Illinois Administrative Code › Title 89 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Part 340 - FOSTER PARENT CODE › Subpart B - FOSTER PARENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES › Section 340.50 - Foster Parent Responsibilities

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) A
				foster parent's responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the
				following:
1) The responsibility to openly
				communicate and share information about the child with other members of the
				child welfare team.
2) The
				responsibility to respect the confidentiality of information concerning foster
				children and their families and act appropriately within applicable
				confidentiality laws and regulations.
3) The responsibility to advocate for
				children in the foster parent's care.
4) The responsibility to treat children in
				the foster parent's care and the children's family with dignity, respect, and
				consideration.
5) The
				responsibility to recognize the foster parent's own individual and familial
				strengths and limitations when deciding whether to accept a child into care;
				and the responsibility to recognize the foster parent's own support needs and
				utilize appropriate supports in providing care for foster children.
6) The responsibility to be aware of the
				benefits of relying on and affiliating with other foster parents and foster
				parent associations in improving the quality of care and service to children
				and families.
7) The responsibility
				to assess the foster parent's ongoing individual training needs and take action
				to meet those needs.
8) The
				responsibility to develop and assist in implementing strategies to prevent
				placement disruptions, recognizing the traumatic impact of placement
				disruptions on a foster child and all members of the foster family; and the
				responsibility to provide emotional support for the foster children and members
				of the foster family if preventive strategies fail and placement disruptions
				occur.
9) The responsibility to
				know the impact foster parenting has on individuals and family relationships;
				and the responsibility to endeavor to minimize, as much as possible, any stress
				that results from foster parenting.
10) The responsibility to know the rewards
				and benefits to children, parents, families, and society that come from foster
				parenting and to promote the foster parenting experience in a positive
				way.
11) The responsibility to know
				the roles, rights, and responsibilities of foster parents, other professionals
				in the child welfare system, the foster child, and the foster child's own
				family.
12) The responsibility to
				know and, as necessary, fulfill the foster parent's responsibility to serve as
				a mandated reporter of suspected child abuse or neglect under the Abused and
				Neglected Child Reporting Act; and the responsibility to know the child welfare
				agency's policy regarding allegations that foster parents have committed child
				abuse or neglect and applicable administrative rules and procedures governing
				investigations of those allegations.
13) The responsibility to know and receive
				training regarding the purpose of administrative case reviews, client service
				plans, and court processes, as well as any filing or time requirements
				associated with those proceedings; and the responsibility to actively
				participate in the foster parent's designated role in these
				proceedings.
14) The responsibility
				to know the child welfare agency's appeal procedure for foster parents and the
				rights of foster parents under the procedure.
15) The responsibility to know and understand
				the importance of maintaining accurate and relevant records regarding the
				child's history and progress; and the responsibility to be aware of and follow
				the procedures and regulations of the child welfare agency with which the
				foster parent is licensed or affiliated.
16) The responsibility to share information,
				through the child welfare team, with the subsequent caregiver (whether the
				child's parent or another substitute caregiver) regarding the child's
				adjustments in the foster parent's home.
17) The responsibility to provide care and
				services that are respectful of and responsive to the child's cultural needs
				and are supportive of the relationship between the child and his or her own
				family; the responsibility to recognize the increased importance of maintaining
				a child's cultural identity when the race or culture of the foster family
				differs from that of the foster child; and the responsibility to take action to
				address these issues. [20 ILCS
				520/1-20 ]