Within 30 days of the family becoming licensed, the worker is to schedule a meeting to develop a Professional Family Development Plan CD100, with the resource provider. A new CD-100 must be developed when the resource provider license is renewed. The CD-100 is reviewed quarterly and annually and should be updated as necessary.
NOTE: Refer to the STARS Resource Development Specialist’s Handbook, Step 11
This plan should be a joint process between the resource provider and worker that assesses the provider’s learning needs in an ongoing, proactive, and purposeful way.
The Professional Family Development Plan has four components:
- assessment of the resource provider’s present level of competencies,
- their annual educational goals,
- methods of reaching those goals, and
- a way to determine if goals have been met.
Performance Based Criteria have been established to help staff assess the present level of competencies for resource providers. These criteria are:
Competency – Protecting and Nurturing:
- Accepts placements on an emergency basis with little notice.
- Maintains confidentiality of case information for foster youth placed in their home (currently and previously).
- Maintains foster youth’s belongings and assures those belongings go with the youth when they move/return home.
- Does not discuss any permanency plan with the youth until this plan becomes the case goal (i.e. discussing adoption while case goal remains reunification).
Competency – Meeting Developmental Needs and Addressing Developmental Delays:
- Makes and keeps all medical, psychiatric, counseling, dental, and rehabilitation appointments including all required and emergency appointments.
- Maintains contact with the therapist on a regular basis for each foster youth placed in the home.
- Knows and follows the treatment plan developed by the therapist for each foster youth.
- Provides information on the foster youth’s behavior to the worker and Family Support Team.
- Attends all IEP meetings and keeps the worker informed of the school plan for the foster youth.
- Works with the biological family to help them understand and meet the special needs of the foster youth.
Competency – Supporting Relationships between Children and Their Birth Families:
- Cooperates with the family and sibling visitation plan.
- Is respectful of the birth family by not making derogatory comments about the family to the foster youth(s).
- Supervises visitation between the foster youth and family/siblings when necessary and available.
- Provides mentoring to the birth parents to help work toward reunification.
- Provides transportation to and from visitation with the family as needed.
- Keeps birth parents informed of all appointments and school functions and invites them to these as appropriate.
Competency – Connecting Children to Safe, Nurturing Relationships Intended to Last a Lifetime:
- Starts and maintains a life book on each foster youth in their care to be sent with the youth when they move or return home.
- Finds opportunities for the foster youth(s) to participate in activities in the community, school, church, etc.
- Supports the foster youth’s involvement in activities outside of the resource home.
- Supports transitions into other settings such as adoptive placement, relative placement, reunification, or an independent living arrangement.
Competency – Working as a Member of a Professional Team:
- Attends Family Support Team Meetings or provides written report on the foster youth(s).
- Knows and follows the Children’s Division policies and procedures.
- Supports the case plan developed by the Family Support Team even if they are not in agreement with the plan.
- Expresses their concerns regarding the case plan with the foster youth’s worker and during team meetings.
- Keeps the case manager or service worker informed of all the foster youth’s activities.
- Allows items purchased for the foster youth to go with the youth when they move or return home.
- Provides or makes arrangements for transportation for the foster youth(s) as needed.
This is not a comprehensive list. Other criteria may be found in the STARS curriculum for each of the competencies. These criteria should be utilized in evaluating the performance of resource providers during their license renewal process and are an integral part of developing an appropriate Professional Family Development Plan.