| Action | Establish Resource, Foster and Adoptive Family Home Standards for Local Departments of Social Services |
| Stage | Proposed |
| Comment Period | Ended on 10/3/2008 |
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22VAC40-211-20 A
If an applicant only chooses to provide only Foster Care Services and not Adoption, do they still have to meet the same requirements as a Resource Family? Will Kinship Care Families have to meet the same requirements? The proposed Standards do not address Emergency Approvals. Will Emergency Approvals still be an option and if so what will the procedures be for completing an Emergency Approval? Many of the LDSSs do not complete adoption home studies unless it is court ordered or it benefits a current foster child. People inquiring about adoption only are otherwise referred to Private Adoption Agencies. Will LDSS be obligated to complete an approval on an applicant only interested in adoption?
22VAC40-211-30 B
This should be spelled out more? Does this included National Criminal Backgrounds Checks and Sex Offender Registry Checks?
22VAC40-211-30 D
The change from requiring all adult members to all household members to submit to tuberculosis screening or test will increase the cost of approving resource families. Who is responsible for paying for the cost of the screenings? In addition there will be an extra burden for parents having to now get this done on their children, children who already potentially come into contact with our foster children through the school system. Will there be a standard physical form for resource parents to have completed that specifically addresses their mental or physical condition relative to taking care of a child? Currently most physicians do not address this issue during a routine physical; therefore it may not be enough to simply get a copy of a current physical. Again, who is responsible for paying for the cost of the physical? Not all insurance companies will pay for this cost and even if they do, the resource family is likely to have a co-pay. I believe this would significantly increase the cost of approving resource families. In addition, I believe that this would significantly increase the amount of time it takes to approve a resource family because they would have to schedule appointments with their physicians which could add at a minimum of two months to the approval process.
22VAC40-211-30 E
What offenses or how many points would make a resource parent ineligible? I believe if the state is going to mandate this, then they should also provide guidance on how to use the information we receive. If a resource family has in their home an 18-21 year old foster child, does that child have to comply with the same background and DMV checks? I believe that the additional required paperwork should also be submitted before the burden to complete the home study falls to the department. We have many incidences where we receive a completed application from a prospective foster parent, but they never complete the fingerprinting requirements or never submit the tuberculosis screening. I do not believe the burden of completing a lengthy home study process should fall to the department until all of the necessary documentation as been completed by the applicant. Will there be a form developed for this purpose? Can we run credit reports to meet this standard? If so where will the money come from to pay for them? Is it necessary to keep a copy of this form in the child’s file when it will already be in the provider’s file? If you make this form child specific then you would have to get providers to sign this from for each child in their care. Please define secure. Although we like the idea of requiring Pre-Service Again we approve of requiring annual training; however we believe that additional money is needed from the state for training and positions in order for the LDSS to comply with these standards. Drinking water shall be available at all times. The provider shall have first aid supplies easily accessible in case of accident. The out-of-home provider shall keep medicines and drugs separate from food except those items that must be refrigerated. Sufficient space and equipment for food preparation, service and proper storage. The provider shall immediately report any suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of any adult or child in care to the agency. The provider shall permit an inspection of the home’s private water supply and sewage disposal system by the local Health Department if conditions indicate a need for approval and the agency requests it. 22VAC40-211-70 I3 What exactly are the federal, state, and local ordinances? 22VAC40-211-70 I4 Again what are the state and local ordinances? What will be considered as verification of provider compliance? What about exotic pets? If a provider does not own an ABC class fire extinguisher, will there be money available to purchase them for the family? What are the specific requirements? This sounds like a pretty extensive plan. Will we be given an example of a plan that would meet these requirements to use as a guide? Again I believe that the extensiveness of this plan will lengthen the approval process. Will the identified adult have to complete the same background checks? If a provider is not allowed to discriminate based on these factors then how would we be able to justify not allowing cohabitating and/or homosexual couples from becoming resource families? Will there be a form developed for this purpose? We believe that this requirement will add significantly to worker hours. Can the monitoring be done by either the staff person who approved the provider or a staff person who has placed clients with the provider as stated in past standards and regulations? We currently only do this step at approval. Why is it necessary to complete this step at re-approval? If the provider is caring for children at the time of re-approval, the children have already been exposed to any potential threat of tuberculosis. This requirement will only add time and cost to the re-approval process. A Compliance Form for Agency Approved Provider should be completed for each provider. The provider must receive written notification regarding action on the application or at renewal. A Certificate is adequate written notice for providers who receive one. Emergency Approval Inability to Continue to Meet Standards. Relocation of Out-Of-Home Provider.