430.12 Diligence of effort.
(a) A social services district shall be considered to be exercising
diligent efforts to achieve the permanent discharge of a child in foster care only if it
complies with the requirements for casework activity and documentation contained in this
section.
(b) The requirements of this section pertain to all children placed in
foster care for whom a uniform case record, as described in Part 428 of this Title, is
required and additionally the requirements of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of this
section pertain to all children placed by a court in the direct custody of a relative or
other siutable person pursuant to Article 10 of the Family Court Act. Compliance with
these requirements must be documented in the form and manner required by OCFS pursuant to
Part 428 according to the standards for documentation defined under the general
requirements, the standards for discharge to parents, the standards for discharge to
adoption, the standards for another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource,
and the standards for discharge to adult residential care, as set forth in subdivisions
(c)-(g), respectively, of this section. To the extent permitted by the Mental Hygiene Law
and the regulations of the Office of Mental Health and the Office of Mental Retardation
and Developmental Disabilities, social services officials must obtain copies of the case
records and service plans and any updates to such records and plans for children whose
care and custody have been transferred to such officials and who are receiving care in
facilities operated supervised by such offices. Such records, plans and updates must be
made a part of the uniform case record. It must be the responsibility of the district to
show that the requirements of this section have been met, and a failure to provide
evidence that the requirements have been met is deemed equivalent to a failure to make
diligent efforts to achieve the permanent discharge of the child.
(c) General requirements.
(1) Consistency.
(i) Standard. The
uniform case record must demonstrate consistency among the service needs identified as
contributing to the child's need for placement, the goals or outcomes and services planned
for to meet these needs and the services which are provided to the child, members of his
or her family or other significant resource persons. For children who have been placed in
facilities operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or the Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, the services provided by that facility will be
deemed to fulfill the requirements of this subparagraph with respect to the child's
service needs.
(ii) Documentation.
(a) If the child's placement is deemed necessary, due at least in part to a reason
described in paragraphs (c)(1)-(4) of section 430.10 of this Part as health and safety of
child, parental refusal or surrender, parent service need, or parent unavailability, and
the child's permanency planning goal is return to parents or relatives, the most recent
assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required by the uniform
case record must contain client goals or outcomes and services tasks to meet these needs;
(b) if the child's placement is deemed necessary due at least in part to reasons described
in paragraphs (c)(5)-(6) of section 430.10 of this Part as child service needs or
pregnancy, specific client goals to meet these needs must be contained in the assessment
and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required by the uniform case record;
(c) the assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required by the
uniform case record must show that services have been provided according to the service
plan for family and child, or that reasonable attempts have been made to provide those
services;
(d) information concerning the services which are provided to children in facilities
operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities and which is forwarded by such facilities to the social
services district responsible for maintaining the uniform case record must be included in
the uniform case record and will be deemed to fulfill the documentation requirements of
this subparagraph with respect to the child's service needs;
(e) if a minor parent is in foster care and has residing with him or her his or her child
or children, and such child or children are not in the care and custody or custody and
guardianship of the local commissioner of social services, the assessment and service plan
required by the uniform case record must show that the needs of the child or children of
the minor parent have been assessed and that goals or outcomes necessary to meet these
needs must be contained in the assessment and service plan required by the uniform case
record. and
(f) if the permancy plan for the child is adoption or placement in a permanent home other
than that of the child'e parent, the uniform case record must document the steps taken to
find an adoptive family or other permanent living arrangement for the child; to placethe
child with an adoptive family, a fit and willing relative, a legal guardian, or in another
planned permanent living arrangement; and to finalize the adoption or legal guardianship.
At a minimum, such documentation must include child specific recruitment efforts such as
the use of State, regional, and national adoption exchanges including electronic exchange
systems. Such documentation must reflect reasonable efforts to place the child in a timely
manner and to finalize the placement of the child.
(2) Service plan reviews.
(i) Standard. A panel
of at least two people must participate in the review of each comprehensive family
assessment and service plan or comprehensive risk assessment and service plan as required
under section 428.7 or section 428.12 of this Title and all subsequent service plans as
required in the reassessment and service plan reviews as required under section 428.9 of
this Title or the risk reassessment and service plan as required under section 428.13 of
this Title The panel must include the case planner and an administrator or other person
not responsible for the case management or delivery of services to that case. The review
panel must convene a case conference, with the review panel members and the parent(s) and
child present, as required in clauses (a) and (b) of this subparagraph, to review and
develop a service plan for the case. The plan which is developed by the panel must be
approved by the case manager. The case conference must be held no earlier than the first
day of the month preceding the month in which the plan is due to be approved by the case
manager as defined in section 428.2 of this Title, or if case planning responsibility has
been delegated to a purchase of service provider, the case conference must be held no
earlier than the first day of the month preceding the month in which the plan is due to be
submitted to the case manager as specified in the purchase of service agreement.
(a) Efforts must be made to involve the following persons as participants in the
development and review of the service plan and in the service plan review:
(1) the child, if he or she is 10 years of age or older, unless there is a documented
reason related to the current necessity of placement why the child should not be involved;
(2) the parent(s), unless their rights to the child have been terminated, guardian(s), or,
in the case of a child whose permanency planning goal is discharge to a relative, the
relative to whom the child will be discharged; and
(3) in the case of an Indian child, the child's tribe if known, and where possible, a
qualified expert witness as defined in section 431.18(a)(5) of this Title; and
(4) the child's current foster parent, caretaker, relative, or pre-adoptive parent
presently providing care for the child. Such foster parent, caretaker relative or
pre-adodptive parent must be provided with notice of and an opportunity to be heard in any
service plan review.
(5) the case manager, case planner's supervisor, and child protective services monitor, if
applicable;
(6) key providers of service to the child and family;
(7) the child's law guardian;
(8) any other person the child's parent(s) identifies.
(b) (1) The efforts to involve the participants listed in clause (a) of this subparagraph
must include, but are not limited to:
(i) written notice to each participant at least two weeks prior to the service plan review
inviting them to attend, giving the date, time and location of the service plan review and
in the case of the parent(s), informing them that they may be accompanied by a person(s)
of their choice; and
(ii) where possible, face-to-face contact by the case planner with the invited
participants who were unable to attend the service plan review no later than 30 days after
the date the service plan review was held.
(2) During the face-to-face contact required by item (ii) of subclause (1) of this clause,
those invited participants who were unable to attend the service plan review must be given
a summary of the service plan for the child and family which at a minimum must include the
following:
(i) new or continued goals or outcomes and anticipated completion dates when goals are to
be achieved;
(ii) tasks which describe the activities to be completed within the upcoming review
period, and the family members and/or the service provider who are to perform each
activity;
(iii) an updated visiting plan for children in foster care;
(iv) documentation stating the involvement of the parent, child and any others in the
development of the service plan as required by sections 428.3(d) and 428.9 of this Title,
and a listing of the participants in the service plan review; and
(v) a review of the previous service plan, which describes the progress in meeting or
completing previously stated goals or outcomes and tasks or activities, the participation
of family members in the process, and the service provision problems, if any, during the
period under review.
Upon presentation of the service plan documents described in subclause (2) of this clause
to the invited service plan review participants, the contents will be discussed, or, in
the event that such face-to-face contact is not possible, a letter stating that a service
plan review was held will be sent to the invited participant(s). The letter must inform
the invited participant(s) that a copy of the documents described in subclause (2) of this
clause will be made available to them upon request.
(3) For a child in foster care or a child placed by a court in the direct custody of a
relative or other suitable person pursuant to Article 10 of the Family Court Act, the
parent of the child must be given a copy of the family and child(ren)'s service plan,
consistent with article 27-F of the Public Health Law.
(c) A written statement of the conclusions and recommendations from the review or a copy
of the service plan shall be made available to all participants, subject to the
confidentiality requirements of Part 357 of this Title.
(ii) Documentation. The
family assessment and service plan or child assessment and service plan if the child is
completely legally freed for adoption required by the uniform case record must indicate
the names and, where appropriate, the title(s) of the panel members, the names of the
invited participants who attended the case conference and the date of the conference.
Attendance by the invited participants or their representative will indicate that the
two-week notice requirement of clause (i)(b) of this paragraph has been met. When the
invited participants do not attend the case conference the efforts made to involve them in
the case conference and the efforts made pursuant to clause (i)(b) of this paragraph must
be documented.
(3) Casework contacts.
(i) Standard. Casework
contacts with the child, the child's caretakers, the child's parents or relatives, if any,
must adhere to the standards mandated in section 431.16 of this Title. Notwithstanding any
other provision of this paragraph, the standards concerning casework contacts with the
child are deemed to be met by the district for any child who has been placed in a facility
operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health, Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities or the Department of Health.
(ii) Documentation. The
progress notes shall show the extent to which these contacts are occurring pursuant to
department regulations, the location of the contacts and the content of the contacts.
Information concerning the services which are provided to children in facilities operated
or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities and which is forwarded by such facilities to the social
services district responsible for maintaining the uniform case record shall be included in
the uniform case record and shall be deemed to fulfill the documentation requirements of
this subparagraph.
(4) Discharge planning.
(i) Standard. For any
child 18 or under who is discharged from foster care, the district shall consider the need
to provide preventive services to the child and his family subsequent to his discharge.
(ii) Documentation. The
uniform case record form to be completed upon discharge of the child shall show either the
recommended type of preventive services and the district's attempts to provide or arrange
for these services, or the reasons why these services are deemed unnecessary.
(d) Discharge to parents. The following requirements shall pertain to
all children in foster care placement whose permanency planning goal is discharge to
parents or relatives:
(1) Visiting.
(i) Standard. Districts
must plan for and make efforts to facilitate at least biweekly visiting between the child
and the parents or caretakers to whom he is to be discharged, unless such visiting is
specifically prohibited by court order, or by the transfer of custody agreement, or the
child is placed in a facility operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or
Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities or because the placement that
was chosen pursuant to the standards expressed in section 430.11 of this Part makes
biweekly visitation an impossibility. In the latter case, the district, at a minimum,
must, except as herein after provided, plan for and facilitate monthly visits between the
parent and the child. In the case of children 13 years or older placed by the court as
PINS or juvenile delinquents in an institution less than 100 miles from their homes, and
the placement that was chosen, pursuant to the standards expressed in section 430.11 of
this Part, makes biweekly visitation impossible, the district, at a minimum, must plan for
and facilitate quarterly visits between the parent and the child; however, at the time a
service plan for discharging the child is developed, appropriate visits, of a greater
frequency than quarterly, between the child and the family must be arranged. Any act to
limit or terminate visiting for children voluntarily placed in foster care must comply
with the requirements set forth in section 431.14 of the Title. The efforts of the
districts to facilitate at least biweekly visiting must include:
(a) provision of financial assistance, transportation or other assistance which is
necessary to enable biweekly visiting to occur;
(b) follow-up with the parent or relative when scheduled visits do not occur in order to
ascertain the reasons for missed visits and to make reasonable efforts to prevent similar
problems in future visits. Any act to limit or terminate visiting for children voluntarily
placed in foster care must comply with the requirements set forth in section 431.14 of
this Title; and
(c) arranging for visits to occur in a location that assures the privacy, safety and
comfort of the family members. In no case, except where a family court has ordered
supervised visiting, will congregate visits involving members of more than one family
satisfy the provisions of this subparagraph.
(ii) Documentation must
include:
(a) a visiting plan as required by the uniform case record which includes the planned
frequency and location of the visits, the name of the child and the names of the persons
who are scheduled to visit the child and any arrangements or assistance necessary to
facilitate biweekly or monthly visiting, and if supervised visits are planned, the reasons
for such supervision;
(b) indications in the progress notes or in the visiting plan required by the uniform case
record of the extent to which visiting has occurred in accordance with the visiting plan
and the follow-up efforts which were undertaken when scheduled visiting has not occurred;
(c) indications in the visiting plan required by the uniform case record of the grounds
for any attempt to limit or terminate visiting rights, including any documents submitted
to the court; and
(d) where appropriate, a statement that the child has been placed in a facility which is
operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or the Office of Mental Retardation
and Developmental Disabilities.
(2) Lack of progress.
(i) Abandonment.
(a) Standard. If a parent evinces an intent to forgo his or her parental rights and
obligations, as manifested by his or her failure to visit the child and communicate with
the child or agency, although able to do so and not prevented or discouraged from doing so
by the agency, so that the child is considered an abandoned child pursuant to section
384-b of the Social Services Law, and no mitigating circumstances exist, then an action to
terminate parental rights must be initiated within 60 days of the completion of the
assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required by the uniform
case record which documents these circumstances.
(b) Documentation. The assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan
required by the uniform case record must document the evidence of the parent's intent to
forgo his or her parental rights and obligations. The progress notes must indicate the
date that the petition to terminate parental rights is filed.
(ii) Permanent neglect.
(a) Standard. If a parent has failed for a period of one year to substantially and
continuously or repeatedly maintain contact with or plan for the future of the child,
although physically and financially able to do so, notwithstanding the agency's diligent
efforts to encourage and strengthen the parental relationship when such efforts will not
be detrimental to the child so that the child is considered a permanently neglected child
pursuant to section 384-b of the Social Services Law, and no mitigating circumstances
exist, then an action to terminate parental rights shall be initiated within 60 days of
the completion of the assessment and service plan required by the uniform case record
which documents these circumstances, as specified in section 431.9 of this Title and
section 384-b of the Social Services Law.
(b) Documentation. The assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan
required by the uniform case record must document the lack of contact or the parents'
inability to plan for the child and the district's attempts to encourage and strengthen
the parental relationship. The progress notes must indicate the date that the petition to
terminate rights has been filed.
(iii) Discharge time.
(a) Standard. Every child with a permanency planning goal of return to parents or
relatives who has been in care for 15 of the most recent 22 months must be discharged from
care or the social services district must comply with the standards for the filing of a
petition to terminate parental rights as set forth in section 431.9 of this Title.
(b) Documentation. When the child has been in care for 15 of the most recent 22 months the
most recent assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required by
the uniform case record must show that the child has been discharged from foster care or
that a petition to terminate parental rights has been filed in accordance with the
provisions set forth in section 431.9 of this Title, unless the plan shows that the child
is in care in the home of a relative; or a compelling reason why it would not be in the
best interest to initiate termination proceedings; or that services have not been provided
to the family of the child which are necessary for the safe return of the child to his or
her family.
(e) Discharge to adoption. The following requirements pertain to all
children in a foster care placement whose permanency planning goal is discharge to
adoption.
(1) Children not legally free.
(i) Standard. For
children who are not legally free for adoption, an action to legally free the child must
be initiated within 30 days of the establishment of the permanency planning goal of
adoption. The child must be freed within 12 months after the establishment of the
permanency planning goal of adoption.
(ii) Documentation. The
progress notes must indicate when the action has been initiated and must include copies of
the petition and any documents submitted in support of the petition or descriptions of the
content of the documents. In addition, the date that the child was freed must be noted in
the progress notes. If the case does not meet the standard for freeing the child within 12
months, the district will be considered to be out-of-compliance with the standard unless,
at the time of the first recertification after the 12- month period, the assessment and
service plan or risk assessment and service plan required by the uniform case record shows
that a petition to terminate parental rights was filed within 120 days of the date the
permanency planning goal of adoption was chosen and the delay was caused solely by the
court and not by the district or agency caring for the child, or that the court refuses to
terminate parental rights.
(2) Children legally free.
(i) Standard. Children
who are legally free for adoption but not in an adoptive home must be placed in an
adoptive home within six months after the child was freed for adoption. For children in
facilities operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or the Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, the district will be deemed in compliance with
this standard during the time the child remains in the facility. If the child is
discharged from the facility to a foster care placement, the time in the facility when the
child was legally free will be considered to be part of the total time the child is
legally free but not in an adoptive home and the documentation requirements specified
below will apply.
(ii) Indian children.
An Indian child who is legally free for adoption must, in the absence of good cause to the
contrary, be placed in accordance with the preferences set forth in subdivision (g) of
section 431.18 of this Title.
(iii) (a)
Documentation. The progress notes must indicate when the child was placed in the adoptive
home, or if the child was not placed in such home within the time frame stated in the
standard. In instances where a handicapped or hard-to-place child was not placed in an
adoptive home within six months, the progress notes must indicate that inquiry was made of
the adoptive placement registry within three months of the date the child became legally
freed and the results of such inquiry. The first assessment and service plan or risk
assessment and service plan required by the uniform case record after the six-month period
must indicate that an attempt will be made to obtain a subsidized adoptive placement for
the child, or record the reason the district believes that subsidy will not be required to
complete the adoptive placement before the end of the 12th month. Failure to place the
child in an adoptive home within 12 months from the date he was freed constitutes
non-compliance with this standard, unless the child's permanency planning goal, as
recorded on the assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required
by the uniform case record is other than discharge to adoption, or unless the State
Commissioner of Social Services, or his or her representative, has approved a continuation
of the efforts to place the child in an adoptive home. Such approval will not be given for
more than 12 months without a subsequent review of the case by the State Commissioner of
Social Services or his or her representative. If an agreement to adopt the child has been
signed by the prospective adoptive parents, and the prospective parents then refuse to
maintain the child in the home or otherwise to complete the adoptive process, as
documented in the most recent assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service
plan required by the uniform case record, the date of that refusal is deemed to be the
date on which the child was freed. During the time the child is in a facility operated or
supervised by the Office of Mental Health or Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities, the documentation requirements of this subparagraph will be
deemed to have been met for such child.
(b) Each social services official who places an Indian child in an adoptive home must
maintain a record of such placement which evidences the efforts made to comply with the
order of preference set forth in subdivision (g) of section 431.18 of this Title.
Information concerning efforts by social services districts to comply with the order of
preference contained in the case record must be made available to the child's Indian tribe
and the Secretary of Interior upon request.
(iv) For purposes of
this paragraph, the term Indian child will have the meaning which is given to this term by
section 431.18 of this Title.
(3) Children in adoptive placement.
(i) Standard. For
children who are legally free, in an adoptive home, but whose adoptions are not yet final,
such adoptions must be finalized within 12 months after the child is placed in an adoptive
home.
(ii) Documentation. The
progress notes must indicate the date of finalization or, if the child's adoption was not
finalized in the required time frame, the district will be considered to be
out-of-compliance with the standard, unless, at the time of the first recertification
after the six-month period, the assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service
plan required by the uniform case record shows that the delay was caused solely by the
court, and not by the district or agency caring for the child, or that the adoptive
parents have delayed finalization.
(f) Another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource.
Another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource is a permanency planning
goal to assist foster care youth in their transition to self-sufficiency by connecting the
youth to an adult permanency resource, equipping the youth with life skills and, upon
discharge, connecting the youth with any needed community and/or specialized services. An
adult permanency resource is a caring committed adult who has been determined by a social
services district to be an appropriate and acceptable resource for a youth and is
committed to providing emotional support, advice and guidance to the youth and to assist
the youth as the youth makes the transition from foster care to responsible adulthood. The
following requirements pertain to all children in a foster care placement whose permanency
goal is discharge to another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource and,
where indicated, to children deemed to be discharged to another planned living arrangement
with a permanency resource or deemed to have a goal of discharge to another planned living
arrangement with a permanency resource. For the purposes of this subdivision only, a child
deemed to be discharged to another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource
means a child 16 years of age or older who has resided in foster care for at least 12
months within the past 36 months and who has been discharged to parents or relatives. For
the purposes of this subdivision only, a child deemed to have a goal of another planned
living arrangement with a permanency resource means a child 16 years of age or older who
resided in foster care for at least 12 months within the past 36 months and who has a goal
of discharge to parents or relatives or a goal of adoption.
(1) Setting of goal.
(i) Standard. The child
is 14 years of age or older, or is placed in a foster home with an approved relative as
defined by section 443.1(f) of this Title for this goal to be established and it is
determined to be in the child's best interests that he or she remain in foster care and
not return to his or her parents or be adopted until the child reaches the age of 18. No
other child may have a goal of discharge to another planned living arrangement with a
permanency resource unless the court has refused, after a hearing, to free the child for
adoption, or unless that goal is approved by the Office of Children and Family Services.
(ii) Documentation. The
first assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service paln required by the
uniform case record at the time of the selection of the permanency planning goal must
indicate the reasons for choosing this goal rather than "discharge to parents or
relatives" or "discharge to adoption," and must summarize efforts to
accomplish either or both of these permanency goals before this goal was selected and
document a compelling reason why it would not be in the best interests of the child to be
returned home, placed for adoption, placed with a legal guardian or placed with a fit and
willing relative.
(2) Preparation for discharge.
(i) Standard.
(a) The district must ensure the provision to all children with a goal of discharge to
another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource, or deemed to have a goal of
discharge to another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource, of structured
programs of vocational training and independent living skills, including at least two days
per year of formalized group instruction in independent living skills. Vocational training
includes, but is not limited to, training programs in a marketable skill or trade or
formal on-the-job training. Children enrolled in secondary education, taking academic
courses and receiving at least passing grades which if maintained would lead to graduation
prior to the child's 20th birthday, and children enrolled in full-time study at an
accredited college or university are deemed to meet the requirement for vocational
training. Vocational training must begin at the time the goal of discharge to another
planned living arrangement with a permanency resource is selected or deemed to be selected
or by the child's 16th birthday, whichever is later, and must continue without
interruption until the child is discharged to another planned living arrangement with a
permanency resource, unless the child is employed in a paying job for which such child's
vocational training has prepared him or her, or is employed in a paying job at an hourly
rate which would provide income, if the child was employed on a full- time basis, equal to
or greater than 150 percent of the poverty level for a family of one as established by the
Federal Department of Health and Human Services, or has passed a test approved or
administered by the agency, school, or firm providing the training, or has otherwise
successfully completed a course of vocational training as evidenced by a certificate or
some other document demonstrating completion. Independent living skills include formalized
instruction, including supervised performance in job search, career counseling, apartment
finding, budgeting, shopping, cooking, and house cleaning. Instruction in these skills
must begin at the time the goal is selected or by the child's 14th birthday, whichever is
later, and must continue without interruption until the child is discharged, unless the
child has demonstrated competency in all of the above skills, either through a test
approved by the department or through an assessment based on observation of the child's
performance; in either case, the child's on-going application of those skills must be
deemed to meet the standard. The vocational training requirements of this subparagraph
cannot apply where the child demonstrates an inability to participate in and benefit from
vocational training because of the child's inability to read or compute at an appropriate
grade level. Where a child is found to be unable to benefit from such training, remedial
education must be provided to prepare the child to participate in and benefit from
vocational training. In the case of children who have been placed in facilities operated
or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities, the services provided by that facility are deemed to fulfill
the requirements of the standard contained in this subparagraph.
(b) Subject to the availability of State and Federal funds therefor, the district must
ensure that a monthly independent living stipend is regularly provided to each child 16
years of age or older who has, or is deemed to have, a goal of discharge to another
planned living arrangement with a permanency resource and who, according to his or her
case plan, is actively participating in independent living services. The independent
living stipend is to be provided in addition to the regular allowance the child is
entitled to receive pursuant to section 441.12(a) of this Title. The purposes for
providing an independent living stipend are: to give the child incentive to participate in
independent living services, to teach the child to manage money, and to provide the child
with a means to accumulate savings to assist him or her in the transition to independent
living. The amount of the monthly stipend must be in accordance with the following
schedule:
Age Monthly stipend
16
$20.00
17
25.00
18
30.00
19
35.00
20
40.00
Depending upon the child's financial needs and abilities, the district must pay the entire
monthly stipend in one lump sum payment or in two or more smaller payments spread over the
month. Stipend payments to the child must be suspended for any period of time that the
child, according to his or her case plan, is not actively participating in independent
living services. A child placed in a facility operated or supervised by the Office of
Mental Health or the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities is not
eligible to receive an independent living stipend.
(ii) Documentation.
(a) Each assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required under
Part 428 of this Title must show the type, location, duration, and intensity of the
vocational training and instruction in independent living skills being provided to the
child, as well as the level of achievement the child has attained. If the required
vocational training and/or instruction in independent living skills has not been provided,
the case record must document that the reason for the failure to complete the training was
because of the child's unwillingness to cooperate, or the child's employment in a job as
referenced in clause (a) of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, or the child's passing of
a test displaying competence in relevant job skills and independent living skills, or the
child's inability to participate in and benefit from vocational training because of
educational deficiencies. If the reason for the failure to complete the training or
instruction is the child's unwillingness to cooperate, the case record must document the
efforts made by the district to encourage participation by the child in the training or
instruction. Any assessment that the child cannot participate in and benefit from
vocational training because of the lack of reading or computation skills must be contained
in the uniform case record. The record must contain the date of the assessment of
educational deficiencies, a plan of remediation including the remedial services provided
to the child and the date of anticipated completion of the plan which under no
circumstances may be the same as or subsequent to the date of planned discharge. This plan
must be designed to enable the child to participate in and benefit from vocational
training. Information concerning the services which are provided to children in facilities
operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities and which is forwarded by such facilities to the social
services district responsible for maintaining the uniform case record must be included in
the uniform case record and will be deemed to fulfill the documentation requirements of
this subparagraph.
(b) Each service plan, reassessment and service plan review also must show the amount and
frequency of the independent living stipend payments made to the child and the child's
active participation in independent living services as outlined in the case plan. If the
child did not receive an independent living stipend for any period of time, the case
record must document the reason the child did not receive a stipend or the reason that the
stipend was suspended. Such documentation must include a description of how and why the
child was not actively participating in independent living services as outlined in the
case plan or that the child was placed in a facility operated or surpervised by the Office
of Mental Health or the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
(3) Discharge.
(i) Standards.
(a) For each child discharged to another planned living arrangement with a permanency
resource, the district must identify any persons, services or agencies which would help
the child maintain and support himself or herself and must assist the child to establish
contact with such agencies, service providers or persons by making referrals and by
counseling the child about these referrals prior to discharge. This must include efforts
to assist the child to reestablish contacts with parents, former foster parents or other
persons significant to the child.
(b) No child can be discharged to another planned living arrangement with a permanency
resource, unless such child has received written notice of such discharge at least 90 days
prior to the date of discharge and has had the goal of another planned living arrangement
with a permanency resource continuously for a six- month period immediately prior to
discharge. This notice requirement does not apply where the child has voluntarily departed
from the foster care placement without the consent of the district and has been absent
from said placement for 60 days.
(c) No child may be discharged to independent living, unless the child has a residence
other than a shelter for adults, shelter for families, single-room occupancy hotel or any
other congregate living arrangement which houses more than 10 unrelated persons and there
is a reasonable expectation that the residence will remain available to the child for at
least the first 12 months after discharge. This requirement does not apply to a child who
is a member of the military or job corps or who is a full-time student in a post-secondary
educational institution or where the child has voluntarily departed from the foster care
placement without the consent of the district and has been absent from said placement for
60 days.
(ii) Documentation.
(a) Documentation includes goals or outcomes and services in the service plan and a
summary by the district of the efforts made and their results in the assessment and
service plan required by the uniform case record.
(b) A copy of the written notice of discharge must be maintained in the case record until
the child attains the age of 21, showing the date the child received the notice. In
addition, the child's service plans prepared pursuant to Part 428 of this Title must show
that the child has had the goal of independent living continuously for a six-month period
immediately prior to discharge. If the notice is not received by the child because the
child is voluntarily absent from the foster care placement without the consent of the
district, the case record must document when the child left the foster care placement, the
voluntary nature of the absence of the child, the absence of consent by the district and
the efforts made by the district to make contact with the child to encourage the return of
the child to the placement.
(c) The plan amendment or service plan required by the uniform case record must include a
description of the living arrangements secured for the child, together with an assessment
of the permanency of those arrangements. If the child is discharged without the district
securing living arrangements for the child, the case record must document that the reason
for the failure to secure such arrangement has been that the child is a member of the
military or job corps or a full-time student in a post- secondary educational institution
or has voluntarily departed from the foster care placement without the district's consent
and has been absent from the placement for 60 days.
(4) Post-discharge.
(i) Standards.
(a) Every child discharged to another planned living arrangement with a permanency
resource and every child deemed to have been discharged to another planned living
arrangement with a permanency resource must remain in a status of trial discharge for at
least six months after discharge and must remain in the custody of the local commissioner
during the entire period of trial discharge. Trial discharge may continue at the
discretion of the district up to the age of 21 if the reassessment and service plan review
indicates either the need for continued custody or a likelihood that the child may need to
return to foster care. During the period of trial discharge, the district must provide
after- care services to the child, including casework contacts with the child, with the
number of face-to-face contacts and in-home contacts equal to those required for that
child pursuant to subdivision 431.16(c) of this Title during the six months immediately
preceding the child's discharge. In addition, after- care services include the provision
of services consistent with the service needs of the child identified in the uniform case
record which would enable the child to live independently after he or she is discharged
from care. In the event that the child becomes homeless during the period of trial
discharge, the district must assist the child to obtain housing equivalent to that
authorized by clause (c) of this subparagraph. Under no circumstances may a district refer
or place a child during the 30-day period following the child's becoming homeless in a
shelter for adults, shelter for families, single-room occupancy hotel, or any other
congregate living arrangement which houses more than 10 unrelated persons. If appropriate
housing is not available within 30 days of the date the child becomes homeless, the
district must place the child in a suitable foster boarding home, agency boarding home,
group home or institution consistent with section 430.11 of this Part. The provisions of
this clause relating to trial discharge does not apply where a court order terminates the
district's custody of the child or where the child reaches the age of 21.
(b) After the district's custody of the child has been terminated whether by court order
or by the district's own action, the district must maintain supervision of the child until
the child is 21 years of age, where the child has been discharged to another planned
living arrangement with a permanency resource or is deemed to have been discharged to
another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource and has permanently left the
home of his or her parents or relatives prior to the termination of the district's
custody. Supervision includes at least monthly contact with the child, unless the child
has maintained adequate housing and income continuously for the past six months, in which
case at least quarterly contacts shall occur, either face-to- face or by telephone. Where
monthly contacts are required, face-to-face contacts on a quarterly basis must occur with
the remaining contacts being either face-to- face or by telephone. This requirement of
quarterly face- to-face contacts does not apply to children living 50 miles outside of the
district. In all cases, the district must provide referral to needed services, including
income and housing services, with sufficient follow-up efforts to ensure that the child
has begun to receive the services for which he or she was referred. The contact
requirements of this clause must be satisfied when the child has refused contact or cannot
be located during a 60-day period in which two face-to-face or telephone contacts and one
in-home contact have not been successful. The contact requirements mandated by this clause
must resume when the child is located and desires to cooperate with the district.
(c) Nothing in this subdivision mandates the participation of a child in the status of
trial discharge or supervision. Such participation is contingent upon the consent of the
child.
(ii) Documentation.
(a) The requirements of the uniform case record, as established in Part 428 of this Title,
will apply until the district's custody of the child has been terminated, either by court
order or by the district's own action. Each reassessment and service plan review or risk
reassessment and service plan after the child's discharge must show whether the child
remains in the custody of the local commissioner, the need for continued custody, the
number and location of casework contacts with the child, the child's current living
arrangements and service needs including, but not limited to whether the child has become
homeless, the services provided during the past six months, including but not limited to
housing and income services, and the services to be provided during the next six months.
If the required number of casework contacts with the child has not been made, the case
record must document that the primary reason for the failure to complete the contacts has
been the child's unwillingness to cooperate with the district. The case record must also
document the efforts made by the district to make contact with the child and to encourage
participation in the district's supervisory functions.
(b) After termination of the district's custody of the child, whether by court order or by
the district's own action, progress notes must be maintained which show the number and
type of contacts with the child, the services and service providers to whom the child has
been referred, and whether the child actually received services. If the required number of
contacts with the child has not been made, the case record must document the efforts made
by the district to contact the child and to encourage the child to cooperate with the
district.
(g) Adult residential care. The following requirements shall pertain to
all children in a foster care placement whose permanency goal is discharge to adult
residential care.
(1) Setting of goal.
(i) Standard. Discharge
to adult residential care shall be the permanency planning goal only for children for whom
the necessity of placement is based in whole or in part on the reason described in section
430.10(c)(5) of this Part, as "child service need" and for whom the service
needs arise out of a factor other than the child's behavior. For each child with this
goal, the district shall consider alternative permanency goals, including "discharge
to parents or relatives" and "discharge to adoption" before this goal is
chosen, and the Director of Social Services shall review and approve the establishment of
this goal.
(ii) Documentation. The
assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required by the uniform
case record must document the specific reasons why this is the most appropriate permanency
goal for this child and the reasons why the child should not be discharged to parents or
relatives or to an adoptive placement.
(2) Preparation for discharge.
(i) Standard. For each
individual discharged to adult residential care, the service plan for discharging the
child must include the types of services and programs needed by this individual, specific
programs which could meet the individual's needs, and plans and activities to assist the
child in making the transition from the present program to the new program. In the case of
children in facilities operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or the Office
of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, the services provided in preparation
for discharge by such facilities to such children shall be deemed to fulfill the
requirements of this subparagraph.
(ii) Documentation.
Documentation must include goals or outcomes and services in the service plan which will
assist with the transition and a summary by the district of the efforts made and their
results in the assessment and service plan or risk assessment and service plan required by
the uniform case record. Information concerning the services which are provided to
children in facilities operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health or Office of
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and which is forwarded by such
facilities to the social services district responsible for maintaining the uniform case
record must be included in the uniform case record and will be deemed to fulfill the
documentation requirements of this subparagraph.
(h) Court orders. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
a case shall not be subject to denial of reimbursement due to lack of diligent efforts if
a court has ordered that actions be taken which prohibit compliance with the provisions of
this section. The first uniform case record form required after the court order shall
include either a copy of the court order or a description of the terms of the order. In
the event that a utilization review of the case has been completed, and has found that the
district's activities do not comply with the requirements of this section, other than that
defined in this subdivision, the district shall petition the court for a rehearing of the
case within 30 days of the notification to the district that diligent efforts have not
been made. The district shall submit the finding of the utilization review to the court as
documentation for the court review.
(1) Length of time in care. For Federal fiscal
years beginning October 1, 1985 and ending September 30, 1990, the maximum number of
children who are in receipt of federally reimbursable foster care maintenance payments
pursuant to title IV-E of the Social Security Act and who, at any time during such years,
will remain in foster care after having been in such care for 24 months shall not exceed
57 percent of the total number of children who receive such payments during such period.
(2) Social services officials shall monitor
their foster care caseloads as often as is necessary to ensure compliance with the
provisions of paragraph (1) of this subdivision.