Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 15 - Children and Family Services › Rule 016.15.20-002 - Private Licensed Placement Agency Resource Homes

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
POLICY VI-P: Private Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA)
				Resource Homes
A Private Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA) is a child
				placement agency licensed by the Child Welfare Agency Review Board to recruit,
				train, approve, and support their own resource homes. A PLPA resource home
				provides substitute care within a family-like setting on a twenty-four (24)
				hour basis for any child placed in the home by a child placement agency. A PLPA
				is responsible for maintaining the resource homes it recruits by ensuring those
				resource homes continuously meet Minimum Licensing Standards for Child Welfare
				Agencies (Placement) and Department of Human Services (DHS) as well as Division
				of Children and Family Services (DCFS) resource home policy and
				procedures.
These policies, standards, and procedures include but are
				not limited to:
A.
Completion of background checks;
B.
Structured Analysis Family
			 Evaluation (SAFE) home studies (note: resource parents must reside in their
			 residence prior to a SAFE home study being completed on the
			 home);
C.
Pre-service
			 training;
D.
Continuing resource parent education as applicable;
E.
Adherence to the reasonable and
			 prudent parent standard and use of all types of Alternate Care (see Policy
			 VII-G);
F.
Requests
			 for changes in placement (see Procedure VII-L1: Resource Parent Request for
			 Placement Change); and
G.
Allegations of child maltreatment involving the resource home (see Policy
			 VII-K: Child Maltreatment Allegations Concerning Out-of-Home
			 Placements).
A PLPA resource home is monitored through quarterly and
				annual reevaluations by its respective PLPA approval agency. A PLPA resource
				home is also more intensively supervised and supported by the approving PLPA.
				In addition to a DCFS Family Service Worker, each child in a PLPA resource home
				is assigned a case manager who is active in the child's daily life through
				frequent visits (a minimum of monthly).
Placement in an approved and available PLPA resource home
				is an option for any child in DHS custody when a PLPA resource home best meets
				the needs of a child. Placement in a PLPA resource home of a child in the
				custody of DHS is encouraged in the following circumstances:
A.
He or she is a sibling of a child
			 placed in a PLPA home;
B.
He or she is a child of a youth in a PLPA home; or,
C.
He or she had previously been placed
			 in a PLPA resource home and transitioned to other services requiring a more
			 intensive treatment approach (e.g., acute treatment), and the child is now able
			 to return to a resource home setting.
A resource parent must be financially able to care for
				his or her own needs without the foster care board payment to supplement his or
				her income. If a resource parent with a current placement elects to no longer
				be an active resource parent for the PLPA, the PLPA will notify DCFS and work
				collaboratively with the Division to move any children currently placed in that
				resource home to another licensed or approved resource home, shelter, facility,
				or an exempt child welfare agency as defined at A.C.A. §
										9-28-402(12).
PLPA resource homes are expected to accept placement of
				older children (ages 6-18) and sibling groups. PLPA resource homes with space
				limitations are expected to seek and accept children over the age of six
				(6).
If a child in a PLPA resource home becomes available for
				adoption and the resource family has expressed interest in adopting the child,
				a Consideration to Adopt staffing may occur in accordance with DCFS Policy
				VIII-G: Adoption Decisions, procedure VIII-G1: Staffing and
				Recommendations.
A resource home may not be both a PLPA home through a
				private licensed agency and a DCFS resource home. If a PLPA home wishes to
				become a DCFS resource home, the PLPA provider must close the PLPA home and
				complete an inquiry to become a resource home through DCFS.
PROCEDURE VI-P1: Referrals for Private Licensed Placement
				Agency (PLPA) Resource Homes
If the Family Service Worker (FSW) determines a Private
				Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA) resource home to be the most appropriate
				placement for a child, he or she will:
A. Complete CFS-367: Specialized Placement
			 Referral Form;
B. Email the
			 completed CFS-367 to the desired PLPA; and
C. Retain a paper copy of the CFS-367 in the
			 child's case file.
If the child is accepted into a PLPA placement, the FSW
				will:
A. Forward additional
			 required documents to the provider, as requested;
B. Continue to maintain the child's case file
			 while he or she is in the PLPA resource home; and
C. Coordinate a monthly visit with the PLPA
			 case manager to assess the health and safety of the child placed in the PLPA
			 resource home.
PROCEDURE VI-P2: Private Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA)
				Resource Home Transitioning to DCFS Resource Home
If a current Private Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA) resource
				home wishes to become a DCFS resource home, the Resource Worker will:
A. Request a referral on the family from the
			 PLPA while confirming with the PLPA that the resource home is being closed out
			 by the PLPA.
B. If the referral is
			 positive, ensure that all required DCFS background checks (i.e., Child
			 Maltreatment Central Registry Check, Adult Maltreatment Central Registry Check,
			 State Police Criminal Record Check, FBI Criminal Background Check, and Vehicle
			 Safety Check) are in place and current. Complete appropriate Children's
			 Reporting and Information System (CHRIS) screens (see Procedure VII-C1:
			 Background Check Processing).
C.
			 Once background checks have been verified, conduct an In-Home Consultation
			 Visit (see Procedure VII-C2: In-Home Consultation Visit) with the
			 family.
D. Verify that the family
			 has completed:
1) Pre-service training with
			 the PLPA: If the family did not complete pre-service training with the PLPA,
			 refer the family for pre-service training upon successful completion of all
			 background checks and the In-Home Consultation Visit (see Procedures VII-C3:
			 Initiation of Pre-Service Training and VII-C4: Pre-Service Training.
2) CPR and Standard First Aid Certification:
			 First Aid and CPR training and certification will only be accepted from a
			 certified trainer associated with the American Heart Association, the National
			 Safety Council, or the American Red Cross.
a.
			 First Aid training provided through the National Safety Council must be the
			 Standard First Aid, not Basic First Aid.
b. If the family does not have current CPR
			 and Standard First Aid Certification, assist the family in accessing
			 appropriate training.
3)
			 Fifteen (15) hours of continuing education related to fostering within the past
			 calendar year.
a) If the family has not
			 earned fifteen (15) hours of continuing education within the past calendar
			 year, they are responsible for obtaining the remaining hours.
b) The time spent during the In-Home
			 Consultation Visit and Orientation may count toward the fifteen (15) hour
			 continuing education requirement.