Regular reviews of progress focusing on treatment plans and visitation that are shared with all parties.

What should be included in written agreements and documentation when concurrently planning?
The National Resource Center on Permanency and Family Connections provides the following guidelines:

• The agency and the parents should document in a written agreement the steps that must be taken for the child to return home.  The agreement should make clear what is expected of the parents and what the agency will do. 
• The case plan should specify both short and long term goals and provide service linkages, such as connection of parents to mental health services, drug treatment, and family supports.
• The agency should document all information pertaining to a case as the case progresses, including the agency’s reasonable efforts toward reunification.  Documentation should be detailed. 
• Documentation should include the services provided and the family’s response to services and visitation.

Why are timely case reviews important?
Conducting frequent ongoing case reviews is essential to assess program, review continuing needs and plan for the future. The Center for Social Services Research at the University of California, Berkeley, identifies as a key practice in concurrent planning:  collaborative case reviews early in the case history and ongoing.   The Center states:

Regular collaborative case reviews encourage thoughtful discussion of concurrent planning alternatives, and provide collegial and supervisory support for workers making difficult decisions in limited time frames. Reviews begin early in case involvement to identify children needing a permanent plan and ensure participants retain a sense of urgency regarding the need to consider concurrent plans.

The Center identifies the following goals for agency review meetings:

• Assure that concurrent plans are developed for children entering the child welfare system
• Monitor concurrent plans and address changes in status or need
• Encourage thoughtful discussion of concurrent planning alternatives
• Assist workers with decision-making by providing collegial and supervisory support

Source: Center for Social Services Research, University of California, Berkeley. Promising Practices in Concurrent Planning: Collaborative Case Reviews Early in Case History and Ongoing

Documentation

Iowa Department of Human Services: 

Child Welfare Case Planning Procedures  (2007).
Describes required practices for developing the concurrent plan and documenting case activities and progress.

Wyoming Department of Family Services. (2004).

Concurrent Planning Handbook.
Appendix C provides a case file documentation checklist. 

Case Reviews

Oregon DHS Policy: Children, Adults, and Families (begins on page 7)
Describes the requirements for review of the concurrent plan.

Washington State Practice and Procedures Guide. Case Review.
Describes the requirements for case plan review in an effort to ensure that case management for the family is comprehensive in scope, that children receive proper care, and that permanency plans are accomplished in a timely manner.