Specifications include, but are not limited to: a. Provide recruitment to increase the number of potential resource families who are willing and able to care for children under the Department’s placement responsibility, and work with their birth families. b. Provide resource caregivers with the skills and techniques to respond in a culturally-competent manner to the needs of the children and their birth families and to ensure the children’s continued identification with their families of origin and ethnic heritage. c. Provide resource caregivers with the skills and techniques to respond with respect and nurturance to the needs of the children and their birth families, including physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, education, family connections, and culture. d. Resource caregivers are also expected to work with children, birth families, staff, other resource caregivers, other PROVIDERs, and those in the community who are LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning). e. Provide a standardized, consistent framework for the competency-based preparation, training, and approval of resource families. f. Support child-specific resource caregivers in working with the DHS at the time of the children’s placement to help identify and address any additional training needs in order to support them in meeting the specific needs of the children in their care. This early identification of additional needs should help improve the retention rate of these families along with provision of ongoing support and timely responses during potentially disruptive situations...
