Foster Care Assessment

FCAP is a statewide contracted program available to children in all six DSHS regions. The purpose of FCAP is to provide a comprehensive assessment of a child's level of functioning in the home, school and community and to assist with the service planning and implementation. The goals are to improve the child's health and well being, and help DCFS accomplish permanency.

The Foster Care Assessment Program is operated under a contract with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Children’s Administration to serve children and youth.

This program is administered by Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress (HCSATS), in collaboration with community and hospital partners statewide. Community Youth Services is the provider for FCAP services in Region 6. 

FCAP has been expanded to accept referrals for reunification assessments. This reunification assessment will include a parental capacity screening and a comprehensive analysis of whether the service plan meets the parental deficits that promoted removal and whether the parental deficiencies have been corrected.

FCAP evaluators are available for 6 months following the assessment to help DCFS implement a plan for each child.

Specific services provided by FCAP include:

• Review of case history
• Interviews with people who know the child best
• Summary of the child's health history
• Psychiatric, psychological and pediatric case consultation
• Funding for additional evaluations
• Structured in-person interview with the parents (Reunification Assessment)
• Structured in-person interview with the child and caregiver
• Observation of the parent/child visitation (Reunification Assessment)
• Standardized assessment of a child's emotional & behavioral functioning
• Standardized measures regarding parental stress & abuse potential
• Thorough recommendations for an updated service plan based on evidence based interventions
• Production of a comprehensive Services and Permanency Assessment Report for DCFS (SPAR)
• Service planning focused on achieving permanency for the child
• Six months of assistance to the DCFS referring social worker

Follow up activities performed by FCAP include:

• Progress monitoring
• Direct assistance to the DCFS worker
• Direct assistance to the caregiver
• Direct assistance to the child
• Coordination of services/people
• Additional evaluation