The Joint Committee on Children and Families met Sunday afternoon during September legislative interim meetings, receiving updates on mechanisms intended to hold child placement agencies accountable and provide better communication between state government and foster families.
Members received a report from Kendra Boley Rogers, the deputy commissioner for policy and programs at the Department of Human Services, on performance-based contracting for child placement agencies.
The performance measures include items the state is measured against during its federal review process by the Administration for Children and Families’ Child and Family Services Review through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Other measures include tracking recruitment and retention of foster parents by the child placement agency, as well as the length of time a family has provided foster care.
Brandon Lewis, DoHS Chief of Technology and Information, provided lawmakers an update on the state child welfare electronic portal.
Lewis described the Communication and Operations Mobile Engagement Tool, or C.O.M.E.T., that officially went online at the beginning of the month, first in Randolph County.
C.O.M.E.T. is intended to provide information regarding appointments, visitations, travel and other services available to a foster child, as well as information regarding court hearings and meetings with guardians ad litem and multidisciplinary teams. Health records for the foster child and other information is also available.
According to Lewis, C.O.M.E.T. will be rolled out to Mason, Monongalia, Wirt, and Putnam counties next, with a gradual statewide rollout planned over the next three months.
