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During the week of July 21, 2003 Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) staff from the Regional and Central Offices and representatives of Delaware's Department of Services to Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) conducted an eligibility review of Delaware's Title IV-E foster care program in Wilmington, DE.
Title IV-E foster care funds enable States to provide foster care for children who were or would have been eligible for assistance under a State's title IV-A plan, as in effect on July 16, 1996, but for their removal from the home. The Social Security Act includes requirements that define the circumstances under which a State must make foster care maintenance payments (section 472(a)), and mandate a child's placement in an approved or licensed facility (sections 472(b) and (c)).
The purpose of the title IV-E foster care eligibility review was (1) to determine if Delaware was in compliance with the child and provider eligibility requirements as outlined in CFR 1356.71 and Section 472 of the Act; and (2) to validate the basis of Delaware's financial claims to assure that appropriate payments were made on behalf of eligible children and to eligible homes and institutions.
The Delaware Title IV-E foster care review encompassed a sample of all the title IV-E foster care cases that received a foster care maintenance payment during the period of October 1, 2002 to March 31, 2003. A computerized statistical sample of 140 cases was drawn from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data which was transmitted by the State agency to the Administration for Children and Families. The child's case file was reviewed for the determination of title IV-E eligibility and the provider's file was reviewed to ensure that the foster home or child care institution in which the child was placed was licensed for the entire period of the review.
During this initial primary review, 80 cases were reviewed. Seven cases were determined to be in error for either part or all of the review period for reasons that are identified in the Case Record Summary section of this report. Since the number of error cases was less than nine (10 percent error rate), Delaware is considered to be in substantial compliance.
The following details the error cases and reasons for the error:
Case Number | Reason Case Was Not Eligible |
---|---|
12 | The judicial determination that addressed reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan was 30 days late. |
38 | The agency claimed title IV-E for 1 month for a child that did not meet AFDC need requirements. |
39 | The foster family provider was not licensed or approved for the six-month period under review during which time title IV-E was claimed by the State. |
57 | The judicial determination that addressed reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan was 49 days late. |
72 | The judicial determination that addressed reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan was 30 days late. |
78 | The judicial determination that addressed reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan was 130 days late. |
OSB-07 | The foster family provider was not licensed or approved for the six-month period under review during which time title IV-E was claimed by the State. |
Several strengths were identified over the course of the title IV-E review. These include the following examples of good practice:
The review also found that there is a strong effort by the DSCYF staff to move children through the foster care system to termination of parental rights and adoption in Delaware. The DSCYF is engaging the courts in permanency planning as evidenced by having 95 percent of the sample meet the permanency hearing requirements.
Although Delaware was found to be in substantial compliance with the regulations governing the title IV-E foster care maintenance program, the review did identify some areas that need improvement. These issues include the following:
The review included a sample of 80 cases. The sample was drawn from a universe of cases that received at least one title IV-E foster care maintenance payment during the six month AFCARS period of October 1, 2002 to March 31, 2003. Based upon the results of the review, the State of Delaware has been determined to be in substantial compliance. However, seven cases were not eligible for funding under title IV-E foster care. A disallowance is assessed for the total Federal Financial Participation (FFP) amount for the entire period of time that these cases were determined to be in error, including administrative costs. The administrative costs are not disallowed for error cases in the process of being licensed. Therefore the total disallowance for the seven error cases is $11,614 (FFP).
Sample Case Number | Maintenance Payments FFP | Administrative Costs | Maintenance Payments FFP | Administrative Costs | Total Unallowable Costs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
FY-02 | FY-02 | FY-03 | FY-03 | Grand Total | |
12 | 0 | 0 | 215 | 714 | 929 |
38 | 0 | 0 | 2,244 | 760 | 3,004 |
39 | 0 | 0 | 260 | 0 | 260 |
57 | 0 | 0 | 513 | 760 | 1,273 |
72 | 0 | 0 | 202 | 760 | 962 |
78 | 1873 | 1486 | 0 | 0 | 3,359 |
OSB7 | 459 | 0 | 1,368 | 0 | 1,827 |
Total | 2332 | 1486 | 4,802 | 2,994 | 11,614 |
* FFP = Federal Financial Participation back
** FMAP = Federal Medical Assistance Percentages back
Federal Team Vicki Wright Gary Koch Dick Gilbert Bob Ellis Alan Ademski Charlotte Ragozzino |
State Team Keith Zirkle Karyle Alessi Chris Kraft Dava Tait Cynthia Washington Susan Harding Charlita Shamburger Truman Bolden |