2011 California Code
Welfare and Institutions Code
DIVISION 2. CHILDREN [100 - 1500]
ARTICLE 10. Dependent Children Judgments and Orders
Section 362.04

(a) For purposes of this section:

(1) Caregiver means any licensed or certified foster parent, approved relative caregiver, or approved nonrelative extended family member.

(2) Reasonable and prudent parent or reasonable and prudent parent standard means the standard characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the child s health, safety, and best interest.

(3) Short-term means no more than 24 consecutive hours.

(b) Every caregiver may arrange for occasional short-term babysitting of their foster child and allow individuals to supervise the foster child for the purposes set forth in Section 362.05, or on occasions, including, but not limited to, when the foster parent has a medical or other health care appointment, grocery or other shopping, personal grooming appointments, special occasions for the foster parents, foster parent training classes, school-related meetings (such as parent-teacher conferences), business meetings, adult social gatherings, or an occasional evening out by the foster parent.

(c) Caregivers shall use a reasonable and prudent parent standard in determining and selecting appropriate babysitters for occasional short-term use.

(d) The caregiver shall endeavor to provide the babysitter with the following information before leaving the child for purposes of short-term care:

(1) Information about the child s emotional, behavioral, medical or physical conditions, if any, necessary to provide care for the child during the time the foster child is being supervised by the babysitter.

(2) Any medication that should be administered to the foster child during the time the foster child is being supervised by the babysitter.

(3) Emergency contact information that is valid during the time the foster child is being supervised by the babysitter.

(e) Babysitters selected by the caregiver to provide occasional short-term care to a foster child under the provisions of this section shall be exempt from any department regulation requiring health screening or cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification or training.

(f) Each state and local entity shall ensure that private agencies that provide foster care services to dependent children have policies consistent with this section. Policies that are not consistent with this section include those that are incompatible with, contradictory to, or more restrictive than this section.

(Added by Stats. 2005, Ch. 628, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2006.)