Each Service Package is weighted by its Case Manager (CM) ratio from the T3C Blueprint. A full load is 120 points; the more intensive the package (lower ratio), the more points each child carries. This lets a Case Specialist (designee code CASE_SPECIALIST; governing policy texts use the Blueprint term "Case Manager") hold a mixed caseload across packages while staying within compliant ratios — and it extends the same currency to every other assigned role.
Attribution — who carries the points
- Point values ride the designee assignment, not the case file. If the Case Specialist also holds the Education Liaison designee for a child, that individual acquires both point values.
- If the Education Liaison is a different person, the Case Specialist does not acquire the liaison's points — each holder carries their own line.
- The only values that stack on the Case Specialist without a separate assignment are foundational case-complexity qualifiers (below), because they make the base case itself heavier and no separate designee absorbs that work.
- Management zones evaluate each person's combined total across every role they hold.
Service Package point values — CASE_SPECIALIST
| Service Package | CM Ratio | Points / Child | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| T3C Basic Foster Family Home | 1:20 | 6 | Lowest complexity, highest ratio |
| Substance Use Support Services | 1:15 | 8 | Recovery coordination, weekly therapy monitoring |
| Short-Term Assessment (STASS) | 1:12 | 10 | Time-limited but intensive assessment coordination |
| Mental & Behavioral Health | 1:15 | 8 | Standard behavioral health complexity |
| IDD/Autism Spectrum Disorder | 1:15 | 8 | Standard ratio with specialized developmental needs |
| Human Trafficking Victim/Survivor | 1:15 | 8 | Standard ratio with trauma specialization |
| Sexual Aggression/Sex Offender | 1:15 | 8 | Standard ratio with specialized treatment coordination |
| Treatment Foster Family Care (TFFC) | 1:6 | 20 | Highest intensity; 60-day reviews; step-down planning |
| Specialized Treatment Foster Family Care | 1:6 | 20 | Highest intensity, research-based model |
| Complex Medical Needs / Medically Fragilebase value — adjusted by the medical-complexity qualifier (see below) | Variable | 15 | High complexity, medical coordination required |
Specialty designee point values (Add-On delivery roles)
Add-On and specialty work is delivered by dedicated designee roles. The point value accrues to whoever holds that designee assignment for the child — it is not a modifier stacked onto the Case Specialist's line.
| Specialty designee | Applies to | Points | Applied when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parenting Support SpecialistPARENTING_SUPPORT_SPECIALIST | Pregnant & Parenting Youth Add-On | +2 | Per youth receiving the Add-On, to the assigned specialist |
| Transition SpecialistTRANSITION_SPECIALIST | Transition Support Services Add-On | +2 | Per youth receiving the Add-On, to the assigned specialist |
| Kinship Support WorkerKINSHIP_SUPPORT_WORKER | Kinship Caregiver Support Add-On | +1 | Per child in a kinship home, to the assigned worker |
| Education LiaisonEDUCATION_LIAISON | Any package (T3C Function #5) | +1 | Per assigned child, to the assigned liaison (policy-set starting value) |
- STASS is NOT eligible for any Add-On Services per the T3C Blueprint.
- Specialty points do not accrue during the aftercare period — aftercare is a flat 0.5 points to the Aftercare Coordinator regardless of prior package or Add-Ons.
- Example: an MBH child (8) whose Case Specialist also holds the Transition Specialist designee = 10 points for that person. If a different staff member is the Transition Specialist, the Case Specialist carries 8 and the specialist carries 2.
Foundational case-complexity qualifiers
Qualifiers capture case-level complexity that makes the base case heavier. They are assigned at the individual case level, carry a duration (effective-dated with a review/end date), require Treatment Director approval, and accrue to the Case Specialist only — they never change the other service roles' weights. The medical-complexity qualifier (Complex Medical / Medically Fragile package only) is the first in the catalog.
| Complexity level | Additional points | Total | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Medical | +0 | 15 | Routine medical monitoring |
| Moderate Complexity | +3 | 18 | Multiple specialists, daily medications |
| High Complexity | +5 | 20 | Medical equipment, nursing visits |
| Medically Fragile | +8 | 23 | 24/7 medical oversight, life-sustaining equipment |
Further foundational qualifiers are proposed for cases with documented extreme behavioral concern or significant substance-addiction issues. Their point values and default durations are being defined with the Treatment Directors and will be added to the rules registry when set; they are not yet in effect.
Aftercare status
When a child's status changes to "Aftercare" in Radius, the case carries a flat 0.5 points for the six-month aftercare period (post-discharge follow-up, minimum two contacts per month). The points accrue to the holder of the AFTERCARE_COORDINATOR designee for that child — deliberately a distinct role from the Case Specialist, although the current interim fallback resolves to the Case Specialist when no coordinator is assigned. During aftercare the child carries 0 points for every other role. Points are removed when aftercare completes at six months or when services are formally declined and documented (FC-AF). Short-Term Assessment (STASS) children do not enter aftercare status per the T3C Blueprint.
Caseload management zones
Zones evaluate each person's combined cross-role point total — Case Specialist lines plus any specialty designee lines plus aftercare cases held.
| Zone | Point range | Status | Action required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Under 80 | Under-utilized | May indicate capacity for additional assignments |
| Green | 100–120 | Optimal | Normal operations |
| Yellow | 121–130 | Monitor | Requires supervisor awareness; consider rebalancing |
| Red | 131+ | Over capacity | Immediate intervention required |
Optimal target is 100–120 points; the maximum allowable is 130 (with supervisor approval); 80 is the minimum threshold below which a load may be under-utilized. Loads between 80 and 99 sit below the optimal band — building toward a full load.
Build one person's combined load line by line to see total points, child count, and the resulting zone in real time. Each line is (package base + specialty roles this person also holds for these children + case qualifier) × children. Aftercare cases held as Aftercare Coordinator are counted separately at a flat 0.5 each. Points only count on a line when this person holds the designee assignment that carries them.
Selecting a specialty role on a line means this person holds that designee for those children — so those points land in this person's total. If a different staff member holds the specialty designee, leave the line at "None": those points belong to the other person's load, not this one's.
Aftercare carries minimal points but real workload. Practice guidance for the Aftercare Coordinator role: do not exceed 40 aftercare cases (20 pts) when carrying no other active load, or 20 aftercare cases (10 pts) when combined with an active load (combined = any active points in any role).
The caseload point system governs the Case Manager column (the Blueprint term for the CASE_SPECIALIST designee). The full T3C staffing model also sets ratios for therapists, behavior support/mentors, crisis management, and aftercare, plus per-home placement limits. Roles with per-child assignments carry point values in the rules registry; unit-scoped coverage roles (on-call therapist, crisis management, RN consultant) are evaluated as unit-census coverage obligations instead.
| Service Package | Case Manager | Licensed Therapist | BSS / Mentor | Crisis Mgmt | Aftercare CM | Foster Home Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 1:20 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Per home study approval |
| Substance Use | 1:15 | 1:14 | 1:15 | 1:25 | 1:25 | Per home study approval |
| STASS | 1:12 | 1:12 | N/A | 1:25 | N/A | 4 STASS children |
| Mental Health | 1:15 | 1:14 | 1:15 | 1:25 | 1:25 | Per home study approval |
| IDD/Autism | 1:15 | 1:12 | 1:15 | 1:25 | 1:25 | Per home study approval |
| HT Survivor | 1:15 | 1:14 | 1:15 | 1:25 | 1:25 | Per home study approval |
| Sexual Aggression | 1:15 | 1:14 | 1:15 | 1:25 | 1:25 | Per home study approval |
| TFFCOn-Call Licensed Therapist required 24/7 | 1:6 | 1:11 | 1:6 | 1:25 | 1:25 | 2 TFFC children |
| Specialized TFCResearch-based model | 1:6 | 1:11 | 1:6 | 1:25 | 1:25 | 2 STFC children |
| Complex Medical24/7 RN availability required | Variable | 1:14 | 1:15 | 1:25 | 1:25 | Per home study approval |
A ratio of 1:15 means one staff member in that role per 15 children receiving that package. Foster-home limits cap how many children of a package a single verified home may hold. Crisis Management and Aftercare CM run at 1:25 across all treatment packages. Licensed-therapist assignments currently resolve to external treatment-team contacts (commonly STAR Health network) — their tallies function as Blueprint-ratio monitoring.
Why a point system
Fixed per-package ratios break down the moment one person holds a mixed workload — a Case Specialist might carry Basic, MBH, and a TFFC child at once, and might also hold a specialty designee for some children. The point system converts every role's ratio into a common currency (points), so a blended, multi-role load can be measured against a single ceiling. A full load is 120 points; the optimal operating band is 100–120, evaluated on each person's combined cross-role total.
Attribution is designee-driven: the point value for a role accrues to whoever holds that designee assignment for the child. This makes the system extensible — any role in the designee catalog can be given point values in the rules registry, and its holders' loads become measurable without changing the model.
Worked scenarios
| Scenario | Composition (single person's combined load) | Children | Points | Zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A — Mixed standard | 8 Basic (48) + 6 MBH (48) + 3 IDD (24) + 4 Aftercare (2) | 21 | 122 | Yellow |
| B — High-intensity | 4 TFFC (80) + 3 HT (24) + 2 STASS (20) + 6 Aftercare (3) | 15 | 127 | Yellow |
| C — Basic focus | 15 Basic (90) + 4 MBH (32) + 10 Aftercare (5) | 29 | 127 | Yellow |
Load any of these in the Load Calculator tab to see the math build up line by line.
Governance & where this is codified
The caseload point system is the contact-capacity guardrail behind Refuge House's worker contact and monitoring duties. It is codified in policy, operationalized in procedure, and declared machine-readably in a knowbase registry:
A caseload compliance dashboard is being built into RadiusBifrost: it syncs the rules registry, reads designee assignments by child, materializes an itemized point record per child and role, and renders per-person combined loads with zone status, drill-down itemization, and unassigned-children gap surfacing. Until it ships, Treatment Managers / CPMS continue to apply these point values manually per FC-WCM-01 Procedure §13a, using this page and the calculator as the reference.
Minimum Standards set no fixed numeric caseload, but require that caseloads "meet the needs of children and support foster homes." The point system is Refuge House's method for demonstrating that obligation across mixed caseloads, alongside the §749.305 office-sharing caseload limits.
TBRI alignment
Predictable, bounded workloads support the TBRI principles the agency operates under: Connection (consistent designee assignment, aftercare continuity through transitions), Empowerment (clear, manageable workload expectations), and Correction (capacity preserved for crisis response and trauma-informed intervention rather than overload).