Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 18, September 16, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment updates the competencies that
must be demonstrated by prospective foster parents and relative caregivers to
obtain a foster home license.
(1) Age of Foster Parent(s). Applicant(s)
shall not receive a license when one or both are younger than twenty-one (21)
except as provided for relative care in section
210.565,
RSMo Supp. 2005.
(2) Citizenship
Status of Foster Parent(s). Applicant(s) who provide foster care must be a
citizen of the United States, either through birth or naturalization, or be
able to verify lawful immigration status.
(3) Personal Qualifications Required of
Foster Parent(s).
(A) Foster parent(s) must be
able to acquire skills and demonstrate performance-based competence in the care
of children including but not limited to-
1.
Understanding trauma and trauma-informed parenting;
2. Supporting families and maintaining
children's connections;
3.
Understanding the child welfare system and the social, emotional, and physical
impact it has on children and families;
4. Understanding the importance of cultural
identity in foster care and adoption; and
5. Understanding children's mental health
issues and how substance use can impact children.
(B) Foster parent(s) shall cooperate with the
division in all inquiries involving the care of the foster children. The foster
parents' ability to meet these competencies shall be reevaluated at each
relicensure.
(C) Foster parent(s)
shall be responsible, mature individual(s) of reputable character who exercise
sound judgment, display the capacity to provide good care for children, and
display the motivation to foster.
(4) Health of Foster Family.
(A) Applicant(s) and all proposed foster
family members must be determined by a physician to be in good physical and
mental health. The physician shall complete a form provided by the licensing
agency for each family member that verifies that the individual poses no risk
to the health and safety of a foster child. If there is any question about the
physical or mental health of any proposed foster family member, the licensing
agency may require additional examinations or evaluations.
(5) Foster Parent Training.
(A) Pre-service Training. Prior to licensure,
each adult with parenting responsibilities is required to successfully complete
a competency based training approved by the Children's Division.
(B) In-Service Training. To maintain a foster
home license each foster parent shall meet performance based criteria as part
of a professional family development plan and complete a prescribed number of
foster parent training hours as approved by the licensing authority during each
two- (2-) year licensure period. The subject of training shall be directly tied
to the foster parent professional development plan and related to the needs and
ages of children in their care.
(6) Personal information elicited in the home
assessment shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) Family size and household composition of
the foster family;
(B) Ethnic and
racial background of the foster family;
(C) Religious preferences and practices of
the foster family;
(D) Lifestyles
and practices of the foster parents;
(E) Educational practices of the foster
family; and
(F) Employment of the
foster parents.
(7)
Parenting Skills Information Elicited in the Home Assessment.
(A) Foster parent structures environment so
that it is safe and healthy for the child.
(B) Foster parent expresses positive feelings
toward the child verbally and physically.
(C) Foster parent recognizes and responds
appropriately to the child's verbal and physical expressions of needs and
wants.
(D) Foster parent
consistently uses basic behavior management techniques in dealing with the
child.
(E) Foster parent
consistently uses appropriate techniques to discipline the child and does not
use or will not use corporal punishment on any child in the custody of the
division.
(F) Foster parent guides
the child toward increasing independence.
(G) Foster parent behaves in a way that
recognizes the developmental stage of the child.
(8) All information which is collected by the
division in the licensing study will be condensed to comprise a foster home
profile which will be available to team members when children are placed into
the care of the division, in order for placement decisions to be made in the
best interests of the child. The profile will not contain any protected health
information, financial information, or information on biological or adopted
children of the foster family.
*Original authority: 207.020, RSMo 1945, amended 1961,
1965, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1993 and 210.506, RSMo 1982, amended 1993,
1995.
