Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 15 - Children and Family Services › Rule 016.15.15-007 - Updates to Policies and Procedures Regarding Division Contact with Families and Children Involved in Out-of-Home Placement Cases. Policies VI-C and VII-I

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
POLICY VI-C: MAINTAINING FAMILY TIES IN
				OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENTS
Removal from the home and subsequent
				out-of-home placement are traumatic events for children. One way this trauma
				may be minimized is by maintaining family ties in out-of-home placements.
				Moreover
, the Division believes that strengths of families and
				supporting these strengths contribute to life-long permanent relationships for
				children. This belief is supported by research demonstrating that children who
				maintain positive family ties while in out-of-home placement achieve better
				short- and long-term outcomes.
If court orders differ from the
				requirements outlined in this policy and related procedures regarding visits
				and contact with family members, the Division will comply with court orders
				accordingly
.
CONTACT WITH PARENTS
In order to maintain and strengthen the
				parent-child relationship, visits and other forms of contact with parents and
				their children in out-of-home placements are essential
.
Visits between parents, including noncustodial and putative
				parents, and their children will occur at least weekly based upon the child's
				best interest. More frequent visits are encouraged, as
				appropriate
. A positive drug or alcohol screen in and of itself
				will not result in the postponement and/or withholding of visits between a
				parent and child in DHS custody unless:
A.
The parent is under the influence
			 of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the scheduled visit and has observable
			 behavior indicating impairment of parenting capacity; or,
B.
A court order specifies that a
			 parent's positive screen will result in the withholding of parent-child
Visits may be supervised or unsupervised
				depending on the dynamics of the case
.
Any Division
				staff member as well as approved student interns and volunteers may supervise
				visits. However, the appropriate supervisor will individualize each assignment
				to supervise visits. When making the assignment the supervisor will consider
				the family's history, current level of functioning, and any other applicable
				factors as well as the skill set of the individual selected to supervise the
				visit
.
The preferred location for visits is the parent's home
				or, if that is not possible, in the most home-like setting possible. Office
				visits are a last resort.
While children are in out-of-home placements,
				the Division, in conjunction with foster parents and placement providers, will
				update parents regarding their children's lives including providing information
				regarding, without limitation, status of
				"physical,
'
behavioral and emotional health, progress
				in school, involvement in extracurricular activities, and achievements. Parents
				will be invited to participate in their children's school, faith-based, and
				extracurricular activities as appropriate.
The specific plan for visits between a child in
				out-of-home placement and
his or her parents as appropriate, will
				be included in the case plan. As the family prepares for reunification, the
				frequency and/or length of visits will increase while the level of supervision
				will decrease accordingly
.
The case plan will be
				updated as needed to reflect changes regarding visits and other
				contact.
Foster parents may communicate directly with
				biological parents when appropriate and in the child's best interest to give
				updates on the child's progress, inform them of the child's school and
				extracurricular activities, and share photos. In addition, since foster parents
				can model positive parenting skills that may help the biological parents to
				achieve reunification, foster parents may consider hosting parent-child visits,
				if appropriate and acceptable to all individuals involved. Foster parents are
				also encouraged to consider supporting the parent-child relationship in other
				ways such as helping the child write letters to his or her parents, creating
				Life Books with the children to then share with the biological parents, and
				presenting a positive view of the child's parents to the child to the extent
				possible.
When assessing the appropriateness of foster
				parents communicating directly with biological parents, holding parent-child
				visits in the foster parent home, and/or transporting the child to parent-child
				visits, the Division will ensure the foster parents thoroughly understand all
				court orders related to parent-child contact and
				consider:
A.
Various family dynamics;
B.
Progress of the case at
			 that point in time; and,
C.
Experience and other
			 skills sets of the foster family.
DCFS staff members will discuss with foster
				parents and biological parents the level of comfort that both sets of parents
				have with foster parents hosting/supervising parent-child visits and/or
				providing transportation to parent-child visits. Staff will not expect foster
				parents to host/supervise parent-child visits and/or transport to parent-child
				visits: