Virginia Law

A. Any staff person who has responsibility to work with children and their families or to supervise staff persons who work with children and their families shall participate in orientation and training.

B. Required initial orientation:

1. Prior to assuming the responsibilities of his position in the licensee's child-placing agency and within 30 days of the date of employment, each staff person who has responsibility to work with children and their families or to supervise staff persons who work with children and their families shall receive orientation that includes:

a. The licensee's description of programs and services including population served;

b. The applicable position job descriptions for each position assumed by the individual; and

c. All training topics identified by the licensee including:

(1) Policies and procedures regarding expectations for service delivery;

(2) Practices regarding protection of confidential information;

(3) Documentation protocols;

(4) The Standards for Licensed Child-Placing Agencies (22VAC40-131), child-placing related Virginia statutes, and child-placing related policy and guidance documents and broadcasts issued by the Division of Family Services, Department of Social Services;

(5) Virginia statutes regarding reporting requirements for suspected child abuse and neglect;

(6) Prohibition of corporal punishment;

(7) The licensee's policies regarding discipline and behavior management;

(8) Pre-service training core competencies for resource, foster, and adoptive family home providers; and

(9) The licensee's emergency preparedness and response plan.

2. Child-placing agencies licensed to provide treatment foster care shall provide additional training to each professional staff person who has responsibility to work with children and their families or to supervise staff persons who work with children and their families. The training shall be provided prior to that staff member assuming the responsibilities of his position and within 30 days of the date of his employment. The training shall include:

a. The licensee's treatment philosophy and specific treatment methodologies including the provision of case management services and crisis intervention techniques;

b. The current requirements of the Department of Medical Assistance Services related to the provision of treatment foster care case management services, if the licensee accepts Medicaid reimbursements for case management services;

c. Orientation in effectively working with children who have emotional and behavioral problems and who may have been abused and neglected;

d. Procedures and requirements regarding foster care placements;

e. Services to children and their families;

f. Services to foster parents;

g. Assessment and evaluation of foster homes;

h. Training of foster home parents;

i. Grief and loss issues for children in foster care, including the significance of birth families to children placed in foster care;

j. Orientation to life skill preparedness for children in foster care; and

k. Orientation to permanency planning and goal setting for children in foster care.

3. Agencies licensed to provide adoption services shall provide additional training to each professional staff person. The training shall be provided prior to that staff assuming the responsibilities of his positions in the child-placing agency and within 30 days of the date of his employment. The training shall include:

a. Procedures and requirements regarding adoption placement including intercountry adoptions if the child-placing agency is licensed to provide intercountry adoption services;

b. Services to birth and adoptive parents;

c. Assessment and evaluation of adoptive homes;

d. Services to children, including grief and loss issues;

e. Provision of post adoption services to families and adoptees; and

f. Current requirements of the Hague Adoption Convention, if applicable.

4. Child-placing agencies licensed to provide foster care services shall provide additional training to each casework staff person who has responsibility to work with children and their families or to supervise staff persons who work with children and their families. The training shall be provided prior to that staff person's assuming the responsibilities of his positions in the child-placing agency and within 30 days of the date of his employment. The training shall include:

a. Procedures and requirements regarding foster care placements;

b. Services to children and their families;

c. Services to foster parents;

d. Assessment and evaluation of foster homes;

e. Training of foster home parents;

f. Grief and loss issues for children in foster care, including the significance of birth families to children placed in foster care;

g. Orientation to life skill preparedness for children in foster care; and

h. Orientation to permanency planning and setting goals for children in foster care.

C. Professional staff shall participate in the child-placing agency's pre-service training for adoptive and foster parents. Each professional staff person shall complete this training within one year of the date of his employment with the child-placing agency.

D. Additional on-going education and training.

1. Annually each professional staff person shall complete training applicable to his job duties and responsibilities.

2. Training shall be based on the needs of the population served to ensure that staff persons have competencies to perform their jobs.

E. All orientation and training completed by a staff person shall be documented in a child-placing agency-managed file.