1. (a)

   1. (1) Resource parents will be considered as team members working with other child welfare professionals for the family.
   2. (2) Complete information, such as a child’s health and education records, reasons for entering care, siblings, and probable length of placement, will be provided to resource parents at the time of placement.
   3. (3) Additional information, including, but not limited to, a complete copy of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment and complete copy of the case plan for each child placed in the home, will be shared promptly with the resource parents.
   4. (4) Resource parents are also allowed to receive a copy of substantiated child maltreatment report for the child in their care.

2. (b)

   1. (1) The child’s Social Security number may be given to the resource parents, only if the resource parent must have the number to obtain services, care, or treatment for the child (e.g., to enroll the child in school or to obtain medical treatment when treatment is needed for a child who is not Medicaid eligible).
   2. (2) The resource parent must keep the child’s Social Security number confidential and use the Social Security number only for allowable purposes.

3. (c)

   1. (1) In addition, currently or previously licensed resource parents may receive records concerning a child who was previously placed in their resource home that are relevant to the period of time in which the child was placed in that resource home and for which the resource parent has a legitimate need as determined by the Division of Children and Family Services.
   2. (2) Examples may include providing the Social Security number of a child previously placed in the resource home for tax filing purposes.

4. (d)

   1. (1) Resource parents to include preadoptive parents and relative caregivers have the right to be heard in any proceeding held with respect to a child in their care and will be called as a witness to do so.
   2. (2) Division staff are encouraged to support resource parents in sharing information with the court given that resource parents have a significant amount of knowledge about the child’s daily functioning, strengths, and needs.
5. (e) Resource parents will not be made a party to any such proceeding while reunification remains the court ordered goal or solely on the basis that such persons are entitled to notice and the opportunity to be heard.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "05/2022"