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Foster Parent Responsibilities
Goal:
To provide nurturing care to abused and neglected children until they are able to be reunified with their natural family.
Responsibilities to the Child:
- To provide a safe and comfortable family environment for the child.
- To provide for the child's basic physical and emotional needs as you would for your own child.
- To ensure that the child attends school; monitor educational progress; be aware of special needs; express appreciation for accomplishments.
- To provide appropriate clothing.
- To attend to medical and dental needs including regular checkups as well as attending to other special needs of the child - i.e. educational, therapeutic, etc.
- To help and guide children through the grieving and adjustment process that accompanies the removal from their families.
- To help maintain a realistic relationship with their families through participation with visitation and active consideration of the children's feelings. To assist children in preparing to return home or being moved to a permanent adoptive home.
- To provide recreational, enriching activities that will promote the healthy development of children.
- To maintain a record of their time in care, developmental milestones, photographs, report cards, etc.
- To provide consistent and realistic discipline and guidance that is age appropriate and does not involve corporal punishment of any kind.
Responsibilities to the Agency:
- To keep the agency informed of the progress and/or problems of foster children including immediate notification if they run away or of any other serious incident involving the foster child.
- To keep the agency informed of changes in your home including a change of address and phone number, deaths or departures of immediate family members, additions to the family, notification of impending vacations, etc.
- To be available for meetings with agency workers.
- To attend 12 hours of foster parent training per year.
- Be part of a case review when asked or make a court appearance when needed.
- Give the agency 7 days notice when requesting removal of a child.
- To cooperate with county and Families for Children's social workers to implement a Needs & Service Plan for the care of the children in order to promote reunification with their families - or to promote the process of adoption if reunification is not possible.
- To comply with state regulations and agency policies and procedures as outlined in the foster parent manual.
Responsibilities to the Birth Parents:
- To cooperate with visitation; to provide transportation for the child or if visitation is in your home, making the parent feel comfortable and allowing time with the child.
- To help the child maintain a realistic perception and attitude towards his/her own parents.
- To provide necessary and appropriate information about child's growth and development such as likes, dislikes, behaviors, feelings, etc. to the parent.
- To prepare the child to return home.
To the Foster Parents family:
- To discuss foster care openly with all members of the family, to allow participation in the decision to accept a particular child.
- To strive to maintain usual lifestyle and relationships while providing foster care, including private time with own family members.
- To help all members understand the impact taking in a foster child may have on family routine, etc.
- To prepare all members for the arrival of foster children, including discussion of the foster child's special needs.
- To prepare for and support all members of the family as they cope with the departure of a foster child.
On The Job Supervision:
- The foster parent works in conjunction with the child's caseworker and will receive supervision and support from them in relation to the specific child. In addition the social worker is available to the foster parent to answer questions, straighten out problems, keep them informed of changes that might affect them, and provide general support.