12.2 Family Arranged Kinship Care
In some circumstances, court intervention may not be necessary to ensure the safety of a child. Family arranged kinship care may be appropriate when the parents are capable of making suitable plans to ensure the safety of the child, i.e., there is no history of disruptive behavior due to drug/alcohol use, mental illness, etc. When the parents identify a potential kinship care provider, the Children’s Service Worker should take the following steps within 24 hours:
- Obtain information regarding kin including: name, date and place of birth, Social Security number, address and telephone number;
- Obtain a child abuse/neglect and criminal record report for all household members over the age of 17. The CA/N report may be obtained by accessing local county office computers during office hours or by calling the Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline after office hours. The initial criminal report may be requested of the local law enforcement officials. All household members undergoing reviews of records need to sign a SS-6, Release of Information;
- Complete the Resource Home and Safety Checklist Form (CS-45) to determine that the environment is safe for the child(ren);
- Determine if assistance is needed to monitor/restrict contact between parents;
- When placing the child with a kinship care provider the Children’s Service Worker must inform them of the following:
- Financial assistance, benefits and services that may be available to support the child’s placement; and
- Support services, including training, available through Children’s Division (CD) and community resources.
If, after completing the above steps, the Children’s Service Worker determines court intervention is not necessary to ensure the child's safety, the worker should proceed to the next step.
- Assist kin/parent in obtaining a Transfer of Custody Order, which may enable the kin to obtain financial assistance, i.e., TANF, SSI, VA, etc., medical coverage, enroll the child in school, etc. A Power of Attorney is not sufficient.
- Continue to work with the family towards the goal of reunification in the family home.
Chapter Memoranda History: (prior to 1/31/07)
CS03-32, CD04-79, CD05-80, CD06-37, CD06-46, CD06-75