Ice Breaker meetings are a first step in family engagement.  Optimally, these meetings will be the foundation for forming the Child and Family Team (CFT) that will be involved with the family throughout the life of the case.

The purpose of the Ice Breaker is to ease the child’s transition into a new home through the exchange of information about the child between the birth parent(s) and the resource family.  This will begin the team dynamic between all involved parties, Social Workers, birth parent(s), resource family and youth, when applicable.

A Child and Family Team (CFT) meeting is a group of individuals that includes the child or youth, family members, professionals, natural community supports, Child Welfare Social Worker, and other individuals identified by the family who are invested in the child, youth, and family’s success. Successful CFTs include persons with natural supportive relationships with the family, so that the family’s support system will continue to exist after formal services are completed. 

The CFT’s role is to include family members in defining and reaching identified goals for the child. The individuals on the team work together to identify each family member’s strengths and needs, based on relevant life domains, to develop a child, youth, and family-centered case plan. The plan articulates specific strategies for achieving the child, youth, and/or family’s goals based on addressing identified needs, public safety, including following related court orders, and building on or developing functional strengths. 

A CFT meeting shall be convened by the Child Welfare social worker within the first 60 days of a child/youth coming into foster care. For children or youth in placement who are receiving Intensive Care Coordination (ICC), Intensive Home-Based Services (IHBS) or Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC), a CFT meeting must occur at least every 90 days. For children and youth who are not receiving the above mental health services, a CFT meeting must convene no less than once every six months. Best practice dictates that meetings should be held as frequently as needed to address emerging issues, provide integrated and coordinated interventions, and refine the plan as needed and, therefore, frequency of meetings and timeframes should be decided by CFT members.