Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a) A county
department of social services may determine a child eligible for foster care
assistance payments if all the following factors are established:
(1) The child has been removed from his or
her own home or from the home of a specified relative by a judicial
determination and placed in foster care as a result of that
determination;
(2) The placement of
the child in foster care has occurred pursuant to a voluntary placement
agreement entered into by the parents or guardians of the child with the county
department of social services, and such placement has not been in excess of 90
consecutive days unless there has been a judicial determination by a court of
competent jurisdiction (within the first 90 days of such placement) to the
effect that such placement is in the best interest of the child. If the
voluntary placement agreement is continued for the second 90-day period, a new
voluntary placement agreement must be completed and signed by all parties. The
county department of social services must file a juvenile petition and a
hearing must be held before the end of the second 90-day period, or the child
must be returned home;
(3)
Responsibility for care and placement of the child is designated to the county
department of social services by either the court order removing him or her
from his or her home or by the voluntary placement agreement signed by the
parent or guardian;
(4) The child
lives in:
(A) a foster care facility under the
supervision of a county department of social services and licensed by the
Department of Health and Human Services;
(B) a private child caring institution
licensed or approved by the Department of Health and Human Services and in
compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI,
42 U.S.C.
2000d et seq., ("Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act"), hereby incorporated by reference, including any subsequent amendments
and editions. This Act may be accessed free of charge at
https://www.justice.gov/crt/fcs/TitleVI-Overview;
(C) a private group home licensed or approved
by the Department of Health and Human Services and in compliance with Title VI
of the Civil Rights Act;
(D) a
foster care facility under the auspices of a licensed or approved private child
caring institution, provided such foster care services program has been
licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services and is in compliance
with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act;
(E) a foster care facility under the
supervision of a private child placing agency (including those providing
adoption services) and licensed by the Department of Health and Human
Services;
(F) a foster care
facility located in another state, provided such facility is in compliance with
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and is licensed or approved in the other
state, and provided such placement has been approved under the appropriate
interstate placement procedure; or
(G) an allowable independent supervised
living setting for youth 18 or older; and
(5) The child is in need of care that is not
available in his or her own home or the home of a relative.
(b) A child placed in foster care
who has attained 18 years of age may continue receiving foster care services
and benefits until reaching 21 years of age if he or she enters into a
voluntary placement agreement with the county department of social services,
and meets one of the following:
(1) Completing
secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential;
(2) Enrolled in an institution that provides
post-secondary or vocational education;
(3) Participating in a program or activity
designed to promote or remove barriers to employment;
(4) Employed for at least 80 hours per month;
or
(5) Is incapable of doing any of
the previously described educational or employment activities due to a medical
condition or disability.
(c) Court action terminating parental rights
shall not render a child ineligible for foster care assistance benefits if that
child is otherwise eligible. A child may be eligible for foster care assistance
benefits until the final decree of adoption is issued.
Authority
G.S.
108A-24;
108A-48;
108A-49;
131D-10.2;
131D-10.5;
143B-153.
Eff. July,
1982;
Amended Eff. March 1, 2017; April 1, 2003;
Pursuant to
G.S.
150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without
substantive public interest Eff. October 3,
2017.
