Missouri State Foster Care Advisory Committee

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Department of Social Services Children’s Division Missouri State Foster Care Advisory Committee 1 The Children’s Division and the State Foster Care Advisory Committee would like to express their deep appreciation to St. Louis City staff, Renee Farmar-Nowlin and Libby Eversgerd, for their hard work and time involved in developing the original version of this Handbook. Updated December, 2010 by Elizabeth Tattershall 2 Table of Contents Page PURPOSE ..................................................................................................................................... 5 MISSION ...................................................................................................................................…show more content…
8 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS .................................................................................12 WORKING WITH YOU IN PROTECTING MISSOURI’S CHILDREN .......................13 PLACEMENT INFORMATION .............................................................................................14 WHAT CAN YOU CONSENT TO AS A RESOURCE PARENT? ....................................15 QUESTIONS TO ASK AT THE TIME OF PLACEMENT ...............................................17 POLICY CLARIFICATION PROTOCOL ..............................................................................18 MAINTENANCE REIMBURSEMENTS...............................................................................19 INFANT ALLOWANCE ..........................................................................................................19 OVERPAYMENT/UNDERPAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE COSTS ............................ 20 CHILD CARE SERVICES ....................................................................................................... 20 TEMPORARY SHORT-TERM BABYSITTING.................................................................. 22 MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT ............................................................................................. 22 CLOTHING ALLOWANCE .................................................................................................... 25 PROPERTY DAMAGE…show more content…
The issues we are working with are emotionally charged. There are many parties and factors involved - different agencies, the legal system and birth family. Sometimes there is conflict between the legal responsibility and the attachment the child has with resource families. Different team members come not only with their expertise, but also with their own perspective, and teamwork may be a new idea for some which can be overwhelming. While teamwork is definitely challenging, there are some guidelines or concepts to help the team better achieve their goals. Team members need to share child welfare values and respect for child welfare laws. When team members value the child’s relationships, it is easier for the team to work together toward supporting those relationships. Likewise, when there is an understanding of the legal issues in child welfare it helps team members to better understand the mandate and responsibility of the agency. In issues as emotionally charged as attachment, separation and loss, and child abuse, there will not always be shared values. Different members of the team have different expertise to offer. The use of complementary skills is one of the greatest values of teamwork. But members, by virtue of their differing roles and skills, also come to the team with different perspectives. Perspectives do not need to be judged right or wrong, but rather need to be considered as
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