Positive rewards are the most effective method of changing a child’s behavior.  Your agency social worker will help you develop a plan of positive rewards that works best for you and your foster children.

DISCIPLINE RULES:

1. Never use physical punishment. Again, NEVER use physical punishment or restraint.
2. Be consistent in your discipline philosophy and strategy.
3. Discipline shall be an adult responsibility and shall not be prescribed or administered by other children
4. Discipline will be regarded as a learning process by which adults help the child to have the experience he needs so that he can learn to live in reasonable conformity with accepted standards of social behavior and to do so by progressive acquiring and applying inner self controls.
5. Constructive methods shall be used for maintaining control and handling behavior; such as clarification, persuasion, distraction, substitution, interference, removal, and restitution
6. Discipline shall be administered in a fair, individualized, reasonable, and consistent basis and be related to the individual child’s misbehavior.  Group discipline for misbehavior of one or more members of the group shall be discouraged
7. Punishment shall be used only in situations when other means are ineffective and the child can benefit by the experience of facing the consequences of unacceptable behavior, and not as an end in it but as a part of the learning process. Again, punishment does not include any type of physical or corporal punishment
8. Corporal punishment (spanking), infliction of bodily pain, deprivation of essentials such as meals, monetary allowances, visits from parents, home visits, or any kind of degrading or humiliating punishment shall not be used
9. Children shall not be punished in front of other children
10. The use of washing mouths out with soap as a consequence for unacceptable behavior is prohibited
11. Spanking of any child in the home, including your own children or grandchildren is prohibited.
12. Threatening to use physical or corporal punishment is also not acceptable. For example, I'm going to slap you, even if said in jest, is not acceptable and could lead to losing one's license (certificate of approval).

If a child’s behavior becomes out of control, and you are unable to maintain the child’s behavior with the utilization of these guidelines, notify your agency social worker, who will attempt to remedy the situation. 

If the family social worker is unable to remedy the situation a Child Family Team Meeting (CFTM)  will be scheduled to gather the agency and the county workers to try to come to a solution. If the child becomes a danger to himself and others, the Agency will make arrangements to move the child.

Deliberate violations of these discipline rules and guidelines for managing children’s behavior shall result in disciplinary action and will lead to rescinding of Resource Family Approval.