DIRECT SERVICES PROGRAM CASE REVIEW SYSTEM.

(a) The department shall establish and maintain a single, uniform case review system for all direct services programs.

(b) The case review system must:

(1) include risk assessment tools that account for the different risks involved in each direct services program;

(2) require that case reviews:

(A) be used to consistently evaluate each direct services program across all regions, with the goal of evaluating at least 10 percent of all cases in each program and region annually;

(B) focus on areas of highest risk and prioritize the review of the following cases:

(i) except as provided by Subparagraph (ii), cases in which direct services have been provided for more than two years;

(ii) cases in the Blind Children's Vocational Discovery and Development Program in which direct services have been provided for more than five years; and

(iii) cases that are significantly outside the expenditure guidelines for that type of case;

(C) be used to evaluate a caseworker's eligibility determinations and decisions to close a case before a service plan is developed or without the client reaching the client's goal; and

(D) focus on the quality of a caseworker's decision-making and compliance with program requirements; and

(3) require a caseworker's supervisor to use the reviews of a caseworker's cases in conducting the caseworker's performance evaluation and in providing informal guidance to the caseworker to improve the caseworker's performance.