The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), enacted on February 9, 2018, modified the definitions of “Family Support Services” and “Family Reunification Services (formerly time-limited Family Reunification Services)” when applied to utilization of Title IV-B, subpart 2 funds.

As a result of these changes, public children services agencies and other entities using IV-B, Subpart 2 funds shall be able to claim allowable expenditures for the following services and activities:

“Family support services” for the purposes of utilizing Title IV-B, “subpart 2” means community-based services to promote the safety and well-being of children and families, which are designed to increase the strength and stability of families (including adoptive, foster, and kinship families),  to support and retain foster families so they can provide quality family based settings for children in foster care, to increase parents' confidence and competence in their parenting abilities, to afford children a safe, stable and supportive family environment, to strengthen parental relationships and promote healthy marriages, and otherwise to enhance child development, including through mentoring.

“Family Reunification Services” for the purposes of utilizing Title IV-B, "subpart 2" means the services and activities listed in this definition that are provided to a child who is removed from his home and placed in a foster home or a residential facility or a child who has been returned home and to the parent, guardian or custodian of such a child, in order to facilitate the reunification of the child safely and appropriately within a timely fashion, but only during the fifteen month period that begins on the date the child returns home. Services and activities allowable are the following: individual, group, and family counseling; inpatient, residential, or outpatient substance abuse treatment services; mental health services; assistance to address domestic violence; services designed to provide temporary child care and therapeutic services for families, including crisis care facilities; peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups for parents and primary caregivers; services and activities designed to facilitate access to and visitation of children by parents and siblings, and transportation to or from any of the services or activities described in this definition.

This guidance will result in amendments to the following rules: 

• 5101:2-1-01 Children Services Definitions of Terms
• 5101:2-40-02 Supportive Services for Prevention of Placement, Reunification and Life Skills

INSTRUCTIONS:

The following chart depicts what materials should be deleted from the Family, Children and Adult Services Manual (FCASM) and what materials are to be inserted in the FCASM.