Administration for Children and Families September 9, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Children's Bureau (CB), Division of Capacity Building announces the award of a single-source cooperative agreement in the amount of $1,250,000 to the American Public Human Services Association for its affiliate the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC), Washington, DC, for the development and implementation of an inter-jurisdictional electronic system to improve administrative efficiency in the interstate process of the ICPC. The ICPC ensures safe and suitable interstate placements for children in foster care. Award funds will support the development and implementation of a national inter-jurisdictional Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) electronic system to improve administrative efficiency in the interstate process via the ICPC. This pilot, ``Supporting Permanent Placement of Foster Care Children Through Electronic Records Exchange,'' implements real-time, on-line data exchange for States to share records and other information to support permanent placements of foster care children in homes across state lines. The Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC) has identified current paper-based processes as causing excessive delays. Children may wait an unnecessarily long time for the paperwork for placement in a permanent home to be executed manually. The pilot will test whether an automated system reduces the time to process such cross-state exchanges to determine whether a placement is safe and suitable. The pilot evaluation will measure timeliness of communication, expeditious exchange of case documentation and similar immediate outcomes as well as utilization and adherence to streamlined ICPC processes. Additional questions, such as those related to the permanency of child placements and the associated savings, may be addressed if it is feasible to do so within the project period. Results, which will be included in a final public report, will inform further adoption of the system across states. The initial pilot will include at least 5 states and ultimately, beyond the pilot period, the system will be used by all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands (ICPC Compact Members). The system will serve and benefit children, families, the public, private and tribal child welfare agencies nationwide and other multidisciplinary groups that work in support of the and throughout the child placement continuum.