	Foster Care Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-FC 8: Services for Parents

Parents receive services that help them recognize and address the behaviors or conditions resulting in the child’s placement in foster care, and develop strategies to facilitate permanency for the child.

Interpretation: When the case involves an Indian child, services offered by the tribe or local Indian organizations should be considered when identifying services for parents.

NA The agency, by virtue of contract, does not serve parents.

PA-FC 8.01

Parents receive information about foster care services that includes:

an orientation to the foster care service and the child’s need for a permanent, safe, stable home;
parental rights and responsibilities;
the importance of parental involvement and contact with the child and the agency, according to the service plan; and
the legal implications if reunification efforts are unsuccessful.

PA-FC 8.02

Foster care workers maintain regular contact with the child’s family to:

keep the family informed and involved in decisions about the child; and
remain current about the family’s circumstances.

Interpretation: Parents are encouraged to participate in health appointments, school activities, and other events and are involved in decision making whenever possible, unless it is contraindicated.

Research Note: Parents who are involved in activities on behalf of or with their child are more likely to visit their child frequently.

PA-FC 8.03

Foster parents maintain connections with parents to provide support for reunification or another permanency option, unless contraindicated.

PA-FC 8.04

Culturally-relevant services are available, directly or through referral, to help parents meet their needs and to help the child return home, including:

child care;
homemaker and home health aide services;
parent education;
respite care;
transportation services;
vocational and educational assistance;
health and mental health care;
substance use treatment services;
domestic violence services; and
housing referral and assistance.

Interpretation: When such services are not readily accessible, the agency advocates for greater availability and works with the family to consider alternatives, which can include informal support services.

Research Note: Poor access to services needed to support reunification, especially substance use treatment services, is a barrier to achieving permanency for children.

PA-FC 8.05

Workers have access to comprehensive, up-to-date information about culturally-relevant community services, and maintain regular contact with collateral providers to share information about service delivery.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Children and youth who receive Foster Care Services live in a stable home, remain safe and healthy, and achieve permanency and well-being.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	INDIAN CHILD As defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), "Any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe." For purposes of compliance with ICWA, the definition provided in the Act shall apply. For purposes of access to services and resources, other more inclusive definitions may apply (e.g. Indian Education Act, tribal definitions, etc.).


	INDIAN ORGANIZATION As defined in ICWA, "Any group, association, partnership, cooperation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by Indians, or a majority of whose members are Indians."


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	SERVICE PLAN A written plan of action based on the assessment of consumer needs and strengths that identifies problems, sets goals, and describes a strategy for achieving those goals and engaging in joint problem solving with the consumer. Also known as a "treatment plan".


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	FOSTER PARENTS State- or county-licensed adults who provide a temporary home for children whose birth parents are unable to care for them. Foster parents are not considered employees or personnel and are specifically referenced in all relevant standards.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.