Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 110 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › Title 110 CMR 7.000 - Services › Substitute Care › Section 7.104 - Standards for Licensure as a Foster/Pre-adoptive Parent

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
In order to be licensed as a foster/adoptive parent, a
				  foster/pre-adoptive parent applicant must meet the following
				  requirements:
(1) A
				foster/pre-adoptive parent applicant must demonstrate, to the satisfaction of
				the Department the ability:
(a) to assure
				that a child placed in his or her care will experience a safe, supportive,
				nurturing and stable family environment which is free from abuse or
				neglect;
(b) to assure that a child
				placed in his or her care will be provided with adequate food, clothing,
				shelter, supervision and other essential care at all times;
(c) to assure that a child placed in his or
				her care will be provided with routine and emergency medical and dental
				care;
(d) to promote the physical,
				mental, and emotional well-being of a child placed in his or her care,
				including supporting and respecting a child's sexual orientation or gender
				identity;
(e) to respect and make
				efforts to support the integrity of a child's racial, ethnic, linguistic,
				cultural and religious background;
(f) to manage the stressful situations which
				are frequently associated with the placement of a child in substitute care,
				such as the temporary nature of such placement, the integration of a child in
				crisis into the foster/adoptive family, and the potential return of the child
				to his/her family;
(g) to respect
				and be bound by the same standards of confidentiality as the Department and its
				employees;
(h) to accept and
				support the child's relationship with his/her parents, siblings and other
				family members and with the Department;
(i) to assist a child in handling his/her
				situations such as removal from the home of their parent(s), placement in a new
				home environment, placement in a new school (when applicable), visits with
				parents and siblings, and possible return to the home of the parent(s) or
				placement in other substitute care;
(j) to assure that a child placed in his /her
				care will be expected to attend school regularly and will have the opportunity
				to participate in an educational program and in extracurricular activities that
				meet the child's educational and social needs;
(k) to work with the Department and the
				foster child's parents in implementing the child's service plan in order to
				meet development goals and outcomes;
(l) in collaboration with the Department, to
				develop and participate in an annual plan for trainings, education and support
				that will assist the foster/pre-adoptive parent in meeting the needs of the
				child(ren) to be placed in his/her care.
(m) to draw upon community and professional
				resources as needed;
(n) to
				transport children safely, within the standards set by state law;
(o) to deal with difficult issues in the
				child's background, and be able to talk with the child comfortably and
				constructively about his/her birth parents and family;
(p) to have reasonable expectations of a
				child's behavior and potential growth; and
(q) to assume and carry out all other
				responsibilities of a foster/pre-adoptive parent as detailed in the standard
				written agreement between the Department and foster/pre-adoptive
				parents.