Or. Admin. R. 411-346-0150 - General Requirements for Certification
(1) An applicant or foster provider must
participate in certification and certification renewal studies and in the
ongoing monitoring of their home.
(2) An applicant or foster provider must give
the information required by the Department to verify compliance with all
applicable rules, including change of address and change of number of people in
the household, such as relatives, employees, or volunteers.
(3) An applicant seeking certification from
the Department must complete the applicable Department forms. When two or more
adults living in a home share foster provider responsibilities to any degree,
each adult must be listed on the application as applicant and
co-applicant.
(4) An applicant must
disclose each state or territory the applicant has lived in the last five years
and for a longer period if requested by the certifying agency. The disclosure
must include the address, city, state, and zip code of previous
residences.
(5) An applicant must
provide the following information:
(a) Names
and addresses of any agencies in the United States where any occupant of the
home has been licensed or certified to provide care to children or adults and
the status of such license or certification, such as licenses or certificates
for residential care, nurse, nurse's aide, and foster care.
(b) Proposed number, gender, age range,
disability, and support needs of children to receive services in foster
care.
(c) School reports for any
school-age child living in the home at the time of initial application. School
reports for any school-age child living in the home within the last year may
also be required.
(d) Names and
addresses of at least four people, three of whom are unrelated, who have known
each applicant for two years or more and who can attest to the character of the
applicant and the ability of the applicant to care for children. The Department
may contact schools, employers, adult children, and other sources as
references.
(e) Reports of all
criminal charges, arrests, or convictions, including the date of offense and
the resolution of those charges, for all people living in the home, as well as
all employees and volunteers. If the minor children of the applicant are living
in the home, the applicant must also list reports of all criminal or juvenile
delinquency charges, arrests, or convictions, including the date of offense and
the resolution of those charges.
(f) Founded reports of child abuse or
substantiated abuse, including dates, locations, and resolutions of those
reports, for all people living in the home, as well as all employees,
independent contractors, and volunteers.
(g) Demonstration, upon initial
certification, of successful completion of 15 hours of pre-service
training.
(h) Demonstration, upon
initial certification, of income sufficient to meet the needs and to ensure the
stability and financial security of the family independent of the foster care
payment.
(i) All child support
obligations in any state, including whether the obligor is current with
payments or in arrears, and whether any wages of the applicant or foster
provider are being attached or garnished for any reason.
(j) A statement from a physician, on the
applicable Department form, that each applicant is physically and mentally
capable of providing care.
(k) A
floor plan of the house showing the location of all of the following:
(A) Rooms, indicating the bedroom for the
child in foster care, caregiver, and other occupants of the home;
(B) Windows;
(C) Exit doors;
(D) Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers;
and
(E) Wheel chair ramps, if
applicable.
(l) A
diagram of the house and property showing safety devices for fire places, wood
stoves, water features, outside structures, and fencing.
(6) Falsification or omission of any of the
information for certification may be grounds for denial or revocation of the
certificate.
(7) Applicants must be
at least 21 years of age. Applicants who are "Indian" as defined in the ICWA
may be 18 years of age or older if an Indian child to be placed is in the legal
custody of ODHS-CW.
(8) Applicants,
foster providers, alternate caregivers, employees of foster providers,
volunteers, other occupants in the child foster home who are 18 years of age or
older, other adults having regular contact in the child foster home with a
child in foster care, and any subject individual as defined in OAR
407-007-0210, must consent to a
background check by the Department in accordance with OAR
407-007-0200 through
407-007-0370 and under ORS
181A.195. The Department may
require a background check on a member of the household less than 18 years of
age if there is reason to believe that a member of the household may pose a
risk to a child placed in the home. All people subject to a background check
are required to complete an Oregon background check and a national background
check as described in OAR
407-007-0200 through
407-007-0370, including the use
of fingerprint cards.
(a) Alternate
caregivers, employees of foster providers, and volunteers may be approved to
work in multiple homes within a county only when working in the same employment
role at each home. The indication of worksite location must be included in the
background check request for each alternate caregiver, employee of the foster
provider, or volunteer who intends to work at various child foster homes within
the licensing jurisdiction of the county.
(b) Effective July 28, 2009, public funds may
not be used to support, in whole or in part, a person described in section (8)
of this rule in any capacity who has been convicted of any of the disqualifying
crimes listed in ORS 443.004.
(c) A person does not meet qualifications as
described in this rule if the person has been convicted of any of the
disqualifying crimes listed in ORS
443.004.
(d) Sections (8)(b) and (c) of this rule do
not apply to employees hired prior to July 28, 2009 that remain in the current
position for which the employee was hired.
(e) Any person as described in section (8) of
this rule must self-report any potentially disqualifying crimes in OAR
407-007-0281 and potentially
disqualifying conditions in OAR
407-007-0290. The person must
notify the Department or the designee of the Department within 24
hours.
(9) The
Department may not issue or renew a certificate if an applicant or member of
the household meets any of the following:
(a)
After completing the background check, a fitness determination of
"denied".
(b) Been convicted of a
felony in Oregon or any jurisdiction that involves:
(A) Child abuse;
(B) Spousal abuse;
(C) Criminal activity against a child,
including child pornography; or
(D)
Rape, sexual assault, or homicide.
(c) Within the past five years from the date
the background check was signed, been convicted of a felony in Oregon or any
jurisdiction that involves:
(A) Physical
assault or battery (other than against a spouse or child); or
(B) Any drug-related offense.
(d) Determined by the Department
to be responsible for abuse as defined in OAR
411-317-0000.
(e) Within the past five years from the date
the child foster home application was signed, been found to have abused a child
or adult in the United States as defined by that jurisdiction or any other
jurisdiction.
(10) An
applicant or foster provider may request to withdraw an application any time
during the certification process by notifying the certifying agency in writing.
Written documentation by the certifying agency of oral notice may substitute
for written notification.
(11) The
Department may suspend or revoke a certificate or may not issue or renew a
certificate for at least five years, if an applicant or foster provider is
found to have a license or certificate to provide care to children or adults
suspended, revoked, or not renewed by other than voluntary request.
(12) The Department may not issue or renew a
certificate based on an evaluation of any negative references, school reports,
statement of a physician, or previous licensing or certification reports from
other agencies or states.
(13) A
Department employee may be a foster provider, or an employee of an agency that
contracts with the Department as a foster provider, if their position with the
Department does not influence referral, regulation, or funding of such
activities. Prior to engaging in such activity, the employee must obtain
written approval from the Director of the Department. The written approval must
be on file with the Director of the Department and in the certification file
maintained by the Department.
(14)
An application is incomplete and void unless all supporting materials are
submitted to the Department within 90 calendar days from the date of the
application.
(15) An application
may not be considered complete until all required information is received and
verified by the Department. A decision to approve or deny certification is made
by the Department within 60 calendar days from the receipt of the completed
application.
(16) Compliance with
these rules is determined by the Department based on receipt of the completed
application material, an investigation of information submitted, an inspection
of the home, a completed home study, and a personal interview with the foster
provider. A certificate issued on or after February 1, 2010 is valid for a
maximum of two years unless revoked or suspended.
(17) A child foster home certificate is not
transferable or applicable to any location or people other than those specified
on the certificate.
(18) A foster
provider who cares for a child funded by the Department must enter into a Child
Foster Home Contract with the Department and follow the Department rules
governing reimbursement for services and refunds.
(19) A foster provider may not be the parent,
guardian, or relative of any child placed in their home for foster care
services funded by the Department.
(20) If an applicant or foster provider
intends to provide care for a child with significant medical needs, the
applicant or foster provider must have the following:
(a) An equivalent of one year of full-time
experience in providing direct care to individuals;
(b) Health care professional qualifications,
such as a registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN), or the
equivalent of two additional years full-time experience providing care and
support to an individual who has a medical condition that is serious and may be
life-threatening;
(c) Copies of all
current health-related licenses or certificates and provide those documents to
the certifying agency;
(d) Current
certification in First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). The CPR
training must be done by a recognized training agency and the CPR certificate
must be appropriate to the age of the child with significant medical
needs;
(e) Current satisfactory
references from at least two health care providers, such as a physician and
registered nurse, who have direct knowledge of the ability of the applicant or
foster provider and their past experiences as a caregiver. The health care
providers' references may serve as two of the four references in section (5)(d)
of this rule; and
(f) Positive
written recommendation from the Medically Fragile Children's Unit (MFCU) of the
Department if the foster provider or applicant has provided services through
the MFCU or if the foster provider or applicant has a child in the family home
or child foster home that has historically received services through the
MFCU.
(21) A foster
provider may not accept a child with significant medical needs unless an
initial Nursing Service Plan for the child is in place at the time of placement
that addresses the health and safety supports for the child.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 409.050, 427.104, 430.662 & 443.835
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 409.010, 427.007, 427.101, 427.104, 430.215, 430.610, 430.662 & 443.830-443.836
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