Items that have been deleted can be seen by clicking the Deleted link. 8.3C TITLE IV-E, Foster Care Maintenance Payments Program, State Plan/Procedural Requirements 1. For what population of children must the section 422 protections be provided?
9. Do Indian Tribes have to operate the title IV-B programs to operate a title IV-E program?
(New 12/22/2008)
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(Updated 01/05/2009) 1. Question: For what population of children must the section 422 protections be provided? Answer: Section 422 of the Social Security Act requires that all of the protections set forth therein be provided to all children in foster care. "Foster care" is defined at 45 CFR 1355.20 as:
"24 hour substitute care for all children placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the State agency has placement and care responsibility. This includes but is not limited to foster family homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, child-care institutions, and pre-adoptive homes regardless of whether the foster care facility is licensed and whether payments are made by the State or local agency for the care of the child or whether there is Federal matching of any payments that are made."
Situations exist in which a child who, while s/he may have been removed from her/his home and placed in 24 hour substitute care, is not considered to be in "foster care" because of the nature of the facility in which s/he is placed. In accordance with the statute, we have not considered detention facilities, forestry camps, training schools, facilities that are primarily for the detention of children who are adjudicated delinquent, and facilities like medical or psychiatric hospitals as foster care placements. Therefore, children placed in facilities of the type described here are not, by definition, in foster care and the State is not required to provide the protections to them while they are placed in such facilities.
Answer: The State is not required to satisfy the requirements of the case plan and case review system set forth at section 475 of the Act on behalf of a child of a minor parent because s/he has not been removed from her/his biological parent and; therefore, pursuant to Federal law and regulations, is not in foster care. However, good social work practice suggests that the minor parent's case plan include the needs of the child and that the child's needs and interests be addressed during the six-month periodic reviews and permanency hearings held on behalf of the minor parent.
In cases where the State has placement and care responsibility for both the minor parent and child, and has placed them in different foster homes, the child is considered to be in foster care and the requirements of the case plan and case review system at section 475 of the Act apply.
Answer: No. Section 471(a)(26) of the Act requires that if a State receives a request to conduct a "study of a home environment" to assess the safety and suitability of placing a child in the home, the State must within 60 days conduct, complete, and provide a report of the study to the requesting State. This requirement for an interstate "home study" does not encompass the Federal provisions for criminal background checks and child abuse registry checks in section 471(a)(20) of the Act. Rather, these checks are required before the State can license or approve a prospective foster or adoptive family. Ideally, however, the receiving State would include the results of the criminal background check and child abuse registry check in the report to the sending State so that the State could more readily determine the suitability of the home for the child.
Answer: Section 471(a)(26) of the Act is a title IV-E State plan requirement; therefore, ACF has the authority to apply the partial review process described in 45 CFR 1355.32(d), if warranted, to determine the State's compliance.
Answer: The 60 and 75-day time limits that apply to the requirements of section 471(a)(26)(A)(i) of the Act are based on calendar days. Time limits referred to in the statute refer to calendar days unless otherwise specified.
Answer: Section 471(a)(26)(A)(i) of the Act establishes that the 60 and 75-day period begins when the State that is to conduct the home study receives the home study request. It is up to each State to determine the entity in the State to receive these requests.
Answer: A State may establish its own rules for what constitutes a completed out-of-State home study request pursuant to section 471(a)(26)(A)(i) of the Act. Therefore, the 60-day timeframe begins when a complete request, as defined by the State that is performing the home study, is received from the requesting State.
Answer: Yes. When a State receives an out-of-State home study request, the State is required to conduct and complete the study "directly or by contract." However, the requesting State may choose to contract directly with a private agency to conduct an out-of-State home study, rather than requesting the State to complete the study.
Answer: Yes, but only a title IV-B subpart 1 program. Section 471(a)(2) of the Social Security Act requires the same agency administering title IV-B, subpart 1 to operate the title IV-E program. To give this language effect, the title IV-E agency must operate a title IV-B, subpart 1 program. There is no similar requirement in title IV-E related to the title IV-B, subpart 2 program.
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