Foster Placement Advocate Certification

FOSTER PLACEMENT ADVOCATE CODE OF CONDUCT AND PROCEDURE

The Georgia Juvenile Code was amended in 2026 to provide that foster placements involved in the grievance procedure with DFCS have the right to be assisted by a Foster Placement Advocate.  The law requires that Advocates be certified by the Office of the Child Advocate.  Requirements for certification are set forth here.

The application should be completed using the linked application form /document/document/foster-parent-advocate-application-form/download  (PDF, 121.27 KB) .  Please send completed documentation or questions to [email protected].

Georgia law and the policies of the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) make clear the important role played by caregivers for children in foster care.  These caregivers (“foster placements”) are people who have committed to providing substitute care for children while families work toward reunification.  In some instances, foster placements provide a home for children who will experience other permanency options, such a permanent guardianship or adoption.  In all cases, foster placements give a safe and supportive environment as temporary or long-term homes for children who have been abused or neglected.

 

Foster placements must go through specialized training and certification, and they must learn to navigate the intricacies law, policy, and the Juvenile Court system.  They must tend to the day-to-day needs of the children entrusted to their care, and must rely to a great extent upon the assistance of DFCS or of a child-placing agency (CPA).  Sometimes disagreements or misunderstandings may arise between the foster placement and DFCS or a CPA, or both.  When this happens, foster placements are entitled under Georgia law to the assistance of a Foster Placement Advocate (FPA) who has been certified by the Georgia Office of the Child Advocate (OCA). 

 

This Code of Conduct and Procedure is intended to serve as a guide to the conduct of certified FPAs. It offers general principles to guide conduct in situations that have ethical implications, as well as specific instructions for conduct.  Each FPA must sign a copy of this Code of Conduct and Procedure, agreeing to abide by its terms and conditions.

 

  1. Qualifications

Each applicant to become a certified Foster Parent Advocate must have the following qualifications:

  1. Prior or current service as a foster placement in Georgia, or relevant comparable experience.
    1. Relevant comparable experience also includes, but is not limited to, employment with DFCS Resource Development or as a DFCS Foster Care Case Manager.  OCA will determine whether prior experience qualifies.
    2. Applicants must disclose any investigations or disciplinary action in the last five years in which the applicant served as a foster placement or in a position deemed by OCA to constitute relevant comparable experience.
  2. Complete a criminal background check through OCA.
  3. Complete a background check through DFCS for child protective services cases.
  4. Complete the application form provided by OCA and sign the acknowledgment.
  5. Complete the certification training provided by OCA.

 

  1. Maintaining Certification

In order to maintain certification as a FPA, each certified advocate must:

  1. Keep OCA informed of current cell phone number, email address, and mailing address.
    1. Any change in any of these means of contact must be reported to OCA promptly, but no later than 30 days after a change.
    2. Failure to keep OCA apprised of current contact information or failure to reply promptly to communications from OCA may result in decertification.
  2. Take any updated or subsequent trainings as required by OCA.
  3. Disclose to OCA within 14 days of any arrest, accusation, or indictment which charges the FPA with any crime.
  4. Submit to an updated criminal background and CPS check every two years or as requested by OCA.

 

  1. Public Record

OCA will maintain the official list of persons certified to act as Foster Placement Advocates.  This list is deemed to be a public record and will be publicly available on OCA’s website (www.oca.ga.gov).  FPAs must allow their names and email addresses to be published on this site.

 

  1. Foster Placement Advocacy and Ethics

Foster Placements for whom a FPA is advocating are described herein as “client” or “clients”. Each Foster Parent Advocate, in the course of his or her duties as a FPA, must comply with the following:

  1. The primary responsibility of the FPA is to promote the well-being of children placed in a foster placement, in accordance with applicable law.
  2. The FPA will not engage in any foster placement advocacy until all training required by OCA has been completed and certification has been issued by OCA.
  3. The FPA will not begin or continue work on a case in which the responsibilities of the FPA are or become in conflict with any other personal or professional obligations or requirements.  
    1. The FPA will notify OCA immediately of any actual or potential conflicts, and OCA will make a determination on the conflict, which will be definitive.
  4. As soon as the FPA agrees to provide advocacy for a client, the FPA shall provide to the client a copy of the Foster Placement Advocacy Agreement.  A copy signed by the FPA and by the client will be emailed no later than 14 days of execution, but in all cases prior to undertaking any advocacy, to OCA at [email protected].
  5. Upon the completion of a Step 1 or Step 2 grievance meeting, the FPA will send a short written summary to OCA at [email protected]. 
  6. The FPA will at all times provide current, accurate, and transparent information to the clients for whom he or she advocates.
  7. The FPA will maintain the confidentiality of all information and documentation received in the course of advocating for Foster Placements.  (See “Confidentiality and Access to Information”, below.)
  8. The FPA will not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate in any form of discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, marital status, political belief, mental or physical disability, military or veteran status, or socio-economic status.
  9. The FPA will provide services with the maximum professional skill, competence, knowledge, and advocacy.
  10. The FPA will keep current with emerging knowledge related to family support practice, family-driven care, community resources, empowerment strategies, and evidence-based/ best practice treatment and support approaches.
    1. The FPA will seek out opportunities to enhance his or her knowledge and skills through training, self-study, and professional development and through collaboration with other FPAs across the state.
  11. The FPA will act in accordance with the laws and statutes regarding all issues that affect his or her work.
  12. The FPA will assure that private conduct does not compromise the fulfillment of official responsibilities.
  13. The FPA will not participate in, condone, or be associated with dishonestly, fraud, or deception.
  14. The FPA will not exploit professional relationships for personal gain.
  15. The FPA will not use undue influence or in any way exploit the trust of the clients for whom they are advocating.
  16. The FPA will not offer or accept money or any thing of value related to work as a FPA. Consult with OCA for clarity and direction as needed.
  17. The FPA will not enter into personal financial transactions with clients, or with immediate family members of clients.
  18. Under no circumstances should the FPA engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with any client or member of a client’s family. This prohibition also pertains to former clients and their family members, except in extraordinary circumstances in which the advocate is able to demonstrate that the former client or family has not been exploited, coerced, or manipulated intentionally or unintentionally.
  19. The FPA will not provide services to any client with whom the advocate has had a prior sexual relationship.
  20. The FPA will at all times maintain a calm and professional demeanor.
  21. The FPA will at all times seek to ensure that the client is afforded the rights enumerated in Georgia’s Foster Parent Bill of Rights.

 

E. Confidentiality and Access to Information

The FPA will necessarily come in contact with and may come into possession of information and material that is protected by federal and state confidentiality laws.  Therefore, the FPA must:

  1. Respect the right to privacy and confidentiality of families and youth in accordance with the law.
  2. Safeguard all records to assure they are not accessed by unauthorized individuals. This includes the use ofelectronic methods of storing and sharing information such as email, computer hard drives or removable drives, cell phones, etc.
  3. Refrain from discussion of confidential information in any setting unless privacy can be assured.
  4. Make no social media posts of any kind which mention the participants in or facts of any case, even without specific identifying information.
  5. Not disclose the substance of communications with a client, unless a client threatens harm to self or to others, or unless circumstances exist in which the FPA reasonably believes that the client presents a threat to self or others.

The FPA should have access to any and all information or documentation available to foster placements by law.  The FPA must return or destroy any documentation (except notes or other work product) at the conclusion of the grievance process in each case.

 

F. Refusal to Certify and Decertification

As the agency entrusted by law with the certification of FPAs, OCA reserves the right to refuse to certify or to decertify in its sole discretion.  Grounds for refusal to certify or for decertification include:

  1. Failure to abide by this Code of Conduct in any particular.
  2. Criminal or CPS history.
  3. Current criminal prosecution or charges, or current CPS involvement.

Conviction of any crime of moral turpitude, or of any offense against a minor victim, or any violation (civil, criminal, or administrative) of any law or regulation protecting confidential information constitutes an absolute bar to certification as a Foster Parent Advocate.