Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 15 - Children and Family Services › Rule 016.15.22-002 - Providing Information to and Gathering Information from Resource Parents

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
POLICY VII-H: PROVIDING INFORMATION TO AND GATHERING
				INFORMATION FROM RESOURCE PARENTS
Resource parents will be considered as team members working
				with other child welfare professionals for the family. Complete information,
				such as a child's health and education records, reasons for entering care,
				siblings, and probable length of placement, will be provided to resource
				parents at the time of placement. Additional information, including, but not
				limited to, a complete copy of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths
				(CANS) assessment and complete copy of the case plan for each child placed in
				the home, will be shared promptly with the resource parents. Resource parents
				are also allowed to receive a copy of substantiated child maltreatment report
				for the child in their care.
The child's social security number may be given to the resource
				parents, only if the resource parent must have the number to obtain services,
				care, or treatment for the child (e.g., to enroll the child in school or to
				obtain medical treatment when treatment is needed for a child who is not
				Medicaid eligible). The resource parent must keep the child's Social Security
				number confidential and use the Social Security number only for allowable
				purposes.
In addition, currently or previously licensed resource parents
				may receive records concerning a child who was previously placed in their
				resource home that are relevant to the period of time in which the child was
				placed in that resource home and for which the resource parent has a legitimate
				need as determined by the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
				Examples may include providing the Social Security number of a child previously
				placed in the resource home for tax filing purposes.
Resource parents to include pre-adoptive parents and relative
				caregivers have the right to be heard in any proceeding held with respect to a
				child in their care and will be called as a witness to do so. DCFS staff are
				encouraged to support resource parents in sharing information with the court
				given that resource parents have a significant amount of knowledge about the
				child's daily functioning, strengths, and needs.
Resource parents will not be made a party to any such
				proceeding while reunification remains the court ordered goal or solely
				on
PROCEDURE VI-H9: Travel Not Related to the Interstate
				Compact on the Placement of Children
Children in foster care may have the opportunity or need to
				travel for reasons not related to ICPC. These may include but are not limited
				to, vacationing with their resource family, an out-of-state visit with a family
				member, or attending a funeral of a family member. Any travel that promotes a
				sense of normalcy and connection for children in foster care is encouraged, as
				appropriate for a particular child and in accordance with the reasonable and
				prudent parent standard (see Policy VII-G for more information).
An out-of-state visit is thirty (30) days or less and is not
				subject to ICPC. However, if it is greater than thirty (30) days, it is a
				placement, which is subject to ICPC.
Because the Department of Human Services (DHS) is the appointed
				custodian of a child in foster care, DHS has the right to consent to the
				child's travel on vacation or similar trips as per A.C.A. §
								9-27-353(e).
				As such, resource parents must have prior written authorization to transport
				children in foster care for an overnight stay outside the State of Arkansas.
				Such requests will be made to the FSW as soon as travel planning begins, and at
				a minimum of two (2) weeks prior to scheduled travel dates, if possible.
Resource parents will not have to submit a request for
				out-of-state travel in order to cross the state border when travel plans do not
				require an overnight stay outside the State of Arkansas (for example: shopping
				or visiting with a relative in a nearby town over state lines).
When vacationing as a family, resource parents are encouraged
				to take any children placed in their home with them. However, DCFS will not pay
				for vacation expenses. As noted above, travel out of state involving an
				overnight stay or more requires prior written authorization.
For children placed out-of-state by an Arkansas court and who
				are not in DHS custody as the result of a dependency-neglect or dependency
				case, the sending party is responsible for arranging transportation rather than
				DHS.
For non-ICPC travel of a child in DHS custody, the Family
				Service Worker will:
A. Ensure that
			 all parties to the case are made aware of and have input regarding the child in
			 foster care traveling out of state (for example: to attend a funeral, go on
			 vacation with a resource parent, or attend camp).
B. Request prior agency approval, by
			 submitting the DHS-1010 for the child and an escort, as appropriate, to the FSW
			 Supervisor who, if approved, will continue to request approval and associated
			 signatures through the following chain of command:
1) Area Director or designee;
2) Assistant Director of Community Services
			 or designee; and
3) DCFS Director
			 or designee.