New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 3A - CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › Chapter 51 - MANUAL OF REQUIREMENTS FOR RESOURCE FAMILY PARENTS › Subchapter 5 - PERSONAL REQUIREMENTS › Section 3A:51-5.1 - General personal requirements

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Level I general
				personal requirements are as follows:
1. The
				resource family parent or resource family applicant shall be of good character, as
				evidenced by the application and home study process as specified in
				N.J.A.C.
				3A:51-2.1, and shall possess skills, attributes,
				and characteristics conducive to and suitable for being a resource family parent and
				caring effectively for a child in placement.
2. The resource family parent or resource family
				parent applicant shall be in sufficient physical, mental, and emotional health to
				perform his or her duties satisfactorily.
i. The
				resource family parent or resource family parent applicant shall be free of serious
				contagious diseases that may put a child in placement at risk.
ii. The resource family parent or resource family
				parent applicant shall refrain from abuse of drugs or alcohol.
iii. Each resource family parent or resource
				family parent applicant shall disclose his or her current mental health and
				substance use issues and shall participate in recommended psychological evaluations
				and drug screenings when determined to be necessary by the Department.
iv. Each resource family parent or resource family
				parent applicant shall disclose his or her physical health, mental health, and
				substance use history.
3. The
				resource family parent or resource family parent applicant shall demonstrate
				reasonable and mature attitudes towards professional figures and institutions, as
				determined by a review of references and an assessment of the resource family
				parent's interactions during training and home visits by the Department
				representative.
i. The resource family parent or
				resource family parent applicant shall cooperate with all activities in the case
				plan for the child in placement, such as counseling, therapy, court sessions, visits
				with the child's family or life skills programs to develop the basic skills needed
				to succeed in daily living, career planning, housing, and money management, when
				appropriate.
ii. The resource family
				parent or resource family parent applicant and each household member shall cooperate
				in all licensing activities as requested by the Department.
4. At least one resource family parent shall be
				able to communicate with each child in placement in a language that the child
				understands.
5. At least one resource
				family parent or applicant shall be able to communicate in English.
6. At least one resource family parent or
				applicant shall be functionally literate.
7. The resource family parent shall have
				sufficient income or other means of financial support prior to the placement of a
				child, so that the resource family parent is economically independent of board
				subsidy payments from the Department.
i. The
				resource family parent shall provide the necessities of life for his or her
				family.
ii. The resource family parent
				shall use all money received in the name of a child in placement for that child's
				care.
8. The resource family
				parent shall be able to provide daily care and supervision for each child in
				placement, as appropriate to the child's age and needs.
9. The resource family parent shall be able to
				provide sufficient time and attention to each child in placement without causing
				other family members' needs to go unmet or overburdening the resource family
				parent.