3.1 Introduction of the Rights and Responsibilities of the Placement Resource
As temporary substitute parents, placement providers are closest to the child on a day-to-day basis and are, therefore, a vital member of the Family Support Team. Placement providers are not clients but rather are colleagues in the child welfare team and shall be treated in a manner consistent with the National Association of Social Worker’s ethical standards of conduct as described in its Social Worker’s Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues.
Placement providers are in an excellent position to evaluate the child’s current needs and ensure they are being met in the foster family or through resources in the community. As team members with a unique perspective of the child, placement providers can contribute a special knowledge to the other team members. Placement providers shall share information they may learn about the child and child’s family, concerns that arise in the care of the child with the case worker and other members of the child welfare team. This includes, but is not limited to, information about the child’s behavior, relationship with playmates and other members of the foster/kinship family, and adjustment to school and to the neighborhood.
By their observations of the child’s relationship with his/her birth parent(s) and the child’s reactions to visitation, placement providers can enhance work with the birth parent(s). In some instances, placement providers may also serve as actual role models for the birth parent(s).