La. Admin. Code tit. 67 § V-7319

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section V-7319 - Foster Care Services

A. Types of Foster Care Services

1. The provider may offer any or all of the following types of services in an approved foster home:

a. foster care services;

b. therapeutic foster care services; and/or

c. respite care services.

2. Number of Children-Foster Home

a. At any given time, a foster home shall have no more than six dependents including foster children, dependent children, dependent adults, and children for whom respite is provided with the exception of a sibling group, who may remain together.

b. Prior to exceeding six dependents in a foster home written approval from the child welfare state office shall be obtained.

c. Documentation from child welfare state office shall include:

i. name of the CPA for which approval is granted;

ii. name of foster parent for which approval is granted;

iii. names and birth dates of all dependents in the home at the time approval is granted;

iv. name and birth date of child/youth for which approval is granted;

v. signature and date of child welfare state office staff granting approval which shall be prior to the placement date; and

vi. conditions if any, for which approval is granted.

3. No more than two children under two years of age shall be placed in the same foster home, with the exception of a sibling group.

a. Prior to exceeding two children under two years of age in the same foster home at the same time, with the exception of a sibling group; written approval from child welfare state office shall be obtained.

b. Documentation from the child welfare state office shall include:

i. name of the CPA for which approval is granted;

ii. name of foster parent for which approval is granted;

iii. names and birth dates of all dependents at the time approval is granted;

iv. name and birth date of child/youth for which approval is granted;

v. signature and date of child welfare state office placement services section staff granting approval which shall be prior to the placement date; and

vi. conditions, if any, for which the approval is granted.

B. Additional Requirements for Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC) Services.

1. The TFC parent who is the primary care giver shall have documentation of a high school diploma or equivalent.

2. The TFC foster home parents shall complete a minimum of 24 hours of annual training in addition to the 15 hours of training required under §7315.P.5 For two-parent therapeutic foster care homes, the 39 total training hours as required in this section may be divided between the two TFC parents, as long as the primary caretaker receives a minimum of 16 hours of the 39 required hours and the other parent receives a minimum of eight hours of the 39 required hours. Documentation shall include a certificate or sign in sheet with the training topic, number of hours, trainer's name and signature of individual attending.

a. Fourteen hours of the twenty-four hours of annual training may be met through professional therapeutic consultation or medical training aimed to assist in parenting a child placed or being placed.

3. Approval from the child welfare state office staff shall be obtained and documented prior to 1) exceeding four dependents, including foster children/youth, dependent children, dependent adults, and children for whom respite is provided in a TFC home and/or 2) exceeding two TFC children/youth in a home, unless the additional child/youth is a sibling of one of the TFC children.

4. Documentation from the child welfare state office shall include:

a. name of the CPA for which approval is granted;

b. name of foster parent for which approval is granted;

c. names and birth dates of all dependents in the home at the time approval is granted which identifies children/youth receiving TFC services;

d. name and birth date of child/youth for which approval is granted;

e. signature of child welfare state office staff granting approval which shall be prior to the placement date; and

f. conditions, if any for which approval is granted.

C. Placement of Child in Foster Home

1. The provider shall place a child/youth only with certified foster parents in an approved home. If a couple is legally married and is seeking to foster a child/youth, both individuals shall meet certification requirements. If an individual is seeking to foster a child/youth, he/she has not yet been judicially separated or divorced and his/her spouse continues to reside in the home, both individuals shall meet certification requirements.

2. The provider shall select a foster home for a child/youth based upon the individual needs of the child, to include the child's assessment, the child's needs, and measures required to support the safety of the child. The placement decision including the child-placing agency staff's signature and date shall be documented in the child's file.

3. The type of placement for each child/youth shall be determined by amount of supervision required, support services needed, and training received by the foster parent to assist in meeting the needs of the child.

4. The provider shall have a written child specific placement agreement with the foster parent for each child/youth placed indicating at a minimum the responsibilities of the child-placing agency and foster parent to include:

a. rights and responsibilities of the child-placing agency and foster parent;

b. agreement by the family to work in partnership with the child-placing agency to provide foster care services to the child/youth;

c. agreement that the foster parent is able and willing to communicate with the child in the child's own language as required by Public Law 115-123;

d. willingness and ability of the foster parent to communicate with the child-placing agency, health care and other service providers on behalf of the child in accordance with Public Law 115-123;

e. confidentiality of all personal information about the child and the child's family confidential;

f. receipt of a daily board rate paid monthly by the child-placing agency;

g. agreement to cooperate with the agency/provider when it is necessary to remove a child from the foster home for any reason;

h. reporting to the child-placing agency all changes in circumstances affecting the child/youth or the foster care placement;

i. obtaining the consent of the CPA prior to taking the child/youth out-of-state or authorizing any special medical care or treatment for the child;

j. promotion of healthy foster parent-child adjustment and bonding by the CPA by providing support services to the foster parents;

k. prohibited use of any illegal substances, alcohol abuse including the consumption of alcohol in excess amounts, or legal prescription or nonprescription drug abuse via consumption of excess amounts or contraindicated usage as required by Public Law 115-123;

l. foster parent(s) nor guests shall smoke in the presence of a child in foster care, in the family home or in any vehicle used to transport a child as required by Public Law 115-123;

m. as required by Public Law 115-123, maintaining the swimming pool in a safe condition, including testing and maintaining chlorine and pH levels as required by the manufacturer's specifications;

n. as required by Public Law 115-123, locking all entry points to the swimming pool, when not in use;

o. as required by Public Law 115-123, removing or secure steps or ladders to the swimming pool, if applicable when the pool is not in use; and

p. as required by Public Law 115-123, no transporting of weapons in any vehicle in which a foster child is riding unless the weapons are made inoperable and inaccessible.

5. The child specific placement agreement shall be signed and dated by a child-placing agency representative and foster parent prior to or at the time of placement.

6. The child-placing agency shall provide foster parent with written instructions for contacting agency personnel to include names and telephone numbers prior to or at the time of placement.

D. Supervision for Foster and TFC Homes

1. Provider shall conduct an initial in home face-to-face supervisory visit with the child and one foster parent on the day of the child's placement or the following calendar day. A subsequent face-to-face in home supervisory visit shall be conducted with the foster parent and child within 10 calendar days of the child's placement.

2. Provider shall have at least weekly telephone contact with one of the foster parents.

3. Provider shall conduct supervisory visits with one foster parent at least twice monthly with at least one visit occurring in the foster home. Supervisory visits with foster parents of infants shall be conducted while the infant is present in the home.

4. Provider shall conduct a private supervisory visit with the foster child/youth age one year and above, a minimum of twice monthly with at least a segment of one visit occurring in the foster home.

5. Documentation of the contacts noted in §7319.D l-4 shall include:

a. date and time of visit or phone contact;

b. individuals present;

c. location of visit;

d. duration of visit;

e. assessment of adjustment of the child and foster parent;

f. assessment of attachment and bonding;

g. assessment of health of child;

h. changes since last contact;

i. summary of visit or phone contact; and

j. signature of person conducting visit or phone contact.

6. Provider shall supervise visitation between the child and birth family if required in the case or service plan.

7. Provider shall assist with transporting the child/youth to appointments if the foster parent is unable.

8. The child-placing agency shall provide 24 hour crisis intervention to the foster family such as defusing potentially dangerous situations between children and/or towards foster parent when requested or a need detected.

E. Foster Child's Record

1. Information received verbally from the referring agency shall be documented by the child-placing agency in the child/youth's record. Documentation shall include the name of the referring agency representative from whom the information was received, date, summary of information, and the name of the child-placing agency representative to which the information was provided. Information received in writing from the referring agency shall be filed in the child/youth's record.

2. Prior to placement, the provider shall obtain as much information as possible from the referring agency about the child/youth and the child/youth's family in order to find the most suitable home for a child. Provider shall document in the child/youth's record a summary containing justification for placement decision to include the provider's assessment of the strengths and needs of the foster family.

3. Prior to placement and as information is made available to the child-placing agency, the child-placing agency shall provide information to a foster parent regarding the behavior and development of the child.

4. Prior to placement and as information is made available to the child-placing agency, the provider shall inform the foster parent of inappropriate sexual acts or sexual behavior of the child/youth known to the provider and any behaviors of the child/youth that indicate a safety risk for the placement.

5. Prior to placement, the provider shall be responsible for obtaining a placement agreement between the child-placing agency and referring agency. This agreement shall be filed in the child/youth's record.

6. The provider shall obtain and document the following information within 30 calendar days of placement:

a. child/youth's name, previous home address, sex, race, nationality, birth date, birth place, religious affiliation, and Social Security number;

b. the current name, address, telephone number and marital status of the biological parents of the child;

c. the name, address, and telephone number of siblings and if in foster care, the name and contact information of their foster parents and caseworkers; and

d. the name, address, and telephone number of siblings and significant relatives or others considered in the case plan.

7. The provider shall maintain the following information in the foster child/youth's record and all information shall be continuously updated:

a. custody order within 30 calendar days of placement;

b. copy of birth certificate or written request for birth certificate to child welfare within seven calendar days of placement;

c. medical, psychological, and psychiatric history and reports;

d. annual physicals and examinations for the child/youth;

e. the dates of contact with the child/youth to include but not limited to providers, guardian, biological family, CASA, medical professionals;

f. initial assessment, service plans, and all subsequent assessments;

g. educational records;

h. copy of DCFS case plans if child/youth is in DCFS custody within seven calendar days of case plan meeting;

i. summary of the child/youth's contacts with caseworker, child-placing agency staff, and family members reflecting the quality of the relationships as well as how the child/youth is coping;

j. a record of the child's placements with names of caregivers, addresses, placement and discharge dates;

k. signed placement agreements between the child-placing agency and foster parent;

l. documentation of compliance with the service plan;

m. the basis for selection of the home for the specific child/youth; and

n. discharge summary.

F. Foster Home Annual Assessment

1. The annual assessment of the foster home prior to expiration of current certification shall include a summary noting the following:

a. the home's compliance with the required licensing standards;

b. review of the foster parents' positive and negative experiences during the previous 12 months;

c. foster parents willingness to continue to foster;

d. provider feedback regarding the foster parents' care of the children which were placed in the home throughout the year; and

e. foster parents' feedback regarding the child-placing agency.

2. Documentation shall include the signature and date of the individual completing the summary.

3. If areas of concern are identified during the foster home annual assessment, the provider with input from the foster parent shall develop a written plan of action prior to recertification. The plan shall include measurable goals and timeframes and shall be signed and dated by the provider and foster parent.

4. Documentation of re-certification shall be filed in the foster parent record.

G. Discharge from Provider Care-Foster Care

1. The provider shall discharge the child only to the person, persons, or agency having legal custody of the child or by court order.

2. The provider shall complete a discharge summary within seven calendar days of the child/youth's discharge and document the following in the child/youth's record:

a. name and address of foster family from which the child was removed;

b. child/youth's date of birth;

c. date of placement and discharge from each foster home certified by the child-placing agency from which the child was discharged;

d. the name and address of the person, persons, or agency to whom the child was discharged;

e. the reason for discharge;

f. case plan and service plan goals achieved while in care; and

g. follow-up recommendations.

La. Admin. Code tit. 67, § V-7319

Promulgated by the Department of Children and Family Services, Licensing Section, LR 45385 (3/1/2019), effective 4/1/2019, Promulgated by the Department of Children and Family Services, Licensing Section, LR 471849 (12/1/2021).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 46:1407(D).