Vol. 7, No. 2• May 2003
Confidentiality and the Foster Parent’s Need to Know
by Joan McAllister
To successfully protect and promote the well-being of the children in their care, foster parents need information. Yet sometimes foster parents are uncertain what information they can reasonably expect to receive when children are placed in their homes. To clarify this matter, we thought it might be helpful to review some of North Carolina’s policies related to confidentiality and information-sharing in child welfare.
Protecting the Child and Family’s
Right to PrivacyNorth Carolina General Statute 7B-2901(b) states that information contained in social services’ records of children in protective custody is confidential, and that, in the best interests of the juvenile, such information should be protected from public inspection. These records may only be examined by order of the court; the exception to this rule is that the child’s guardian ad litem (GAL) and the child him or herself has the right to see these records. This information is protected because of the child and family’s right to privacy. Policy limits the sharing of information regarding children in foster care based on that individual’s need to know the information in order to administer foster care services.
In order to care properly for a child being placed in their home, foster parents, relatives, or other foster care providers do need to know as much information as possible regarding the reason for the child’s placement and the needs of the child. Confidential information specific to the family’s struggles should not be shared unless that information has an impact on the child.
The Role of Shared Parenting
Shared parenting meetings are a way of sharing vital information about a child with the foster parents. During these meetings the social worker, birth parents, and foster parents meet and discuss the care of the child when out-of-home placement is necessary. The meetings provide birth parents with an opportunity to share valuable information about the care of their child with the child’s foster parents. Sharing information about things such as the child’s favorite foods, toys, sleep patterns, and behaviors helps foster parents care for and comfort the child.
Shared parenting meetings also provide foster parents with the opportunity to share information about themselves and what they have observed and learned about the child in their care. During these meetings, plans can be made regarding visitation, medical appointments, school meetings, transportation, and the like. As foster and birth parents get to know one another, birth parents’ anxiety and speculation about the welfare of their children can be put to rest. In their place familiarity, trust, and sometimes even friendship begin to develop.
Foster Parents’ Rights
Foster parents always have a right to receive the following:
- Placement information.
Information about why the child is in foster care and what the primary
and concurrent permanency plans are must be provided to foster parents
at the time of placement and updated as needed to help the foster parent
anticipate and respond to the child’s needs. Providing this information
also helps the foster parent to be an informed partner in the planning
process.
- Social/behavioral information
must be shared with the foster parent/caregiver at the time of placement,
including information about the kinds of behavior the caregiver is likely
to encounter and the parental responses that seem to be the most helpful
to the child. The child’s strengths and abilities should be shared
along with any needs. Once this information has been passed along, foster
parents and caregivers are responsible for keeping social workers and
other members of the team informed about changes in this area.
- Medical information
must be shared with foster parents at the time of placement and
updated as information is received. The foster care provider needs to
know of any special medical problems that the child may have. Obviously,
this includes the child’s HIV status. The Health Status Component
of the Family Services Agreement must be completed and provided
to the foster parents within seven days of placement. Also, the child
must be referred by the placing agency for a physical examination within
seven days of placement. The foster parent/caregiver signs the form
to verify he or she has received it.
- Educational information
must be shared with foster parents at the time of placement and updated
as information is received. The foster parent/caregiver shall receive
the Educational Component of the Family Services Agreement, and
signs the form to verify receipt. In addition, the foster parent/caregiver
should be a part of any discussion regarding Individual Educational
Plans or other remedial efforts to assure that the child’s educational
needs are met.
For further information on this topic, consult “Preparing the Family, the Child, and the Foster Care Provider for Placement” in “Chapter IV: 1201 Child Placement Services” of the N.C. Division of Social Services Children’s Services Manual. This manual can be found online at <http://info.dhhs.state.nc.us/olm/manuals/dss/csm-10/man/CSs1201c6-03.htm#P33_3568>.
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Confidentiality
Foster parents are entrusted with confidential information about children in their care, and learn additional confidential information about children and their families as a result of their work as foster parents. It is the client’s right and expectation that confidential information will be respected and safeguarded by the agency. As partners in the provision of children’s services, foster parents are bound by the same expectations of protecting confidential information as are agency social work staff members. This means that no information learned as a result of their work as foster parents is to be shared outside of that professional service, even if identities are “disguised.” Casual conversations about client information with friends, other foster parents, and others not involved with direct services to the client are prohibited.
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Joan McAllister is the NC LINKS Program Coordinator for the N.C. Division of Social Services.
Copyright � 2003 Jordan Institute for Families