Kinship Assessment
A Kinship Assessment for a voluntary kinship arrangement is used to evaluate voluntary kinship caregivers who has been selected by the family to care for their children, when a consensus with the family has been reached that an out-of-home safety plan is necessary to control or resolve safety threats. The child remains in the legal custody of their parent, guardian or legal custodian. The parent, guardian or legal custodian remains financially responsible for the child. For additional information on voluntary kinship arrangements see policy 22.1 Kinship: Use of Voluntary Kinship Caregivers in Child Protection Services.
What is Kinship Assessment for Voluntary Kinship Arrangement?
When do we complete an Initial Safety Assessment.
What is after meeting family and staffing with supervisor.
Conducting comprehensive searchers of data bases available to DFCS including but not limited to, searches of employment, residence, utilities, vehicle registration, child support enforcement, law enforcement, and correction records. Making an inquiry during the court hearings that the parent/caregiver provide the names and contact information of absent parents, all relatives, and other persons who can be considered as a possible placement for the child.
What is diligent search?
Intake, investigation, family preservation, foster care.
What are the program areas safety has to assessed.
This allows for a thorough assessment and analysis of family conditions and further ensures current DFCS intervention is meeting the family's needs currently and will continue to meet the needs moving forward.
What is case case transfer staffing
Conduct a check of the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) database on each kinship caregiver and all adult residing in the kinship caregiver’s home.
NOTE: GICIC checks are only required when??
When completing a Kinship Assessment for a voluntary kinship arrangement or TAFC?
This needs to be completed when out of home safety plan is checked.
What is a Voluntary Kinship Assessment.
A person who is a not related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption but who prior to his or her placement in foster care is known to the family, has a substantial and positive relationship with the child, and is willing and able to provide a suitable home for the child. There is no comprehensive list of such persons but may include the following.
1. Godparents
2. Neighbors
3. Close family friends
4. Spiritual advisors or congregation members
5. Person defined as a relative of a refugee child
6. Domestic partner or former domestic partner of the child’s parent if the child had a relationship with the former domestic partner prior to coming into care
7. Adoptive parent of a child’s sibling
8. Legal or biological parent of a child’s half sibling
9. Person defined as a relative by the child’s tribe if the child is an American Indian/ Alaska Native child under the ICWA or is in the legal custody of the tribe
10. Others identified by the child or family
Who is a Fictive Kin?
Age, physical disability, mental disability, provacative, powerless, defenseless, non-assertive, illness, and invisible.
What is child vulnerability?
The spending SSCM and Social Services Supervisor (SSS) or designee and the receiving SSCM and SSS/designee.
Who participate in case transfer staffing.
Review, provide and obtain each kinship caregiver signatures on the following documents:
What are:
Who completes the ISA?
Who is the Case Manager that made initial contact with the family.
A report that is to be submitted to the court
a. Within 30 calendar days of the child’s removal from his/her home; and
b. At subsequent judicial review or judicial citizen review panel
What is a diligent search report?
Caregivers behavioral, cognitive, and emotional characteristics that can be specifically and directly associated with being protective of one's child.
What is caregiver protective capabilities.
Responsibility in a manner that maintains continuity of services to the family and clear direction of the case.
What is transfer case.
Electronic fingerprinting (Live Scan) on any prospective kinship caregiver and all adults residing in the kinship caregiver’s home.
What is conduct a check of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database?
EXCEPTION: NCIC checks are not required when completing a Kinship Assessment for a voluntary kinship arrangement or TAFC.
The Timeframe to complete and Initial Safety Assessment.
What is 72 hours from response time.
Efforts throughout the life of the case until a kin or other committed individual has been identified for the placement or permanency of the child or until such child is placed for adoption unless the court excuses DFCS from continuing a diligent search.
What is diligent search efforts?
Determine the degree in which a child is likely to suffer maltreatment in the immediate future.
What is safety assessment?
Identifying the need for further DFCS involvement, DFCS being granted legal custody of a child, identifying the need to reassign a case, DFCS becoming aware the family has relocated to another county or state.
When to complete the case transfer staffing.
Complete an __________ to facilitate an immediate foster care placement with a kinship caregiver within 72 hours of a foster care kinship placement Kinship Assessment or DFCS being granted legal custody of a child, and the child will remain with the same kinship caregiver from the voluntary kinship arrangement.
a. Conduct safety screenings on any prospective kinship caregiver(s) and all adults residing in the home.
b. A check of the NCIC database utilizing electronic fingerprinting (Live Scan) on any prospective kinship caregiver and all adults residing in the home.
NOTE: An emergency NCIC name-based criminal record check (CRC) can be utilized for the immediate placement. However, the individual(s) whose criminal records history was requested must be fingerprinted within five business days.
c. A home visit and face-to-face interview of each kinship caregiver and household members.
d. Assess the kinship caregiver’s physical home environment to determine if it is safe and appropriate to meet the needs of each child.
e. Review, provide and obtain each kinship caregiver signatures on the following documents:
i. The Caregiver Child Safety Agreement
ii. Kinship Pathway
f. Document and obtain supervisor approval of the abbreviated Kinship Assessment in Georgia SHINES within 72 hours of the foster care kinship placement. g. Complete the Kinship Assessment within 30 calendar days of the immediate foster care placement with the kinship caregiver.
What is an Abbreviated Kinship Assessment?
Name 3 Things that are assessed in Initial Safety Assessment.
Document diligent search efforts and results on the Diligent Search tab in Georgia SHINES within ____ hours of occurrence, including:
a. All individuals contacted, including dates contacted;
b. Individuals identified but was not contacted, and the reason for not contacting them;
c. Whether the Diligent Search Notification was provided to relatives;
d. The individual’s interest or lack of interest in serving as a placement, visitation, permanency resource or other supports.
e. The reason for not selecting the individual as a placement resource.
f. Uploading a copy of the following:
i. Diligent Search Notification return receipt (if mailed), or copy of email and email verification of receipt (if emailed).
ii. Any correspondence received via email or mail in response to the notification.
What within 72 hours of occurrence?
Observable, vulnerable child, out of control, imminent, and severity.
What are the 5 criteria used to justify impending danagers.
Case demographic, case summary, situation, background information, assessment, recommendations, dependency reason, placement/kinship assessment, permanency plan/case plan goals, siblings/parents visitation, genogram, diligent search, absent parents, passport, school, medical, medications, diagnosis. Court information, joint visit, service to family, contact standards, FTM, collateral for family, family support, CASA, ILP services.
What is transfer staffing between foster care SSCMs.