1. (a)

   1. (1) The development of quality resource homes is a process essential for ensuring the safety and well-being of children in care while concurrently supporting children’s permanency goals.
   2. (2) The Department of Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services is licensed by the Child Welfare Agency Review Board as a child placement agency to approve foster and adoptive homes for the Division of Children and Family Services.
   3. (3) The Division of Children and Family Services utilizes the term “resource home” to refer to both types of these homes and “resource parent” or “resource family” to refer to an individual or family in those homes that provide a family-like setting on a twenty-four-hour basis for children in the custody of and placed there by the department.

   4. (4) For the time in which a child in department custody is placed in a resource home, that resource home must:

      1. (A) Adhere to the reasonable and prudent parent standard (see 9 CAR § 40-814, alternate care for children in out-of-home placement) in the care of any child placed in the home by the department; and
      2. (B) Be the primary residence of the individual or family that is owned, rented, sublet, or leased by the individual or family.

2. (b)

   1. (1) To receive full approval as a resource home, a resource home must meet all applicable Minimum Licensing Standards for Child Welfare Agencies (Placement) established by the Child Welfare Agency Review Board and the Division of Children and Family Services policy regarding resource home approval and maintenance provided herein (i.e., 9 CAR § 40-801 et seq.).
   2. (2) Anything less than full approval as a resource home is insufficient for meeting Title IV-E eligibility requirements.
   3. (3) A resource home must meet all applicable Minimum Licensing Standards for Child Welfare Agencies (placement) and Division of Children and Family Services policy pertaining to resource home approval and maintenance for the duration of the child’s placement while the child is in department custody.
   4. (4) With respect to resource homes on or near Indian reservations, approval rests with the tribal licensing or approval authority.

3. (c)

   1. (1) Regardless of the specific service type provided, the terms resource home and resource family are used because all resource families are designed to serve as a resource to children in the custody of the department.
   2. (2) In cases where reunification with the biological family is still the goal, resource families also serve as a resource to the child’s biological family.
   3. (3) The resource family is part of a team.
   4. (4) When team members cooperate and understand their own and each other’s roles, the quality of the experience for everyone is increased and the well-being of the child and his or her family is positively affected.

4. (d) There are two (2) types of Division of Children and Family Services resource homes that provide foster care services:

   1. (1) Relative or fictive kin resource homes (which may be opened on a provisional basis or as a fully approved resource home); and
   2. (2) Traditional resource homes.

5. (e)

   1. (1) Relative or fictive kin resource homes that are opened on a provisional basis are identified, recruited, and opened in an expedited manner.
   2. (2) The Division of Children and Family Services seeks out provisional relative and fictive kin resource homes in an effort to preserve family connections and reduce the amount of trauma a child experiences when entering foster care, by placing them with a safe and appropriate relative or fictive kin.
   3. (3) “Relative” means a person within the fifth degree of kinship to the child or to at least one (1) of the children in a sibling group, including step-siblings and half-siblings, by virtue of blood or adoption if one (1) has been identified and is appropriate.
   4. (4) “Fictive kin” means a person not related by blood or marriage, but who has a strong, positive, emotional tie to a child and has a positive role in the child’s life (or the life of a parent of the child, if the child is an infant), if one has been identified and is appropriate.

6. (f)

   1. (1)

      1. (A) To open and place a child in department custody in a provisional relative or fictive kin resource home, Arkansas Child Maltreatment Central Registry check, Division of Arkansas State Police criminal record check, and a traffic violations record check results must be received for all applicable household members, and a visual inspection of the home must be completed.
      2. (B) See 9 CAR 40-806.

   2. (2) Therefore, a provisional relative or fictive kin resource home may be opened and a child in department custody placed in that home before:

      1. (A) The results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation background check are received;
      2. (B) Out-of-state child maltreatment checks are received;
      3. (C) The provisional resource parents have completed the pre-service training; and
      4. (D) A full home study is completed.

7. (g)

   1. (1) Once opened as a provisional resource home, Division of Children and Family Services staff works with those relative or fictive kin resource parents to bring them into full compliance with all minimum licensing standards and Division of Children and Family Services policies in order to transition from provisional resource home status to a fully approved relative or fictive kin resource home within a six (6) month period.
   2. (2) However, through the approved alternative compliance or policy waiver processes (see Appendix F: Alternative Compliance and Policy Waiver Protocol), nonsafety standards and policies may be waived for relative and fictive kin resource homes and the home will still be considered to be in full compliance with any alternative compliance or policy waiver that is in place for that specific home.

8. (h)

   1. (1) Provisional resource homes that are not in full compliance at the end of six (6) months must be closed and the child or children removed, unless the relative has acquired custody.
   2. (2) However, Division of Children and Family Services staff will ensure that every effort is made to help the provisional resource parents come into compliance with all requirements within six (6) months as long as the health and safety of the children placed there are ensured.
   3. (3) Division of Children and Family Services staff will also, if applicable, ensure that any necessary transition plans are developed in advance of this six-month mark in an effort to lessen trauma to the children.

9. (i)

   1. (1) During the period that a relative or fictive kin home is on provisional resource status, a foster care board payment is not provided.
   2. (2) However, provisional resource parents may apply for and receive benefits for which the relative or fictive kin is entitled due to the placement of the child in the home (e.g., SNAP).
   3. (3) A provisional resource home may also receive child support or any federal benefits (e.g., Social Security Administration) paid on behalf of the child, as applicable.

10. (j)

    1. (1) If a home initially opened as a provisional resource home becomes a fully approved relative or fictive kin resource home, a foster care board payment will then be provided to help support the needs of the child placed in the home.
    2. (2) However, if the home received any child support or any federal benefits paid on behalf of the child while the home was on provisional status, those child support payments or federal benefits may then be transferred to the Division of Children and Family Services to reimburse the state for foster care board payments and other expenses as appropriate.

11. (k)

    1. (1) Once opened as a fully approved resource home, the resource parents may then request to care for children in foster care who are not related to or are not fictive kin of the resource parent with the understanding that additional evaluation of the home would be required to ensure that it would be an appropriate placement for children who are not related or not fictive kin to the resource parent.
    2. (2) Additional training may also be requested before a resource home originally designated as a relative or fictive kin resource home begins taking children who are not related or not fictive kin.

12. (l)

    1. (1) Traditional resource homes are recruited to provide twenty-four-hour care for a child in foster care to whom they are neither related nor have other prior connections.
    2. (2) However, once fully approved, traditional resource homes may provide care for both related and nonrelated children in department custody who are placed there.
    3. (3) In addition, a traditional resource home may also serve, if desired, as an informal respite home.

    4. (4)

       1. (A) An informal respite home is an approved Division of Children and Family Services resource home that can provide temporary care (no more than seven (7) continuous days at one (1) time) for children in out-of-home placements when the children’s full-time resource family is unable to do so and a member of the resource family’s support system cannot assist.
       2. (B) See 9 CAR § 40-814, alternate care for children in out-of-home placement.

13. (m)

    1. (1) A Division of Children and Family Services employee is only permitted to serve as an agency-approved resource parent for informal respite care purposes but may not provide informal respite care for children/youth on his or her own caseload.
    2. (2) The Director of the Division of Children and Family Services or designee must give prior approval to any employee seeking to become an agency-approved informal respite home provider.
    3. (3) Each Division of Children and Family Services employee’s request to serve as an informal respite care home will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
    4. (4) Division of Children and Family Services staff requesting to become informal respite providers must meet the same licensing and space requirements as traditional resource homes.
    5. (5) Staff from a different county or a contract provider must assess and approve the home.

    6. (6) Employees will not use their employment status to:

       1. (A) Obtain information about the child’s case;
       2. (B) Gain services; or
       3. (C) Receive preferential treatment.
14. (n) However, in situations where Division of Children and Family Services staff are relatives of children placed in department custody, and it is in the best interest of the child to be placed with the relative, the director may grant approval for the relative/employee to serve as a full-time resource home on a case-by-case basis.
15. (o) For additional information, see PUB-30: Resource Parent Handbook.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "06/2022"