What is a Volunteer Caregiver?
Family is a big part of our lives. For years, grandparents and other family members have raised children when their parents were not able to care for them. Your desire to take a child into your home shows a lot of love and caring.
A volunteer caregiver is someone who agrees to take care of a child whose parents are involved with CPS during an investigation or are receiving Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS). The child is placed in your home by their parent or guardian and is not in legal custody of CPS. This is called a Parental Child Safety Placement.
The CPS caseworker will visit with you either before or at the time the parent is placing their child in your home to make sure the placement is safe. CPS will need your birth date, Social Security number, and all names you have used before in order to do a CPS and criminal background check. These checks must be completed on all people 14 years of age and older who live in your home. Once the results are back, CPS will decide if anything on the report is a concern to the child's safety. Also, CPS has to visit your home to check for safety issues.
What to Expect While the Child Lives with You
As a Volunteer Caregiver, you should:
- Provide a safe and loving home for the child.
- Sign and follow the Safety Plan.
- Care for the child as written in the Safety Plan or Family Plan of Service.
- With the parent's agreement, you will be given a copy of the Family Plan of Service plan.
- If the parent does not agree, the caseworker will give you all the information about the services the child needs and how to get them.
- Go to any meetings to help in the case planning and the decisions about the child in your care.
- Talk to the CPS caseworker on a regular basis so you can help keep the child safe.
- Ask for information about the child from the caseworker that will help you care for the child.