18.3.2 Placement Process
The Selection/Screening Team will receive the referral and review the material. The Team will interview, as appropriate: youth, current caregiver, therapist, referring Children’s Service Worker, etc. They will decide if the youth is an appropriate candidate for the program by considering the individual needs of the youth, the presenting behaviors of the youth, and the impact such behaviors have in the placement setting. Youth eligible for elevated needs should have more than one presenting problem as described in Chapter 14.6. The Selection/Screening Team should also determine that the youth is in need of a higher level of care for the youth to be deemed eligible for the program. The Screening Team may recommend:
- The youth is not appropriate for the program;
- The youth is appropriate, but a compatible home is not available in the county of origin or nearby counties; or
- The youth is appropriate, and there is a compatible home.
The licensing worker will share all referral information with the prospective resource parents and assess with them their ability to meet the youth’s needs. The Children’s Service Worker will notify the referring worker/case manager regarding acceptance of the youth into the program.
The case manager/Children’s Service Worker will receive an oral and written decision from the Screening/Selection Team liaison, including the identification of a potential resource home. The written recommendation from the Selection/Screening Team should be documented on the referral form. If the youth does not qualify for the program, the team should indicate such on the referral form.
The Children’s Service Worker will then carry out any of the following actions, as appropriate to the youth being placed:
- Coordinate all planning with the service county, if the county of current placement is different from the case manager county:
- Receive notification when a resource becomes available; and
- Notify the licensing worker in writing if the placement is no longer needed.
The Children’s Service Worker shall receive notification of the date of the pre-placement visit(s).
The pre-placement visits are vital to a successful placement and should not be rushed.
Furthermore, the Children’s Service Worker will share a thorough description of the potential Level B resource family with the youth and assess his/her interest in them. Assess the Level B resource family’s commitment to the permanency goal and, as appropriate, willingness to work with birth parent(s), relatives, and potential adoptive resource. Transportation for the youth to/from the pre-placement visits needs to be assured.
Level B Resource Parents may be reimbursed via a payment request for transportation costs of pre-placement activities. The actual number of visits is governed by the needs of the youth and the Level B resource family.
- A minimum of one (1) in-home, overnight pre-placement visit is required. An assessment period where the youth is removed from the home must follow every pre-placement visit.
- A Level B resource parent may receive a prorated maintenance payment, via a payment request, on a per diem basis for lengthy pre-placement visits, even though the youth remains officially with another caregiver.
- The Children’s Service Worker must gain commitment from both the youth and resource family and then proceed with the placement. The worker will assure the youth’s arrival at the resource home when all parties agree the child is ready.
- Update the Alternative Care Client Information Screen in FACES.
- When the permanency goal is reunification with relatives and/or kin, introduce the family and the Level B resource provider as early in the process as possible to increase family involvement and promote a family/Level B resource provider relationship.
A Level B resource parent may not care for more than four (4) youth with a maximum of two (2) who are qualified for Level B care simultaneously. The other two placements in the home must be at the traditional level of care. In rare cases, special supervisory approval may be sought to accommodate siblings of the elevated needs youth. Foster homes shall not exceed the number of children in the home as outlined in the licensing rules. Homes needing to exceed the licensing rules may be granted an exception with Central Office approval using the CD-157. Additional foster children shall not be placed in these homes until such time the home is in compliance with licensing rules.
Chapter Memoranda History: (prior to 01-31-07)
Memoranda History: