1201 Child Placement Services

E. Maintaining One Single, Stable Foster Care Placement

The agency shall arrange for and maintain a single, stable living arrangement for each child, preferable within the child’s own community. A child will be moved only when it is in his best interest, and there are clear indicators to support the necessity of the move. Documentation shall reflect diligent efforts made to maintain a single placement in the child’s community or reasons why this is not possible.

Foster care placements should be carefully selected and well prepared, with placements based on child’s needs and ability of foster parents to meet those needs. The social worker must provide consistent and ongoing support to the foster family and facilitate the resolution of problems that occur when the child is placed in a foster home. Foster parents should also be valued as partners with the agency and family in providing for the best interests of the child. Foster parents that are actively involved in the planning for the child are better prepared to provide a stable placement and often become the best permanency option for children if reunification fails.

The agency should have a plan to manage placement disruption and should document and record disruptions in both the child’s record and in the foster parent’s record. This record can provide valuable information as to what kinds of behaviors a particular foster parent cannot handle. This analysis can guide future placement decisions, as well as identify training needs of the foster parents. One of the best tools to manage placement disruption is to plan for placement supports such as regular and consistent respite care. The social worker should have sufficient contact with the foster placement provider to know when conditions exist that could lead to disruptions. Intensive Family Preservation Services, as available, are also a resource for preventing foster care placement disruptions.

When a Child Protective Services report involves an allegation against a foster parent, there shall be a Safety Assessment completed by the county responsible for the assessment to determine the safety of the child in foster care and to all other children in the care of the provider. Prior to the case decision, children shall be removed from the foster home only when the Safety Assessment indicates that the child is unsafe. (Refer to Family Services Manual, Chapter V, Jurisdiction in Child Welfare).