Kansas Administrative Regulations › Agency 30 - KANSAS DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › Article 47 - FOSTER CARE LICENSING › Section 30-47-916 - Family assessments for foster placement families and adoptive families

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 28, July 11, 2024
Each licensee shall develop and implement policies and
				procedures for the completion of family assessments. Each family assessment
				shall determine the fitness, ability, and suitability of a family to meet the
				needs and to provide for the health, safety, and well-being of any child who
				would be placed in the family home.
(a) Requirements for all family assessments.
(1) Each licensee shall designate a child
			 welfare worker to complete an initial family assessment of each potential
			 foster placement family and each potential adoptive family that is being
			 considered for sponsorship and services by the child-placement
			 agency.
(2) Each licensee shall
			 ensure that an assessment of each potential placement family and each potential
			 adoptive family is completed and the family has been approved for placement
			 before placement of any child in a family home sponsored by the child-placement
			 agency. In any case involving placement of a child with a non-related kinship
			 family or an agency-approved family, the child may be placed with the family
			 before completion of the family assessment. In this case the assessment shall
			 be completed within 30 calendar days after the placement.
(3) Each licensee shall ensure that the
			 process for completing each family assessment includes the following steps:
(A) At least one individual interview with
			 each household member and at least one visit in the family home. The sponsoring
			 child placement agency shall have discretion for either an interview or
			 observation of family members based on age and developmental ability;
(B) a review of information obtained from
			 other agencies, a relative reference, a non-relative reference, the preparatory
			 training program assessment and recommendations, the department's child care
			 licensing and registration information system, and other applicable sources;
			 and
(C) completion of the
			 background checks required in 30-47-805 and 30-47-905.
(4) Each licensee shall ensure that a written
			 family assessment report is completed with the date, the signature and
			 credentials of the designated child welfare worker or child welfare supervisor
			 who is completing the assessment report. Each family assessment shall include a
			 discussion and documentation of the following:
(A) Social history and background information
			 for each parent, including the following:
(i)
			 Parenting and child-rearing methods used;
(ii) history of violence or abuse;
(iii) relationships within the
			 family;
(iv) marital
			 history;
(v) extended family
			 relationships;
(vi) family
			 strengths;
(vii) functional
			 literacy and communication;
(viii)
			 life history of each parent, including Significant life events;
(ix) residence history for the previous 5
			 years;
(x) employment history for
			 the previous 5 years of each potential parent;
(xi) physical health, including chronic
			 illnesses, physical limitations, substance use, and use of medications;
			 and
(xii) mental health history of
			 each family member;
(B)
			 the manner that the family has coped with significant life events and life
			 changes, including the following:
(i)
			 Emotional problems or mental illness;
(ii) substance use, substance abuse and
			 treatment for each family member;
(iii) legal issues or contacts with law
			 enforcement;
(iv) marital or other
			 Significant relationship problems;
(v) history of violence or abuse;
(vi) medical problems;
(vii) financial problems, including
			 bankruptcy;
(viii) family moves or
			 changes in household composition; and
(ix) births and deaths;
(C) the family's experience, perception, and
			 attitude about the foster care or adoption process, including the following:
(i) Experiences of each potential parent,
			 including whether the parent has been disapproved as a prospective foster or
			 adoptive parent or has been the subject of an unfavorable family assessment,
			 including the reasons and any resolution of the disapproval or the unfavorable
			 assessment; and
(ii) experiences,
			 perceptions, and attitudes of extended family members;
(D) the current family composition and
			 description of family life, including the following:
(i) A description of each family member,
			 including age, gender, and racial, ethnic, and cultural background; functional
			 literacy and communication skills;
(ii) relationships and interactions with
			 individuals outside the family, including the neighborhood and community and
			 the availability of support systems;
(iii) religious affiliation and
			 practice;
(iv) financial stability
			 and resources needed to maintain the family;
(v) assessment of the individual and family
			 strengths and needs;
(vi) the
			 manner in which each family member expresses emotions and feelings with the
			 other family members, including the ability to express empathy and
			 compassion;
(vii) skills in coping
			 with feelings of anger or frustration and with provocation from children;
			 and
(viii) ability of the family
			 and of each member of the family to adapt to changes;
(E) information on each child currently in
			 the family home, including the following:
(i)
			 Interests, activities, and peer relationships;
(ii) typical behaviors and manner of
			 expressing emotions and feelings;
(iii) the relationships between each parent
			 and the child;
(iv) the parenting
			 practices of each parent with the child; and
(v) the ability of each parent to see
			 positive uniqueness of the child and to celebrate the child's
			 achievements;
(F) each
			 parent's capacity for the following:
(i)
			 Providing for the basic needs of a child;
(ii) expressing sensitivity and concern for a
			 child, including giving and receiving affection;
(iii) expressing the parent's own emotions
			 and feelings;
(iv) setting
			 boundaries and providing guidance to a child;
(v) being involved with the child's school
			 and social activities; and
(vi)
			 discussing decision-making, parenting, and child-rearing methods;
(G) each parent's motivation and
			 the family's willingness and ability to accept a new child in the family and to
			 meet the needs of a new child, including the following:
(i) Documenting expectations of each family
			 member of the impact of a new child coming into the home;
(ii) understanding how to address the new
			 child's own feelings of grief and loss and to assist the child with obtaining
			 and participating in counseling if needed;
(iii) discussing the ability to evaluate and
			 adjust expectations of a child's behavior;
(iv) assessing the ability to adapt to
			 changes, to be flexible, and to use coping skills;
(v) discussing the parent's stated
			 preferences or requests for specific characteristics in a child to be placed
			 with the family, including age, sex, and the family's willingness to accept any
			 special needs, child's history, and birth family background;
(vi) evaluating the family's interest and
			 ability to meet the individual needs of a child, including a child with
			 disabilities, special needs, or specific medical needs;
(vii) evaluating the way a child's individual
			 needs will impact each member of the family, including extended family
			 members;
(viii) assessing the
			 family's interest, preparation, and willingness to accept a child of a
			 different ethnic, cultural, or religious background, including sensitivity to
			 and plans for dealing with the difference in background and the impact on the
			 family's extended family; including the following:
(a) preserving the ethnic and cultural
			 identity in a positive manner;
(b)
			 considering the child's family, community, neighborhood, faith, or religious
			 beliefs;
(c) considering the
			 child's school activities and friends;
(d) considering the child's or the child's
			 family's primary language; and
(e)
			 assessing the family's openness toward contact with the child's birth family,
			 understanding of the child's circumstances, and plans for discussion of the
			 birth family and history with the child;
(H) each parent's willingness and ability to
			 work with the child-placing agency, the child's birth family, and with others
			 in the child's life; and
(I) a
			 health and safety inspection of all parts of the family foster home conducted
			 by the designated child welfare worker or social service staff member operating
			 under the direction of the child welfare worker to review and discuss with the
			 parents the following health and safety issues:
(i) Safe storage of medications, alcoholic
			 beverages, household chemicals, personal care products, tools, and sharp
			 instruments;
(ii) safe and secure
			 storage of firearms, weapons, and ammunition;
(iii) fire or storm safety;
(iv) safety for swimming pools, hot tubs,
			 bodies of water, or other hazards;
(v) vaccinations for pets and maintenance of
			 the pet area in a safe and sanitary manner;
(vi) safe access and interactions between
			 children and pets;
(vii) adequate
			 sleeping arrangements for all residents of the home and for each potential
			 child to be placed in the family home;
(viii) any structural hazards and the upkeep
			 of the home; and
(ix) use of
			 smoking products.
(5) The report shall include a summary of the
			 assessment, the strengths and needs of the family, and supporting
			 documentation, and a recommendation for placement. The written report shall
			 include a recommendation for one of the following:
(A) Approval of the family for foster care or
			 adoption, or for both, and for sponsorship by the child-placement agency,
			 including a recommendation for the number, age range, sex, racial or ethnic
			 background, and any special needs of a child whose needs would be best met by
			 the family; or
(B) disapproval of
			 the family's application for foster care or adoption and sponsorship by the
			 child-placement agency;
(6) Each licensee shall ensure that the
			 results of the written family assessment and any updates are reviewed with the
			 family, including the recommendation for placement of a child with the family
			 or the recommendation not to place a child. Documentation of the review shall
			 be maintained in the family record at the child-placement agency.
(7) Each licensee shall ensure that each
			 family assessment is updated by a designated child welfare worker at least one
			 time every 12 months following completion of the original family assessment or
			 the most recent update.
(A) An update to a
			 family assessment shall also be completed when any of the following occurs:
(i) a family amends a license; or
(ii) a family has moved to a new home; or
(iii) the sponsorship of the family
			 transfers from one child-placement agency to another.
(B) If the adoptive family lives in another
			 state, each licensee shall document compliance with the statutes of the other
			 state that govern the credentials of the individuals authorized to complete
			 family assessments for adoptive families in that state.
(8) To complete an update, the designated
			 child welfare worker shall conduct at least one interview with the parents and
			 family members in the family home. The sponsoring child-placement agency shall
			 have discretion for either an interview or observation of family members based
			 on age and developmental ability.
(9) As part of the update, a designated child
			 welfare worker or a designated social service staff member operating under the
			 direction of the child welfare worker shall conduct at least one health and
			 safety inspection of the family foster home.
(10) The update of each family assessment
			 shall include the following:
(A) A review of
			 changes in the family or the home since the original family assessment or the
			 most recent assessment update;
(B)
			 a review of the care and progress of each child currently placed with the
			 family;
(C) a list of all children
			 placed with the family since the most recent assessment, including for each
			 child the date of admission, date of move from the family, and the reason for
			 the move. The list shall be reviewed for any trends and shall be maintained in
			 the family record at the child-placement agency; and
(D) an updated summary and recommendation by
			 the child welfare worker completing the family assessment.