Children’s Services Act (CSA)

Providing Needed Services to Children and Families

Chesterfield’s Children’s Services Act (CSA) is the local office to Virginia’s Children’s Services Act (CSA), a state and local interagency mandated program that provides needed services to children and families in the community and comprises the Family Assessment Planning Teams (FAPT) to authorize an array of services to children and families in the community. The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment is the uniform assessment instrument for children and youth receiving services funded through CSA state pool funds.

The CSA Guidelines for Service (PDF) are designed to represent ideal and effective services delivered to children and families in our locality beyond minimum standards. We continue to work collaboratively with our private provider partners to coordinate the most effective and cost containing services for our families and community. The CSA Policies and Procedures (PDF) provide information regarding the local operation the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights CSA program.

What We Do

• Administer the CSA process for both Chesterfield and Colonial Heights
• Keep children within or return them to the community and families, with services that are child centered, family focused and locally based
• Formulate treatment plans collaboratively, including the child, family and personnel from referring agencies and the Family Assessment and Planning Teams (FAPT)
• Contract with local providers in the community to deliver services to children and families
• Review services and treatment plans regularly through FAPT meetings to establish the continued need of the services being provided

Who We Assist

We assist youth, ages 0 to 18, from diverse backgrounds that are:

• Served by multiple agencies in the community
• In foster care
• At-risk for out of home placement
• Unable to deal effectively in a public-school setting
• Dealing with a variety of other problematic behaviors and conditions

Family Assessment Planning Teams Process

Family Assessment Planning Teams (FAPT) assists families with outsourcing and funding services to meet their needs when CSA criteria is met and services and supports are not available within the family or local government’s resources. FAPT team members work with children and families to ensure a community approach to services and develop plans to support family preservation and healthy family functioning. Services are rendered through the FAPT process via referral for services that come from:

• 12th District Juvenile Court Service Unit
• Chesterfield and Colonial Heights Department of Social Services
• Chesterfield County Community Services Board
• Chesterfield County Public Schools - Special Education Department
• District 19 Community Services Board

Community Policy and Management Team

The Community Policy and Management Team oversees the allocation of funds in the state pool to local communities, which is determined by a formula basis and is specified in the Appropriation Act. Passage of the Children’s Services Act (CSA) by the 1992 General Assembly dramatically altered the administrative and funding systems providing services to at-risk and troubled youth and their families. The Act creates a collaborative system of services and funding that is child-centered, family-focused and community-based when addressing the strengths and needs of troubled and at-risk youths and their families in the Commonwealth (Code of Virginia § 2.2-5200).