Ky.gov
Effective: 7/2/2024

12.7 Approval and Denial of Non-Familial Foster and Adoptive Homes

Legal Authority

Introduction

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Practice Guidance

Procedure

  1. ​​The FSOS considers approval of a non-familial foster and adoptive home applicant if: 
    1. The worker has submitted the completed documents listed in the forms section listed below, including the SAFE Reference Letters and SAFE Questionnaires I and II, and as completed documents are received from the family, the recruitment and certification (R&C) worker will update the case document TWIST screen; 1 
    2. The applicant has completed the required Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS/Cabinet) approved training; 
    3. The R&C worker recommends approval; and 
    4. The applicant's ability to provide foster, adoptive, or respite service is consistent with the: 
      1. Cabinet's minimum foster and adoptive home requirements; and 
      2. The needs of the families and children served by the Cabinet. 
  2. The R&C worker updates the case document TWIST screen as completed documents are received from the family; 
  3. The R&C worker completes a minimum of three (3) meetings with the applicant(s) and family. A minimum of one (1) meeting will be in the home of the applicant and the other two (2) meetings will be either in the home or virtual and at the discretion of the supervisor.  The meetings are structured as follows:​
    1. Interview 1 - Introductory, get acquainted interview;
    2. Interview 2 - Administers the SAFE Questionnaire II (QII). QII is never out of sight of the R&C worker. 2 
      1. Observes one or both applicants while they are completing QII. The applicants are instructed they may not talk or discuss the questionnaire. 
      2. Interview 2- When QII is completed, immediately interviews each applicant one-on-one, separately, and privately. No children or other adults should be in the home when QII is administered. QII interviews should be no longer than forty-five (45) minutes. 
    3. Interview 3 - Marriage or support interview. The family and others frequently residing in the home can be interviewed at this time. 
  4. Following each interview, completes a psychosocial inventory utilizing the SAFE Desk Guide and mitigation ratings; 
  5. Consults with the FSOS regarding the assigned SAFE Desk Guide and mitigation ratings. ​
When approval is recommended
The R&C Worker:
  1. Submits the following information to the R&C FSOS if approval is recommended: 
    1. A completed and signed non-familia family application; 
    2. A signed Privacy and Security of Protected Health Information, Confidential and Other Sensitive Information;
    3. Documentation from the three (3) personal references, that have been provided SAFE letters of reference for the applicant or have been interviewed; 
    4. Two (2) credit references or a credit report; 
    5. Documentation that each adult child of the foster or adoptive parent applicant who does not live in the home has been interviewed in person or by telephone regarding the applicant's parenting history, unless a documented exception is approved by designated cabinet staff due to inaccessibility; 
    6. The narrative SAFE home study which addresses the skills needed for fostering and adopting; 
    7. The Professional Development Plan, if needed; 
    8. The DPP-107 Health Information Required on Foster and Adoptive Home Applicant or Adult Household Member​; 
    9. The DPP-108 Health Information Required for Foster and Adoptive Home Applicants Regarding Dependent Children​; 
    10. The DPP-117 Verification Request Marriage and Divorce, if appropriate; 
    11. The DPP-170 Financial Statement; 
    12. Documentation of the results of initial background checks; 
    13. The SAFE Compatibility Inventory; 
    14. The DPP-111 F​oster Home Contract (foster care only); 
    15. The case document checklist from TWIST;  
    16. The DPP-1291 Foster and Adoptive Home Discipline Policy Agreement; 
    17. The non-familial foster and adoptive parent approval letter; and 
    18. The foster and adoptive recommendation; 
  2. If the FSOS approves the home study, it is submitted with an approval letter to the service region administrator (SRA) or designee for signature and final approval; 
  3. Upon approval of the home study by SRA or designee, the R&C worker schedules a time to meet with the family to notify them of their approval as a foster and adoptive parent or as a foster or adopt-only parent;
  4. Shares a stamped, final draft copy of the home study with the foster/adoptive family to review during the home visit;
  5. Collects the home study to return to the office, once the family reviews and signs; 
  6. Makes corrections or changes to the home study as identified by the foster/adoptive family; 3 
  7. Submits the corrected copy to the FSOS for review and approval; 
  8. Provides the applicants with the final draft of the home study to review and sign, if changes are made prior to final approval;
  9. Distributes the approval packet as follows: 
    1. Adoption: 
      1. Original approval letter to the adoptive family; 
      2. Original study and copy of the approval letter remain at the local office; and 
      3. A copy of the approval letter is sent to the Foster Parent Mentoring Program within five (5) working days; 
    2. Foster Care: 
      1. Original approval letter, and foster parent handbook to the foster family if not received in pre-service training; 
      2. Original study and copy of the approval letter remain at the local office; 
      3. A copy of the approval letter is sent to the billing specialist; and 
      4. The Foster Parent Mentor Program Referral form is sent to the Foster Parent Mentoring Program within five (5) working days of approval. 
  10. Requests approval from the FSOS for an extension and documents in the case record, when approval packet submissions exceed four (4) months from the time of pre-service training, meeting one (1); 
  11. Follows the procedure below if a currently approved foster family wishes to be approved to adopt children not in their home, (i.e., Kentucky Adoption Profile Exchange (KAPE) adoption) or an adoptive family wishes to be approved to foster: 
    1. An R&C worker or FSOS familiar with the type of approval the family is requesting meets with the family to discuss how this type of parenting is different from what they are doing, discusses their motivation, availability of children for them, and the experiences they have had that may now apply; 
    2. The FSOS makes the determination regarding the family's participation in pre-service or any other training; 
    3. The R&C worker who meets with the family completes a memo addressing issues and makes a recommendation of approval, or non-approval, to the FSOS; 4 
  12. Informs the prospective foster and adoptive home parents that the Cabinet is not obligated to grant foster or adoptive home approval or placement of a specific child to an individual or family that completes pre-service training; and 
  13. The SRA or designee signs the DPP-111 Foster Home Contract​, and an approval letter which includes the statement “Approval does not guarantee placement of a child” if the decision is to approve. 5​
Special circumstances
  1. The R&C worker completes a SAFE home study update and receives regional approval when a new spouse moves into an already approved home. 
  2. Only the SRA or designee grants approval of a foster and adoptive home if: 
    1. The applicant is a personal care or family child care home provider; 
    2. An applicant or member or the household has substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect; or 
    3. An applicant or member of the household has been convicted of a misdemeanor or non-violent felony. 
  3. Only the commissioner or designee grants approval of a foster home if the applicant is a current Protection and Permanency (P&P) employee as specified in SOP 12.3.1 Foster or Adoptive/Respite Home Parent Applicants-Employees or Former Employees. 
  4. Only the commissioner grants approval of an adoptive home if the applicant is a current P&P employee as specified in SOP 13.13.4 Employee Adoption
  5. Cohabitating couples that are applicants to foster/adopt will be assessed in one home study. The R&C worker will discuss the implications of any future adoptions or related permanency issues. 
  6. Individuals in platonic relationships who reside in the same household will be assessed in separate home studies. The home study shall include information about all household members, including the dynamics of the home and the plan for caregiving.​
Withdrawal of application or approval is not recommended.
  1. The R&C worker informs prospective foster and adoptive home parents that they may withdraw their application at any time during the approval process. 
  2. The R&C worker consults with the FSOS to evaluate the information available if approval is not recommended. 
  3. If after consultation with the R&C worker, the FSOS determines that an applicant does not meet the minimum requirements for approval as a foster and adoptive home parent, Cabinet staff recommends that the applicant withdraw their request to become a foster and adoptive home parent. 
  4. The Cabinet considers requesting a withdrawal when: 
    1. There are doubts about the willingness and ability of the family to meet the unique needs of children in out-of-home care. These may include, but are not limited to the documentation and interviews concerning background checks, discipline techniques, interaction with neighbors, children, and references, etc.; or 
    2. There are doubts about the willingness and ability of the family to work in partnership with the Cabinet, the birth family, or other community resources. 
  5. If the applicant voluntarily withdraws: 
    1. The FSOS sends a written notice to the ​applicant confirming their decision within two (2) weeks; 
    2. The R&C worker documents in the case record the reason for withdrawal under the heading “Voluntary Withdrawal”; and
    3. The SRA, or designee, is promptly notified when the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) recommends a withdrawal. 
  6. The FSOS notifies the applicant, in writing, within two (2) weeks, that the application is not recommended for one (1) of the following reasons if the applicant is withdrawn involuntarily: 
    1. ​The applicant is unwilling to withdraw the request to become a foster and adoptive home parent after receiving a recommendation to withdraw; or 
    2. The applicant desires to adopt but is unwilling to adopt a child in the custody of the Cabinet. 
  7. The SRA reviews the request to become a foster and adoptive home parent and issues a final written determination regarding the Cabinet’s recommendation if the foster and adoptive home applicant disagrees with the Cabinet’s recommendation to not accept the applicant as a resource home. 
  8. The R&C worker withdraws the applicant(s) from the Kentucky Applicant Registry and Employment Screening (KARES) system when as applicant is withdrawn or not recommended.
  9. The R&C worker withdraws the application from TWIST using the Withdrawal of Inquiry screen including the reason for withdrawal in the comments section.
  10. The R&C worker and FSOS will follow the procedure in SOP 12.8 Non-Safety Standard Waiver Process​ in regards to denials of child specific foster home approvals.​
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Footnotes

  1. SAFE Questionnaire I is shared with the family in the application packet. SAFE Questionnaire II is not part of the application packet and is never mailed to the family. 
  2. Questionnaire I and II must be administered to all applicants. QII may also be administered to other adults in the home or family when deemed appropriate by the R&C worker. 
  3. The R&C worker does not leave a draft copy with the family. QI or QII are not included with the home study draft and are never shared with the family. 
  4. Attached to the memo is a copy of the original narrative packet and current re-evalulation. New medical, references, or police records check are not necessary unless there is cause for concern with a particular issue. 
  5. Upon approval, the FSOS may request additional review by the SRA or designee​​​​

Documents

Revisions

​3/14/23 Addition: 

4. Only the Commissioner grants approval of an adoptive home if the applicant is a current P&P employee as specified in SOP 13.13.4 Employee Adoption

8.  The R&C worker withdraws the applicant(s) from the Kentucky Applicant Registry and Employment Screening (KARES) system when as applicant is withdrawn or not recommended.

9.  The R&C worker withdraws the application from TWIST using the Withdrawal of Inquiry screen including the reason for withdrawal in the comments section.​


3/14/23 Delete:

M. Documentation of an additional background check if the time from the initial check to approval exceeds six (6) months; ​

  1. Only the commissioner or designee grants approval of a foster home if the applicant is a curent Protection and Permanency (P&P) DCBS employee or former employee as specified in SOP 12.3.1 Foster or Adoptive/Respite Home Parent Applicants-Employees. or Former Employees. 

7/2/2024

Add non-familial language.

​P.  Waiver documentation including any action plans for child specific foster home approval; ​

iv.  Relative and fictive kin caregivers that have placement of the children are referred to the mentor program within five (5) working days of the informational meeting. 

  1. The R&C worker completes a new SAFE home study update and receives regional approval when a new spouse moves into an already approved home.