14.5 Family Child Care and Personal Care Home Operation in Foster Homes

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Child Welfare Policy Manual

Chapter:

(14) Resource Development

Policy Title:

Family Child Care and Personal Care Home Operation in Foster Homes

Policy Number:

14.5

Previous Policy Number(s):

N/A

Effective Date:

May 2024

Manual Transmittal:

2024-03

Codes/References

N/A

Requirements

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) will:

  1. Require prior notice from approved caregivers who wish to operate a family child care center in their home.

    Utilization standards for foster homes must continue to be met at all times when children in foster care are involved (see policy 14.1 Resource Development: Safety and Quality Standards).

  2. Disqualify prospective caregivers from approval consideration when their primary place of residence (the home into which a child would be placed) is used as a Personal Care Home or is located on the same property as the Personal Care Home.

  3. Check with Bright from the Start for any safety and compliance issues with family child care centers during initial family evaluations and family re-evaluations or at any time circumstances warrant such a check.

  4. Notify the licensing agency if a DFCS foster home that also holds a childcare license or provides family daycare is closed because a substantiated CPS investigation in accordance with policy 6.9 Special Investigations: Notifications in Special Investigations.

Procedures

When foster parents notify the agency of their desire to operate a family childcare center in their home or is operating a family child care center prior to approval, DFCS or CPA staff will:

  1. Discuss with the caregivers the impact of the child care center operation in relation to each child currently placed in the home considering such issues as:

    1. The age of the child;

    2. The special needs of the child;

    3. The frequency of birth parent-child visits;

    4. The effects of birth parent contacts on the child;

    5. The length of time the child has been in foster care;

    6. The permanency plan for the child; and

    7. The child’s adjustment to and sense of security in the foster home.

  2. Discuss with the caregivers the impact of the child care operation on future placements of children in the home and identify the type of child that might be appropriate for placement.

  3. Confer with the RD Supervisor and the County Director/Designee to determine whether to request a waiver from the Division Director/Designee.

  4. Notify the caregivers of the agency’s decision whether or not to grant them approval as a DFCS foster home with the operation of a family child care center.

  5. Document the DFCS’s decision and update the foster home record appropriately in Georgia SHINES.

  6. Promptly intervene when it is determined that a child is adversely affected by a caregiver providing family child care services in the home and consult with the caregiver, RD Supervisor, and County Director/Designee regarding whether to remove the child.

When applicants interested in becoming foster parents or an existing foster parents are licensed as a Personal Care Home, the Resource Development (RD) Case Manager will:

  1. Notify applicants at the point of inquiry, or the earliest point thereafter, that their home cannot be approved as a foster home for children in DFCS custody while their primary place of residence is licensed and/or used as a Personal Care Home.

  2. Notify any existing foster homes that are licensed as a Personal Care Home that no additional children will be placed in their home while their place of residence continues to be licensed as a Personal Care Home.

    Such cases will need to be staffed individually to determine the most appropriate and least restrictive placement for the children involved. A waiver must be requested from the Division Director/Designee for children to remain in such placements.

  3. Notify Personal Care Home providers who close their home for such business that they may be approved as a DFCS foster home, provided all other DFCS requirements are met.

Practice Guidance

Foster Parent Providing Family Childcare

Children in foster care have experienced separation from their families often resulting in trauma and anxiety. Observing other parents and children separating and reuniting daily can be traumatic for already vulnerable children. It is possible that a child care provider known to the children in foster care may be less stressful, such as providing child care for children who:

  1. Are relatives or friends of the foster parent;

  2. Live in the neighborhood;

  3. Attend the same school, church, etc. as the child.

The decision regarding the number of children for whom a particular foster home can provide family childcare is based on the home’s approval specifications as well as the number of children that would be in the home from the time school is out until the children in the childcare setting leave.

Assessing Impact on Placement

When a child is adversely affected by caregivers providing family child care in the home, consider the following questions in deciding whether or not to move the child:

  1. What areas of the child’s functioning are being negatively affected in the home?

  2. What would be the effect of moving the child to another placement?

  3. Which possible placement resources could meet the needs of the child?

  4. What type of child is appropriate for future placements in this home?

Meet face-to-face with the caregivers to discuss areas of concern.

Family Child Care Center

This is a program that operates in a private residential home less than 24 hours per day. The operator receives pay for providing care for three to six children under 13 years of age or 18 years of age if the child meets the criteria for CAPS special needs or court-ordered supervision. Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) oversees the licensing and monitoring of all home-based child care facilities, including investigating complaints of child care programs and reports of unlicensed child care. For more information visit the Bright from the Start website.

Personal Care Homes

"Personal Care Home", "home" or "facility" means any dwelling, whether operated for profit or not, which undertakes through its ownership or management to provide or arrange for the provision of housing, food service, and one or more personal services for two or more adults who are not related to the owner or administrator by blood or marriage.

Forms and Tools

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL)