N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18 § 444.15

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 444.15 - Home Study

(a) Prior to a host family home receiving a child for care, a home study must be completed, and the home must be approved as a host family home.

(b) A home study and evaluation of the members of household must determine compliance with all of the following criteria for approval:

(1)Age. Each applicant must be over the age of 21.

(2)Health. Each member of the applicant's household must be in good physical and mental health and free from communicable diseases. However, physical handicaps or illness of applicants or members of their household must be a consideration only as they affect the ability to provide adequate care to a child receiving host family care or may affect an individual child's adjustment to the family. Applications must be evaluated on an individual basis with assistance of a medical consultant, when appropriate.

(3) Employment. Employment of an approved host family home caregiver outside the home must be permitted when there are suitable plans for the care and supervision of the child at all times, including after school and during the summer. Such plans must be made part of the host family home application record and must be received prior to approval by the Agency. Such plans must be updated annually and immediately upon substantial change in employment circumstances.

(4) Character. As set forth above, each applicant for approval must provide the Agency with the names of three persons who may be contacted for references. The Agency must seek signed statements from these persons attesting to the applicant's moral character, mature judgment, ability to manage financial resources, and capacity for developing a meaningful relationship with children, or utilize in-person interviews attesting to the same.

(5) Ability and motivation. The Agency must explore each applicant's understanding of the role of a host family home and the applicant's ability, motivation, and psychological readiness to be a host family home. The Agency also must explore the understanding of the other members of the household about being a host family home and their concept of the role within the family of the child receiving host family care.

(c) The Agency must orient applicants who have been accepted for a home study to:

(1) the social, family, and personal challenges that lead to the need for the care of a child in a host family home;

(2) the problems and reactions of children upon separation, and the function and responsibility of the host family home in relation to the child, the child's parents, and Agency staff;

(3) the nature of the relationship of Agency staff to the host family home and children, including definitions of the function and responsibilities of Agency staff assigned to the children receiving host family home care and their families;

(4) the rights and responsibilities of host family home volunteers, as set forth in this Part; and

(5) the rights and responsibilities of the child's parents, the host family home and the Agency regarding the designation of a "person in parental relation" in accordance with Title 15-A of Article 5 of the General Obligations Law, including, but not limited to, the right of a parent to terminate such designation at any time and the return of such child to the parent upon termination.

(d) The Agency must develop a record for each applicant and each approved host family home that must include, but not necessarily be limited to:

(1) the application;

(2) medical report(s)

(3) summary of the home study;

(4) interviews with applicants;

(5) personal references;

(6) record listing the names of children cared for in the home with the dates of the children's entry into and movement from the home;

(7) summary of each evaluation of the host family home;

(8) physical description of the home, including allocation of space;

(9) copies of correspondence with the applicant and the host family home;

(10) reports from OCFS that notify the Agency whether the applicant for approval 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 information from the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs whether the applicant is listed on the register of substantiated Category One cases of abuse or neglect; and

(11) the response from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services regarding the criminal history of the applicant and any adult household member over the age of 18 residing in the home of the applicant.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18 § 444.15

Adopted New York State Register December 8, 2021/Volume XLIII, Issue 49, eff. 12/8/2021