REQUIREMENTS

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) and Child Placing Agencies (CPAs) shall require prior notice from approved caregivers who wish to operate a family daycare in their home. Utilization standards for foster homes must continue to be met at all times when children in foster care are involved (see policy 14.1 Resource Development: Safety and Quality Standards).

DFCS and CPAs shall not approve a caregiver when their primary place of residence (the home into which a child would be placed) is used as a Personal Care Home or is located on the same property as the Personal Care Home. 

DFCS and CPAs shall check with Bright from the Start for any safety and compliance issues with family daycares during initial evaluations and reevaluations or at any time circumstances warrant such a check. 

DFCS shall not pay caregivers for providing childcare to children for whom they provide foster care services unless a waiver has been granted by the Foster Care Services Director. 

DFCS shall notify the licensing agency if a DFCS foster home that also holds a child care license or provides family daycare is closed because of serious policy violations or a substantiated CPS investigation.

PROCEDURES

When a foster parent notifies the agency of their desire to provide family daycare in their home or is operating a family daycare prior to approval, DFCS or CPA staff will:

1. Discuss with the caregivers the effects of a daycare in relation to each child currently placed in the home considering such issues as: 
   1. The age of the child; 
   2. The special needs of the child; 
   3. The frequency of birth parent-child visits; 
   4. The effects of birth parent contacts on the child; 
   5. The length of time the child has been in foster care; 
   6. The permanency plan for the child; and
   7. The child’s adjustment to and sense of security in the foster home
2. Discuss with the caregivers the effects of daycare on future placements of other children in the home and identify the type of child that might be appropriate for placement. 
3. Confer with the RD Supervisor and the County Director/Designee, then request a waiver from the State Permanency Unit Manager. 
4. Notify the caregivers of the agency’s decision whether or not to grant them approval as a DFCS foster home with the operation of a family daycare. 
5. Document the agency’s decision and update the foster home record appropriately in the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (Georgia SHINES). 
6. Ensure that any caregiver who provides family daycare does not exceed the number of children that may be in the home at any given time (a total of six, including the caregiver’s birth children). 
7. Ensure a caregiver who provides family daycare does not provide daycare for more than two infants when an infant in the home has a permanency plan of adoption. 
8. Promptly intervene when it is determined that a child is adversely affected by a caregiver providing family daycare services in the home and consult with the caregiver, RD Supervisor, and County Director/Designee regarding whether or not to remove the child. 
9. Check with Bright from the Start to determine if the family daycare has any reported violations or citations prior to the completion and approval of the initial Family Evaluation and annual re-evaluation.

When an applicant interested in becoming a foster parent or an existing foster parent is licensed as a Personal Care Home, the Resource Development (RD) Case Manager will:

1. Notify the applicant at the point of inquiry, or the earliest point thereafter, that their home cannot be approved as a foster home for children in DFCS custody while their primary place of residence is licensed and/or used as a Personal Care Home. 

2. Notify any existing foster home that is licensed as a Personal Care Home that no additional children will be placed in their home while their place of residence continues to be licensed as a Personal Care Home. 

   NOTE: Such cases will need to be staffed individually to determine the most appropriate and least restrictive placement for the children involved. A waiver must be requested from the State Permanency Unit Manager for children to remain in such placements. 

3. Notify a Personal Care Home provider who closes their home for such business that they may be approved as a DFCS foster home, provided all other agency requirements are met.

PRACTICE GUIDANCE

Foster Parent Provides Family Daycare

Children in foster care have experienced separation from their families often resulting in trauma and anxiety. Observing other parents and children separating and reuniting daily can be traumatic for already vulnerable children. It is possible that daycare for children known to the foster children may be less stressful, such as providing daycare for children who:

1. Are relatives or friends of the foster parent; 
2. Live in the neighborhood; 
3. Attend the same school, church, etc. as the child

The decision regarding the number of children for whom a particular foster home can provide family daycare is based on the home’s approval specifications as well as the number of children that would be in the home from the time school is out until the children in daycare leave. The maximum number is six. If a foster parent provides family daycare for more than two children for pay, the foster parent must be registered with Bright from the Start.

Adverse Placement Effects in a Family Daycare Home 

When a child is adversely affected by caregivers providing family daycare in the home, consider the following questions in deciding whether or not to move the child:

1. What areas of the child’s functioning are being negatively affected in the home? 
2. What would be the effect of moving the child to another placement? 
3. Which possible placement resources could meet the needs of the child? 
4. What type of child is appropriate for future placements in this home?

Meet face-to-face with the caregivers to discuss areas of concern. The caregivers must choose between discontinuing the family daycare and the child remaining in the home, or continuing the daycare and the child being moved. 

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) 

Bright from the Start: DECAL is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children. Among other things, Bright from the Start oversees the licensing and monitoring of all center-based and home-based child care facilities, including investigating complaints of child care programs and reports of unlicensed child care. For more information visit the Bright from the Start website.

FORMS AND TOOLS

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL)