DISCUSSION:

The purpose of this memorandum is to introduce changes in policy and to update policy related to Council on Accreditation standards. This memorandum addresses policy related to resource provider training. The policy changes for this memo are contained in Section 4 Chapter 12, Section 6 Chapter 2 Attachment C, and Section 6 Chapter 3 Attachment D of the Child Welfare Manual. These changes include the use of the Professional Family Development Plan (CD-100), in service training hours and mandatory in service trainings, and suspension of the Professional Parenting payment.

Professional Family Development Plan

Staff must complete a Professional Family Development Plan (form CD-100) with each provider within 30 days of initial licensure and at the time of license renewal. This plan will outline the training goals of each family and must be reviewed on an annual basis. The purpose of the Professional Family Development Plan (PFDP) is to assess the family’s training needs and their goals as professional care givers. This document can be changed as the needs of the family and agency change. Staff will be able to utilize the Performance Based Criteria developed for foster, relative and kinship care providers. These criteria are based upon the STARS competencies and include the following:

COMPETENCY – Protecting and Nurturing

• Accepts placements on an emergency basis with little notice.
• Maintains confidentiality of case information for children placed in their home (currently and previously).
• Maintains foster child’s belongings and assures those belongings go with the child when they move/return home.
• Does not discuss any permanency plan with the child until this plan becomes the case goal (i.e. discussing adoption while case goal remains reunification).

COMPETENCY – Meeting developmental needs and addressing developmental delays

• Makes and keeps all medical, psychiatric, counseling, dental, and rehabilitation appointments including all required and emergency appointments.
• Maintains contact with the therapist on a regular basis for each child placed in the home.
• Knows and follows the treatment plan developed by the therapist for each child.
• Provides information on the child’s behavior to the worker and Family Support Team.
• Attends all IEP meetings and keeps the worker informed of the school plan for the child.
• Works with the biological family to help them understand and meet the special needs of the child.

COMPETENCY – Supporting relationships between children and their birth families

• Cooperates with the family and sibling visitation plan.
• Is respectful of the birth family by not making derogatory comments about the family to the child(ren).
• Supervises visitation between the child and family/siblings when necessary and available.
• Provides mentoring to the birth parents to help work toward reunification.
• Provides transportation to and from visitation with the family as needed.
• Keeps birth parents informed of all appointments and school functions and invites them to these as appropriate.

COMPETENCY – Connecting children to safe, nurturing relationships intended to last a lifetime

• Starts and maintains a life book on each child in their care to be sent with the child when they move or return home.
• Finds opportunities for the child(ren) to participate in activities in the community, school, church, etc.
• Supports the child’s involvement in activities outside of the foster home.
• Supports transitions into other settings such as adoptive placement, kinship/relative placement, reunification, or an independent living arrangement.

COMPETENCY – Working as a member of a professional team

• Attends Family Support Team Meetings or provides written report on the child(ren).
• Knows and follows the Children’s Division policies and procedures.
• Supports the case plan developed by the Family Support Team even if they are not in agreement with the plan.
• Expresses their concerns regarding the case plan with the child’s worker and during team meetings.
• Keeps the case manager or service worker informed of all the child’s activities.
• Allows items purchased for the child to go with the child when they move or return home.
• Provides or makes arrangements for transportation for the child(ren) as needed.

This is not a comprehensive list. Other criteria may be found in the STARS curriculum for each of the competencies. These criteria should be utilized in evaluating the performance of foster parents during their license renewal process and are an integral part of developing an appropriate Professional Development Plan. These criteria are also included in the CD-100 PFDP. For more information on the PFDP, please refer to the STARS Resource Development Specialist’s Handbook, Step 11. This handbook can be obtained by contacting the Children’s Division training unit. The current contact person is Linda Lefebvre (Linda.L.Lefebvre@dss.mo.gov).

In-Service Training

Pre-service training hours may no longer be counted toward the required 30 hours of in- service training for the first two year licensing period beginning with all homes licensed after the date of this memo. COA requires all alternative care providers to receive the following trainings:

• Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and
• First Aid training

Certification is not required and these trainings may count towards in-service hours. Providers will not be required to complete the CPR and first aid training until their circuit is preparing for accreditation. If an alternative care provider receives CPR and/or first aid training as part of their job, they may count these hours toward their required in- service training hours. The CPR and First Aid trainings should be taught by a certified provider and local resources should be utilized whenever possible. The local Health Department and Red Cross are two possible sources for training in these areas. The codes for these trainings are V840 CPR Training and V898 First Aid Training.

All alternative care providers are also required to have the following trainings:

• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) – please review memo CS03-07 for information on how to obtain this training for alternative care providers. The code for this training is V980, and
• Ready, Set, Fly (this is required for all homes providing care to any child age 14 or older) – this training is currently available through your regional office (ILP Specialists), however, this training will be available through the STARS curriculum as an in-service module beginning July 1, 2006. The code for this training is V706.

It is preferred that these hours are obtained within the first year of licensure. However, due to availability and time constraints across the state, families may take the courses at anytime during the first licensing period of two years.

The majority of in-service training should come from traditional classroom training, however, some non-traditional training may be allowed. Non-traditional training must be approved by the Regional Director or designee. The total amount of non-traditional training accepted per licensing period is to be determined by the Regional Director based upon the availability of training and the training needs of the region.

If a foster home does not comply with the plan developed for obtaining the required in- service training hours, the Children’s Services Worker should schedule a meeting between the family, the worker and supervisor. This meeting should address with the family the importance of complying with Licensing Rules and their license may be subject to revocation if they do not meet the requirement for in-service training within a specified time frame not to exceed six months unless approved by the Regional Director. The Division should begin the revocation process if licensing requirements are not met after this process. (The revocation process can be located in Section 6 Chapter 3.)

Professional Parenting Payment

The majority of our alternative care providers receive the Professional Parenting payment. This payment is provided to those providers who have completed STARS Pre- Service training and have satisfied the required In-Service training. Any provider receiving the Professional Parenting payment must complete the required in-service training hours, including relative and kinship care providers. If a foster parent does not receive the required number of hours of training during the licensing period, the professional parent payment may be suspended by closing the Professional Parent contract (CM-14). A Cooperative Agreement for the Purchase of Foster Care Services (CM-3) may need to be opened for maintenance payments to continue. Staff should contact the Contract Management unit in Central Office to close a CM-14 or open a CM- 3 contract. They can be reached at 573-526-0954.

A plan must be developed between the foster parent and the Division to make up the necessary training hours. These hours will not count toward the next licensing period, only toward the previous licensing period. The foster parent would still be responsible for obtaining the required hours for the next licensing period. When dealing with a licensed couple, the professional parent payment would be suspended if either one of the couple do not meet the licensing requirements for in-service training. The couple is issued one license and thus both parties must be in compliance with the licensing rules for the payment to continue. This means that both parties must complete 30 hours (32 hours for career) of in-service training for each licensing period.

Once the foster parent obtains the needed hours of training, the professional parent contract will be reopened and payment will be reinstated. They will not be reimbursed for any time they were not in compliance with the in-service training requirement. The payment may be prorated if necessary through payment on a CS-65. The Contract Management Unit should again be notified to reopen the CM-14.

An exception may be made in the cessation of the professional parent payment if a viable reason is provided for not obtaining the necessary training. This exception must be approved by the Regional Director. The plan for obtaining the necessary training hours must still be completed and the payment may be suspended if the foster parent does not comply with the plan.

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