Reasonable & Prudent Parent Standard - Normalcy 624-05-15-50-40

(Revised 7/1/2023 ML #3737)

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The reasonable and prudent parent standard is characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interests of a child while at the same time encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child participating in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities.

 

The goals of the reasonable and prudent parent standard are to:

• Provide children in foster care with a “normal” life experience.
• Empower foster care providers (family homes and facilities) to encourage children to engage in extracurricular activities that promote child well-being.
• Allow foster care providers (family homes and facilities) the ability to make reasonable parenting decisions without waiting to obtain additional permissions from the custodial case manager or the Child & Family Team. (Ex: Field trip permissions, attendance at school functions, carpools, etc.)

 

When using the reasonable and prudent parent standard, providers should consider:

• The child’s age, maturity and developmental level;
• Potential risk factors of participating in the activity;
• The child’s best interest;
• Whether or not the activity will encourage the child’s emotional and developmental growth; and
• Whether or not the activity will offer the child a family-like living experience.

Normalcy is giving children in foster care the opportunity to engage in typical growth and development. This includes the participation in age-appropriate activities, responsibilities and life skills.

 

Age appropriate activities are events generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity. Age appropriateness is based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacity that is typical for an age group.

 

Example: It may be age appropriate and “normal” for a 14 year old to go to a school ball game without parental supervision. It may not be age appropriate and “normal” for a 14 year old to go camping with friends without parental supervision.

 

In an effort to make decisions in the best interest of the child; it is important to engage the child to understand their desire and abilities. Providers may have personal beliefs that would influence participation in requested activities. The Child & Family Team is a resource in finalizing decisions that may present risk.

 

Custodial agencies may choose to use the SFN 1040, Normalcy Consent Form in efforts to review permissions and expectations of the agency. In June 2023, ND Human Service Zones agreed to use this document as a consent form for each child in placement. The consent is to be reviewed upon placement into a new provider home or setting and updated as needed. The consent form identifies what activities foster care providers have the authority to give permission for with and without the prior approval of the custodial case manager. The consent form addresses many activities children in foster care may desire permission to participate in.

 

The child’s custodial case manager has the final discretion to approve the child’s participation in activities. Open communication regarding new opportunities is encouraged. Parents, foster care providers, the child and his/her case manager shall discuss the child's needs, culture, and desires when approving activities. Some activities are natural day-to-day opportunities (school events, field trips, sports), while other activities may be considered high risk activities; i.e. hunting, horseback riding, BMX dirt bike racing, etc.

Reasonable and prudent parenting allows flexibilities, but still requires decision making within the standard parameters of the law and child safety (Ex: Requiring a child to wear a seatbelt, wearing a helmet, lifejacket, etc.) It is recommended that the child attend any safety course available that may relate to the activity prior to participating in the activity; i.e. hunter’s safety.

 

Making Decisions

The child’s custodial case manager has the final discretion to approve the child’s participation in activities. Open communication regarding new opportunities is encouraged. Parents, foster care providers, the child and his/her case manager shall discuss the child’s needs, culture, and desires when approving activities. Some activities are natural day-to-day opportunities (school events, field trips, sports), while other activities what may be considered high risk activities; i.e. hunting, horseback riding, BMX dirt bike racing, etc.

 

The custodian must:

• Detail the agencies expectations supporting the provider’s ability to engage in reasonable and prudent parenting,
• Define and address “normal” activities the child is already participating in,
• Discuss additional interests and desires the child may have, and
• Identity if there are any barriers.

Example: Upon placement, the custodial case manager acknowledges and supports “reasonable and prudent parenting” and agrees that the provider can sign school field trip permission slips, sign documents at clinic appointments, approve who the child can ride with to and from basketball practice (carpools), allow for participation in Girl Scouts, and grant permissions to attend after school events/functions. The custodian notes that the provider lives in a border city. The custodian grants permission for the provider to gross the border into MN to shop, attend ball games, go to dinner, etc. without needing to ask permission to leave the state of ND.

 

Providers utilizing the reasonable and prudent parent standard take into account varying factors to make decisions to best meet the needs of the child in placement. Questions include, but are not limited to:

• If appropriate, have the biological parents been consulted about their thoughts regarding their child’s participation in the activity?
• Does the activity promote the child’s social development?
• Will the activity encourage “normalcy” for the child?
• If the child has medical needs; will the child be able to tell others how to help them if necessary?
• Has the child shown maturity in decision making abilities?
• Would I allow my own child to participate in the activity?
• Who will also be attending or participating in the activity?
• Will the timing of the activity interfere with a scheduled sibling or parent visit, therapy or medical appointment? If so, other options to accommodate the activities and family engagement/ treatment will need to be pursued.
• Does the child in foster care understand the set expectations regarding curfew, approval for last minute changes to the plan and the consequences for not complying with the expectations?

 

Immunity for Providers

Foster care providers (family home and facility) is immune from civil liability for any act or omission resulting in damage or injury to or by a child in foster care if, at the time of the act or omission, the person providing foster care for children applied the reasonable and prudent parent standard in a manner that protects child safety, while also allowing the child in foster care to experience normalcy through age or developmentally appropriate activities.

 

Documentation

The case manager must document reasonable and prudent parenting efforrts:

 

1. SFN 1040, Reasonable and Prudent Parenting Consent form to detail permissions for activities a child in foster care can participate in throughout their placement with a foster care provider

2. Case Management system (CFTM notes, case activity logs, etc.)

3. Affidavit to the court for a permanency hearing, the custodial agency must detail the steps taken to ensure that:

   1. The child's foster care provider is following the reasonable and prudent parent standard; and

   2. The child has regular, ongoing opportunities to engage in age or developmentally appropriate activities.