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North Dakota Title IV-E
Foster Care Eligibility Review
For the period
April 1, 2004 to September 30, 2004

Revised 7/12/2005

Introduction

The North Dakota Department of Human Services, Division of Child Welfare (DCW) staff, in partnership with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) staff, conducted a IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review, in Bismarck, North Dakota from May 16 through 19, 2005. The purpose of the Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review was to evaluate the accuracy by the state in claiming Federal Financial Participation (FFP) and assure that appropriate maintenance payments were made on behalf of eligible children placed in eligible homes and institutions.

Scope of the Review

The North Dakota Title IV-E Eligibility Review encompassed a sample of all Title IV-E foster care cases in the state during the period of April 1, 2004 through September 30, 2004. A computerized statistical sample of one-hundred cases (eighty review cases and an over-sample of twenty cases subject to any review case disqualification) was drawn from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data, which was transmitted by the state agency to ACF. ACF then provided a statistical sampling frame that consists of individual children who received at least one Title IV-E foster care maintenance payment during the six-month period noted previously. For each case, the child's file was reviewed for documentation which supported the determination of Title IV-E eligibility and that the foster care home and/or institution in which the child was placed was licensed during the period under review.

During the primary review, 80 cases were reviewed. Initially, six cases were determined to be in error for either part or all of the review period. Those cases were in error because the AFDC-related eligibility was determined on the physical removal home of a relative rather than the legal removal home of the parent. The state subsequently provided documentation of eligibility determination on the appropriate home, and these error cases were rescinded. The sixth case was in error because there was no new removal court order even though the child had been returned home for more than six months on an apparent trial home visit and was placed again in foster care (see the Case Record Summary section of this report). ACF has determined North Dakota to be in substantial conformity with Title IV-E foster care requirements, and therefore is not subject to another IV-E Review for three years.

The North Dakota IV-E Eligibility Review Team included six individuals: Paulette Westrum, state Review Coordinator; Joyce Johnson, Cleo Berven, Carol Reilly, Annette Rugroden, and Melody Bonn, county IV-E Specialists. The eight ACF staff participating in the eligibility review included: Jennifer Butler-Hembree and Augustin Quiles from the Children's Bureau; and Eric Busch (RO lead), Marilyn Kennerson, Kevin Gomez; Kim Patton, Janet Motz, and Brian Conly from the ACF Regional Office (RO).

Case Record Summary

The following details the error case, the reasons for the error, and period of disallowance:

Table of Error Cases

Sequence Number	Reviewers	Errors		Type of Error	Period of Disallowance& Region #
		Child	Provider
1.73	J. Butler-Hembree	X		Invalid court removal order	06/07/04 to 12/10/04

 

Attachments A and B of this report details each sample case, the reason(s) for ineligibility and the ineligible dollar amounts associated with that case.

Areas Identified Onsite as Strengths in the Title IV-E Eligibility Foster Care System

Listed below are specifics of the three error cases:

1. Reasonable Efforts to Finalize Permanency Plan - Sample Cases #28, #29 and #54 - These cases were determined to be ineligible based on question 16. In these three cases, the judicial determination regarding reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan was not made. Statutory Citation: Section 472(a)(1), 471(a)(15)(B)(ii) and (C); Regulatory Citation: 45 CFR §1356.21(b)(2)]

Areas In Need of Improvement:

During the review, the following areas were identified as areas in need of improvement:

1. Judicial Determinations of Reasonable Efforts to Finalize Permanency Plan. Three sample cases were determined to be ineligible to receive title IV-E payments during the specified period the payments were claimed because the cases did not meet the Federal requirements related to the judicial determination of reasonable efforts.
ents will be operational in the near future.

We recommend that the State agency continue its collaboration with the judicial community to emphasize and strengthen the link between judicial findings and Title IV-E eligibility.

Strengths:

The following areas were noted to be strengths for North Carolina's Title IV-E Eligibility Foster Care system:

• Case records were well organized and supporting documentation was contained in the case records or was promptly provided to the reviewer.
• Grounds for the issuance of court orders were detailed with child specific and individualized orders.
• Court report provides detailed information on why agency could not prevent out of home placement, with emphasis on detailed case history, child's situation, agency plan and recommendations.
• Court orders identified the counties with placement and care responsibility of the child under review.
• The staff is very knowledgeable about Federal eligibility requirements. The State team members actively participated in the review process and were instrumental in accomplishing a successful review.
• Licensing, safety, and criminal records check processes are consistently completed regardless of the child's foster care placement.
• Judicial determinations of "contrary to the welfare" and "reasonable efforts" generally were timely and child-specific.
• Eligibility determinations and re-determinations are completed timely and accurately. Re-certifications were completed in conformance with State policies.

Disallowances:

Three (3) cases were determined to be in error, thus not eligible for title IV-E Foster Care maintenance payments, and the State is ineligible to receive Federal Financial Participation (FFP) for them. A total of $2,070 in FFP must be disallowed based on these three (3) cases.

The State is also ineligible for Title IV-E Foster Care administrative costs relating to the error cases. We have calculated the amount of unallowable administrative costs to be $4,791. The enclosed Attachment A includes spreadsheets for each of these cases, which show the computations used to determine both the maintenance payment and the associated administrative disallowance for unallowable costs claimed during the period under review.

In addition to the above cases found with errors in either part or all of the review period, the review team identified one (1) case with ineligible payments occurring outside of the review period (#37). The reason for this error was related to item #16-Reasonable efforts to finalize permanency plans. These additional findings were not considered in the determination of North Carolina's substantial compliance with Federal requirements. The State is, nevertheless, ineligible to receive FFP for this case under the Title IV-E program.

The amount of ineligible maintenance assistance payments for the four (4) cases is $9,192 in FFP. The respective unallowable administrative costs for the four cases are $10,621 in FFP. The enclosed Attachment B includes spreadsheets for each of these cases, which show the computations used to determine both the maintenance payment and the associated administrative disallowance for unallowable costs made outside of the period under review.