Kansas Administrative Regulations
Agency 28 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Article 4 - MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH
Section 28-4-175 - Services in family foster home care
Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) Foster home finding. The agency shall have a recruitment process with designated staff and funding to reach out and inform the community about children needing foster homes. The agency shall provide information to prospective foster parents about foster care, the agency, the requirements for foster parents, the children needing foster care, licensing regulations, the licensing process and the reimbursement rates. The agency shall recruit foster parents who can respond to the agency's need to place specific children and be able to adjust their recruitment techniques as the kinds of children needing placement change.
(b) Application and study process. At the time of inquiry, the potential applicant(s) shall be provided the opportunity to state their own plan for child care. Before formal application, the agency's foster care program and the value and necessity of having a license shall be discussed. It shall be explained that a licensed agency or the Kansas department of social and rehabilitation services shall complete a study and make recommendations concerning the home's eligibility for licensure to the Kansas department of health and environment. If after discussion of the potential applicant(s) plan and the general requirements for licensing, the potential applicant(s) wishes to proceed, the application forms shall be completed. The agency shall provide to prospective foster parents a copy of "regulations for licensing family foster homes" and an application form, both furnished by the Kansas department of health and environment. The application shall be completed, checked for accuracy, and counter-signed by an agency representative.
(c) Social study. The agency shall, as a further part of the application process, conduct a social study of the foster family in their home. In conducting the study, the agency shall include at least one face-to-face interview with each member of the foster family. The agency shall assess the following areas and record the information in the foster parent(s) record:
(d) Services to foster parent(s).
(e) Agreement. The agency shall have a written agreement with each foster family which clearly delineates the responsibility of the foster family and the child placing agency.
(f) Annual evaluations. The agency shall schedule an annual on-site evaluation of the foster home to make an assessment of the care and progress of each foster child in the home. The results of the evaluation shall be on file in written form at the agency and a copy submitted to the foster parents.
(g) Foster care payments. The agency shall have a system by which reimbursement is made to foster parents for expenditures or fees for service that is timely and equitable. If either services or care is to be provided by a foster family as a donation to the agency, a written agreement between the agency and the family shall specify services which shall be provided free and services or costs to be assumed by the agency.