New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services › Subchapter C - Social Services › Article 3 - Child-care Agencies › Part 443 - Certification, Approval and Supervision of Foster Family Boarding Homes › Section 443.2 - Authorized agency operating requirements

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
Outreach.
Authorized agencies operating a foster family boarding
			   home program must seek to recruit persons with the ability and motivation to
			   serve children in need of a substitute family life.
(b)
Inquiries.
Authorized agencies operating a foster family boarding
			   home program must:
(1) respond in
			 writing within 10 days to inquiries from persons interested in becoming foster
			 parents and must have a written procedure for doing this;
(2) offer an appointment to each person
			 inquiring about the program or shall arrange for them to attend an orientation
			 meeting about foster family care;
(3) provide application and medical report
			 forms to persons interested in the program at the time of the initial interview
			 or the orientation meetings;
(4)
			 inform persons who express and interest in becoming or who apply to become
			 certified or approved foster parents, that as part of the application process,
			 each applicant and each person over the age of 18 currently residing in the
			 home of the applicant will be required to provide fingerprints in the form
			 prescribed by the Office of Children and Family Services for the purpose of a
			 criminal history record check by the Division of Criminal Justice Services and
			 the Federal Bureau of Investigation in accordance with the provisions set forth
			 in section
			 443.8  of this Part.
(5)
(i)
			 inform persons who express an interest in becoming, or who apply to become a
			 certified or approved foster parent, that the agency must inquire of the Office
			 of Children and Family Services whether any person who applies for
			 certification or approval to be a foster parent and whether any person over the
			 age of 18 who resides in the home of the applicant is the subject of an
			 indicated child abuse or maltreatment report on file with the Statewide Central
			 Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment and inform such persons that if they,
			 or any other person over the age of 18 who resides in the home of the
			 applicant, resided in another state at any time during the five years preceding
			 the application for certification or approval as a foster parent made in
			 accordance with this Part, the agency will request child abuse and maltreatment
			 information maintained by the child abuse and maltreatment registry from the
			 applicable child welfare agency in each such state of previous residence;
			 and
(ii) inform persons who express
			 an interest in becoming foster parents or who apply to become certified or
			 approved foster parents, that as part of the application process the agency
			 must inquire of the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special
			 Needs whether any person who applies for certification or approval as a foster
			 parent and whether any person over the age of 18 who resides in the home of the
			 applicant is listed on the register of substantiated category one cases of
			 abuse or neglect maintained by the Justice Center for the Protection of People
			 with Special Needs.
(6)
			 require applicants for certification or approval to complete the forms which
			 are necessary for the agency to inquire of the Office of Children and Family
			 Services and the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs
			 whether the applicant and any person over the age of 18 who resides in the home
			 of the applicant is the subject of an indicated child abuse or maltreatment
			 report on file with the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and
			 Maltreatment and/or is listed on the register of substantiated category one
			 cases of abuse or neglect maintained by the Justice Center for the Protection
			 of People with Special Needs and, where applicable, to request child abuse and
			 maltreatment information from the applicable child welfare agency of the state
			 where the applicant or other person 18 years of age or older resided in the
			 five years preceding the application for certification or approval as a foster
			 parent. This includes foster parents who are completing a new application in
			 the following situations:
(i) an initial
			 application for certification or a letter of approval as a foster parent has
			 been received;
(ii) an application
			 for certification or approval as foster parents has expired because it has been
			 pending for six months or more;
(iii) a previously certified or approved
			 foster home that was closed is to be reopened; or
(iv) a new adult spouse of a foster parent
			 has come into the home and has applied for certification or approval as a
			 foster parent;
(7)
			 inquire of the Office of Children and Family Services and the Justice Center
			 for the Protection of People with Special Needs whether an applicant, and any
			 person 18 years of age or older who resides in the home of the applicant, is
			 the subject of an indicated child abuse or maltreatment report on file with the
			 Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment and/or is listed on
			 the register of substantiated category one cases of abuse or neglect maintained
			 by the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs and, if
			 the applicant or other person 18 years of age or older who resides in the home
			 of the applicant resided in another state in the five years preceding the
			 application for certification or approval as a foster parent made pursuant to
			 this Part, request child abuse and maltreatment information maintained by the
			 child abuse and maltreatment registry from the applicable child welfare agency
			 of each such state of previous residence;
(8) determine, on the basis of the
			 information it has available and in accordance with guidelines developed by the
			 Office of Children and Family Services, whether to approve the applicant if an
			 applicant or any person 18 years of age or older who resides in the home of the
			 applicant is the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment
			 on file with the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment
			 and/or with another state's child abuse and maltreatment registry and/or is
			 listed on the register of substantiated category one cases of abuse or neglect
			 maintained by the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special
			 Needs, except that any social services district which had guidelines for the
			 review of persons who are subjects of indicated reports of child abuse or
			 maltreatment in use prior to January 1, 1986 may continue to use the district
			 guidelines in making the required determination;
(9) if such an applicant is approved, the
			 agency must maintain a written record, as part of the application file, which
			 sets forth the specific reason(s) why the applicant was determined to be
			 appropriate and acceptable to be certified or approved as a foster parent. If
			 the agency denies the application, the agency must furnish the applicant with a
			 written statement setting forth its reason(s) for the denial, including a
			 statement indicating whether the denial was based in whole or in part on the
			 existence of an indicated report. If the denial is based in whole or in part on
			 the existence of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment on file
			 with the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment which names
			 the applicant as a subject, the notice of denial must also inform the
			 applicant, in the form prescribed by the Office of Children and Family
			 Services, that:
(i) the applicant has the
			 right, pursuant to section 424-a  of the Social Services Law, to request a
			 hearing before the Office of Children and Family Services regarding the record
			 maintained by the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and
			 Maltreatment;
(ii) a request for
			 such a hearing must be made within 60 days of the receipt of the notice of
			 denial indicating that the denial was based in whole or in part on the
			 existence of the indicated report; and
(iii) the sole issue at any such hearing will
			 be whether the applicant has been shown by a fair preponderance of the evidence
			 to have committed the act or acts of child abuse or maltreatment giving rise to
			 the indicated report;
(10) reconsider its decision to deny the
			 applicant foster care certification or approval which was based in whole or in
			 part on the existence of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment
			 whenever the agency is informed by the Office of Children and Family Services
			 that, as a result of a hearing held pursuant to a request made in accordance
			 with paragraph (8) of this subdivision and section 424-a  of the Social Services
			 Law, the Office of Children and Family Services has failed to show by a fair
			 preponderance of the evidence that the applicant committed the act or acts upon
			 which the indicated report is based and that the agency's decision to deny the
			 applicant should be reconsidered. Upon receiving such notification from the
			 Office of Children and Family Services, the agency should review its denial
			 without considering the indicated report;
(11) require a joint application to be
			 submitted by married individuals living in the same household;
(12) utilize the application form to elicit
			 information including, but not limited to the following:
(i) age;
(ii) health;
(iii) physical functioning;
(iv) income;
(v) marital status;
(vi) employment of the applicants;
(vii) information regarding the physical
			 facilities of the prospective foster home;
(viii) the names of those persons who will be
			 sharing living accommodations with the child in foster care, including the
			 names of persons 18 years of age or older living in the home;
(ix) whether any other application for
			 certification or approval has ever been made, whether such application was
			 accepted or rejected and, if rejected, the reasons therefor;
(13) each agency must establish a
			 procedure to review and evaluate the backgrounds of and information supplied by
			 all applicants for certification or approval. As part of this procedure,
			 applicants must be required to submit all of the following information:
(i) a statement or summary of the applicant's
			 employment history, including but not limited to any relevant child-caring
			 experience;
(ii) names, addresses
			 and, where applicable, telephone numbers of references who can verify the
			 applicant's employment history, work record and qualifications;
(iii) names, addresses and telephone numbers
			 of at least three personal references, other than relatives, who can attest to
			 the applicant's character, habits, reputation and personal qualifications and
			 which must be verified in accordance with this section;
(iv) a sworn statement by the applicant
			 indicating whether, to the best of the applicant's knowledge, the applicant or
			 any other person over the age of 18 currently residing in the home has ever
			 been convicted of a crime in New York State or any other jurisdiction. If an
			 applicant discloses in the sworn statement that he/she or any other person over
			 the age of 18 currently residing in the home has been convicted of a crime, the
			 agency must determine, in accordance with guidelines developed and disseminated
			 by the Office of Children and Family Services to the extent consistent with
			 section 443.8  of this Part, whether to
			 approve such applicant. If the agency determines that it will approve the
			 applicant to receive a foster care placement, the agency must maintain a
			 written record, as part of the application and home study file of such
			 applicant, of the reason(s) why the applicant was determined to be appropriate
			 and acceptable to be certified or approved as a foster parent; and
(v) completed fingerprint cards for the
			 applicant(s) and each person over the age of 18 currently residing in the home
			 of such applicant(s). The authorized agency must promptly submit such
			 fingerprint cards to the Office of Children and Family Services for forwarding
			 to the Division of Criminal Justice Services to perform a criminal history
			 record check by the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Federal
			 Bureau of Investigation. The authorized agency must use the information
			 obtained through the criminal history record check(s) in accordance with
			 section 443.8  of this Part;
(14) acknowledge, within 10 days
			 of receipt of a completed application, receipt of such form and either reject
			 the applicant for home study or accept the applicant for home study. Such
			 acceptance must be conditioned on the submission of an acceptable medical
			 report form;
(15) reject an
			 application for home study only on the basis of information in the application
			 or medical report forms or the criminal history record check or the Statewide
			 Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment check or information provided
			 by another state's child abuse and maltreatment registry or the register of
			 substantiated category one cases of abuse or neglect maintained by the Justice
			 Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. A person whose
			 application is not accepted must be advised in writing of the reason(s) for
			 rejection;
(16) require that a
			 medical report form must be filed with the agency either prior to or after
			 acceptance for a home study. The completion of the home study required by this
			 Part must be conditioned upon the submission of an acceptable medical report
			 form. The medical report form must cover a physical examination of the
			 applicant(s) conducted not more than one year preceding the date that the
			 application is submitted to an authorized agency that was conducted by a
			 physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or other licensed and
			 qualified health care practitioner, as appropriate, regarding the members of
			 the foster family's general health, that indicates the absence of communicable
			 disease, infection or illness or any physical or mental conditions which might
			 affect the proper care of a foster child, or that presence of any identified
			 affliction does not pose a risk to the health and safety of children.
(17) if the applicant and the applicant's
			 family have previously completed a medical exam for an adoption study, that
			 medical report will satisfy the requirement of paragraph (16) of this
			 subdivision if the report has been completed within the past year;
(18) unless an application has been rejected
			 prior to submission of the medical report form in accordance with paragraph
			 (16) of this subdivision, within 15 days of receipt of a medical report form an
			 agency must acknowledge receipt of such form and must either accept or reject
			 the applicant for a home study. A person whose application is not accepted
			 based on an unacceptable medical report must be advised in writing of the
			 reasons for such rejection;
(19)
			 treat all reopenings of foster homes that have closed as requests for a new
			 certificate or approval. A new application must be completed regardless of how
			 long the home has been closed. The only exception to this requirement is when a
			 reopening occurs for administrative reasons,
i.e.,
when the
			 home should not have been closed initially but because it was, a reopening is
			 necessary.
(20) In addition to the
			 requirements set forth in paragraphs (4) and (5) of this subdivision, the
			 authorized agency to which the person has applied for certification or approval
			 as a foster parent must review information available in the CONNECTIONS system
			 to determine whether such person previously held a certificate or letter of
			 approval as a foster parent and, if so, whether such certificate or letter of
			 approval was revoked, not renewed, or a foster child was removed from the
			 applicant's home for health and safety reasons and must consider such
			 information in determining whether a certificate or letter of approval should
			 be issued to such applicant. All such inquiries must be completed and evaluated
			 before the authorized agency may issue a certificate or letter of approval to
			 the applicant.