The More You Know...

Meeting Two:  Where the MAPP Leads:  A Foster Care and Adoption Experience

-Every time a child is removed from their home, counselors must provide documentation of probable cause.  

-When a counselor has to place a child, the following considerations are significant:

*the child's behavior

*siblings

*maintaining the same school for children

*placing the children close to the parent to facilitate visitation (assists in smooth transitions)

*assurance to the child (must consider methods for reassuring the child that he/she is safe in the new placement)

-Workers are to share with the foster parents at placement

*all medical, educational, behavioral, and mental health information 

*all known sexual behaviors and victimization of each child placed

*a card with the worker's name and office number

*information on the location of each child's sibling

-Workers are responsible for the arrangement of medical, psychiatric & psychological examination, and treatment procedures for children in care.  Here are the arrangements:

*Arrange for medical screening and schedule the child's check up within 72 hours. 

*Obtain consent for treatment which is needed from parent/legal custodian or court per statute. 

*Arrange for the Comprehensive Behavioral Assessment Evaluation for each child on the 7th day of shelter. 

-Other counselor tasks as they relate to foster care/adoption:

*Workers must take photographs of children.

*Workers will notify all parties of the shelter hearing time and place. 

*Counselors will attend shelter hearing for participation in the visitation schedule.  

*Workers are to have 2 contacts per week with children in emergency shelter status.  

*The child protection staff is prohibited from requesting foster parents to sign blank visitation forms or falsify records.  

*Foster parents must be notified that they can lose their license if they sigh blank visitation forms or falsify records.  

-TPR means Termination of Parental Rights.  (After which a child may be adopted.) Reasons for TPR:

*voluntary surrender of the child

*abandonment of the child

*severe or continuing abuse or neglect

*incarcerated parent

*failure to comply with the case plan; continued abuse, neglect and/or abandonment

*egregious conduct or failure to prevent egregious conduct (outrageous by a normal standard of conduct)

*aggravated child abuse, sexual battery, sexual abuse, or chronic abuse

*parent who has committed murder, voluntary manslaughter, or a felony assault to a sibling of the child

*involuntary TPR of the child's sibling

Lesson #4:  If your goal is to "foster to adopt", you may request cases that will most likely lead to TPR.