Allegation System | Rule and Procedure | Policy Transmittals | Federal and State Law | Clinical Skills and Research | Table of Contents

6.11 Partnering with Substitute Caregivers

The child's caregiver is an important part of the child welfare team because the caregiver, as a result of living with the child, has a wealth of information regarding the child. The caseworker has dual roles in working with caregivers: 1) as coordinator of the care being provided by the caregiver to ensure the caregiver is meeting the child's needs and 2) as a support and help to the caregiver in meeting the child's needs. Failure to adequately fill either of these roles results in jeopardizing the child's placement and, therefore, the child's well-being.

In working with caregivers, caseworkers must:

• Ensure that a thorough assessment has been completed on the caregiver (this may be done by the family development specialist when the caregiver is licensed or, for unlicensed relatives, when the caregiver is being considered).
• Ensure the caregiver has all available information regarding the child `s strengths and needs in each of the seven domains (health, psychological/emotional, educational, developmental, social, spiritual, crisis/safety).
• Ensure full disclosure of current case status (within the bounds of confidentiality) with the caveat that status and direction may change
• Fully engage foster parents in the Child and Family Team and solicit input from the caregiver in decisions regarding the child
• Discuss with the foster parents what roles they are willing to play in working with the child (in the foster home and with other service providers) and what supports they need to fill those roles.
• Discuss the foster parent's role on the Child and Family Team and their ability and willingness to work toward the stated permanency goal. (Examples: If the goal is reunification, are the foster parents willing to be involved in parent-child visits? Are they willing to have visits in their home? If the permanency goal is adoption, what is their interest in adoption?) Caregivers should be involved in planning for the child and in determining services needed by the child.
• Assess initially and on an ongoing basis, the appropriateness of the match between the caregiver and the child.
• Discuss the visitation plan and the comprehensive family service plan with the caregiver.
• Discuss with caregiver the board rate, the child's allowance and clothing allocation, the child's educational, medical, behavioral, emotional, social/recreational, safety needs.

Caring for children who have been abused or neglected can be a very demanding and draining task. Children enter care with many unmet needs, including but not limited to, the effects of the trauma of the abuse and the separation of placement. The caregiver must meet the needs of the child daily and provide stability and nurturing while the child is in care. Failure to fully support the caregiver while they are caring for the child serves to threaten the stability and continuity of the child's placement.

To support caregivers, caseworkers should:

• Plan with the cargivers for how to respond to crises, including whom to contact and how, and what the caseworker and caregiver will do. Provide referrals as appropriate.
• Have four contacts per month with caregivers, two of which must be in-person when caregivers are caring for children with special needs or emotional or behavioral problems
• Have in-person contact once per month with caregivers on all other cases
• Negotiate a plan for communication (calls, visits, documentation) between the caseworker and caregiver. Workers should return all telephone calls to caregivers within 24 hours.
• Ensure that all required forms and paperwork are completed in a timely manner and promptly resolve any problems.
• Recognize, assess and address any indication of unusual stress or problems within the caregiving home (e.g., divorce) as it affects their ability to care for the child, whether the worker or the caregiver raises the problem. Consult with DCFS clinical staff and supervisor for guidance.
• Acknowledge and address attachment issues the caregiver may have with the child and its effect on the caregiver's support of the permanency goal.
• Inquire routinely if the caregiver needs additional training or support
• If there are two or more foster children in one caregiver home with more than one worker, the workers and the family development specialist must meet at least every six months with the caregiver to discuss issues affecting the children's care.
• Provide employment-related day care for working caregivers
• Provide reimbursement for training expenses, including travel
• Provide respite care for caregivers to prevent placement disruption
• Discuss the impact of the placement on the foster family's own children

Questions you may want to ask the foster family:

• What are your feelings regarding co-parenting? What contacts do you have with the child's family? Do they visit in your home? Are they attending the child's activities with you? What do you need? What can I do to help? What are your rules, guidelines and discipline methods? What are your concerns and problems?

Reaffirm with the caregiver your appreciation for the job they are doing and look for strengths within the foster family.

You can also access the graphic version of Placement.