7.2 Family Support Team Meeting
Family Support Team meetings are held within 72 hours and again at 30 days from the date of the initial placement in order to manage initial placement and visitation activities and to establish a case plan. Subsequent FST meetings are then to be held every thirty days until court adjudication and as needed, or required, thereafter. For children in Legal Status 3 (Supervision Only), FST meetings should be held every 30 days until the FST members agree to hold them less often. Thereafter, the FST meetings for children in Legal Status 3 shall be held at a minimum of every six months.
FSTs should be held in order to make key decisions and for the purpose of determining:
- The safety of the child,
- Comprehensive visitation plan,
- Service and treatment needs,
- The need for placement and developing a plan for reunification or other permanency options,
- The appropriate placement of the child, and
- Establishing and revising the case plan.
Additional team meetings shall be held prior to taking any action relating to a change in placement of a child in the Division’s custody. The FST should review the Foster Family Profiles of potential resource providers in determining and selecting the most appropriate placement for the child. When the welfare of a child in the custody of the Division requires an immediate or emergency change of placement, CD may make a temporary placement and shall schedule a FST meeting within 72 hours of the temporary placement.
A FST meeting is to be held prior to the separation of a sibling group. The Children’s Service Worker should document on the CS-1 that reasonable efforts were made to place the sibling group with the same placement provider, and why such placement was not possible.
FST meetings serve as a mechanism to inform team members of the circumstances which contributed to the change in placement, and facilitate the early identification and response to the family's strengths and needs:
- 72 Hour Family Support Team Meeting - The Family Support Team will determine if the child(ren) can be reunited immediately with his/her parents or if continued out-of-home care is warranted and develop an appropriate preliminary case plan/CD-14B, Written Service Agreement. If the recommendation is for the child(ren) to remain in custody, the Children’s Service Worker will involve the Family Support Team in identifying those extended family members (as well as unrelated persons) who may have had an ongoing, significant relationship with the child to determine potential placement resources for the child(ren). A preliminary visitation plan should be developed at this time to assure visitation between the child, their parents, and/or siblings. The preliminary case plan will cover the first 30 days the child(ren) is out-of-home. At the end of 30 days the CS-1, Case Plan/Written Service Agreement will replace the CD-14B.
When possible, with the best interest of the child in mind, arranging for the child to continue to attend the same school should be discussed during the 72 hour Family Support Team meeting. Section 211.032.7(2) RSMo, allows foster parents, guardian ad items, or volunteer advocates to make such a request. Distance from original school may be a factor in recommending such arrangements, however, based on location of the foster family, the school district may be able to provide transportation. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) provided some options for the team to consider, including:
- The school bus of the foster child’s home district travels to the home of the foster parent to pick up the child. These miles would be considered eligible miles for the school district to include in their allowable cost for state aid;
- The foster parent provides transportation and receives reimbursement for mileage from the school district. School districts can include this as an allowable cost for state aid;
- The foster parent meets the school bus at the boundary line of the school district. Please note that school districts may or may not provide mileage reimbursement;
- The school district contracts with an individual, besides the foster parent, to transport the child to their home school district. This would be an allowable cost for state aid for school districts; or
- The foster parent provides transportation with no reimbursement for mileage from the school district.
When it is determined to be in the child’s best interest, the Foster Parent/Children’s Division staff should enroll the child in their new school. It is the responsibility of the new school to request the transfer of records from the old school, pursuant to Section 167.022, RSMo., within two business days.
- 30 Day Family Support Team Meeting - The Family Support Team (FST) meets within 30 days to solidify the plan and assess progress on resolving issues that led to placement which can then determine whether the child can be returned home safely and/or what additional services are needed toward resolution of issues. A case plan shall be completed within 30 days of the child entering Division custody. A comprehensive visitation plan should be developed to assure visitation between the child, their parents, and/or siblings.
The Children’s Service Worker should ensure that accommodations are made for any special needs of Family Support Team members (i.e., English as second language/sign language interpreters, accessibility for physical disability or handicap). As necessary, remind the Team that meeting guidelines remain the same as previous meeting.
NOTE: When a non-custodial parent or relative has not been located, Family Support Teams can be used to identify a relative or a parent for possible resource placement and placing siblings together. Family Support Teams can be held at any stage of the case, so diligent searches should be an ongoing process.
- Subsequent team meetings - The purpose of subsequent team meetings is to review the family’s progress, revise treatment plans, review and revise visitation plans, and recommend family reunification or other permanency plans (i.e., adoption, guardianship, independent living, etc.). Both the FST and PPRT are to be held in a team-like format, but there are key differences in their intent and required timeframes.
FSTs should be held in order to make key decisions and for the purpose of:
- Assessing the safety of the child;
- Determining service and treatment needs;
- Determining the need for placement and developing a plan for reunification or other permanency option;
- Determining the appropriate placement of the child;
- Evaluating case progress; and
- Establishing and revising the case plan.
A PPRT may occur any time after the case plan has been implemented but must be held prior to six months from the date the child entered care, and then every six months thereafter for as long as the CD maintains custody. Per the Adoptions Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 the child’s status is to be reviewed periodically but no less frequently than once every six months. The Permanency Planning Review Team (PPRT) is comprised of the same people as the FST except that at least one person not responsible for the case management of, or delivery of services to, either the child or the parents must participate in the PPR:
- The Permanency Planning Review Team’s purpose is to determine:
- The safety of the child;
- The continuing necessity for and appropriateness of the placement;
- The extent of compliance with the case plan;
- The extent and progress which has been made in alleviating or mitigating the causes necessitating placement in foster care;
- The quality and compliance of the visitation plan; and
- To project a likely date by which the child may be returned to and safely maintained in the home or placed for adoption or legal guardianship.
All information provided at meetings or administrative hearings regarding removal of a child is confidential except:
- A parent or a party may waive confidentiality for himself or herself.
- Any parent has the absolute right to audio or videotape such meeting to the extent allowed by the law.
- No parent or party shall be required to sign a confidentiality agreement before testifying or providing information at such meeting or hearing.
- Any person, other than a parent or party, who doesn’t agree to maintain confidentiality may be excluded from any portion of the meeting during which he/she is not testifying or providing information.