Foster Care Services
The Children?s Division offers several levels of foster care certification. The following offers a brief description and requirements for each level of certification.
Traditional Foster Care
The Family is required to meet all foster licensing rules and regulations, submit an application, complete 27 hours of Professional Parenting training (STARS) and demonstrate an ability to meet the required competencies, background and criminal checks.
A foster family agrees to accept children into their home specific to their licensing preferences. Foster parents will receive a monthly stipend to assist with the care of the child.
Medical Foster Care
This level of care is used for medically fragile children. The child must meet eligibility requirements based on his/her medical needs.
Foster parents are required to obtain all necessary medical training required to care for these children. They are required to schedule medical appointments and make arrangements to transport the children to and from all medical appointments. Medical foster parents are also expected to participate in periodic reviews of the Child's need for this level of care.
Medical foster care parents receive a special per month room and board rate.
Emergency Home
Family will have a home study completed, sign amendment to provide emergency foster care.
Agree to accept children at any hour of the day, 7 days a week and maintain space within their licensed capacity.
Agree to participate in training related to the provision of emergency care. The Children?s Division agrees to pay a special per day rate if the child is in an emergency placement. This rate may be continued for a maximum of 30 days unless otherwise approved.
Respite Care
Providers must be certified by the Children's Division as a foster or residential care provider.
Respite care providers must sign an application as amended foster/relative care licensee and receive a contract to provide this service.
Respite care providers may be reimbursed a special unit rate. A unit is any part of a consecutive 24 hour period. Use of respite care is not to exceed 12 units per child per year.
Behavioral Foster Care
Eligibility:
Licensed Children?s Division foster parent and successfully parented for one year.
Agree to participate in behavioral foster training (18 hours).
Will receive a special per month rate for room and board.
Agree to take no more than two BFC children at a time.
Agree to attend weekly staffings and complete daily charting and journaling.
Participate in regular reviews of Child's need for continued BFC level of care.
Individualized Care (Career)
Therapeutic family based foster home. The family is licensed as individualized foster home.
Participate in additional specialized training as required by the Division and 16 hours training annually thereafter.
Agree to participate in extensive training (18 hours of behavioral and 12 hours medical).
One parent available 24 hours a day and cannot be employed outside the home.
Designed to divert children from psychiatric hospitals and residential placements.
Children will be SED (severely emotionally disturbed).
Agree to attend weekly staffings and complete daily charting and journaling.
Will receive one weekend per month, two weeks per year respite care, mandatory. (Respite care providers for career home will serve one family on weekend a month, two weeks a year for respite services).
