in 2019. During this time, the DSS staff have worked to increase their knowledge of trauma-informed practices to best meet the needs of children entering permanency planning. The SAP process includes timely screening for trauma in order to quickly identify a child’s need for further assessment, so that they are more likely to receive the treatment necessary to reach their full potential. This treatment goes beyond mental and behavioral health, as it also takes into consideration the child’s social, emotional, and environmental needs.
Rockingham kicked-off their implementation shortly before the pandemic began. Thankfully, that did not slow down the agency much as they have continued to implement the processes despite the adversities of child welfare work faced during a pandemic. Rockingham’s Director, Program Manager, and Quality Assurance/Training staff have worked diligently over the course of this project to train, support, and guide the social workers and supervisors to implement this process to fidelity. Social workers continued to screen and refer children throughout the entire pandemic. Telehealth was used to ensure that the protocols for the SAP pilot were met, which includes administration of the Benchmarks’ Trauma-Intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessments (TiCCAs). Also, the provider agencies collaborated with one another cohesively to ensure that children received the assessments and treatment needed. Now the time has come for DSS to continue without implementation assistance from the Benchmarks team. They will continue their partnership with the local provider agencies, Youth Villages and Rockingham County Youth Services, as well as Sandhills Center, in order to ensure youth entering permanency planning continue to receive timely trauma screens, assessments, and holistic recommendations. It must be noted that Rockingham County Youth Services is the first DSS clinical team in the state to be TiCCA trained in the state and have done a stellar job with this work.
The RCDHHS DSS will collect and monitor their own data to ensure the processes and timelines are being followed and implemented to fidelity. Specifically, they will track the treatment recommendations that are being made for each child, in hopes to advocate for more specific trauma-informed services needed within their home community.
We are confident that this partnership will continue to engage in and promote trauma-informed and resiliency-focused practices. We are grateful for the time spent in this local community, and we will take the lessons learned to continue and enhance this work in other local communities throughout the state.
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