VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

People Places, Inc.
1215 N. Augusta Street
Staunton, VA 24401
(540) 885-8841

Current Inspector: Kevin Lassiter (804) 241-2093

Inspection Date: Nov. 20, 2019 and Nov. 21, 2019

Complaint Related: No

Areas Reviewed:

22VAC40-131 ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 22VAC40-131 PERSONNEL 22VAC40-131 PROVIDER HOMES 22VAC40-131 CHILDREN'S SERVICES 22VAC40-80 THE LICENSING PROCESS. 22VAC40-191 Background Checks for Child Welfare Agencies

Technical Assistance:

Discussion occurred regarding 22VAC40-131-340.K and the requirement to provide birth parents with copies of service and treatment plans and progress review reports as applicable. Standard 22VAC40-131-330 that requires monthly private interviews with children receiving treatment foster care services was also discussed. Documentation should be clearer when a decision is made that a child?s situation isn?t applicable for the provision of reports to birth parents and when determining children are not capable of participating in a private interview.

Comments:

An unannounced monitoring inspection was conducted on 11/20/2019 from 11:20 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 11/21/2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. The licensee reports 54 children in foster care and 63 approved provider homes. During this inspection six foster child, seven foster home, and two personnel records were reviewed. The Quality Assurance/Licensing Specialist participated in the entrance conference, remained available during the inspection, and participated in the exit interview. The Human Resource Manager was available during the inspection and participated in the exit interview. The Teaching Parent Coordinator participated in the exit interview. The exit interview was conducted from 3:00 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. on 11/21/2019. Acknowledgement of Inspection forms were signed and left with the licensee on each inspection date. There were two citations for violations of the Standards for Child-Placing Agencies. Upon receipt of the Violation Notice, the licensee should develop a plan of correction to include the steps to correct non-compliance with the standard(s); measures to prevent re-occurrence of non-compliance; person(s) responsible for implementation and monitoring of preventative measure(s); and date by which noncompliance will be corrected. The licensee has five business days from receipt of the inspection documents to complete the section entitled "Plan of Correction", sign each page of the inspection documents and return to the Licensing Office. The licensee should retain a copy to be posted at the facility. Results of the inspection are subject to public disclosure and will be posted on the Virginia Department of Social Services public web site within five business days, regardless of whether or not the Plan of Correction is completed.

Violations:

Standard #:	22VAC40-131-110
Description:	Violation: Based on a review of personnel records for employees P1 and P2 and Foster Homes F1, F2, FH4, and FH5 the agency failed to indicate the date all material and information was received. Findings: The personnel record for P1 included central registry search results that did not indicate the date the agency received the document. The personnel record for P2 contained a sworn disclosure, central registry search results, and criminal history search results that did not indicate the date the agency received the documents. The records for F1, F2, FH4, and FH5 contained health and tuberculosis screening results documents that did not indicate the date received by the agency. The finding was discussed during the exit interview and staff acknowledged the findings.
Plan of Correction:	The Human Resources Manager, Business Office Manager, and Licensing Supervisor have reviewed this violation. This review led to an increased understanding of the licensing expectations regarding date-stamping incoming documents. The team acknowledged that current processes are working well but that the addition of date stamps are needed to meet the expectations of licensing standards. People Places? business office has a well developed procedure for date stamping incoming documentation. The Service Programs have decided to utilize the business office?s procedure for date stamping incoming documentation.
Standard #:	22VAC40-131-370-M-4
Description:	Violation: Based on record review of foster home 4 (FH4) and interview, the agency failed to place required reference letters in the case record. Findings: The case record for FH4 contained two reference letters. The Home Study documents five references responded and were supportive of the applicants being foster parents. The Teaching Parent Coordinator (S4) was interviewed and indicates the remaining references were sought by phone contact and notes were made of the responses. S4 acknowledged the notes from the additional references were not in the case foster home record.
Plan of Correction:	The Teaching Parent Coordinator and Licensing Supervisor reviewed this violation. The team identifies that this violation was the result of an oversight and not the result of a deficiency with an organizational process or procedure. The Teaching Parent Coordinators throughout the agency are aware that letters of reference are a licensing requirement for Teaching Parent files. The team feels that this violation has been appropriately addressed and that this will not be an ongoing issue.