Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Documentation of Need. No child shall be placed
without written evidence that placement is the most appropriate plan for the
child. Such evidence shall include written documentation of:
(a) the purpose of placement;
(b) a record of previous placements, if
any;
(c) reasons why placement is
considered necessary and appropriate;
(d) a record of attempts to provide
preventive services and examination of possible alternatives to placement, or a
statement as to why placement is warranted without such attempts being
made;
(e) an estimate of the
duration of the need for placement;
(f) a description of the types of placement
which would best meet the child's needs;
(g) a description of the conditions under
which the child shall be returned home, if reunification is the goal.
(2)
Authority to Place
a Child in Foster Care or Residential Care. The licensee shall
have evidence of the authority to place a child in foster or residential care
when it has a copy of the following:
(a) a
court order giving custody or guardianship of the child to the
licensee;
(b) a contract with any
agency legally authorized to provide foster care or residential care;
(c) a written agreement with the child's
parent(s) or legal guardian;
(d)
request for foster care or residential care by the child himself, with any
legally required parental consent.
(3)
Authority to Place a Child
for Adoption. A placement agency shall have evidence of the
authority to place a child for adoption when it has a copy of the following:
(a) a voluntary surrender signed by the birth
parent(s) in accordance with the law of the country or state where the
surrender is taken;
(b) evidence of
termination of parental rights and the grounds for termination;
(c) verification of compliance with M.G.L. c.
119, § 36, or Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, M.G.L. c.
119, Appendix § 2 for interstate adoptions;
(d) verification of compliance with M.G.L. c.
119, § 36 and the immigration laws of the United States for inter-country
adoptions;
(e) verification of
compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 Pub. L. 95-608, 92 Stat
3069,
25 U.S.C.
1901, et seq., and the
Multi-ethnic Placement Act,
42
U.S.C. 5115a;
(f) verification that the child placed for
adoption is not registered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children or with the Massachusetts Central Register, required by M.G.L. c. 22A.
If the licensee is unable to obtain such verification, it must be able to
document that it has attempted to obtain such verification, it must be able to
document that it has attempted to obtain the information from the federal or
state register. In those cases where the birthmother is already receiving
services from the licensee at the time of the child's birth, such verification
need not be obtained.
(4)
Agreements with Other Agencies or with Residential
Programs.
(a) If the licensee
refers any child to another placement agency to place the child in a family
foster home, or to a residential program, both agencies or the licensee and
residential program, shall enter into an agreement defining their respective
roles and responsibilities for providing services to the child and to his
family. Such agreement shall include:
1. the
terms and methods for paying board and other expenses;
2. conditions under which direct services
(including social, medical, psychological and psychiatric) are to be provided
to a child and his family;
3.
arrangements for special training or education;
4. arrangements for contacts between the
agencies or agency and residential program including sharing information
regarding concerns which may arise during placement;
5. arrangements for family visits and other
contacts between the resident and friends, including specific information on
any restrictions;
6. responsibility
for seeking judicial approval if required for administration of antipsychotic
medication;
7. responsibility for
transportation;
8. estimate of the
time the child is expected to be in placement;
9. circumstances under which the child may be
removed from a family foster home or residential program or under which
services to the child or family may be terminated;
10. legal responsibilities;
11. responsibility for after-care services;
and
12. for children placed in
shelter care, dates of service and discharge planning conferences.
(b) If the licensee works with
another agency or person to effect the adoption of a child, the licensee shall
enter into a written agreement which shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
1. responsibility for the provision
of direct services, including assessment, counseling, information on
alternative plans for the child, service planning, placement, adoptive home
evaluation, post-placement supervision, finalization and follow-up;
2. financial and legal responsibilities of
the respective parties;
3. child's
legal status at time of the agreement;
4. documentation of the agency's or person's
legal authority to place children or to facilitate
adoption.
(5)
Required Licensure or Evaluation of Placement; Finding of
Capability. The licensee shall place a child only in a licensed
residential program, or a foster or adoptive home which has been evaluated
according to 606 CMR 5.09(4) or 5.10(6) and which the licensee has found
capable of meeting the particular child's needs. If the child to be placed
differs from the recommendations made in the original foster parent evaluation,
the foster parent evaluation must be updated to explain the factors that make
the foster parents capable and appropriate to care for the child. The licensee
shall consider the following factors in making a placement decision: child's
ethnicity, race, religious needs and native language; special physical and
emotional needs of the child; availability of relatives to care for the child;
maintaining continuity of current relationships; and the current household
composition. No child may be placed in an adoptive home until at least 30 days
have elapsed since the initiation of the assessment process. The initiation of
the assessment process is defined as the first, in-person meeting pertaining to
the assessment between the prospective adoptive parent(s) and a qualified
representative of the licensee.
(6)
Placement of Siblings.
(a) Siblings shall be placed in the same
foster or adoptive home unless the licensee documents a written explanation in
the children's record as to why such placement is not in the best interest of
the children.
(b) In the event that
siblings are not placed together, reconsideration of the placements shall be
made within three months to determine whether or not the siblings can and
should be reunited.
(c) When
placement is planned for a child whose sibling has already been placed in a
foster or adoptive home, the foster or adoptive parents of the first child
shall be offered the opportunity to foster or adopt the sibling, unless the
licensee documents a written explanation in the child's record as to why such
placement is not in the best interest of both children. This provision shall
apply regardless of the time elapsed since the original placement or the agency
involved in the original placement.
(7)
Placement Outside the
Commonwealth. No licensee shall place a child outside the
Commonwealth unless the foster or adoptive home is approved and supervised by a
licensed or otherwise legally authorized agency, or unless the residential
program is licensed or otherwise legally authorized to operate.
(8)
Registration with Adoption
Resource Exchange. Each licensee shall register with the
Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) any child free for adoption for
whom the agency has been unable to identify a specific adoptive family or
initiate the adoption process with a prospective adoptive family within 60 days
of surrender. The licensee shall inform adoptive parents that they may register
themselves with a resource exchange.
