Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a)
Foster family home care is provided in licensed foster family homes for
children who cannot remain in the home and who can benefit from a family
structure of care. The Department shall have legal responsibility for the child
before the child is placed in a foster family home. The home shall have
received a license or permit under the provisions of 89 Ill. Adm. Code 402
(Licensing Standards for Foster Family Homes) before it receives children for
foster care payment.
b) The
Department shall provide specialized foster care services for a child in the
custody or guardianship of the Department who requires such services due to
emotional, behavioral, developmental or medical needs, or any combination
thereof, or any other needs which require special intervention services, the
primary goal being to maintain the child in foster care or in a permanency
setting. [20 ILCS
505/5.30(a) ]
1) A child's eligibility for specialized
foster care services, and the specific service interventions needed, shall be
determined based upon:
A) The results of the
Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment tool, assessing the
following child traits, domains and functioning:
i) Trauma experiences;
ii) Trauma stress symptoms;
iii) Child strengths;
iv) Life domain functioning;
v) Acculturation;
vi) Child behavioral/emotional needs;
and
vii) Child risk behaviors;
and
B) One of the
following:
i) The recommendation of the Child
and Youth Investment Team (CAYIT) developed at a staffing convened specifically
to address the child's eligibility for specialized foster care services;
or
ii) A referral from the Division
of Child Protection of a child new to care for an assessment by Department
Specialized Foster Care Unit staff; or
iii) The recommendation of Department
clinical staff when a child in the custody or guardianship of the Department is
discharged from a psychiatric hospital.
2) Examples of medical conditions that may
require specialized foster care services include, but are not limited to:
A) The child has a life threatening disease
as documented by a medical professional (e.g., brain tumor, cancer);
B) The child is dependent on life saving
equipment (e.g., ventilator dependent, dialysis equipment, oxygen 24 hours a
day);
C) The child has a
medical/physical condition or impairment that requires an extraordinary level
of daily supervision and/or assistance;
D) The child is a quadriplegic;
E) The child has severe physical limitations
due to multiple physical conditions;
F) The child is currently in a psychiatric
hospital or has been psychiatrically hospitalized within 72 hours after day of
intake; or
G) The child is an
alleged sexual perpetrator confirmed by a delinquency petition and/or an
Indicated SCR report.
3)
Examples of other behavioral and mental health issues that may warrant
consideration for specialized foster care services include, but are not limited
to, sexual victimization, sexual aggression, fire setting, juvenile
delinquency, compulsive behaviors, mental retardation, substance abuse problems
or mental illness. Behavioral health services shall be provided as described in
89 Ill. Adm. Code
302.390
(Behavioral Health Services).
4)
When assessing whether a child with a condition or behavior described in
subsections (b)(1) through (3) requires specialized foster care services, the
Department shall also consider the following 4 factors, cumulatively:
A) The child's individual functioning in his
or her home, school and community;
B) The child's current or recommended
involvement in identified services;
C) The child's degree of need as defined by
the recommended intensity and/or frequency of services; and
D) The caregiver's required level of
participation in activities and/or services needed to meet the child's
treatment and educational needs.
5) When the Department determines that a
child requires specialized foster care services, the Department shall provide
the following minimum services:
A) Develop
and implement a treatment plan in the best interests of the child that will
help stabilize, and when possible lessen or alleviate the child's special
needs.
B) Assess the foster parents
with whom the child is placed or may be placed for the ability, experience and
willingness to meet the child's needs.
i)
Caregivers shall be required to complete child-specific training, when
recommended by the Department or the child's medical/treatment
provider.
ii) Caregivers shall
complete 12 hours of training per year that is tailored specifically to the
child's medical and/or mental health needs and functioning. This training shall
be separate from the training hours required for licensure or license renewal.
The agency providing case management for the child shall provide training or
identify training resources to meet this requirement and shall ensure that the
caregivers are able to meet the needs of the child. Caregiver training shall be
documented in the case record and in the caregiver's licensing
record.
iii) Caregivers shall
support visitation with parents, siblings or members of the extended
family.
iv) Caregivers for a child
who has complex health problems (e.g., a child who has asthma or a seizure
disorder, uses a wheel chair, requires a feeding tube, is visually impaired or
has a speech impairment, etc.) are able and willing to provide appropriate care
for the child.
v) Caregivers for a
child who has a developmental, emotional, psychological or mental health
disorder, such as compulsive behaviors, mental retardation, substance abuse
problems or mental illness, are able and willing to provide appropriate care
for the child.
vi) Caregivers are
able and willing to transport the child to and from required treatment and
services.
vii) Other factors that
shall be considered in selecting a child's placement are those specified in
this Part and in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 301 (Placement and Visitation
Services).
C) Monitor
the child's health, safety and wellbeing and the child's and caregiver's
compliance with the service plan. The child's caseworker shall:
i) visit the child at least 3 times per
month. At least one visit per month must take place in the caregiver's
home;
ii) arrange for all
recommended support services, mental health and/or medical treatment for the
child, contact each service provider monthly, and obtain written client
progress reports from each service provider on a quarterly basis;
iii) participate in the quarterly Child and
Family Team Meetings;
iv)
participate in the semiannual Administrative Case Reviews; and
v) request a CAYIT if the child's needs
cannot be met in his or her current placement setting, even with additional
services or supports. The CAYIT team shall develop recommendations regarding
services, interventions and placement settings best able to meet the child's
needs.
6) The
child's caseworker shall incorporate all recommended services into the child's
portion of the client service plan.
7) The Department staff who conduct
assessments of children for specialized foster care services in subsections
(b)(1)(B) through (D) shall possess the following minimum qualifications: a
Master's in Social Work or Psychology, or be a Licensed Clinical Social Worker
(LCSW), Professional Counselor (LPC), Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC),
or Clinical Psychologist.
8) The
CAYIT team in subsection (b)(1)(B) shall be comprised of the following
Department staff: a CAYIT Reviewer who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker
(LCSW), Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), or Clinical Psychologist; a
CAYIT Facilitator, who convenes the CAYIT staffing; a CAYIT Implementation
Coordinator, who is responsible for monitoring implementation of the
recommendation; and the child's caseworker and the casework supervisor. Other
persons who shall be invited to the CAYIT staffing include: providers who are
serving the child (e.g., psychologist, educational advisor, nurse), the child's
foster parents/relative caregivers, the child's guardian ad litem and the
biological parents (when appropriate). Children over 12 years of age are
expected to participate in the CAYIT staffing unless deemed clinically
inappropriate by the CAYIT Reviewer.
9) The Department shall monitor
implementation of the recommended services until all of the recommendations are
implemented.
A) After a CAYIT staffing,
described in subsection (b)(1)(B), the CAYIT Implementation Coordinator shall
monitor implementation.
B) After
assignment of case by the Department Specialized Foster Care Unit staff,
described in subsection (b)(6)(C), the child's caseworker and casework
supervisor shall monitor implementation. The caseworker and supervisor shall
also incorporate in the client service plan those services recommended as a
result of the comprehensive assessment required in 89 Ill. Adm. Code
315.100(b).
C) After a recommendation of Department
clinical staff, described in subsection (b)(1)(D), Department clinical staff
shall monitor implementation.
10) The treatment plan shall be reviewed at
least annually and modified, if necessary, to ensure that services identified
in the treatment plan continue to be appropriate to promote stability and meet
the needs of the child.
A) The Department's
Specialized Foster Care Unit shall facilitate the review of the child's
treatment plan, in collaboration with the Department's clinical and other
service divisions.
B) Based on the
information presented at the staffing and completion of the CANS assessment
tool, staff of the Department's Specialized Foster Care Unit shall make one of
the following recommendations:
i)
Continuation of the services in the treatment plan; or
ii) Modification of the treatment plan to
include additional services deemed necessary to promote stability and meet the
child's needs or remove any services deemed to be ineffective or no longer
necessary to promote stability and meet the child's needs.
11) After each review pursuant to
subsection (b)(10), the child's caseworker shall incorporate all recommended
services into the child's portion of the client service plan. The caseworker
and casework supervisor shall monitor implementation of those
services.
12) Children for whom the
Department is legally responsible who are adopted and are eligible for adoption
assistance as defined in 89 Ill. Adm. Code
302.310
(Adoption Assistance), or for whom guardianship is transferred pursuant to 89
Ill. Adm. Code
302.405
(Subsidized Guardianship Program), may be eligible to receive services that are
similar to the specialized foster care services described in this subsection
(b).
A) The determination that an adopted
child or a child in a Subsidized Guardianship living arrangement requires
services similar to specialized foster care services shall be based on the
results from the CANS assessment tool and the recommendation of the
Department's Post-Adoption Committee.
B) The Post-Adoption Committee shall be
comprised solely of Department staff selected by the Director (or designee) and
shall include clinical staff, a Registered Nurse and a post-adoption worker.
Clinical staff conducting the assessment shall possess a Master's in Social
Work (MSW) or Psychology, or be a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW),
Professional Counselor (LPC), Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), or
Clinical Psychologist.
i) The Post-Adoption
Committee shall identify the services, if any, needed to maintain the adoption
or subsidized guardianship placement. This may include new services for the
child or an increase in services that the child is currently receiving under
the subsidy.
ii) When the
identified services are Medicaid-eligible or can be obtained through available
community services, the child's adoptive parents or guardians shall be required
to utilize and exhaust those services before asking the Post-Adoption Committee
to increase the amount of the subsidy to pay for the services.
iii) When the services are not
Medicaid-eligible or cannot be obtained through community services, or when the
services have been exhausted, the Post-Adoption Committee may amend the amount
of the adoption or guardianship subsidy to pay for the services.
13) The Department
shall conduct training of Department and purchase of service agency staff
responsible for implementing this subsection (b).
c) Although foster family home care is
generally provided to children whose parents are unable or unwilling to protect
or care for them, it is also available for hearing impaired children who
require special education not available in their home communities. The
Department is not legally responsible for the children receiving this unique
placement service. Care is provided in cooperation with the Illinois State
Board of Education.