The vision for the Social Services Division within the Department is to increase the number of children safely cared for at home, to build permanent and stable families, and to assist families in transitioning to long term success.
The Department and our community partners are active in on-going discussions that focus on the opportunity for Wyoming to engage with families and community partners through relevant and meaningful services and interventions that focus on strengthening families and preventing unnecessary out-of-home placements for children. The Department realizes that it is not the totality of the child welfare system in Wyoming. The child welfare system also includes community stakeholders, community providers, other governmental entities, institutional providers, and all state citizens.
The aim of keeping families together is to provide prevention services that will provide the necessary supports to prevent unnecessary out of home placements for children. Prevention services in each community will be evidenced based and well supported.
If out of home placement of a child or children is necessary due to unmitigated safety concerns, the Department will build permanent and stable families. Ensuring that the Department has foster homes that are able to support the needs of all children, particularly older youth, is paramount. Children deserve to live in families and the Department’s focus will be towards placing children first and foremost with relatives or in family like foster settings. If family like foster settings are not appropriate, the Department will utilize crisis shelters, GHs, RTCs, PRTFs, and BOCES placements. The Department also will work towards ensuring that permanency is achieved for children and families in an appropriate and timely manner.
Through the permanency process the Department’s goal is to ensure that children and families have successful long term transitions. The Department wants each child and family to have the opportunity to achieve independence.