Foster Parent Licensing Guidelines

Transcription

1 Foster Parent Licensing Guidelines I. DISCIPLINE (65C ) A. Prohibited Methods of Discipline 1. Caregiver must not use corporal punishment (spanking, slapping, pinching, shaking, etc.). 2. Caregivers must not delegate discipline or permit punishment of a foster child by another child or adult not known to the child. 3. Caregivers must not withhold meals, clothing, or shelter. 4. Caregivers must not allow children to be subjected to verbal abuse, derogatory remarks about themselves and family members. 5. The Caregivers must ensure that if separation from others (time out) is used as a method of discipline, it is in an unlocked, lighted, well-ventilated room at least 50 square feet, which is within hearing distance of an adult. The time limit must not exceed fifteen (15) minutes for any child ages 6-12, and not exceed thirty (30) minutes for children ages 13 and over. Time out for a child age 5 and under should not be outside the presence of other family members and should not exceed five (5) minutes. 6. The Caregivers must not subject children to cruel, severe, humiliating, or unusual punishment. 7. The Caregiver must not interfere with the implementation of the Performance Agreement, or permanent placement plan, or any other case plan as punishments. 8. The Caregivers must not deny a child contact or visits with his/her family as punishment. 9. The Caregivers must not use physical exercise as punishment that is excessive and/or may endanger a child s health, so extensive as to impinge on time set aside for school, sleeping, or eating. 10. The Caregivers must not threaten a child with removal or a report to their case manager, the judge, or other authorities as punishment. 11. The Caregiver must not discipline children for bed-wetting or errors, which occur during a toilet training process. Techniques for working with children who are not yet toilet trained should be discussed with the case manager prior to accepting an untrained child. Problems in training should be communicated to the case manger if they occur. 12. Caregivers are prohibited from using restrictive behavior management interventions which includes isolation, manual or mechanical restraints and locked isolation. In accordance with Heartland for Children Policy Number 4-310, which states Heartland for Children (HFC) prohibits the use of restrictive behavior management interventions in traditional licensed foster homes. HFC supports a culture in licensed foster homes that promotes respect, healing, and positive behavior and provides necessary supports and resources to keep foster parents and children safe.

2 B. Acceptable Methods of Discipline Caregivers must discipline children with kindness, patience, consistency and understanding, and with the purpose of helping the child develop responsibility and self-control. They must help each child learn that he/she is responsible for his/her behavior by teaching him/her the natural and learned consequence of his/her behavior. Caregivers should use positive methods of discipline, which can include, but may not be limited to the following. 1. Reinforcing acceptable behavior, for example: praise, special privileges and treats, extra hugs and kisses, additional time spent with the child, stars and smiley faces on a door or bulletin board. 2. Verbal disapproval of the child s behavior, never the child, for example: I don t like ball throwing in the house. 3. Loss of privileges, for example, taking a toy away, restriction from television viewing. 4. Grounding (restricting the child to the house or yard) or sending the child out of the room and away from family activity. 5. Redirecting the child s activity, for example, removal of sharp object and replacement with a safe toy. C. Consequences of violating the Discipline Policy 1. When it comes to the attention of Heartland for Children that a Caregiver has violated the discipline policy, the Re-licensing Counselor, or other Heartland for Children representative, will meet with the Caregiver to discuss the incident. If during the discussion it becomes apparent that a child may have been neglected or abused, the counselor, or other representative is required to report the incident to the Abuse Registry. II. CONFIDENTIALITY 2. If the incident is clearly a violation of policy, rather than an allegation of neglect or abuse, the Caregiver will receive a verbal and a written warning. The warning will include discussion of the violation and an explanation of the provisions of the policy and a statement of the necessity of closing a licensed home if a second complaint is received. I understand and agree that all information as it relates to child abuse records and clientele are to be held confidential in compliance with the child abuse statute. Florida Statute (2), which states any person who willfully or knowing makes public or discloses any information contained in the child abuse registry or any records of any child abuse case, except as provided in this section, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree. I further agree to treat any such information on clients that should come to my attention and knowledge as privileged and confidential, and that I will not disclose such information to anyone other than authorized persons. III. FIREARMS SAFETY Possession of firearms by Caregivers is allowed. The following safeguards must be strictly observed. 1. Firearms must be stored unloaded. 2. Firearms must be stored in a locked container. 3. Ammunition must be stored separately in a locked container. 4. Keys to all locked containers must be kept on the foster parent at all times. 5. Trigger locks may be accepted in individual situations. Caregivers should consult with their Re-licensing counselor. 6. All firearms must be listed on the Policy Sign-Off Statement at initial licensing and each relicensing.

3 IV. EARLY PERIODIC SCREENING, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT (EPSDT) The following medical tasks and examination are provided free of charge through Medicaid screening. Health and development history, physical assessment, height, weight, growth assessment, developmental assessment, speech assessment, direct referral dentist, nutritional assessment, vision assessment, hearing assessment, immunization, and laboratory test. EPSDT screening also includes treatment for problems detected during the screening such as the provision of eyeglasses and dental services. Children must be scheduled for examination according to the following periodically schedule: 2 months of age, 4 months of age, 6 months of age, one year of age, 15 months of age, 18 months of age, and once every year from age 2 through age 5, and once every 2 years from age 6 through the month the young adult reaches 21. If required by a child s particular needs, screening can be scheduled more frequently or at different intervals. V. GENERAL HEALTH In order to effectively carry out all of the many and complex responsibilities of providing care to foster/shelter children, Caregivers must remain in good general health and free from communicable diseases, chronic reoccurring health problems and chronic debilitating health problems. If any of the above conditions occur during a licensing year the Caregiver must notify their Re-licensing counselor immediately and may be required to provide a physician s statement documenting that they are able to continue providing care. VI. POLICIES AND PROCEDURE A. Payment Policy 1. Caregivers receive vouchers for shelter/foster children once per month, twice a month for shelter children. 2. The current board for foster children is as follows: a. 0-5 years of age is $ a month b years of age is $ a month c. 13 and up is $ a month. d. Children in shelter status are $13.00 To $18.00 a day 3. Mileage Reimbursement and Medicaid Mileage is available for mileage accrued while transporting foster/shelter children to and from necessary activities such as, but not limited to, family visits and therapeutic appointments. Reimbursement is not available for items such as, but not limited to, trips to and from day care centers, schools and recreational activities. If in doubt whether to claim mileage or not, the Caregiver should consult with the Re-licensing counselor. 4. Medicaid Reimbursement is available for mileage accrued while transporting children to and from medical appointments. You must be signed up as a Medicaid provider. Your medical mileage will be reimbursed through Medicaid. 5. Claiming mileage is optional, but is encouraged. Caregivers must keep accurate records including exact destinations and beginning and ending odometer readings. Mileage must be claimed on a monthly basis rather than accumulated for two or more months. B. Counselor Visits 1. Shelter Care: Either Foster Care Counselor or CPI Counselor visit the children once per week 2. Foster Care: Case Managers visit children in the home once per month, more if needed for individual cases. 3. Re-Licensing Counselors visit the home at least quarterly or more often at the request of Heartland for Children or the foster family. 4. Re-Licensing counselors complete relicensing studies yearly.

4 C. Respite and Vacations 1. Respite Caregivers are entitled to twelve respite days per year. An alternate caregiver will be paid $13.00 per day per child to provide care. Caregivers must find their own respite providers and see that they undergo all the necessary screening procedures. The daily board rate will continue to be paid to the foster parent throughout the respite period. Respite days need not be taken all at one time. Two weeks prior notice must be provided to the Department. It is preferred for the respite to take place in the home of the Caregiver; otherwise the respite provider must be a licensed home. 2. Please use sensitivity when requesting respite. It is not appropriate to use respite on family holidays, (Christmas, Thanksgiving, child s birthday, etc.). 3. If foster/shelter children will be accompanying Caregivers on vacation a minimum of two weeks notice must be given to all case managers so that necessary legal action can be taken. D. Record Keeping 1. Child s Resource Record: All children must be accompanied with a resource binder at time of placement. Caregivers should not accept children without their binder. It must be maintained by the Caregiver and go with the child when he/she is moved to another placement. 2. Child s Case Record: The case managers within the different community based organization offices maintain these records. Caregivers are entitled to see the case record. Anything in the child s case record is strictly confidential. Confidentiality policy must be adhered to. 3. Life Book/Scrapbook: Caregivers should keep a life book or scrapbook on each and every child in the home. It need not be expensive. Items such as report cards, art work, pictures, chronological of important events kept in the book. This also must follow the child if he/she returns home or goes to another placement. E. Emergency Procedures 1. Telephone numbers: Caregivers must maintain a file with phone numbers for each child s case manager, the emergency (non-working hours) number, and emergency medical numbers. Caregivers should ask each case manager for a business card. 2. Runaways: If a child runs away, Caregivers should give the child a reasonable time to return on their own accord, not to exceed fifteen or thirty minutes. Caregivers must use judgment when making this decision in keeping with the child s age. They should then call the local sheriff or police authority to make a report and call the case manager at first opportunity. If a child between the ages of 0-10 runs way, law enforcement should be notified immediately. Unless the child is threatening to the Caregivers or other children, the child should be returned to the home when picked up by law enforcement. 3. Medical Care: Caregivers must assure that routine medical care is provided. Case Managers should be routinely updated of the child s medical status. In emergencies the child s health and well being is first priority. The Caregiver should not stop to call Heartland for Children or the community based organizations, but proceed immediately in obtaining emergency care. F. Placement Procedures 1. Questions to ask: When asked to accept a child, Caregivers should ask as many questions as they feel necessary, such as, what are his/her behaviors, does he/she act out sexually, what happened to the child, what is the medical status, etc. 2. Clothing Vouchers: Shelter children receive a $50 clothing voucher, if needed, upon admittance to shelter. School children, who have been in foster status for six (6) months by July 1, receive a $200/$300 clothing voucher per school year. A portion of the monthly board payment should be used for general clothing items.

5 G. Sitters Foster parents must designate a baby sitter and should designate a backup baby sitter. All baby sitters must undergo Florida Protective Service System, FPSS clearances, local police checks, and sheriff checks and must be fingerprinted. Screened babysitters must come to the Foster Parents home to sit with the children Foster children cannot baby-sit other foster children regardless of age. Biological children less than 18 years of age cannot baby-sit. H. Caregiver s self-defense 1. Overcrowding: Each licensed home has a capacity based on space and the Caregiver s strengths and needs. This number should be a mutual decision between the Caregiver and licensed counselor, and can be increased or decreased when appropriate. Caregivers must be aware of the limitations and be prepared to say no to new placements when they have reached their limitations. 2. Abuse/Neglect Reports: Caregivers must be aware that they are susceptible to abuse /neglect allegations made against them. They should plan in advance as to how they will deal with this traumatic event. When going through an investigation Caregivers should take advantage of supports available to them, such as, the Foster Parents Association (FPA) or their Re-Licensing counselor. I. In-Service Traditional caregivers are required to obtain twelve (12) hours of in-service training during the first two years, and eight (8) hours per licensing year during the remaining licensing years; Therapeutic caregivers are required to obtain twenty-four (24) hours of in-service training per licensing year. This can include watching videos, web-based trainings, reading programs (with prior approval), and going to formal training sessions. The topic must be relevant to providing care to the children. In order to be given credit the Caregiver must document dates, topics, and number of hours of each training session. Caregivers should consult with their re-licensing counselor for suggestions and information pertaining to training sessions provided by the re-licensing counselor or supervisor. J. Radon Radon is an invisible, odorless gas that is present in some homes. All Caregivers homes must be tested every five-(5) years. Test kits are available through the Polk County Health Department, K. Fire Safety 1. Fire drills must be held twice each relicensing year regardless of the age of the children in the home. Dates of fire drills must be documented and will be asked for at each relicensing. 2. Evacuation plans must be posted in a visible location in the home. Re-licensing counselors will ask to see it at each relicensing visit. 3. Fire safety rules must be explained to every child when he/she is placed.