Foster Parent Manual

All families who attend a Foster Parent Licensing Orientation with Fostering Futures are provided with the following documents. We offer PDF versions of them here for your convenience:

REPORTING ABUSE AND NEGLECT

All foster parents and foster care workers are "mandatory reporters," meaning that we are required by law to report incidents of abuse and/or neglect. If you have witnessed or even SUSPECT the abuse or neglect of a child, you must call Centralized Intake at 855-444-3911 as soon as possible to verbally report what you know. During your call to Centralized Intake, the agent will give you a "Log Number;" be sure to make note of this number.

Within 72 hours of the call to Centralized Intake, you must also complete and submit a "3200 form" (DHS-3200) which you can download using the button on the left. Be sure to enter the Log Number where indicated on the top of the DHS-3200 form. Instructions for submitting the form by mail, email or fax are printed on the form.

Reasonable and Prudent Parenting Training

Completion of "Reasonable and Prudent Parenting Training" is required for all Licensed Foster Parents. To complete this training, simply:

  1. Download the training worksheet here: RPPS worksheet

  2. Complete the worksheet while watching the 15-minute training video here: RPPS video

  3. Provide the completed worksheet to your licensing agency; you can fax, email, or hand it to either your licensing or case worker.

In addition to the required training above, the following documentation provides supplemental information about Reasonable and Prudent Parenting Guidelines; it may answer some of the questions you have about your role as a foster parent:

CENTRAL REGISTRY CLEARANCE FOR ALTERNATE CAREGIVERS

**Central Registry information is confidential; therefore, by law, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) cannot provide this information to anyone other than those listed in the Child Protection Law (MCL 722.627-722.627j). The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act requires states to check any child abuse and neglect registry on any prospective foster and adoptive parent and other adults living in a prospective foster and adoptive parent's home. Any information released under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act must not be used for any other purpose. **

ALTERNATE CAREGIVERS - All licensed foster parents and adoptive parents must designate an "Alternate Caregiver" who can step in to take care of the foster children in their care in the event of an emergency or planned unavailable absence. An unavailable absence is a period during which you cannot be reached, or cannot return in a timely manner to the children placed in your care (whether you are out of town, or stricken with injury or illness). Alternate Caregivers must complete the form DHS-1929 and follow the instructions below to obtain Central Registry Clearance. Examples of an Alternate Caregiver situation would be:  1.) You (and your co-parent) are vacationing out-of-state and want to leave the kids with your sister; it would take several hours or more to return home if you were needed in an emergency. 2.) You (and your co-parent) were in an accident and will be unable to care for the children for an unknown period of time, but your In-Laws are willing to care for the children placed in your care until you recover.

BABYSITTERS - Temporary caregivers who care for your children for a short period of time, during which you could return in an emergency, are considered "babysitters." Babysitters can be selected at your discretion without obtaining Central Registry Clearance. In other words, babysitters do NOT need a Central Registry Clearance.  Examples of babysitter situations would be any of the following, assuming the babysitter can reach you and you can return home to the child if needed:  1.) A person who watches the child in their home or in your home during the day while you work  2.) A person who cares for your child while you enjoy a movie, go out to dinner, or take part in a recreational activity.

Contact your licensing worker if you have questions about the difference between an Alternate Caregiver and a babysitter. The examples above are just to help illustrate the difference, but do not cover every situation. If you have any doubt, play it safe -- ask your licensing worker!

FORM AND INSTRUCTIONS - To designate someone as an Alternate Caregiver, start by asking them to download the form DHS-1929 and follow the instructions below (taken from the State of Michigan Website). Return the results to your licensing worker.

"Individuals requesting a Central Registry clearance on themselves who are Michigan residents should complete the Central Registry Clearance Request - DHS-1929 form.  Mail or hand-deliver the completed DHS-1929 form and a copy of your picture identification to your local DHS office. To pick up the results in person, you must present picture identification. To have the results mailed, a copy of your picture identification must be provided with the DHS-1929. Note: Results will only be mailed to the address on the picture identification"

Registering in SIGMA VSS

All foster/adoptive parents and relative caregivers in the State of Michigan are required to be registered in the SIGMA system by registering on the State of Michigan VSS website. This is required by MDHHS, even for families who will be paid directly by a private agency, such as Fostering Futures. Any payments from the State of Michigan will be paid through the SIGMA system, and payments from a private agency will be made out of a different system, but you MUST set up a SIGMA account either way.

To complete your registration, go to www.mi.gov/vsslogin and:

  1. in the left-hand column, click the “Register" button.

  2. On the "Memorandum of Agreement" page, read and click "Accept Terms"

  3. On the "Registration Tips" page, click "Next"

  4. Search to make sure you haven't already set up an account, either in this or the old system. Foster parents should scroll down to the "Individual Search" section, and fill in the last name and last 4 digits of SSN of the person who might be registered, and click the "Search" button.

If a matching account is found, follow the prompts to ACTIVATE ACCOUNT.

If no matching account is found, click the "New Registration" button, and follow prompts to set up your new user account. Enter all requested information, including valid email address and deposit account information. If you need detailed step-by-step registration instructions, click HERE to view/download a PDF. 

If you have any additional questions about this process or problems registering, please contact the OFM Help Desk by phone: (888) 734-9749 or Email: dmb-vendor@mi.gov.

Note to Fostering Futures families: While we do not use the SIGMA system to generate your payments, you still must set up a SIGMA account in order to begin receiving payments. In addition to setting up a SIGMA account, you will also be invited to set up an account with our accounting system, Bill.com. You will receive an email from Bill.com, inviting you to set up an account, and set up direct deposit. We encourage you to set up direct deposit with bill.com to receive your payments as quickly as possible, without the risk of paper checks being delayed or lost in the mail. Ask your caseworker if you have not received an email inviting you to set up your bill.com account. We apologize for the inconvenience of having to set up two different accounts; MDHHS requires the SIGMA setup, even though we don’t have access to it for sending payments, and we must use our own system.

CPR/First Aid Training Resources

Licensing rules require that at least one adult member of the household shall have training in and maintain a current certification in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross or other institution approved by the department. DCWL has approved these on-line sources for obtaining the required certification in first aid/CPR training:

•First Aid For Free - www.firstaidforfree.com/

• American Academy of First Aid, Inc. - www.onlinecprcertification.net

• FirstAidWeb - www.firstaidweb.com

• American BLS - www.americanbls.com

• Foster Care & Adoptive Community - www.fosterparents.com/

• eCPRCertification - www.ecprcertification.com

• National CPR Foundation - www.nationalcprfoundation.com

• CPR & FIRSTAID.net - www.cpraidfirstaid.net

• American CPR Care Association - www.cprcare.com

• NewLife CPR - https://newlifecpr.com/

• AIR - www.airchildcare.com/

• American CPR Training - https://americancpr.com/

• American Heart Saver - https://americanheartsaver.com/

• Emergency Care and Safety Institute - https://www.ecsinstitute.org/

• National Safety Council - https://www.nsc.org/

• ProFirstAid - https://www.profirstaid.com/

• American Health Care Academy - https://cpraedcourse.com

• American Red Cross - www.redcross.org

• MyCPRNow - https://cprcertificationnow.com

• KnowCPR - https://knowcpr.com/

• Pacific Medical Training - https://pacificmedicaltraining.com/

Certification from other in-person training organizations may also be acceptable if they meet American Heart Association or American Red Cross guidelines and provide a certification card. If you are unsure if an online and or in-person CPR/First Aid source is acceptable, please check with your DCWL consultant.

MDHHS POLICY ON COVID-19 SAFETY DURING PARENTAL VISITS

2020-10-30 COVID-19 Response - Face Mask Requirements During In Person Contact

OTHER LINKS

Below are links to some of the forms that are frequently needed by foster families. You can pick up hard copies in our office, but we offer the links below for your convenience. You can download, use and print the forms you need, when you need them. Please contact us to suggest other forms you would like to see added here!