The Richmond Approach initiative first began as a collaborative between the Richmond Department of Social Services (RDSS) and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court to address the high numbers of Richmond youth who were placed in congregate placements. Based on the belief that children are best served by community-based services that are child-centered and family focused, the initiative is led by a steering committee that ensures that tactics and measures are reviewed and monitored.

Several workgroups are developing key strategies to address the challenges of serving children in the least restrictive environment. Efforts include:

• Developing a deliberate process to reduce reliance on congregate placements,
• Regulating the quality and availability of congregate services
• Building and strengthening community based alternatives that support family preservation, foster care placements, and relative placements.

In addition, RDSS is working diligently to strengthen its internal capacity. This includes developing a practice model, focusing on quality assurance, reorganizing agency structure, and increasing the availability and utilization of resource families and supports. In addition, the agency is conducting Permanency Review meetings, using the Team Decision Making model framework, for all congregate care cases in order to create permanency plans for youth. Once all congregate cases are reviewed, the Team Decision-Making meetings will become a permanent part of the agency’s practice model.

Richmond City Department of Social Services has become the learning lab for many of the transformation efforts on a local level. These findings are being carefully documented so that other Local Department of Social Services (LDSS) can learn from them and adapt the strategies to fit their own needs.

Presentations

• Promoting Change by Valuing Families (PDF)