	Kinship Care Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-KC 10: Physical and Mental Health Care

Children receive all necessary medical, dental, developmental, and mental health assessments and treatment within appropriate timeframes.

Note: Responsibility for the provision of physical and mental health care can differ depending on the type of kinship care service. Informal kinship care programs can provide information and support to caregivers to help them access services, while formal kinship care services are responsible for ensuring the receipt of services.

PA-KC 10.01

Children receive comprehensive health care services, and the agency provides assistance to caregivers to ensure:

the child has health insurance benefits;
availability of the child’s health records;
authority to consent for health services is clearly documented;
continuity of care; and
effective communication of child’s health care needs to providers and caregivers.

Interpretation: Caregivers should be provided with alternative health care options when insurance coverage is not available. Although agencies do not necessarily provide children and families with health insurance, they can take steps to promote access to coverage through other programs such as Medicaid. Agencies that have the responsibility for placing Indian children should be aware of health care services that the child may have access to through tribally contracted health facilities or through the federal Indian Health Service.

Interpretation: When the case involves an Indian child, the agency should work with the tribe or a local Indian organization to ensure they have access to needed medical information.

Interpretation: Whenever possible, a medical home should be established for each child with special health care needs. Children should continue receiving health care services from familiar providers.

PA-KC 10.02

The child’s relevant health information, including family medical history, is recorded in an efficient and secure system and shared with providers and caregivers, as appropriate.

Interpretation: Medical passports and electronic medical records systems can be used to store and share health information. The agency should have mechanisms in place for cross-agency sharing of information that encourage continuity of care and respect confidentiality.

NA The agency only provides informal kinship care services

PA-KC 10.03

Parents receive information about their child’s health care, and are encouraged to participate in health appointments and decision making whenever possible, unless parent involvement is contraindicated.

PA-KC 10.04

Qualified professionals provide the child with age-appropriate health care services including:

medical examinations according to well-child guidelines;
dental examinations every 6 months;
developmental, mental health, and alcohol and drug screenings within 30 days after entry into care, and when indicated to identify the need for further diagnostic assessment; and
needed therapeutic and treatment services.

Update: Added Fifth Interpretation - 12/01/10

Added Fifth Interpretation

Interpretation: When documentation demonstrates that the child has received the appropriate examinations and screenings, the agency need not arrange for an additional examination upon entry into care. When documentation is unavailable or incomplete, the agency must ensure that screenings and examinations are completed within 30 days after entry into care.

Interpretation: Medical assessments include, as appropriate to the child’s age and circumstances: lead exposure, TB testing, and HIV/STD risk assessment screening.

Interpretation: The agency should recognize the value of incorporating culturally-grounded interventions into the treatment plan, and include traditional practices or customs of the child’s culture, tribe, or faith-based community to the greatest extent possible and appropriate. Whenever possible, Indian children should receive health services from qualified professionals who have experience working with the tribe and knowledge of tribal customs and practices.

Interpretation: Dental examinations should be provided for children over age 3.

Interpretation: Best practice suggests that dental exams should occur every six months and more frequently for children based on clinical need. In situations where resources are not provided for preventive care to occur every six months, the agency can receive a rating of 2 if there is an annual preventive exam and evidence that recommendations from the clinician indicate the child is not in need of more frequent care. In addition, children with dental issues or at high risk of dental problems must be receiving the care they need.

Note: See Recommendations for Preventative Pediatric Health Care published by The American Academy of Pediatrics for well-child guidelines.

Research Note: Literature suggests that maltreatment and the trauma of being removed from parental care places children at risk of psychological problems. Research has shown that children in out-of-home care are more likely than other children to have significant physical and mental health care needs.

PA-KC 10.05

Children receive age-appropriate support and education regarding:

pregnancy prevention and responsible parenthood; and
prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Kinship Care Services maintain the family system as the primary source of care and preserve the continuity of care, culture, relationships, and environment essential for child safety and well-being.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	CAREGIVER The provider of physical, emotional, and social needs to another person, often dependent and unable to provide for his or her own needs. Caregiver is the generic term used for the direct service providers in Community Care and Support Services (CCS).


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	INDIAN CHILD As defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), "Any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe." For purposes of compliance with ICWA, the definition provided in the Act shall apply. For purposes of access to services and resources, other more inclusive definitions may apply (e.g. Indian Education Act, tribal definitions, etc.).


	INDIAN ORGANIZATION As defined in ICWA, "Any group, association, partnership, cooperation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by Indians, or a majority of whose members are Indians."


	MEDICAL HOME A team approach to health care that coordinates the family and all involved health care providers to promote communication and effective service delivery. The medical home maintains a centralized record of all health related services to promote continuity of care.


	CONFIDENTIALITY An ethical and practice principle that requires the protection of information shared within a professional-client relationship. An organization that upholds confidentiality prohibits personnel from disclosing information about persons served without their written consent.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL An individual licensed by the state in which the organization operates to perform duties outlined in the regulation requirements. Similar terms include: qualified health practitioner, qualified clinician, and qualified medical practitioner.


	TREATMENT PLAN See SERVICE PLAN


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	OUT-OF-HOME CARE Services for persons living in environments outside of their usual households. Foster Care Services are considered to serve persons in out-of-home care.


	PREVENTION Actions taken to minimize and/or eliminate social, psychological, or other conditions. Prevention can occur at the individual, group, community, and societal levels and enhances opportunities to achieve positive fulfillment.