What is a Child Family Team?

• Child and family team means a group of individuals who are organized by the placing agency and who are engaged through a variety of team-based processes to identify the strengths and needs of the child or youth and theirfamily, and to help achieve positive outcomes for safety, permanency, and well-being.

How does the Child and Family Team support the family through meetings?

• Providing input into the development of a child and family plan that is strengths-based, needs-driven, and culturally relevant.
• Providing input into the placement decision made by the placing agency and the services to be provided to support the child or youth.

Resources

• Child and Family Team (CFT) & Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Tool (CANS) for Parents – English
• Child and Family Team (CFT) & Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Tool (CANS) for Parents – Spanish

Explore the listed resources to learn more about the importance of reunification, and how you can best support reunification as a resource parent!

• The Importance of Reunification in Foster Care: Creating a Pathway to Healing and Growth

• 5 Helpful Ways Foster Parents Can Support the Reunification Process

• What Reunification Means in Foster Care: A Foster Parent’s Role

• How foster parents can support reunification

A resource parent, or resource family, is the new umbrella term used in the state of California to refer to adoptive or foster parents and many other types of out-of-home caregivers. They are trained and approved to provide foster and adoptive care to children and teenagers.

Resource parents play a vital role in the department’s commitment to helping children and teens find success at home, at school and in their communities. 

To find out more, call (805) 781-1705.

Are you ready to take the next step and make a difference in a child or teen’s life? 

 The process to become a resource parent typically takes around 90 days, but there are many factors that can affect your timeline. 

If you decide to make a difference in the life of a youth in foster care and move forward with the application process, the department will assist you and support you through the process

You can begin the application process by calling (805) 781-1705 or submitting your interest via our online eform.

To learn more, check out this brochure in English or Spanish.

Resource parents are an “umbrella term,” to the various roles they can play within the foster system. Not all resource parents commit to long-term placements.

Emergency Shelter Caregiver:

• These resource parents are committed to emergency, on-call foster care and are available on short notice to provide immediate, temporary care for children ages 0-18 who are entering the foster care system or are waiting for more permanent placements. Without these caregivers the department is often left struggling to find placements for youth who are already experiencing significant trauma.

Respite Care Provider:

• Respite care is a crucial support to those with long-term placements and is an option for those who want to foster but are unable to commit in the long-term. Respite care providers care for foster children for a brief period while the resource parent is unable to. If you’re a resource parent needing assistance, click the ‘Respite Care’ tab to learn more.

Options for Recovery (OFR):

•  Resource parents designated as “OFR” are specially trained to support the needs of medically fragile children ages 0-5 and take an active role in the reunification process through mentorship of birth parents.

Kinship care is when a child is cared for by a relative, close family friend, or other trusted adult who already knows them. This type of placement helps children stay connected to their family, culture, and sense of identity, which can ease the trauma of separation and support emotional well-being. Whether formal or informal, kinship care plays a vital role in keeping kids safe, stable, and surrounded by people who care.

What is the Kin-GAP Program? 

• The Kin-GAP (Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment) program supports the placement of children with relatives when they cannot safely remain in their home of origin. If reunification with the child’s parents is not possible, the relative caregiver may be asked to become the child’s legal guardian. Children thrive when placed with a safe, consistent, and nurturing relative, and prioritizing family placements has been a central goal of Child Welfare Services.
• Preferential placement is given to relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or siblings. When a relative assumes legal guardianship, they may be eligible to receive a monthly stipend from the placing county’s social services department to help cover the cost of caring for the child.

What is the process?

• Caregivers will work closely with the youth’s social worker to complete the appropriate process and documentation necessary to establish Legal Guardianship and participation in the Kin-GAP program.  

Who is eligible? 

• This service is provided to eligible relative caregivers who have established legal guardianship through San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.

When and where is this service offered?

• Eligible relative caregivers will receive funding throughout the dependency process, which will be converted to Kin-GAP through San Luis Obispo County Superior Court upon the Court’s order of legal guardianship.

Resource Family Approval (RFA) is a streamlined, family-friendly and child-centered certification process to approve care providers for children placed in out of home care. RFA was implemented in San Luis Obispo County in November, 2013 and statewide in January, 2017.
 
RFA creates unified approval standards for all caregivers, so children in out of home care will be better positioned to find permanency more quickly.
 
The RFA process includes a home and grounds safety check, background checks, a comprehensive psychosocial assessment, and training for all families, including relatives. The process prepares families to better meet the needs of vulnerable children in the foster care system, decreases disruptions, improves caregiver satisfaction, and supports a more seamless transition to permanency.

To become certified as a resource parent, please contact us at (805) 781-1705 for further information.

Applicants can expect to complete LiveScan fingerprinting and several levels of background checks, initial Resource Family Training (RFT) and annual training requirements (including obtaining and maintaining CPR/First Aid Certification), a home and grounds inspection, and a comprehensive psychosocial assessment.