Supporting Normalcy for Youth in Care Resource Parents Training

1. Supporting Normalcy for Youth in CareResource Parents Training Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child and Family Services

2. Supporting Normalcy for Youth in Care

3. Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act HR 4980 adds new requirements to Casework

4. Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act Click on link to read the full law *need internet access *

5. Reasonable and Prudent Parenting Standard (RPPS): The standard’s that caregivers shall use when determining whether to allow a child to participate in normal activities characterized by:careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interest of a child while at the same time encouraging the emotional, and developmental growth of the child

6. Some definitions: Age or developmentally appropriate: Activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally appropriate for a child based on the development of cognitive emotional physical and behavioral capacities that are typical for an age or age group.

7. Specific to the child: Activities or items that are suitable for the child based on the developmental stages attained by that child with respect to cognitive emotional physical and behavioral capacities

8. Extracurricular activities • Enrichment activities • Cultural activities • Social activities (Sports, field trips, overnight activities lasting 1 or more days, decisions involving the signing of permission slips, and arranging of transportation for the child to and from such activities) Normal Child Activities

9. These standards should be applied to ALL children in care ages 0-18 plus those with V9 status!

10. Who should be applying the RPPS Resource Parents Authorized staff at child care institutions Child Welfare Staff

11. What does this mean for a Resource Parent?

12. Resource Parents CAN: • Sign permission slips for school • Make decisions about sleepovers/play dates etc • Make decisions on social media use ( can they use it or not) • Take children in care on vacation • Make decisions about sports they can play • Make decisions based on the question: Would I let my child of the same development, age, etc do this?

13. What does this mean for a staff person at a child care institution ?

14. A staff member who is on site, must be designated to make decisions based on the Reasonable and Prudent Parenting Standard (RPPS) • Policy, Practice and Rules at your facility must take Normalcy into consideration as it relates to the RPPS.

15. Policy and Procedure • Should not be different for children who are in DHHS custody then those in parental care • Should eliminate any extra barriers to normalcy decisions for children in care (for example, who the Youth CAN make a phone call to should not go through the caseworker, staff should be aware of those people the Youth CAN”T call due to safety reasons on intake from the caseworker)

16. Staff can sign permission slips for school • Staff can make decisions about sleepovers/play dates etc • Staff can make decisions on social media use (can they use it or not) • Staff can take youth on facility trips • Make decisions about sports they can play • Staff can make decisions based on the question: Does our program allow for this and if the answer is yes the fact that a youth is in care shouldn’t exclude them

17. Designated staff must have this training and must be on site!

18. What does this mean for a caseworker

19. TITLE 22 Supports this4067 Permission to participation in school activities

20. The department shall develop and disseminate a standard form to be used by school administrative units to authorize participation by children in the custody of the department in school athletics, field trips and other extracurricular activities. This form must be signed once each year by a representative of the department following the enrollment of the child in a school and forwarded to the school administrative unit attended by the child. This form provides the necessary legal permission for the child to participate in such activities. A child in the custody of the department must secure the signature of a caretaker on permission slips for specific activities as do other students in order to ensure notice to the caretaker of the child's participation in those activities

21. Allowing for this by: • Enabling Resource parents to make decisions (through your contact with them) • Signing the Athletic/field trip/extracurricular activities risk warning permission and consent form • Assessing for the use of these standards: • Throughout the course of involvement with a child and their Resource Family

22. Athletics/Field Trip/extra curricular form for school should be used by law This can be found at the link below Forms; OCFS Intranet DHHS Maine Click on link to find this form *need internet access *

23. Documenting: • There is a place on the child case plan where you document these types of activities and if the child is involved with them or not

24. SAFETY Child’s placements since last case plan: Is the child’s resource home or child care institution following the reasonable and prudent parenting standard – how is this demonstrated? III Social, Cultural and Extra Curricular Activities: If child not in such activities, why not? Child Case Plan

25. Check out these policies: *Hunting license *Drivers license permit *Family standards Foster and Adoptive care *Sex education *Release of liability forms