POLICY VI-P: Private Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA)
Resource Homes
A Private Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA) is a child
placement agency licensed by the Child Welfare Agency Review Board to recruit,
train, approve, and support their own resource homes. A PLPA resource home
provides substitute care within a family-like setting on a twenty-four (24)
hour basis for any child placed in the home by a child placement agency. A PLPA
is responsible for maintaining the resource homes it recruits by ensuring those
resource homes continuously meet Minimum Licensing Standards for Child Welfare
Agencies (Placement) and Department of Human Services (DHS) as well as Division
of Children and Family Services (DCFS) resource home policy and
procedures.
These policies, standards, and procedures include but are
not limited to:
A.
Completion of background checks;
B.
Structured Analysis Family
Evaluation (SAFE) home studies (note: resource parents must reside in their
residence prior to a SAFE home study being completed on the
home);
C.
Pre-service
training;
D.
Continuing resource parent education as applicable;
E.
Adherence to the reasonable and
prudent parent standard and use of all types of Alternate Care (see Policy
VII-G);
F.
Requests
for changes in placement (see Procedure VII-L1: Resource Parent Request for
Placement Change); and
G.
Allegations of child maltreatment involving the resource home (see Policy
VII-K: Child Maltreatment Allegations Concerning Out-of-Home
Placements).
A PLPA resource home is monitored through quarterly and
annual reevaluations by its respective PLPA approval agency. A PLPA resource
home is also more intensively supervised and supported by the approving PLPA.
In addition to a DCFS Family Service Worker, each child in a PLPA resource home
is assigned a case manager who is active in the child's daily life through
frequent visits (a minimum of monthly).
Placement in an approved and available PLPA resource home
is an option for any child in DHS custody when a PLPA resource home best meets
the needs of a child. Placement in a PLPA resource home of a child in the
custody of DHS is encouraged in the following circumstances:
A.
He or she is a sibling of a child
placed in a PLPA home;
B.
He or she is a child of a youth in a PLPA home; or,
C.
He or she had previously been placed
in a PLPA resource home and transitioned to other services requiring a more
intensive treatment approach (e.g., acute treatment), and the child is now able
to return to a resource home setting.
A resource parent must be financially able to care for
his or her own needs without the foster care board payment to supplement his or
her income. If a resource parent with a current placement elects to no longer
be an active resource parent for the PLPA, the PLPA will notify DCFS and work
collaboratively with the Division to move any children currently placed in that
resource home to another licensed or approved resource home, shelter, facility,
or an exempt child welfare agency as defined at A.C.A. §
9-28-402(12).
PLPA resource homes are expected to accept placement of
older children (ages 6-18) and sibling groups. PLPA resource homes with space
limitations are expected to seek and accept children over the age of six
(6).
If a child in a PLPA resource home becomes available for
adoption and the resource family has expressed interest in adopting the child,
a Consideration to Adopt staffing may occur in accordance with DCFS Policy
VIII-G: Adoption Decisions, procedure VIII-G1: Staffing and
Recommendations.
A resource home may not be both a PLPA home through a
private licensed agency and a DCFS resource home. If a PLPA home wishes to
become a DCFS resource home, the PLPA provider must close the PLPA home and
complete an inquiry to become a resource home through DCFS.
PROCEDURE VI-P1: Referrals for Private Licensed Placement
Agency (PLPA) Resource Homes
If the Family Service Worker (FSW) determines a Private
Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA) resource home to be the most appropriate
placement for a child, he or she will:
A. Complete CFS-367: Specialized Placement
Referral Form;
B. Email the
completed CFS-367 to the desired PLPA; and
C. Retain a paper copy of the CFS-367 in the
child's case file.
If the child is accepted into a PLPA placement, the FSW
will:
A. Forward additional
required documents to the provider, as requested;
B. Continue to maintain the child's case file
while he or she is in the PLPA resource home; and
C. Coordinate a monthly visit with the PLPA
case manager to assess the health and safety of the child placed in the PLPA
resource home.
PROCEDURE VI-P2: Private Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA)
Resource Home Transitioning to DCFS Resource Home
If a current Private Licensed Placement Agency (PLPA) resource
home wishes to become a DCFS resource home, the Resource Worker will:
A. Request a referral on the family from the
PLPA while confirming with the PLPA that the resource home is being closed out
by the PLPA.
B. If the referral is
positive, ensure that all required DCFS background checks (i.e., Child
Maltreatment Central Registry Check, Adult Maltreatment Central Registry Check,
State Police Criminal Record Check, FBI Criminal Background Check, and Vehicle
Safety Check) are in place and current. Complete appropriate Children's
Reporting and Information System (CHRIS) screens (see Procedure VII-C1:
Background Check Processing).
C.
Once background checks have been verified, conduct an In-Home Consultation
Visit (see Procedure VII-C2: In-Home Consultation Visit) with the
family.
D. Verify that the family
has completed:
1) Pre-service training with
the PLPA: If the family did not complete pre-service training with the PLPA,
refer the family for pre-service training upon successful completion of all
background checks and the In-Home Consultation Visit (see Procedures VII-C3:
Initiation of Pre-Service Training and VII-C4: Pre-Service Training.
2) CPR and Standard First Aid Certification:
First Aid and CPR training and certification will only be accepted from a
certified trainer associated with the American Heart Association, the National
Safety Council, or the American Red Cross.
a.
First Aid training provided through the National Safety Council must be the
Standard First Aid, not Basic First Aid.
b. If the family does not have current CPR
and Standard First Aid Certification, assist the family in accessing
appropriate training.
3)
Fifteen (15) hours of continuing education related to fostering within the past
calendar year.
a) If the family has not
earned fifteen (15) hours of continuing education within the past calendar
year, they are responsible for obtaining the remaining hours.
b) The time spent during the In-Home
Consultation Visit and Orientation may count toward the fifteen (15) hour
continuing education requirement.
E. Obtain a copy of the family's SAFE Home
Study and any SAFE Home Study Updates for review and assessment.
F. If based on the review of the information
described above, the family will continue with the approval process, invite the
County Supervisor or designee to accompany FSW on the final face-to-face visit
and final visual inspection of the home.
G. Conduct a final face-to-face visit with
the prospective resource parents to include a final visual inspection of the
home (preferably with the County Supervisor or designee) and review of the
Approval Packet (see Procedure VII-C6: Final Approval of Resource
Homes).
H. Complete the CFS-462:
Initial Resource Family Agreement with the family.
I. File the CFS-462 in the resource home
record.
J. Enter a disposition as
to the approval or denial of the resource home within three (3) working days of
receipt of the Area Director's approval or denial.
1) If the recommendation is approval, then:
a) If the orientation has not already taken
place, schedule a date for a County or Area Orientation Session for newly
approved resource parents.
b)
Complete Provider Alternate Care screen in CHRIS if family has
determined they are willing to serve as an Informal Respite Home and, using
CFS-419: Resource Family Support System (RFSS) Information, enter all
appropriate identified Resource Family Support System Individual Members
including information on their cleared background checks (see POLICY VII-G:
Alternate Care For Children In Out-Of- Home Placement).
c) Enter Begin Date on
Availability Status on Provider Service Status screen
and Request Approval on Provider Service Detail
screen in CHRIS.
d) If the family
has indicated interest and been approved to foster children/youth with specific
characteristics, identify the appropriate Disability Willing to
Accept selection under the Preferences tab in the
Provider Services/Admission Criteria button.
e) File the approval letter in the resource
home record.
2) If the
recommendation is denial, then:
a) Send a
"Letter of Denial" to the applicants who were not approved. See POLICY VII-D:
Denial of a Resource Home and document in Provider Contact
Information screen in CHRIS.
b)
End Date the Foster
Family Service on the Provider Services tab selecting the
appropriate Reason for End Date.
c) Specify why the home was denied in the
comment box on the
Provider Services tab.
The County Supervisor or designee is encouraged to participate
in the final face-to-face visit and final visual inspection of the home with
the resource worker.
The Area Director or designee will, if appropriate, approve the
resource worker's request for approval in Provider Service Detail screen in
CHRIS to finalize the approval of the resource family. Upon approval, CHRIS
automatically provides the resource family approval letter to be printed,
mailed, and filed in the resource home record.
PROCEDURE VI-P3: Former Private Licensed Placement Agency
(PLPA) Resource Home Reopening as DCFS Resource Home
For former PLPA resource homes that express interest in opening
as a DCFS resource home, the Resource Worker will:
A. Request a referral on the family from
their former PLPA.
B. If the
referral is positive, see Procedure VII-F1: Reopening a Resource Home and
follow accordingly.