The time frame in which a child is placed in your home following your approval as a foster parent depends upon several factors. A few of these include 1) the overall number of children in your area needing placement at the time and, 2) the age range, gender, and characteristics of the children you have been approved to provide foster care for. The second factor is based primarily on a mutual decision between you and DFCS regarding the type child whose needs you have stated you can meet and the level of parenting for which your home has been approved (basic care, level of care, medically fragile, etc.). 

If circumstances allow, the Case Manager will plan the child’s placement with you in advance. In many instances, particularly after working hours, a child will be placed following only a brief call from the agency or the emergency placement person regarding the child’s general circumstances. Regardless to whether the placement is planned or unplanned, the child’s case manager should share with foster parents all applicable information available regarding the child and his situation. 

Types of information that may be shared with you when a child is initially placed in your home include the following: 

• Form 469, Child Information Sheet. This form contains personal information about the child.

• Circumstances surrounding the child’s placement in care. 

• The child’s placement history, if previously placed. 

• Grade level, achievement level, and educational experiences and adjustment. 

• Previous experiences with parents or other caretakers. 

• Behavior patterns with parents, caretakers, or significant others. 

• Medical history and any specific needs. 

• Eating and sleeping patterns. 

• Information regarding siblings or other significant persons in the child’s past. 

• Special instructions (dietary restrictions, medical needs, emotional needs, etc.) 

You and the Case Manager also sign the Agreement Supplement, Form 40, at the time of the child’s placement. The Agreement Supplement provides you and the agency with a record of the beginning and ending dates of each child’s placement in your home. 

The fundamental responsibility for the child placed in your home rests with the agency. The agency must do everything in its power to promote, protect and safeguard the welfare of the child. The Case Manager must assure that the placement is appropriate to meet the needs of the individual child and that the child receives proper care while in placement. The Case Manager must also work to improve conditions in the child’s home so that, if possible, he may return there. 

The Case Manager must ensure that the rights and responsibilities of the child, the birth parent and the foster parents are respected and fulfilled. The Case Manager must also maintain continued supervision of the child while he is living in the foster home. As a valued member of the foster care team, your perceptions of what is in the best interest of the child are important. You will be involved in planning for the child in preparation for case reviews held every six months for the duration of the placement.

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