Utah Admin. Code R501-12-3 - Initial Application, Renewal, and Reapplication Process
(1) An individual or legally married couple
age 18 or over may apply for licensure or certification to be a foster
parent.
(2)
(a) The foster parent applicant for licensure
shall apply by completing a form in the online provider portal.
(b) The foster parent applicant for
certification shall complete the initial application template form found on the
OL website and submit that application form to the child-placing foster care
agency from which they wish to receive certification.
(3) OL or the agency may consider poverty
guidelines when evaluating the dependence of the foster parent on foster
payments for their own expenses.
(4) OL or the 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:
(a) Family and Friends CPR, provided through
the American Heart Association;
(b)
Heartsaver, provided through the American Heart Association; and
(c) courses provided through the American Red
Cross.
(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 OL or the agency. A medical reference
report shall assess the current ability of the individual to be a foster
parent.
(8)
(a)
(i) If
required by OL or the agency to assess mental health status, the foster parent
or foster parent applicant shall complete a professional mental health
examination.
(ii) OL or the agency
shall determine the type of professional mental health examination required
based on the nature of the presenting concerns.
(b) OL or the 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 OL or the agency, including a signed report that
assesses the ability of the individual to parent a vulnerable foster child full
time as a foster parent.
(d) The
foster parent or foster parent applicant shall pay for any requested medical or
mental health examination.
(e) OL
or the agency may, in the exercise of their professional assessment, deny,
suspend, place conditions on, 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 OL or the
agency.
(9)
(a) Upon initial application, or as requested
thereafter, the foster parent applicant shall submit the name, mailing address,
email address, and phone number of no more than four individuals as referents,
who OL or the agency shall contact to provide a reference letter.
(b) If there is more than one individual
listed on the foster parent application, the referent may address each
individual in the same reference.
(c) 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.
(d) The foster parent applicant shall select
one referent that is a relative of the applicant and three
non-relatives.
(e) OL or the agency
shall only consider the four original referents submitted.
(f) A minimum of three out of the four
individuals, including one relative and two non-relatives, shall submit
reference letters directly to OL or the agency. Except as provided in
Subsection R501-12-15(3),
OL or the agency shall require a minimum of three reference letters received
that are acceptable to OL or the agency.
(g) OL or the agency may, in the exercise of
their professional assessment, deny an application if a reference reveals
reasonable concern regarding an applicant's ability to provide foster care
services.
(10)
(a) The foster parent applicant and each
person 12 years of age or older residing in the home shall submit a background
check application as part of the initial application.
(b) A background check application is also
required for any new individual over the age of 12 who moves into the
home.
(c) OL or the agency may not
license or certify a foster parent unless the background check of each person
12 years of age or older that resides in the home is deemed eligible by OBP in
compliance with Section
26B-2-120 and Rule
R501-14.
(d) The foster parent may
not permit any person without an eligible background check 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
80-2-308, and is not a foster
parent-centered delegation of parental responsibility.
(e) The foster parent shall immediately
notify OBP 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.
(f)
A pending Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services or law
enforcement investigation of any person in the home may result in a conditional
or suspended license or certification until resolved to the satisfaction of
OL.
(g) In accordance with Section
80-2-1001, OBP shall review and
evaluate information from the DCFS management information system for licensing
and monitoring individuals who reside in the foster home. When, in the
professional assessment of OL, a supported or substantiated finding against any
individual who resides in the foster home may pose a risk of harm to a foster
child, OL 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, OL or the agency must 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 OL and
who has participated in the recruiting, hiring, training, and supervising of
proctor foster homes for at least a year.
(c) OL or the agency must complete the home
study document on the OL-approved home study document template, that is found
on the OL website, before an applicant is licensed or certified to take foster
placements.
(12)
(a) The foster parent who wishes to remain
licensed or certified to provide foster care services must submit a renewal
application before the license or certification expiration.
(b) Each applicant requesting a license or
certification renewal shall complete the renewal application form located on
the OL website.
(c) OL or the
agency may require supporting documentation of household income and expenses to
verify the foster parent will not be dependent on foster care
reimbursement.
(d) OL or the 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 OL or the 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 OL or the
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)
(a)
Reapplication of previously licensed or certified applicants may utilize an
update of the previous home study if the home study was created by the same
agency currently relicensing or recertifying the home.
(b) OL or the 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 OL-approved home study addendum template found on the OL
website that addresses and updates general foster parent requirements. The
update may reference applicable portions of the original study as an
attachment.
(c) OL or the agency
may request new reference letters or additional information if needed to update
the home study.
(d) The reference
letter requirement is waived if 12 months or less have passed since the lapse
of any license or certification.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) A change in
agency shall require new initial training.
(15)
(a) OL
or the 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 assessment of OL or the agency.
(b) OL or the 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.
(c) 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.
(d)
Except for a kinship parent or short-term relief care provider, 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 for five or more children or
another licensed or certified department program.
(e) To promote health and safety, OL or the
agency may issue a license or certification that includes additional
restrictions unique to the circumstances of the license.
(f) If a license or certification is denied,
an applicant may not reapply for a minimum of 90 days from the date of
denial.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.