Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024
(1) An individual
or legally married couple age 18 or over may apply for licensure or
certification to be a foster parent.
(2) The provider shall apply for licensure or
certification by fully completing the approved initial license application
template form, that is found on the office website.
(3) The office or agency may consider poverty
guidelines when evaluating the dependence of a foster parent on foster payments
for their own expenses.
(4) The
office or agency may require supporting documentation of household income and
expenses to verify the foster parent or foster parent applicant is financially
stable and will not be dependent on foster care reimbursement.
(5) The foster parent applicant shall provide
verification of successful completion of DCFS or agency approved pre-service
training within the past 24 months.
(6) The foster parent applicant shall provide
verification of current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid
training. Accepted training includes Heart Savers, American Red Cross, and
American Heart Association Friends and Family.
(7) The foster parent applicant shall authorize a licensed health
care professional to complete a physical exam within the previous 12 months and
send a signed medical reference report directly to the office or agency. A
medical reference report shall assess the current ability of the individual to
be a foster parent.
(8) If required
by the office or agency to assess mental health status, the foster parent or
foster parent applicant shall complete a professional mental health
examination.
(a) The office or agency shall
determine the type of professional mental health examination required based on
the nature of the presenting concerns.
(b) The office or agency administration shall
collaborate with a clinical professional to make the determination of need and
type of examination required.
(c)
The foster parent or foster parent applicant shall authorize the release of
examination information to the office or agency, including a signed report that
assesses the ability of the individual to parent vulnerable foster children
full time as a foster parent.
(d)
The foster parent or foster parent applicant shall pay for any requested
medical or mental health examinations.
(e) The office or agency may, in the exercise
of their professional judgment, deny, suspend or revoke an application,
certification or license if a medical reference report or other examination
reveals reasonable concerns regarding an applicant's ability to provide foster
care services, or if the required examination is not completed and provided to
the office or agency.
(9)
At the time of initial application or as requested thereafter, the foster
parent applicant shall submit the names, mailing address, email addresses, and
phone numbers of no more than four individuals who will be contacted by the
office or agency and asked to provide a reference letter. If there is more than
one individual listed on the foster parent application, the referents may
address both individuals in the same reference.
(a) The foster parent applicant shall select
referents who are knowledgeable regarding the ability of the applicant to
provide a safe environment and to nurture foster children.
(b) The foster parent applicant shall select
one referent that is a relative of the applicant and three
non-relatives.
(c) The agency or
office shall only consider the four original reference individuals
submitted.
(d) A minimum of three
out of the four individuals, including one relative and two non-relatives,
shall submit reference letters directly to the office or agency. Except as
provided in Subsection
R501-12-15(3),
the office or agency shall require a minimum of three reference letters
received that are acceptable to the office or agency.
(e) The office or agency may, in the exercise
of their professional judgment, deny an application if a reference reveals
reasonable concerns regarding an applicant's ability to provide foster care
services.
(10) The foster
parent applicant and each person 18 years of age or older residing in the home
shall submit a background screening application as part of the initial
application.
(a) A background screening is
also required for any new individual over the age of 18 who moves into the
home.
(b) The office or agency may
not license or certify a foster parent unless the background screening of each
person 18 years of age or older that resides in the home is deemed eligible by
the office in compliance with Section
26B-2-120 and Rule
R501-14.
(c) The foster parent may
not permit any person without an office approved background clearance to have
unsupervised direct access to a foster child unless:
(i) the person is a provider of incidental
care; or
(ii) the person's access
is driven by child-centered normalcy needs that are guided by reasonable and
prudent parenting as described in Section
26B-1-238 and is not a foster
parent-centered delegation of parental responsibility.
(d) The foster parent shall immediately
notify the office or agency if any person in the home is charged with or under
investigation for any criminal offense, or allegation of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation of any child or vulnerable adult.
(e) A pending Child Protective Services,
Adult Protective Services or Law Enforcement investigation of any person in the
home may result in a license or certification suspension until resolved to the
satisfaction of the Office.
(f) In
accordance with Section
80-2-1001, the office shall review
and evaluate information from the Division of Child and Family Services
Management Information System for licensing and monitoring individuals who
reside in the foster home. When, in the professional judgment of the Office, a
supported or substantiated finding against any individual who resides in the
foster home may pose a risk of harm to a foster child, the office may issue a
safety plan, place parameters on the license or issue a notice of agency action
to the foster parent or agency.
(11) After completing the required background
checks, the office or agency shall conduct a home study before any placement is
made in the home.
(a) If the home study is
being conducted for adoptive purposes, an adoption service provider, as defined
in Section
78B-6-103, shall complete the
home study.
(b) If the home study
is not being conducted for adoptive purposes, the home study may be conducted
by an individual who:
(i) is an adoption
service provider; or
(ii) is
employed or contracted to conduct a home study for an agency licensed by the
department and who has participated in the recruiting, hiring, training, and
supervising of proctor foster homes for at least a year.
(c) The office or agency shall fully complete
the home study document on the office approved home study document template,
that is found on the office website before an applicant is licensed or
certified to take foster placements.
(12) A foster parent who wishes to remain
licensed or certified to provide foster care services shall submit a renewal
applicationas requested by the office before the license or certification
expiration.
(a) Each applicant requesting
license or certification renewal shall fully complete the renewal application
form that is found on the office website.
(b) The office or agency may require
supporting documentation of household income and expenses to verify the foster
parent will not be dependent on foster care reimbursement.
(c) The office or agency shall update the
home study in writing annually after a home visit and safety inspection as a
means to assess the family's experience over the past year as a foster family
to include:
(i) any changes to required home
study information;
(ii) interviews
with any members of the home; and
(iii) references or other requested
information needed to update the home study.
(13) A previously licensed or certified
foster parent is subject to the same requirements as an initial application,
with the following additional requirements;
(a) each applicant shall disclose previous
foster care licenses and certifications, including those outside of
Utah;
(b) each previously licensed
applicant shall request a written reference from the custodial agency where
they last held a foster care license to be sent directly to the office or
agency;
(c) each previously
certified applicant shall request a written reference letter from the last
agency where they were certified, and each agency they have been certified by
within the past three years, to be sent directly to the office or agency;
and
(d) each applicant shall sign a
release of information for any agency where the foster parent previously
provided certified or licensed foster care.
(14) Reapplication of previously licensed or
certified applicants may utilize an update of the previous home study as long
as the home study was created by the same agency currently relicensing or
recertifying the home.
(a) The office or
agency may add an update to the existing home study from another agency if the
agency provides it directly and it is completed on an office approved template
found on the office website that addresses and updates general foster parent
requirements. The update may reference applicable portions of the original
study as an attachment.
(b) The
department may request new reference letters or additional information if
needed to update the home study.
(c) The reference letter requirement is
waived if 12 months or less have passed since the lapse of any license or
certification.
(d) A personal
health statement is still required, but a physician's statement is waived if 12
months or less have passed since lapse of any license or
certification.
(e) Initial training
requirements are waived, as long as there is not a change of the licensing or
certifying agency if 24 months or less have passed since lapse of any license
or certification. A change in agency shall require new initial
training.
(15) The office
or agency shall base the decision to approve or deny the applicant to provide
foster services on the facts, health and safety factors, and the professional
judgment of the office or agency.
(a) The
office or agency may not deny a person a foster care license or certification
on a basis that violates any applicable federal or state anti-discrimination
law.
(b) The approval of a license
or certification is not a guarantee that a foster child will be placed or
retained in the foster parent's home.
(c) Except for kinship parents, a foster
parent may not be licensed or certified to provide foster or respite care
services in the same home where they provide child care or another licensed or
certified DHHS program.
(d) To
promote health and safety, the office or agency may issue a license or
certification that includes additional restrictions unique to the circumstances
of the license.
(e) If a license or
certification is denied, an applicant may not reapply for a minimum of 90 days
from the date of denial.
