110 Mass. Reg. 7.108

Current through Register 1522, May 24, 2024

Section 7.108 - Kinship or Child-specific Placements

Kinship or child-specific placements may occur when a specific child is to be placed into a specific home and that home is not available for other foster children.

(1)Emergency Placements. If the Department determines that an emergency kinship or child-specific placement is necessary for a child(ren), the Department will first conduct an initial eligibility screening of the individual(s) seeking to become the child(ren)'s foster parent(s), all household members and the home which shall include the following:

(a) background checks (CORI and Department history) on all household members 14 years and older, and on those younger about whom concerns exist;

(b) a home visit;

(c) a determination that the home meets the physical standards set forth at 110 CMR 7.105;

(d) an initial interview is completed on all household members present, as appropriate to age and verbal capacity, including an individual interview with at least one potential foster/pre-adoptive parent and that person has committed to completing the full assessment and approval process;

(e) completion of the Family Resource Application;

(f) if a Department employee, the placement has been approved in accordance with 110 CMR 7.106B(4)

If the proposed placement meets the requirements in 110 CMR 7.108, the Department may place the child(ren). If the proposed placement does not meet the requirements in 110 CMR 7.108, the placement shall be deemed ineligible for an emergency placement, and the Department shall not place the child(ren). A determination of ineligibility under 110 CMR 7.108(1) is final, and is not subject to appeal.

Nothing in 110 CMR 7.108 precludes the kinship/child specific home from being considered as a non-emergency placement as set forth in 110 CMR 7.108(2).

If an emergency kinship or child-specific placement is made, the individual who has been deemed eligible to apply to become the approved family for the child(ren) shall submit to the Department a completed foster/pre-adoptive application. The Department shall complete a comprehensive assessment of the foster/pre-adoptive application within 40 working days after placement.

If the comprehensive assessment reveals compliance with the standards set forth at 110 CMR 7.100, 7.104 and 7.105, the placement shall be approved, solely for the child(ren) for whom an emergency placement had been made. If the assessment reveals that the requisite standards are not met, the placement shall not be approved, and the child(ren) for whom an emergency placement had been made shall be removed forthwith. The kinship or child-specific placement resource shall be notified in writing, of the outcome of the comprehensive assessment, within ten working days after completion of the comprehensive assessment. There is no right of appeal from the removal of a child(ren) from an unapproved home, but the denial of a foster/pre-adoptive application may be appealed via the Department's fair hearing process, set forth at 110 CMR 10.00et seq.

(2)Non-emergency Placements. Where the Department is not considering the kinship or child-specific home for an emergency placement, the Department shall conduct an initial eligibility screening of the proposed caregivers in accordance with 110 CMR 7.100(3) and (4). If as a result of the initial eligibility screening the proposed caregivers are determined to be ineligible, that determination shall be final, and there shall be no right of appeal. (See110 CMR 7.100(6).) If the proposed caregivers are determined to be eligible, they shall submit a completed foster/pre-adoptive application to the Department, and the Department shall complete a foster/pre-adoptive assessment within 40 working days after receiving the completed application.

If the assessment reveals compliance with the standards set forth at 110 CMR 7.100, 7.104 and 7.105, the applicant shall be licensed as a kinship or child-specific placement for the child(ren) named in the foster/pre-adoptive application, and the child(ren) may be placed in the home. The kinship or child-specific placement parent(s) shall be notified in writing, of the outcome of the comprehensive assessment, within ten working days after completion of the comprehensive assessment. Applicants may appeal the denial of a foster/pre-adoptive application via the Department's fair hearing process, set forth at 110 CMR 10.00et seq.

(3)Miscellaneous Provisions.

(a) Kinship or child-specific parent(s) shall be paid at the Department's regular foster care rates for the care of the children placed pursuant to 110 CMR 7.108.

(b) A foster/pre-adoptive applicant licensed pursuant to 110 CMR 7.108 may not be used as a placement for any child(ren) not named in the foster/pre-adoptive application, unless the comprehensive assessment and training program, as set forth in 110 CMR 7.107(2), is completed, and the applicant is thereafter licensed as an unrestricted foster/pre-adoptive parent in accordance with 110 CMR 7.107.

(c) All new kinship or child-specific foster/pre-adoptive parent(s) will be notified of the approval and payment requirements of 110 CMR 7.100et seq. either before or at the time they submit a completed foster/pre-adoptive application to the Department.

(d) When the child(ren) for whom the kinship or other child specific family was licensed leaves the placement, the kinship or other child specific family shall cease to be licensed. In these circumstances, there shall be no right to appeal the fact that the family is no longer licensed. However, depending upon the reason for the child(ren)'s departure from the placement and as more fully set forth in 110 CMR 7.116, there may be a right to appeal the fact of the child(ren)'s departure from the placement.

Comment. An emergency kinship or child specific placement may be made on the basis of an initial eligibility screening, but the Department must license the placement as a kinship or child-specific family within 40 working days after the emergency placement. Because the Department is prohibited by law from keeping a child(ren) in an unapproved placement (See M.G.L. c. 150), the child(ren) must be removed upon a determination that the applicant/home will not be licensed and, in these circumstances, there is no right of appeal from the removal of the child(ren). Similarly, because a kinship or child specific family is licensed solely for a specific child(ren), the departure of that child(ren) from the placement automatically terminates the license of the family, and there is no right of appeal from the loss of license.

110 CMR 7.108