4. Facilitating participation by the caregiver in visitation between the birth or legal parent and the child. 5. Involving the caregiver in planning meetings with the birth or legal parent. 6. Developing and implementing effective transition plans for the child’s return home or placement in any other living environment. 7. Supporting continued contact between the caregiver and the child after the child returns home or moves to another permanent living arrangement. (b) To ensure that a child in out-of-home care receives support for healthy development which gives the child the best possible opportunity for success, caregivers, birth or legal parents, the department, and the community-based care lead agency shall work cooperatively in a respectful partnership by adhering to the following requirements: 1. All members of the partnership must interact and communicate professionally with one another, must share all relevant information promptly, and must respect the confidentiality of all information related to the child and his or her family. 2. The caregiver; the birth or legal parent; the child, if appropriate; the department; and the community-based care lead agency must participate in developing a case plan for the child and the birth or legal parent. All members of the team must work together to implement the case plan. The caregiver must have the opportunity to participate in all team meetings or court hearings related to the child’s care and future plans. The department and community-based care lead agency must support and facilitate caregiver participation through timely notifications of such meetings and hearings and provide alternative methods for participation for a caregiver who cannot be physically present at a meeting or hearing. 3. A caregiver must strive to provide, and the department and community-based care lead agency must support, excellent parenting, which includes: a. A loving commitment to the child and the child’s safety and well-being. b. Appropriate supervision and positive methods of discipline. c. Encouragement of the child’s strengths. d. Respect for the child’s individuality and likes and dislikes. e. Providing opportunities to develop the child’s interests and skills. f. Being aware of the impact of trauma on behavior. g. Facilitating equal participation of the child in family life. h. Involving the child within his or her community. i. A commitment to enable the child to lead a normal life. 4. A child in out-of-home care must be placed with a caregiver who has the ability to care for the child, is willing to accept responsibility for providing care, and is willing and able to learn about and be respectful of the child’s culture, religion, and ethnicity; special physical or psychological needs;
circumstances unique to the child; and family relationships. The department, the community-based care lead agency, and other agencies must provide a caregiver with all available information necessary to assist the caregiver in determining whether he or she is able to appropriately care for a particular child. 5. A caregiver must have access to and take advantage of all training that he or she needs to improve his or her skills in parenting a child who has experienced trauma due to neglect, abuse, or separation from home; to meet the child’s special needs; and to work effectively with child welfare agencies, the courts, the schools, and other community and governmental agencies. 6. The department and community-based care lead agency must provide a caregiver with the services and support they need to enable them to provide quality care for the child pursuant to subsection (3). 7. Once a caregiver accepts the responsibility of caring for a child, the child may be removed from the home of the caregiver only if: a. The caregiver is clearly unable to safely or legally care for the child; b. The child and the birth or legal parent are reunified; c. The child is being placed in a legally permanent home in accordance with a case plan or court order; or d. The removal is demonstrably in the best interests of the child. 8. If a child must leave the caregiver’s home for one of the reasons stated in subparagraph 7., and in the absence of an unforeseeable emergency, the transition must be accomplished according to a plan that involves cooperation and sharing of information among all persons involved, respects the child’s developmental stage and psychological needs, ensures the child has all of his or her belongings, allows for a gradual transition from the caregiver’s home, and, if possible, allows for continued contact with the caregiver after the child leaves. 9. When the case plan for a child includes reunification, the caregiver, the department, and the community-based care lead agency must work together to assist the birth or legal parent in improving his or her ability to care for and protect the child and to provide continuity for the child. 10. A caregiver must respect and support the child’s ties to his or her birth or legal family, including parents, siblings, and extended family members, and must assist the child in maintaining allowable visitation and other forms of communication. The department and community-based care lead agency must provide a caregiver with the information, guidance, training, and support necessary for fulfilling this responsibility. 11. A caregiver must work in partnership with the department and community-based care lead agency to obtain and maintain records that are important to the child’s well-being, including, but not limited to, child resource records, medical records, school records,
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Book Code: SWFL1825
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