Foster Care Placements

SAM tracks Children and Foster families through their experience with foster care with your agency.
Child and Family records are connected through a Placement.

Placements

Placements track the Location responsible for the Child's care. 

Add a Placement

When adding a Placement record, enter: 

1. Placement Start Date - date child is placed at location
2. Placing Authority - agency responsible for making care payment (Entity to Bill)
3. Location - Foster Family record or Organization record when placing a child in a group home setting.
4. Placement Type - list that characterizes a child placement (Foster Home, Residential Treatment, Therapeutic Care, etc.). Each item links to a specific payment type, which is used for calculating Care Payments. 

Each Placement record can be edited through the Edit link (pencil icon).

More details about a Placement can be tracked in the Placement Details form (meatball menu), specifically a Child's transitions while in Placement, such as respite or short term care.

Adding a Placement creates initial Child Location History record

The following data is captured on the Child Location History record from a Placement:

• Arrived at Location = Placement Start Date
• Location = Placement Location (example: the Foster Home Provider)
• Child Location History - Care Type = Placement Type. This field is used for care payment calculations. 

Important! Changes to a Placement record do not automatically update the Child Location History after it’s created. If you edit a Placement, be sure to review the Child Location History to ensure care payment calculations remain accurate.

Child Location Timeline

Throughout a Placement, Child Location Timeline records provide more detailed tracking about a child’s transitions during a placement. This can include respite, detention, AWOL, or other status.

Child Location Timeline can be used apart from a Placement Record in situations where the Child is not placed, but you are providing Respite or to track a Child's transitions during adoption.

Tracking Respite - Child Location Timeline during Placement

A Placement is not ended for Respite. Child Location Timeline is used to track transitions to new homes/locations during a Placement. Tracking this way ensures the Child's placement is reserved. 

Child Location Timeline during Placement is a sub-record within a Placement. 

When creating a Child Location Timeline record, users enter:

• Location (Respite Provider or other location) - location where child is overnight. This can be left empty when the child is AWOL or unknown. 
• Arrived at Location Date - date stayed an overnight at this location
• Left Location Date - date child left location
• Status - categorizes the location setting. Most often clients use this for Respite. This field updates Child Location Timeline - Care Type, which is used for respite care payments 
• Respite Payment To - who receives payment for this transition (Foster Family or Respite Provider)

Add Child Location Timeline

SAM will automatically enter a new Child Location Timeline record once the Left Location Date is added to track that the Child has returned to the initial Placement location. 

Delete Child Location Timeline

Discharge / End Placement

Placement End Date must be entered once a placement has ended or discharged. 

This terminates Care Payments for that placement. (See Foster Care Accounting for more information.)

Placement Referrals

Placement Referrals allows you to maintain records of potential placements supporting the matching process between child and prospective foster homes.

Prior Placement History

Prior Placement History is a record of where the child's transitions prior to your agency. This may be information you receive from the Placing Authority about the Child.