Respite care providers must be approved in order to provide contracted respite care services. To ensure an understanding of the program, the Resource Development Worker shall provide an explanation of respite care services to the applicant prior to beginning the approval process.
All resource provider applicants are required to complete respite care training and are requested to be available to provide respite care services as part of the assessment and training process to be a licensed or approved resource provider.
To be approved as a provider of out-of-home or in-home respite care, a respite care provider must complete the following:
For out-of-home providers only, the provider must also meet the licensing requirements as set forth in CSR 40-60.040 Physical Standards for Foster Homes:
(1) General Requirements, Sections (A) through (G);
(2) Sleeping Arrangements, Sections (A) through (I); and
(3) Fire and Safety Requirements, Sections (A) through (I).
The Resource Development Worker shall make at least one home visit prior to the contract being signed and use the Foster Respite Care Provider Checklist, CS-RC-2, to document that the respite care home meets these requirements and to determine placement capacity.
Respite providers are required to be fingerprinted. The Children’s Division will pay for the costs of the respite providers to be fingerprinted. Refer to Section 6 Chapter 3 Subsection 1 for the fingerprinting process. Respite care providers are required to be fingerprinted every two years.
Staff may not approve the application or renewal of any person in which a record check reveals that a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, a crime against children (including child pornography), or a crime involving violence, including rape, sexual assault, or homicide, but not including other physical assault or battery as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Staff may also not approve the application or renewal of any person who in the past five years has had a court of competent jurisdiction determine a felony conviction for physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense.
Workers must follow the guidelines in policy and not make any additional requirements beyond what policy requires. The Respite application must be processed within 90 days.
Currently open vendors who may be approved and contracted to provide respite care include licensed child care homes, licensed foster and kinship homes and residential facilities. Licensed child care group homes and licensed child care centers may provide respite care up to 23 hours.
Prior to placing a child(ren) in a licensed child care home/facility, licensed foster, relative, or kinship home and/or a residential facility, the Resource Development Worker and provider shall ensure that licensing capacities and other licensing regulations are met and that the provider is able to adequately supervise all children in their care.
The capacity of placements the respite provider can have is determined using the information from the CS-RC-2. The resource provider that is only contracted as a respite parent will only provide respite services for a maximum of 5 placements at one time or less depending on the information on the CS-RC-2
17.4.1 Respite Care Provider Training
Introduction to Foster Care and Respite Care Provider Training must be completed prior to providing any respite care services.
All respite care providers may attend regular foster parent training and any in-service training.
Chapter Memoranda History: (prior to 01-31-07)
Memoranda History:
CD09-07, CD14-17, CD18-16