The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) has established policies to follow the Reasonable and Prudent Parenting Standard for Georgia Foster Care families in accordance with Public Law 113-183, enacted September 29, 2014. This act specifies that all foster caregivers shall make careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety and best interests of the foster child while encouraging his or her emotional and developmental growth and well-being. This standard should be applied when determining whether to allow a child in foster care to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural and social activities.

Major decisions that have a significant effect on the life of a child in foster care require approval from DFCS and/or juvenile court, and in some cases, decisions should be made in consultation with the child’s birth parent(s) if the child’s parental rights have not been terminated.

Major decisions in which DFCS and/or juvenile court, and in some cases, birth parent consultation include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Changing a child’s school, school attendance, Individualized Education Program (IEP), or participation in a GED program 
• Changing a child’s psychotropic or other prescribed medication (including initiating or stopping) or altering the administration of medication (dosage, frequency, etc.) 
• Authorizing a child to undergo amajor medical procedure • Changing a child’s court-ordered visitation plan (date, location, supervision,etc.) • Preventing a child from visiting his or her biological sibling(s) 
• Drastically altering a child’s appearance (cutting and/or applying chemicals to hair, body piercing, tattoos, etc.) 
• Altering a child’s religion and/or religious beliefs 
• Allowing a child to receive a religious sacrament (Baptism, Confirmation,etc.) 
• Preventing a youth from participating in the DFCS Independent Living Program (ILP) 
• Authorizing a youth to obtain his or her driver’s license or driver’s permit 
• Authorizing a youth to travel out-of-state
• Granting a youth dating privileges

Major decisions made on behalf of the child in which a caregiver does not have authorization to make include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Returning a child to the caregiver from whom he/she was previously removed (including birth parents, adoptive parents, relatives, legal guardians, etc.) without court approval 
• Violation of the DFCS discipline policy 
• Violation of a standing court order

DFCS will provide caregivers with training on this policy during and following pre-service training.

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