Section 80 in The M.P. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2003
80. Short term/temporary foster care.
(1)The temporary foster care refers to physical custody/care of the child till he/she is above to return to the biological family as soon as the family circumstances improve. Temporary short-term foster care shall not exceed four months and temporary long term foster care shall not exceed five years. After five years if the child cannot return to the biological family, the foster care period may be extended or the child placed in a group foster home. The procedure for placements shall be as prescribed by the Central Adoption Resources Agency Guidelines.(2)The temporary foster care shall be carried out by the Probation Officer/Case Worker/Social Worker, as the case may be under the supervision of the Competent Authority. The total period of temporary foster care shall not exceed five years.(3)Persons competent to be foster parents.-The following persons may apply to be foster parents :-(a)A Single Parent;(b)Couple;(c)Member of the extended family of the child;(d)Non-Governmental Organisations or other recognized person/s or agency willing to take responsibility of child/children in individual or group foster care.(4)Procedure for foster care:(A)Procedure for selection of parents-(a) An application to foster a child shall be given to the competent authority in Form XVIII through a Probation Officer, case worker or to the person in charge of the approved residential home who shall forward the application to the Department of Social Welfare/the Child Welfare Committee.(b)If the application is prima fade satisfactory then the Child Welfare Committee shall authorize the Probation Officer to undertake the following steps(i)Probation Officer/Case Worker to interview the prospective foster parent/s and assess that he/she is suitable to foster a child. In particular the Probation Officer shall investigate the motivations of the prospective foster parents so as to ensure that the intention is not to employ the child as domestic help.(ii)To visit the home of the prospective foster parent/s and confirm that it is likely to meet the requirements of the particular child and that the conditions in it are satisfactory. The family home should provide adequate rooms based on the number of children with bath and kitchen and provide a safe environment with adequate sanitary and living conditions to promote health and well being of the child. The Home study report of Foster family shall be given in Form XVII to the Child Welfare Committee;(iii)To ensure at least two persons who have known the foster parent/s well can vouch for his/her good character and suitability to care for the child;(iv)To establish the person-in-charge of any Government medical until in the area that no person in the house hold of the prospective foster parent/s is suffering from any physical or mental illness likely to affect the child adversely;(v)To establish from the local authorities or from the Officer-in-charge of the Police Station in the area that no person m the home has a police record or has been convicted of a serious criminal offence rendering it undesirable for the child to associate with that person;(vi)to ensure that the foster parent/parents have a stable emotional environment within the family;(vii)To ensure that the foster parent/parents have minimum income to meet their needs and not be dependent on the foster care maintenance payment;(viii)To ensure that the foster care family is willing to follow rules laid down including regular visits to pediatrician, maintenance of child health record etc.;(ix)To ensure that the family shall be willing to sign an agreement to return the child to the agency under specified circumstances like disruption, abuse and neglect to the child and where the child has been unable to adjust to the foster family;(x)To ensure that the foster parent is willing to attend training/ orientation programmes prior to placement and thereafter when found necessary;(xi)To ensure that in case of employed parents, adequate child care arrangements are made after school hours;(xii)Tb ensure that the members of the immediate family living in the same house give their consent to the placement of the foster child.(B)Procedure for placement of the child - (a) The Committee shall ensure that the child is examined by a qualified medical practitioner who shall report in writing on the child's physical and mental condition prior to placement. However in the case of an emergency the medical report shall be made within four weeks after the placement.(b)Ensure that efforts have been made to trace the family before the child is placed.(c)Ensure that the child has been through a preliminary assessment including :(i)Mental/Development Assessment. - Suggested reference by the Denver Development Scale or any other suitable instrument.(ii)Educational Assessment. - As per the Minimum Levels of Learning Schedule.(iii)Temperament Assessment. - An assessment of the child's temperament needs to be made based on emotionally, level of activity, attention and concentration ability, sociability levels, aggression, rhythm of food and sleep, child's motivations, dependability, adaptability.(d)Ensure that the child has been introduced to the couple and has had a minimum of three interactions and two home visits as well as the requisite number of counseling sessions with the concerned Social Welfare Officer/Probation Officer.(e)On completion of the above process the Probation Officer shall prepare a Home study Report in Form XVII.(f)If the Home Study Report is approved by the Child Welfare Committee, then the foster parents shall enter into a foster care agreement in Form XX, which includes the rights and responsibilities of the foster parents. Each foster parent shall be given a copy of the agreement. A copy of the undertaking shall also be sent to the concerned Probation Officer/Case Worker and to the Commissioner/Director of Social Welfare Department.(g)The child shall then be placed with the couple/single parent/ Group home.(C)Target Group - (a) The children from dysfunctional in a state families or from institutions or the children whose biological parents are either incapacitated or in a state of crisis and unable to provide the care and protection to the child;(b)Foster care is a boon to children without roots growing up in orphanages and child welfare institutions to find an opportunity to lead a family life;(c)Children who cannot be placed on adoption due to various reasons can be considered for Foster Care;(d)Foster Care can be either short term or long term depending upon the needs;(e)De-institutionalization of children and placing them in Foster Care can be made with the concurrence of Child Welfare Committee.(D)Programme implementation-The Foster Care shall be implemented in each district or for a group of districts through Non-Government Organization which are recognised as fit institutions by Child Welfare Committee/Juvenile Justice Board on the advice of the Commissioner/Director of Social Welfare specifically for this purpose.(E)Follow-up-(a) There shall be regular visits carried out by the Probation Officer/Child Welfare Officer/Social Case Worker, as the case may be so as to protect the best interest of the child;(b)Review of the placement report to be made every six months by the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee. These Reports shall be submitted to the Child Welfare Committee and the Department of Social Welfare;(c)In case of victimization of the child in the foster home, appropriate action shall be taken against the parents;(d)When the foster placement begins the person placing the child shall submit to the foster parent a list of immunizations carried out in respect of the child and indicate to the foster parent the list of the other immunizations required to be effected in respect of the child and foster parent shall ensure that those immunizations are carried out. The foster parents and the district probation and social welfare officer shall at all times keep a record of the immunizations in respect of the child;(e)Where the child placed with a foster parent is under five years of age, the child shall be medically examined by a competent Medical Officer :-(i)Within one month after the date of placement; and(ii)Thereafter once every six months.(f)Where a child placed with a foster parent is above the age of five years, the child shall be medically examined by medical functionaries once in a year;(g)The Probation Officer/Case Worker concerned shall, so far as possible assist the foster parent in ensuring the carrying out the requirements.(F)Disruption - (a) If the Probation Officer/Case Worker feels that it is in the best interest of the child, he/she may make a report regarding the necessity for disruption and submit it to the Child Welfare Committee;(b)The Probation Officer/Case Worker shall also produce before the Child Welfare Committee the record of efforts put in the remedy the maladjustment;(c)The child may be removed and placed in an alternative home/ transit home wherever maladjustment occurs, after obtaining the consent of the Child, Welfare Committee and giving the foster parents an opportunity to be heard;(d)In the case of an emergency the child may be removed based on the discretion of the Probation Officer/Case Worker in consultation with the Superintendent and other staff of the children's home, according to conditions such as physical, or sexual abuse, or exploitation;(e)Upon disruption of a placement the Child Welfare Committee shall recommend alternate placement of the child with adequate provisions for counseling and care.(G)In case of sickness/death of the child or death of the foster parent - (a) If a child is seriously ill the foster parent shall as soon as possible inform to the concerned Probation Officer/Case Worker who shall inform the parents/guardians and the Child Welfare Committee;(b)If the foster child dies, the foster parent shall make every effort to obtain a medical certificate of death and a post mortem report within 24 hours;(c)He or she shall also immediately inform the Probation Officer/ Case Worker concerned, who shall inform the parents/guardians, Department of Social Welfare and the Child Welfare Committee.(d)In the case where the child has been placed with a single foster parent who has died the child shall be returned to the approved home from where the child was received.(H)Responsibilities of Child Welfare Committee/Placement Agencies/Children's Home - (a) Foster care placements shall be made only through recognized/accredited bodies and Probation Officers/Case Workers by the Child Welfare Committee;(b)The Child Welfare Committee shall develop, maintain, update and employ a written policy and procedures manual;(c)The placement agencies/children's home shall satisfy itself that all alternatives to keep the child in his/her family have been explored and that foster care is the optimal choice of care tor the child;(d)The placement agency/children's home shall identify, screen, orient and provide training to the foster tamilies;(e)The placement agencies/children's home along with the Child Welfare Committee shall device a system to(i)assess the needs of the child and the foster family,(ii)match the needs of the child with the abilities and resources of the foster family;(iii)prepare both the child and the foster family for the placement;(f)The Child Welfare Committee/Placement Agencies/ Children's Home, competent authority or agency shall support the child s contact with the biological family whenever possible and when conducive to the child's best interest;(g)The Placement Agencies/Children's Home along with the Child Welfare Committee shall begin permanency planning for the child soon after the placement;(h)The Child Welfare Committee alongwith the Placement agencies/ Children's Home shall develop a procedure for participation with the foster family in a periodic mutual review. This review will evaluate the strengths and needs of the foster family for caring for the child and the relationship between the competent authority or agency and the foster family;(i)The Child Welfare Committee alongwith placement agencies/ Children's home shall develop a policy to recognize the positive contributions made by foster families to the field of child welfare;(j)The Child Welfare Committee shall develop written policies and procedures for the closure of foster homes under the different circumstances. This will include voluntary withdrawal of service by foster families as well. The procedure shall provide the foster parent/parents an opportunity to be heard before the decision to withdraw the service is arrived at;(k)The placement agency/children's home shall develop individual case records which shall include periodic narrative reports relating to the child's and the biological family's involvement with foster care.
