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Issue	18-20	Date: 05/15/18
STRUCTURED DECISION MAKING (SDM) – A REMINDER ABOUT HOUSEHOLDS AND CAREGIVERS Structured Decision Making® (SDM) assessments are completed on “households.” In SDM, a household is not simply a dwelling; it is defined as a group of people living under one roof who have significant in-home contact with the child. In SDM, a “household” includes all persons who have contact with the child, including those who have a familial or intimate relationship with any person in the home. When a child’s parents do not live together, the child may be a member of two (2) households. When completing a Risk Assessment, staff should always assess the household of the alleged perpetrator. This may be the child’s primary residence if it is also the residence of the alleged perpetrator, or the household of a non-custodial parent if that is the residence of the alleged perpetrator. The most common practice error with the Risk Assessment is completing it on the wrong household. Assessing risk on a household that is not of concern in the current referral often yields a Low or Moderate Risk level, which suggests the referral should be closed. This can mistakenly cause a missed opportunity to intervene in a way that can protect the child in the long run. The second most common practice error is lumping more than one household into a single Risk Assessment. As a reminder, in WebSDM only one (1) household can be assessed on each Risk Assessment. If a child is a member of two (2) households and there are allegations in both households, staff should complete a Risk Assessment on both households. A child may be a member of two (2) households if, for example, s/he has two (2) legal parents who live separately and the child spends time with each legal parent, or if s/he resides with a legal guardian but also spends time with a legal parent. CSWs should also remember to complete a Risk Assessment for non-custodial parents who will receive reunification (FR) services. If the alleged perpetrator is a non-custodial parent, CSWs should also assess the custodial parent if there is an allegation of failure to protect. For a CWS/CMS Referral record, WebSDM will only allow one (1) initial Risk Assessment to be generated. A second Risk Assessment may be created and completed manually; or, after a referral is promoted to a case, an additional Risk Assessment can be created in the CWS/CMS Case record in WebSDM. Therefore, if more than one (1) Risk Assessment is necessary, CSWs should complete the tool in WebSDM on the most concerning household first, and then complete a second risk assessment using a paper form that will be added to the investigation documentation. In SDM, a “caregiver” is defined as an adult, parent, or guardian in the household who provides care and supervision for the child. SDM assessments further distinguish between primary and secondary caregivers. A primary caregiver must have legal responsibility for the child. It is possible that there will not be a secondary caregiver. When there is only one legal parent, the legal parent will be the primary caregiver. If two caregivers in the home have legal responsibility, the one providing the most care is the primary caregiver. If two caregivers in the home both provide an equal amount of care to the child, CSWs should assess the alleged perpetrator first; if there are two alleged perpetrators, CSWs should first assess the perpetrator with the most concerning allegation. Once the primary and secondary caregiver is determined, it is important to keep those roles consistent throughout future SDM assessments (i.e., do not switch them around). The NCCD Children’s Research Center SDM Policy and Procedures Manual was updated in December 2017. To access the manual, as well as the numerous SDM training materials and other resources that are available, go to http://docs.nccdglobal.org/California (password: training; no user name is required). The SDM Policy and Procedures manual is also available within WebSDM.