The worker for a child in Alternative Care will meet often with the Resource Provider for the child. During these discussions, the following items can help guide and inform conversations.

• Provide the necessary support to the resource family to involve them to meet the needs of the child and his/her parents, to include information, technical assistance, advice and counsel as follows:

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   • Assist the resource family in understanding the circumstances and behavior of the parent;
   • Encourage the resource provider to be a model for good parenting. This will be beneficial to the foster youth and parents; and
   • Encourage child care practices which promote and protect the psychological, physical, and emotional well-being of the child including the physical, developmental, and mental health screenings which are required every six months for children from birth to age 10 as long as the child remains in care.

• Discipline deserves special mention since resource providers are vulnerable to the accusation of child abuse, and many children exhibit problematic and provocative behavior. Physical punishment of foster youth is not permitted. Resource providers shall use discipline methods which are consistent with Children’s Division policy, Section 210.566, RSMo. It is crucial for children to be exposed to alternative ways of problem solving aside from force or threat of force. Limit setting is necessary in a consistent and firm way. Resource providers must be offered training to manage the behavior of the child in ways other than spanking, slapping, or hitting. Briefly, these ways include:

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   • Distraction
   • Isolating a child in his room when he is out of control until he quiets down and can discuss things. “Time out” should be understood by both the resource provider and the child before it is used
   • Spontaneously rewarding a child for good behavior
   • Removing a child from dangerous situations
   • Removing dangerous objects
   • Explaining
   • Specific natural or logical consequences (“If you fight with Jim, then you can’t play with him today.”)

• Address the following issues with child and resource family or other care provider during regular placement support contacts:

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   • Stabilization in child’s life so that development and learning can proceed at a normal rate. (Excessive anxiety and insecurity interfere with normal development and learning.)
   • Help the child deal with the trauma of separation. Explore with him and reinforce the belief that he is not the cause of the family breakdown.
   • Assure the healthy growth and development of the child by reviewing the child’s progress and response to care provided by the resource family, including integration any special evaluations, treatment and treatment recommendations.
   • Give attention to the child’s special interests, talents, and vocational interests.
   • Assist the child in rebuilding parental relationship, if the child does not want to visit.
     Authorization from the court must be obtained if visits with parents are to be restricted.
   • Begin and maintain a “life book” with or for the child, to reinforce continuity in care and relationship to parents.

• Determine if the child has any learning or developmental needs. If needs are identified, develop a plan to address these needs in a manner that best supports the child.  Document these needs in the Social Service Plan Child Section.
• If such services are warranted, implement any treatment recommendations made by the physician, dentist, other professionals, and mental health professionals, including any recommendations for assisting the resource family to participate when needed.  Document these plans as next steps in the Social Service Plan Child Section.
• Assist the resource family to cooperate with the parent/child visiting plan:

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   • Visitation should be scheduled at a time that meets the needs of the child, the biological family members, and the resource family whenever possible. Recognizing that visitation with family members is an important right of children in foster care, resource providers shall be flexible and cooperative with regard to family visits, RSMo 210.566.
   • Seek progress reports after each visit, if the resource providers carry out the visitation plan.
   • Resource families must be informed that visits should never occur in homes in which a known or suspected methamphetamine laboratory exists or has existed unless it has been professionally treated or decontaminated by a hazardous waste clean-up agency according to the guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

• Assist the resource family in providing necessary guidance and behavior management of the child:
• Assess the need for elevated needs of the child.
• Assist the resource family and child in terminating or maintaining the relationship to family and other significant persons as desired and as appropriate to the child’s needs when the child is reunified with parents or is placed with another resource family.
• The resource providers shall make every effort to support and encourage the child’s placement in a permanent home, including but not limited to providing information on the history and care needs of the child and accommodating transitional visitation, Section 210.566 RSMo.
• Prepare the child for adoptive placement if this becomes the child’s permanency plan.
• Maintain healthy growth and development through the provision of the usual community health, educational, religious (if appropriate) and socialization services, including participating in normal activities.
• Provide the resource provider with a copy of court reports regarding the placements in their home.
• Explain to the resource provider they must use medical services for the foster youth placed in their home who are enrolled with MO HealthNet (MH) or MO HealthNet/Managed Care (MH/MC).
• Explain to the resource provider that obtaining medical services from a provider not enrolled with MO HealthNet (MH) or MO HealthNet/Managed Care (MH/MC) will result in the resource provider paying for the services out of pocket and may not be reimbursed. Any invoice or paid receipt received by the resource provider for services provided to a foster placement in their home must be submitted to the foster youth’s case manager immediately. The case manager will scan the invoice to the Medicaid Liaison at Central Office to review. If the claim cannot be paid by MH/MC, the Liaison will inform the case manager they need to utilize the Reimbursement Review process provided below.
  Reimbursement Review Process:

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   • Submit Payment Request (PR) to FACES Payment Unit
   • If resource provider paid out of pocket, attach receipt for services to the PR
   • If resource provider received an invoice, attach the invoice to the PR
   • If the service is not covered by MH or MH/MC, attach the denial from the MH or MH/MC provider to the PR