Elizabeth Popp Berman Professor of Organizational Studies, University of Michigan

Home Study/Home Assessment – This is an assessment of the home of any person requesting possession of a child for whom CPS is the managing conservator. You are still one of the most important people in your child’s life. We don’t have to be friends, but we can work together for the best interest of your child. We will explain that just because you are not with your child doesn’t mean that you do not love him or her. We will help your child deal with everyday life as easily as possible until your child goes home. No child in the managing conservatorship of CPS may be deprived of basic necessities or be subjected to cruel, harsh, unusual, or unnecessary punishment.

If you have questions about the way in which your local foster care agency handled your case, you may want to begin by discussing your concerns with your caseworker or their supervisor. Within a geographic service area, a single contractor is responsible for finding foster homes or other living arrangements for children in state care and providing them a full continuum of services. However, it can become permanent – usually when a foster parent adopts or accepts permanent managing conservatorship of a child. This requirement remains the same for the foster parents who have de facto parent status. The social worker should make every effort to include your input in their report to the court.

Identity verified by an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)

I feel that my foster child needs counseling and the county placing agency is not providing these services – what can I do as the caregiver to make this happen? A county placing agency has told a relative caregiver to apply for CalWORKs instead of foster care payments. If a license has been suspended or revoked, foster children in placement will have been removed and the county will not place children with the caregiver pending the investigation and outcome. If your communication with the social worker is not satisfactory, you can contact the social worker’s supervisor and your foster child’s attorney. The previous foster parent does not have the legal right to be the first choice for placement in the event that a child re-enters foster care. If you wish to become the child’s permanent caregiver, make your wishes known as soon as possible to the child’s social worker.

If for some reason the JV 290 cannot be submitted within the timeframe, you can call and speak to the social worker regarding your input. Foster parents currently do not have a legal right to attend Settlement Conferences, Interim Reviews, Mediation or Jurisdictional and Disposition Hearings. If you find your own respite provider, let the social worker know well in advance who you have chosen and get it approved. These services are not provided for the purpose of routine, on-going child care.

The county placing agency has a responsibility to make a diligent effort to place children with special needs into those foster family homes that have a higher level of skill, training, and certification, often called Intensive Treatment Foster Care (ITFC) or group home care. The licensing, approval or certification agency will provide you with any needed Training to ensure the success of the foster child’s placement in your home. In the cases where the child is already known to the county placing agency, the social worker will be able to provide you with the child’s Health Passport a fairly complete picture of the child’s health history, behavioral issues and emotional needs. Service Plan – This is an agreement between CPS and the parents of children in substitute care (foster care, kinship care, etc).

CPS strives to ensure quality services for children in foster care. Information about your foster home contained in the child’s service case file, however, is under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court and, other than the information you have a Right To , information may only be released with a court order. This contains information such as a copy of your foster parent license, the capacity of your home, and other general information about your foster care license. Will I be informed of all case planning and decision making meetings concerning the foster child in my care? When making a “Prudent Parent” decision, the caregiver must consider the child’s age, maturity level, mental and physical health, and other relevant factors.

• We don’t have to be friends, but we can work together for the best interest of your child.
• Will my family have to do something different because a foster child has been placed with our family?
• You should tell you attorney right away if you already have one.

The attachment and familiarity the child might have with you and your non gamstop casino family is an important factor and will be given consideration. If a licensed, approved, or certified foster home is then sought for placement, your home will be considered. Other considerations include the needs of the child, relationships to siblings and other relatives to which a child has formed an attachment. A primary consideration is to keep siblings together and to keep children in homes where they have formed an attachment. Family members should request immediate visitation with the children and request to be invited to Team Decision Making (TDM) meetings or Family Group Conferencing (FGC) where they will have an opportunity to express their interests, hopes and concerns regarding the children. The county will not disclose the address of a foster parent unless ordered by the Juvenile Court.

The primary purpose of discipline must be to encourage appropriate behavior, not to punish the child. If your child is removed again, CPS will review your child’s permanency plan. You should tell you attorney right away if you already have one. The caseworker will usually tell you why your child is being removed before the re-removal happens, if we know where to find you and doing so won’t endanger the child. Some courts have specific local rules when a “re-removal” occurs. If that happens, you will no longer be responsible for your child or have any say in your child’s future.

Services

The court decides if you can afford to hire your own attorney. You can hire an attorney at your own expense or the court must appoint an attorney for you if you cannot afford one. You can come to court without an attorney and still be heard.. Even though you may not be required to go to court, one way to show that you are concerned about your child’s future is to attend the court hearings.

Parents Involved with CPS

Contact your child’s social worker well in advance of your respite date so the social worker can have adequate time to find a respite family for you. Caregiver is employed and must have child care for young foster children – how does caregiver find information on this? Atypical needs are identified by feedback from those familiar with the child’s needs, including birth parents, foster parents and service providers.