.08  Home Study.

A. Consideration. The local department shall prioritize initiating a home study on the basis of the applicant's flexibility in the children they can parent and the needs of children in out-of-home care.

B. Local Department Assessment.

(1) The home study process shall provide an opportunity for a local department to study and assess an applicant’s potential for resource parenting; and

(2) The local department shall use a home study framework approved by the Administration.

C. Self-Assessment. The home study process shall include an opportunity for the applicant to assess their potential for resource parenting.

D. A home study shall provide in-depth information about out-of-home care, reunification, and adoption to an applicant, including:

(1) The differences between foster parenting, parenting one's own child, and adoption of a child;

(2) The reasons children enter out-of-home care;

(3) The needs and challenges of children in need of out-of-home care and adoption, including medical, mental health, behavioral, educational, and social needs;

(4) The needs and expectations of parents, or legal guardians and their rights, and responsibilities, including visitation;

(5) The importance of family and kinship connections including the priority of placing children with family or kin whenever available;

(6) The role and responsibilities of resource parents to the child in care, the child in care’s parents, kin or legal guardians, the local department, and the resource parent's own family;

(7) The role and responsibilities of the local department to the resource family, the child in care, and the child in care’s family and kin;

(8) The Administration's behavior management, confidentiality, and reasonable and prudent parenting policies;

(9) The impact foster care and adoption may have on the applicant’s own family;

(10) The impact that separation and placement may have on the child in care, the child in care’s family, and the resource family;

(11) The nature and purpose of the permanency plan, the case plan, and the service agreement;

(12) The requirements for licensing a resource parent;

(13) Understanding that the priorities of a permanency plan may change throughout the life of the case;

(14) The option to be considered as an adoptive home for children who have a permanency plan of adoption by a non-relative;

(15) The legal, technical, procedural, financial, medical, and educational aspects of foster care;

(16) An overview of the Citizens Review Board for Children and other review processes and the resource parents' role in these processes; and

(17) The requirement that each resource parent applicant attend and complete the pre-service and continuing training and any additional training required by the Administration.

E. Resource Home Study Process.

(1) Initiation of Application. The applicant shall:

(a) Sign a resource parent application and, as applicable, the consent to release confidential information forms;

(b) Complete resource home application materials;

(c) Participate in home study interviews; and

(d) Complete other tasks as requested by the local department.

(2) Visits.

(a) The worker shall conduct at least three visits with the applicant, one of which may be conducted by videoconference.

(b) The visits in the applicant’s home shall include:

(i) A discussion with all household members; and

(ii) An inspection of the home.

(3) References.

(a) The worker shall obtain three personal written references.

(i) One of the references shall be by a relative; and

(ii) Two of the references shall be by non-relatives;

(b) The worker shall conduct interviews with each reference:

(i) Two of the interviews, shall be in-person or by video conference; and

(ii) The third interview may be conducted by telephone.

(c) The worker shall obtain a written reference from a school staff member or homeschool monitor for each school-aged child in the applicant’s home.

F. Recommendation of Resource Home for Licensing.

(1) A local department shall notify an applicant in writing, within 120 days of the date that the local department accepts the application, of its decision to approve or deny licensure.

(2) An applicant aggrieved by a decision may file an appeal according to Regulation .20 of this chapter.

(3) An individual licensed under this chapter as a resource parent is dually licensed for both foster care and adoption.