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12.5 Pre-Service Training Requirements for Foster and Adoptive Parent Applicants

Legal Authority

Introduction

Practice Guidance

Relative/fictive applicants who reside in the household will complete the following electronic courses:

Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma;
First Aid and Universal Precautions;
Medication Administration;
Medical Passports; and
Reasonable and Prudent Parenting

Each non-familial adult foster or adoptive home applicant who resides in the household and provides care completes a minimum of fifteen (15) hours of Cabinet approved training curriculum that includes the following topics:

Information about the rights, responsibilities, and expectations of a foster or adoptive parent;
The importance of birth parents and culture;
The process of a child entering foster care;
Types of child maltreatment; Impact of childhood trauma;
Stages of grief;
Long-term effects of separation and loss;
Permanency planning for a child, including independent living for transitioning youth;
Importance of attachment on a child's growth and development and the way a child maintains and develops a healthy attachment;
Family functioning, values, and expectations of a foster or adoptive home;
Cultural competency;
Emergency preparedness;
Child development;
Basic discipline and behavior management skills; and
Reasonable and prudent parent standard.

The pre-service preparation process emphasizes:

Self-Evaluation;
Participation in small group exercise; and
Discussion with experienced foster or adoptive home parents.
An orientation to the philosophy and process of the Cabinet's family foster care and adoption programs;
A greater awareness on the part of the applicant to determine their strengths and needs;
Sensitization of the applicant to the kinds of situations, feelings, and reactions that are apt to occur with a child in the custody of the cabinet;
The importance of developing behavior management skills to meet the needs of the children in OOHC;
An example of an actual experience from a foster or adoptive home parent who has fostered a child; and
Information regarding:

Self-evaluation;

The following are additional web-based training for non-familial foster homes, and pre-service training requirements, which are not included in the fifteen (15) hour pre-service group training requirement:

Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma;
First Aid and Universal Precautions;
Medication Administration;
Medical Passports;
Reasonable and Prudent Parenting; and
Foster/Adoptive Support and Training (F.A.S.T.) Resources.

A non-familial adult child or elderly person who resides in the foster or adoptive home is not required to complete pre-service if that individual will not be responsible for routine daily care of a child placed in the home by Cabinet.
Non-familial adult children or elderly who may provide routine daily care of a placed child should attend the pre-service family preparation training.
Pre-service training is generally completed in a group setting, unless the R&C FSOS approves an individualized training program.

The DPP-113 Request for Applicant or Adult Household Member to Attend Individualized Training must be completed and approved for an applicant to attend individualized training and include the circumstance, which prevents the foster or adoptive parent training from occurring in a group setting;
A justification must be placed in the foster or adoptive parent's case file; and
An applicant will not receive more than eight (8) hours of individualized training during a twenty-four (24) hour period.

If a new adult moves into an approved non-familial foster or adoptive home where a child is already placed by the Cabinet, including marriages, per SOP 12.17 Foster or Adoptive Home Reviews, the child may remain and additional children may be placed if the new adult:

Completes training within six (6) months of entering the home; and
Meets all other requirements for a foster or adoptive home parent.

Procedure

The R&C group leaders and FSOS:

Ensure that all non-familial applicants are aware of the expectation to complete all pre-service training sessions;
Determine whether a reason is appropriate for a non-familial applicant to miss a meeting and make arrangements for ensuring all required information is shared;
Determine if the non-familial applicant is still an appropriate candidate as a foster or adoptive home if they miss more than one (1) meeting;
Determine if it is appropriate for a non-familial applicant or adult household member to attend individualized training and complete the DPP-113 Request for Applicant or Adult Household Member to Attend Individualized Training.

The R&C Worker:

Instructs the non-familial participants in the group to complete the Foster and Adoptive Parent (FAP) TRIS 1 form at each meeting, and submits the original to the TRIS office within five (5) working days of the meeting;
Informs the applicant during the home visit of their right to file a service complaint, as described in SOP 30.3 Service Complaints, with the SRA if a difference arises that cannot be resolved through supervisory channels;
Follows SOP 12.6 Foster or Adoptive Home Parents Approved by Other States or Licensed Child Placing Agencies if a foster or adoptive home parent approved by another state or a licensed child-placing agency wishes to become approved by Cabinet.
Cabinet staff ensures that at least three (3) family visits are conducted. At a minimum one (1) of the visits will be in the home of the family. The other two (2) visits will be either in the home or virtual and at the discretion of the supervisor:

Documentation that the home requirements have been met;
Documentation that a personal interview with each member of the applicant’s household has been completed and the following information has been discussed, as appropriate:

Discussion of the decision to foster or adopt;
Expectations regarding changes or added responsibility they anticipate;
Impact on applicant's birth children; and
Any noted areas of concern;

Discussion of the attitude of each member of the applicant’s household toward the placement of a child;
Observation of the functioning of the applicant’s household, including interpersonal relationship and patterns of interaction; and
Assurance that the applicant understands and is willing to accept and encourage a child’s relationship with their birth family.

If a non-familial applicant completes the pre-service training in a region other than the region in which the applicant lives:

The assigned R&C worker from the applicant’s region of residence conducts the first family consultation visit;
The R&C worker from the applicant’s region of residence completes the home study process as described in SOP 12.7 Approval and Denial; and
Upon receipt of paperwork from the family, R&C staff/co-leaders responsible for providing the pre-service training immediately forward any relevant paperwork to the R&C FSOS in the region of residence.

Documents

FAP-TRIS1 Foster-Adoptive Parent Training Documentation...

DPP-113 Request for Applicant or Adult Household Member to Attend Individualized Training...

Revisions

7/2/2024

The child specific informational meeting will include the following topics:

The foster care process;
The court process;
Major laws;
Trauma from abuse and neglect;
Discipline policy;
Emergency preparedness;
Web based training requirements.

Relative/fictive applicants who reside in the household will complete the following electronic courses:

Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma;
First Aid and Universal Precautions;
Medication Administration;
Medical Passports; and
Reasonable and Prudent Parenting

The following are additional web-based training for non-familial foster homes, and pre-service training requirements, which are not included in the fifteen (15) hour pre-service group training requirement:
Applicants under a waiver for pre-service training shall receive this training in a setting with other waiver applicants, unless a one-on-one training is provided. This will limit disruption of the full pre-serice curriculum and build supports for child specific caregivers.
Applicants under a waiver must complete all required online training.
If applicants under a waiver for training decide to pursue approval as a basic home, they must complete pre service trainings numbers one (1) through four (4).

5. If the applicant is seeking approval as a child specific foster home, the R&C worker completes the following;

CHFS Waiver of Training for Child Specific Foster Home form and submits to FSOS;
Upon FSOS approval, DCBS may waive up to twelve (12) hours of pre-service training and require the applicant to attend the informational meeting and pre-service meeting number five (5).