CHILD WELFARE MANUAL

Section 6, Chapter 16 (Relative Resource Home), Subsection 5, – (Relative Home Assessment Recording Outline)

16.5 Relative Home Assessment Recording Outline

The process of drafting the Home Assessment is a positive engagement experience between the resource development worker and the applicant. The relationship of the resource development worker with all the household members of a resource home is important for cultivating mutual respect and monitoring a safe and nurturing environment for relative foster youth. The mutual assessment process provides an opportunity for the worker to build positive and beneficial relationships with the resource home members and to offer help to the resource family. The worker is in the home to help maintain and support the resource family.

The home assessment process is conversational allowing for the sharing of concerns, strengths and needs, and development of a mutual relationship of trust. The meaningful conversations include pertinent issues and understanding of licensing requirements.

The relative Home Assessment is written specifically to address the appropriateness and best interest for the specific relative foster youth to be placed in the home and to affirm licensing standards are met per 13 CSR 35-60 RSMo.

Reason for Study

  1. Relationship of applicant to foster youth
  2. Circumstances regarding opportunity for applicant to be a resource provider for foster youth.
  3. Past efforts of applicant to help family and prevent abuse/neglect, if applicable.
  4. Applicant’s current ability to ensure the safety of the youth placed or to be placed in their home.

Use only the initials of the foster youth. Do not use the name or identifying information associated with the relative foster youth.

Summary of Contacts: Include dates and places of contact, and with whom contact was made for Home Assessment completion.

Description of Family Members: It is important to remember that there is usually an existing relationship between the foster youth or the youth’s family and the relative provider.

Include about each household member all applicable information in items a through k as is relevant to the placement and stability of the specific relative youth(s) placed in the home:

  1. Full name, sex and date of birth
  2. Ethnic and racial background
  3. Attitude regarding the placement of the youth in the home
  4. Social history as is relevant to the youth placed in the home
  5. Marital history
  6. Military history
  7. Education
  8. Health
  9. Employment history pertinent to compliances with statue 210.496 (8) and (9)
  10. Extended family relationships to support the placement of the youth in the home
  11. Household pets

Family Relationships:

  1. Present marriage – roles, responsibilities; stability of relationship if not married
  2. Resource parent life style and practices
  3. Interaction with extended family
  4. Group activities and shared interests
  5. Religious practices and preferences of each family member
  6. Methods of discipline
  7. Educational practices of the resource provider (as required by 13 CSR 35-60.030) (i.e. preference of schooling:  public, private, or home schooling; thoughts on the importance of education on a child’s future)
  8. Observation of interaction between the applicant, foster youth and foster youth’s parents to assess the degree of comfort and trust which exist among the parties and with agency involvement

Financial Status:

  1. Source and amount of income
  2. Management/indebtedness
  3. Capacity to provide and care for the foster youth financially and physically

Health Status – summarize information from medical forms, coupled with information gained from interviews.

Home and Environment:

  1. Structure of environment to ensure safety and health of foster youth
  2. Description of home and surroundings
  3. Housekeeping standards
  4. Special safety considerations and particularly those that relate to foster family home rules
  5. Childcare arrangements

Attitudes Toward Fostering:

  1. Capacity to care for the foster youth’s physical and emotional needs
  2. Attitude toward birth parents and siblings and frequent visiting; willingness to work with whole family
  3. Open to agency supervision
  4. Parenting skills  (include information from interviews and the Foster Family Profile:  expression of positive feelings toward a child both verbally and physically; response to child’s verbal and physical expression of needs and wants; discipline techniques used to refrain from using corporal punishment; ability to guide a child toward independence and recognize the immaturity of a child.)
  5. Support by own children and extended family of providing relative foster home for specific foster youth.

Family’s Understanding of and Response to Agency Policy Regarding:

  1. Rules and regulations
  2. Payment system
  3. Agency organization
  4. No corporal punishment
  5. Role as team member
  6. Willingness to cooperate with the treatment plan

Summary of References:

  1. Highway Patrol (arrests and convictions; consider relevance to additional child-caring responsibilities)
  2. CA/N Central Registry, Family Support Division (FSD) (consider relevance to additional child-caring responsibilities)
  3. Sex Offender Registry information by address maintained by the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP).
  4. Documentation of Case.Net review
  5. Family Care Safety Registry Report
  6. Personal (3)
  7. Employment
  8. School

Non-Safety Standards Waived: (If no waivers were used to license the home enter Not Applicable. If any non-safety wavier was used, enter the allowable waiver and indicate how the use of the waiver will not create any safety or well-being issues for the foster youth or hinder permanency.)

Evaluation:  (Include compliance with licensing rules)

Recommendation

Signature of Worker and Date Signed

Approval of Supervisor Including Signature and Date

Signature of Resource Provider(s) and Date Signed

 

Memoranda History:

CD14-59 , CD18-16