PURPOSE: This amendment adds new definitions for
foster parents who are obtaining foster family home licensure, and clarifies
the process to apply for and review foster family home
licensure.
PURPOSE: The principles of this rule are to support
the licensing of family homes that are resilient, safe, healthy, and
economically secure and where the household members are committed to the
parental protecting and nurturing of foster youth placed in the family
home.
(1) Approval of
License.
(A) As required in sections
210.481-210.536, RSMo 2000, any individual(s) planning to offer twenty-four
(24)-hour care to one (1) or more foster children must submit signed
application forms.
(B) Any applicant and any
household member age seventeen (17) and older and any child less than seventeen
(17) who has been certified as an adult for the commission of a crime, or has
been convicted or pled guilty or nolo con-tendere to any crime, shall submit
signed release forms and two (2) sets of fingerprints for the purpose of
obtaining background screening for Child Abuse and Neglect, criminal and
circuit court records.
1. Two (2) sets of fingerprints
shall be sent to the Missouri Highway Patrol for criminal background
checks.
2. Subject to appropriation, the
total cost of fingerprinting required by section
210.487,
RSMo Supp. 2005 may be paid by the state, including reimbursement of persons
incurring the cost of fingerprinting under this subsection.
(C) Upon compliance with licensing
law and regulations, the director shall authorize issuance of a license for a
term not to exceed two (2) years, subject to renewal on
expiration.
1. The license is not transferable
and applies only to the individual(s) to whom it is issued. A license will be
issued to either married couples or a single individual. Only one (1) license
can be issued per household. All adults in the household who will have child
care responsibility will be required to attend state approved foster parent
training.
2. The license is the property of
the division and is subject to suspension and/or revocation upon failure of the
individual(s) to comply with the licensing requirements.
3. The license shall be kept on
the premises of the home.
4. The number, sex and age range
of foster children the home is authorized to accept for care shall be specified
on the license and shall not be exceeded except for the temporary placement of
sibling or mother and child family groups. The foster family shall be able to
indicate age and gender preference.
5. There shall be no fee for the
license or investigations conducted by the personnel of the division or
providers contracted by the division.
6. An identification card shall be
issued to each foster
parent at the time of
initial licensure or renewal, verifying current licensing
status.
(2) Denial, Suspension, or
Revocation of License.
(A) Any person aggrieved by a
final decision of the division made with regard to license issuance, license
suspension, license revocation or license denial shall be entitled to a hearing
and review by the director or his/her designee.
(B) Written notice, specifying the
reasons for denial, suspension, or revocation, shall be provided. Any notice
for suspension or revocation shall be given ten (10) days prior to the
effective date of the action. If a written request for a hearing is received
within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the notice, a hearing will be
provided.
(C) The division will retain the
option not to renew a foster home license in cases where there has been a
voluntary suspension for one (1) year or more or if a licensed foster home has
not accepted a placement over a two (2)-year period.
(D) Any person wishing to appeal
the administrative decision of the division shall be entitled to judicial
review thereof provided in section
210.526,
RSMo 2000.
(3) Utilization of
Home.
(A) The granting of a license does
not guarantee placement of a child.
(B) Placement decisions shall be
made at the discretion of the Children's Division and/or Juvenile Court in the
best interest of the child based on a totality of circumstances. Parental
preferences will be taken into consideration in selecting the placement
provider.
(4) Exemption. Any foster home
that is exempt from licensing under sections 210.481-210.536, RSMo 2000 but
receives a payment from the division under section 207.020.1(17), RSMo 2000
shall comply with these rules.
(1) For the purpose of this regulation, the
following terms shall be defined as follows:
(A) Foster Parent. A resource provider
licensed under these regulations who operates a foster family home, or
relatives of a child in foster care who are licensed to provide relative
care;
(B) Relative. A relative is a
person related to another by blood, adoption, or affinity within the third
degree;
(C) Relative Care. Care
provided by persons related to the foster youth in any of the following ways by
blood, marriage, or adoption: grandparent, brother, sister, half-brother,
half-sister, stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, or first
cousin;
(D) Traditional Foster
Family Home. A private residence of one (1) or more family members providing
twenty-four- (24-) hour care to one (1) or more, but less than six (6) children
who are unattended by parent or guardian and unrelated to either foster parent
by blood, marriage, or adoption;
(E) Foster Youth or Foster Child. A person in
the custody of the Children's Division to a maximum age of twenty-one (21)
years of age;
(F) Family Support
Team (FST). The group of individuals assembled to participate in a Family
Support Team Meeting, a meeting convened by the division or another children's
services provider on behalf of the family and/or child for the purpose of
determining service and treatment needs, determining the need for placement,
developing a plan for reunification or other permanency options, determining
the appropriate placement of the child, evaluating case progress and
establishing, and revising the case plan;
(G) Waiver. Authorization by the Children's
Division to excuse certain relative care providers from specifically identified
non-safety licensing standards;
(H)
Foster Family Home Applicant. One (1) or two (2) primary adult individual(s)
who live in the same household and complete and submit a prescribed application
to provide foster care services as parent substitutes to foster youth placed in
the home. When two (2) individuals are applying-
1. Both individuals must be assessed
separately as if they were applying as a single individual;
2. If either applicant cannot be approved,
the application shall be denied; and
3. If both applicants are approved, a single
license certificate shall be granted listing the names of both
applicants;
(I) Resource
Provider. Licensed foster parent as required by 13 CSR
35-60; and
(J) Administrative Hold. License status of a
foster parent that is operating under a provisional status due to licensing
concerns, an investigation or assessment of abuse or neglect in the home, or
other reasons as identified in Children's Division policy.
(2) Process for applying for a license, or
for the renewal of a license, as a foster family home.
(A) As required in sections 210.481-210.536,
RSMo, any individual(s) planning to offer twenty-four- (24-) hour care to one
(1) or more foster children must submit a signed copy of the application form
approved by the Children's Division.
(B) The applicant for the license renewal
shall have the burden to establish by a preponderance of evidence that the
applicant satisfies all of the qualification requirements for a
license.
(C) The applicant for a
license or the renewal of a license shall provide any and all documentation and
shall execute such authorizations to release information that the Children's
Division may determine to be necessary or convenient to obtain information
about the applicant and members of the applicant's household. If the applicant,
or any member of the applicant's household, fails without good cause to provide
the information or fails to execute an authorization to release the
information, the division may deny the license.
(D) Any applicant, any household member age
seventeen (17) and older, and any child less than seventeen (17) who has been
certified as an adult for the commission of a crime, or has been convicted or
pled guilty or nolo contendere to any crime, shall register with the Family
Care Safety Registry (FCSR) and submit signed release forms and fingerprints
for the purpose of obtaining background screening for child abuse or neglect,
criminal, and circuit court records.
1.
Fingerprints shall be sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for criminal
background checks.
2. Subject to
appropriation, the total cost of fingerprinting required by section
210.487,
RSMo may be paid by the state, including reimbursement of persons incurring the
cost of fingerprinting under this subsection.
(E) Upon compliance with licensing law and
regulations, the director shall authorize issuance of a license for a term not
to exceed two (2) years, subject to renewal on expiration.
1. The license is not transferable and
applies only to the foster family home to whom it is issued. Upon approval, a
single license listing the individual(s) shall be issued. Only one (1) license
can be issued per household. All adults age seventeen (17) and older in the
household who will have child care responsibility will be required to attend
state approved foster parent training.
2. The license is the property of the
division, not the licensee, and is subject to revocation upon failure of the
individual(s) to comply with the licensing requirements. A licensee does not
have a right to renewal of his or her license.
3. The license shall be kept on the premises
of the home. The license is a public record and shall, upon request, be made
available for inspection.
4. The
number, sex, and age range of foster children the home is authorized to accept
for care shall be specified on the license and shall not be exceeded except for
the temporary placement of sibling or mother and child family groups. The
foster family shall be able to indicate age and gender preference.
5. There shall be no fee for the license or
investigations conducted by the personnel of the division or providers
contracted by the division.
6. An
identification card shall be issued to each foster parent at the time of
initial licensure or renewal, verifying current licensing status.
(F) The division shall maintain a
file on each applicant for a foster care license. The file shall contain any
and all information pertinent to the licensing process including, but not
limited to, the application for license and renewals of license and all
supporting documentation. Except as otherwise provided herein or otherwise
required by law, information contained in a foster care licensing file that may
be confidential and not disclosed to the public includes, but is not limited
to:
1. Information which is confidential
under the Missouri Sunshine Law, section
610.010 et seq.,
RSMo;
2. Protected health
information of the applicant and household members as provided in HIPAA, 45 CFR
Parts
160 and
164;
3. Information
regarding foster children placed in the home;
4. Information relating to substance abuse
diagnosis, care, and treatment, which is confidential pursuant to 42 CFR Part
2.1 and other applicable federal law;
5. Identifying information, addresses, and
contact information, the release of which may put the health or safety of
foster children, foster parents, or household members at risk; and
6. Other information as may be ordered by a
court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding, any provision in these rules
to the contrary, parents and legal guardians may have access to information
pertaining to foster parents as provided in section
210.498,
RSMo.
(G) License
Supervision.
1. Licensing staff of the
division or its contractor may inspect the foster family home at reasonable
times to verify compliance with the licensing rules.
2. The licensee shall cooperate with such
inspections. Notwithstanding any provision in these rules to the contrary,
parents and legal guardians may have access to information pertaining to such
inspections as provided in section
210.498,
RSMo.
