Adult foster care means the provision of food, lodging,
protection, supervision, and household services to a functionally impaired
(vulnerable) adult in a residence and may also include the provision of personal
care, household and living skills assistance or training, medication assistance
and assistance safeguarding cash resources.
The Adult foster care license holder may have a maximum license capacity
of five if all persons in care are age 55 or over and do not have a serious and
persistent mental illness or a developmental disability.
There are two types:
● Corporate: The home is operated by a corporation with shift staff delivering services to client.
Eligibility
To become licensed as an adult foster care provider the applicant must meet minimum licensing standards:
● Reside in the county in a home that meets fire safety code● Be at least 18 years of age
● Allow the county or state to complete a criminal history background check on all household members who are 13 years of age or older
● All household members must have a Physician’s Statement that they are physically able to care for vulnerable adult(s) placed in the home
● Applicants must provide three positive references
● Applicants must have bedroom space for resident(s) and have an approved fire inspection
● A completed home study of the family
● Meet the required training hours annually
Funding:
● For Corporate adult foster care placement, client must have a waiver (DD, TBI, EW, CADI, etc) or they must be private pay.
● For
Family adult foster care placement, waivers may or may not be involved for
clients to access outside services, and some family providers have waiver
contracts which cover foster care services (e.g. above and beyond the
room-and-board rate).
● Adult foster care is a voluntary housing option.
● Persons appropriate for Adult foster care need 24 hour care and assistance with activities of daily living and supervision to prevent institutionalization.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I have to live in
Yes, for
No; apartments, mobile homes or condominiums can also be options.
No.
Yes.
18 years or older for adult foster care
Yes.
Who pays for the foster care?
There are a variety of different funding sources that pay for foster care depending upon the circumstances. The funding follows the client depending on their need for services/care.
Who pays for the client's medical
expenses?
A variety of medical and dental expenses may be provided by Medical Assistance or private insurance. A foster care provider is not responsible for client costs.
Can clients share a bedroom?
Yes, depending on the needs of the client. Bedrooms may be shared in some circumstances, but each client needs their own bed.
How long do clients stay in foster homes?
Foster care varies in length, depending on the clients' preferences, circumstances, and needs.
CURRENT
PROVIDER FORMS
To view and/or print these forms, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or
higher installed. If you do not have Acrobat Reader loaded on your
computer, click the Acrobat Reader button for instructions on how to get Reader
free from Adobe's web site. Please note: If you have an earlier version of
Acrobat Reader, you must un-install it before installing version 5.x. Earlier
versions of Acrobat will not allow you to open these forms.
Background
Study Form
Foster Parent Advisory Brochure
Home
Safety Checklist
License
Application
Physician's
Report
LICENSING LAWS
Human Services Background Studies
Minnesota Statutes 2007
Reporting of
maltreatment of vulnerable adults
Rule 203 (Adult Foster Care Rule)
Services for Developmental Disabilities
Alzheimer’s Association
– the largest voluntary health organization supporting Alzheimer research and
care: The Arc – the
national organization of and for people with mental retardation and related
developmental disabilities and their families:
Office of the
Ombudsman for Mental Health and Mental Retardation
HELPFUL RESOURCES
HELPFUL LINKS
Direct link to the licensing area of Department of Human Services
Minnesota Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Mental Retardation
Minnesota State Fire Code - Adult Foster Care Requirements
Minnesota Statutes - Vunerable Adult Act
Office of
Ombudsman for Long Term Care
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a
licensed adult foster care provider, please contact:
Foster
Care Licensing
Isanti County
Family Services
Oakview Office Complex
1700 E Rum River Dr S, Suite A
Cambridge,
763-689-1711
What is Foster Care
and why is it needed?
Foster care is temporary; it is not meant to be forever.
Children usually continue to visit their own families until they may be
reunited. While the child is out of
the home, Social Services is working to provide services so that the child can
return to his parents.
If this is not possible, family members and other persons important to the child are contacted to see if they can give a permanent home to the child. Sometimes foster families are asked to provide permanent foster care or to adopt the child in their care.
Foster Care Respite
Parents with children who have developmental disabilities
may need respite care rather than longer term care.
Right now some of our greatest respite needs are for providers who can
care for children with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Aspberger’s syndrome, medically
involved children and children in wheelchairs.
Respite requests for these children are almost always for one child at a
time. It is important to have prior
experience when working with developmentally disabled children.
Foster Care Licensing Requirements
· You must live in Isanti CountyOther things you should know
·
Foster children may share a room with other children as long as they have
a bed of their own. It’s
best if your child is at least two years older than a foster
child they would be sharing a room with.
·
Foster Parents need to have a flexible schedule and reliable transportation. Foster parents are
needed to transport children for visitation and appointments
several times a
week
·
Isanti County pays the State standardized rate monthly for care
·
Medical and dental costs are covered through Medical Assistance or
other medical insurance, not the foster family.
·
Most children placed in foster care return to their birth parents or are placed with relatives. In a
few cases, parental rights are terminated. The
Agency is
then required to first consider a permanent placement with appropriate
relatives. If relatives are not found to be appropriate, then we have to consider all
adults who have had a significant role in the child’s life, including foster parents.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No. You may own or rent a trailer home, apartment, condominium or single family home. Foster care homes will require a State Fire Marshal inspection. If you rent, you will also need the landlord’s consent to be licensed for foster care.
What kind of training or experience do I have to have?
Isanti County will provide all the preliminary training to become a foster parent. On-going training is provided by a variety of sources. Foster parents are required to complete 12 hours per person per year. Experience working with children is always a benefit. For providers caring for children age four and under, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Shaken Baby training is required. For providers caring for children age nine and under, car seat restraint training is required.
Can I choose the age group?
Children from infancy through age 17 are placed in family foster care. You are encouraged to request age, gender, and duration of stay preferences. We also want to know whom you would wish to provide care for (i.e.: developmentally disabled, mentally ill, physically handicapped or teens).
Reason for placement?
Children are placed due to situations of abuse or neglect. Other reasons children are placed are due to parents being chemically dependent, mentally ill or being unable or unwilling to parent or provide appropriate care.
How long is care needed?
The “average” stay in family foster care can range from three - nine months. Some placements can extend much longer and some shorter. Each child’s situation is different and determining the length of stay is difficult.
Will the family know where the child is placed?
The majority of the time families will know where their children are. If this information would endanger the child or foster family, the placement location would not be disclosed.
What is a concurrent home?
This is a licensed foster home that first is able to work toward the reunification plan with the parents. If reunification isn’t possible and there are no appropriate relative homes, then a concurrent home would be open to adopting the children.
How do I become a licensed provider?
Call Isanti County Family Services at 763-689-1711 to begin the process.
FORMS
RULES & REGULATIONS
SPECIALIZED FOSTER CARE LICENSING
Specialized Foster Care (SFC) greatly differs from corporate treatment foster care. The SFC homes will be in Isanti County which will be closer to the child’s family, the child’s community, and the child’s school. The child in placement will experience a less overall disruption because of this proximity to their team. The intent of SFC is to provide intensive treatment designed to render a planned outcome in a persons’ behavior, attitude, general condition. Foster parents of SFC will have access to specialized programs and professional support systems. Since children with severe emotional and behavioral disturbances require much more attention, SFC typically serves only one to two specialized foster children at a time.
This program is designed to provide enhanced training,
clinical consultation, and added support services to foster parents who wish to
work with children in need of a higher level of foster care.
Approved clinical training will be offered through Five County Mental Health Center in collaboration with the Specialized Foster Care Social Worker. Clinical consultation services will be provided by the Five County Mental Health staff along with access to an on call Social Worker. Share and support groups will be held monthly.
Isanti County
Specialized
Foster Care Services
SPECIALIZED FOSTER PARENTS
I.
QUALIFICATIONS
Specialized Foster
Care (SFC) parents must comply with Child Foster Care requirements and:
A.
Have previously been licensed as a foster parent for at least two
years or have equivalent experience.
B. Be able to carry out the treatment plan in the foster home.
C.
Must be able to work as part of the treatment team to implement
in-home treatment strategies and document the child’s progress, as defined by
the treatment plan and treatment team.
D.
Accept children who have increased/intense level of service needs and
are able to accept the increased involvement and supervision of specialized
foster care.
E.
Have the commitment to work with the child, parents, and the
treatment team to set and implement strategies, which will define outcomes that
enable the child to live in the specialized foster home and successfully reunify
with custodial family.
F.
Write a Professional Development plan with help of the SFC
Licensor which will meet the annual educational and training requirements for
the foster parents.
G.
Be committed to mentoring the custodial family to as it relates to
the child.
H. Be committed to a schedule that will allow flexibility to meet the needs of the child and his/her needs. (i.e.: appointments)
I.
Complete basic qualifications per the State of MN.
J. SFP “must believe in a system of close supervision, intense communication, and partnering with all team members involved”.
II. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
A.
Basic
Orientation(s):
Basic Orientation must be completed by every foster home provider of Isanti
County. SFC providers will be asked to review this orientation information prior
to their attendance at the Specialized Orientation.
B. Specialized Foster Care Orientation Training
The training is on specific topic areas designed to address the special needs of children in treatment foster care. Areas covered during this training include, but in treatment foster care. Areas covered during this training include, but are not limited to the following:
● Understanding the dynamics of child abuse and neglect.
● Handling allegations of abuse in the foster home.
● Fostering the chemically dependent/recovering youth.
● Understanding the emotionally and behaviorally disturbed child.
C. First Aid and CPR:
All foster parents must successfully complete CPR and First Aid training from a certified instructor prior to receiving their first placement and they must keep their CPR and First Aid certifications current. Training hours required through participation in a CPR and first aid course count toward meeting the annual individual education requirements.
D. Universal Precautions:
E. Medication Use & AdministrationEvery foster parent and licensed respite provider shall obtain yearly training in Universal Precautions and shall review these Universal Precautions regularly. Training may consist of a videotape and verification of reviewing the statement of universal precautions yearly and may be done in conjunction with annual licensure.
Every ICFS foster parent shall obtain initial training on how to monitor, administer, and record correct medications as part of the orientation training prior to licensure.
F. Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training
G. Prevention from Abuse AllegationsEvery ICFS foster parent shall obtain training on Crisis Intervention Training. This training should be completed prior to placement of a child in the home, unless there are special circumstances approved by the agency. This training shall be provided in a joint effort by the SFC and FCMHC professional.
Every ICFS foster parent shall obtain initial training on Protection from CPS Allegations Training.
H. Mental Health Disorders
Every ICFS foster parent shall obtain initial training on Mental Health Disorders. This will include the most common diagnosed conditions and therapeutic interventions.
III. ANNUAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
twenty-four (24) hours of educational programs each year (January thru December and/or annual year of license).All Specialized Foster Parents must participate in a minimum of
These hours shall consist of:
1. Twelve (12) hours of Share and Support unit meetings monthly.
2. Twelve (12) hours must be obtained in county approved education; programs which provided specialized training with the children they serve. Example: ADHD, Bi-Polar, Self Abusive Behaviors.