Written Agreement Between Department and Foster/Pre-adoptive Parents

Once a foster/pre-adoptive parent applicant has been licensed by the Department as a foster/pre-adoptive parent and has completed pre-service foster/pre-adoptive parent training, the Department and the foster/pre-adoptive parent shall enter into a written agreement. The written agreement shall be signed by each foster/pre-adoptive parent and the Department's authorized agent, shall be renewed annually, and shall include at least the following terms: (1) a statement of the responsibilities of the foster/pre-adoptive parent, including a recognition that foster care is a temporary arrangement which envisions the eventual reunification of the child with his/her birth family and the obligation of the foster/pre-adoptive parent to support that reunification; (2) a statement of the Department’s responsibilities to the foster/pre-adoptive parents; (3) a prohibition against the use of any form of corporal punishment by foster/pre-adoptive parents upon any foster child(ren); (4) a statement of any limitations on the identity or individual characteristics of children who may be placed in the foster/pre-adoptive home; (5) any other terms required by the EEC under its regulations at 102 CMR 5.10(7)(a); and (6) a statement that the foster/pre-adoptive parent is bound by the same standards of confidentiality as the Department and its employees.