CURRENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES Formal kinship care approval and licensure is governed by state statute, regulation and bulletin. With a state supervised, county-administered system, localities have great latitude in developing their own independent processes to conditionally approve and/or license kinship caregivers as formal foster parents within the broad construct of these state policies. However, there are varying practices that often create unnecessary barriers or bias that can impact outcomes for children being placed in family-based settings. Identifying and dismantling these historically discriminatory practices will ensure that children can grow and thrive in community-based settings and avoid unnecessary placements in higher levels of care, such as group homes and shelters. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions and Practice for Formal Kinship Preference for child placement with kin is a practice that is promoted federally and locally. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 codified the requirements for child welfare agencies to give preferential consideration to relative and non-relative kin when a child needs to enter out-of-home placement. xiii In Pennsylvania, this is further identified in statute through the Human Services Code, in subsections identified as Family Finding and Kinship Care. xiv As required by state law, child welfare agencies must take appropriate steps to identify, locate and offer placement to kin prior to other formal placement types. The Title 55, Chapter 3700 regulations outline the primary requirements for approving resource parents, which include both stranger foster care and kinship care. xv There is no delineation between foster and kin approval for licensing standards. While foster parents are recruited, trained and licensed prior to having a child placed with them, kinship caregivers can be “conditionally approved.” This conditional approval allows for the child to be immediately placed with kin if they pass preliminary requirements, and then are provided 60 days to complete formal licensure. This pre-approval process allows counties to bypass certain licensure requirements with abbreviated assurances, such as verbally obtaining child abuse and criminal clearances and conducting a condensed home study. While not specifically outlined in regulations, community or county agency contracted
services can be provided to children, youth and kin caregivers to provide the needed supports for family- based caregivers. These support services are important to help children and kin deal with the trauma of the placement and support the child’s ongoing needs. However, the 3700 regulations are outdated and have multiple requirements that are subjective and open the door to bias and discrimination in decision-making for conditional approval and licensure. Although the assessment of the suitability of a home for a child must be made on a case-by-case basis to ensure the safety of the child and the proposed caregiver’s ability to meet their needs, the lack of formal guidance can promote subjectivity in decision-making, which exists in these regulations: • 3700.62(b): Foster parents must pass appraisal to establish that the foster parents are physically able to care for children and are free from communicable disease. • 3700.64(a)(2): Assessment of the foster parent capability which includes a demonstrated stable mental and emotional adjustment. If there is a question regarding the mental or emotional stability of a family member which might have a negative effect on a foster child, the agency shall require a psychological evaluation of that person before approving the foster family home. • 3700.64(b)(1): Determining the existing family relationships, attitudes and expectations regarding the caregiver’s own children and parent/child relationships, especially as they might affect a foster child. • 3700.64(b)(3): The caregiver’s ability to care for children with special needs, such as physical handicaps and emotional disturbances. Factors that are not specifically defined, such as determining if a kinship caregiver is “physically able” or demonstrates “mental and emotional adjustment,” allows each of the 67 counties to determine their own indicators for meeting such criteria. Without casework staff having expertise in the fields of medicine or mental health, for example, this can lead to a response of automatic disqualification of an appropriate caregiver based on personal beliefs or assumptions.
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Kinship Care in Pennsylvania: Creating an Equitable System for Families – January 2021
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