Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 39, September 26, 2024
(a) Caregiver qualifications. Each caregiver
shall be qualified by the capacity for setting age- or
developmentally-appropriate expectations for behavior, tasks and social
activities necessary to maintain the health, comfort, safety, and welfare of
children in foster care pursuant to
K.S.A.
65-504 and
65-508, and amendments
thereto.
(b) General supervision.
Each licensee shall ensure that each child in foster care is supervised in
accordance with the child's age, maturity, risk factors, and developmental
level. Additional supervision shall be provided for any child in foster care of
any age under any of the following conditions:
(1) The child has mental health issues that
place the child at higher concern for risk-taking behaviors that could result
in unintentional injury or death.
(2) The child is or would be a danger to self
or others.
(3) The child functions
below the child's chronological age level.
(4) The child is unable to provide for the
child's basic physical needs due to physical, mental, emotional, medical, or
developmental conditions.
(c) Substitute care and supervision. Each
licensee shall ensure that substitute care and supervision are provided in the
following situations:
(1) When a child in
foster care is placed in substitute care during the absence of the foster
parents, prior approval of the substitute care shall be given by the sponsoring
child-placement agency. Prior approval shall not be required for short periods
of substitute care, including a portion of one day.
(2) If the licensee is absent for more than
10 hours or for any period between the hours of midnight and six a.m., the
substitute caregiver shall be at least 21 years of age and at least three years
older than the oldest child in foster care.
(d) Self-care. Any child in foster care at
least 12 years of age may be permitted to stay at home without adult
supervision in accordance with a written self-care plan between the hours of
six a.m. and midnight if all of the following requirements are met:
(1) The potential for self-care shall be
identified and written approval shall be included in the child's case
plan.
(2) Each licensee shall use
reasonable and prudent parent standards when establishing a written self-care
plan for the care and supervision of each child in foster care in the family
foster home in the licensee's absence. The written self-care plan shall take
into consideration the number of children in the home, the behavior, emotional
stability, and maturity level of the children in the family foster home, and
any neighborhood safety issues. The self-care plan shall include the frequency
and duration of self-care authorized for each child. The self-care plan shall
be approved by the sponsoring child-placement agency and the child's
child-placing agent.
(3) Each child
in self-care shall have immediate access to an operable communication device
that ensures the ability to contact 911 and emergency contacts.
