11.19 Placement of a Child From Another State Into Georgia for the Purpose of Adoption

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Child Welfare Policy Manual

Chapter:

(11) Adoption

Policy Title:

Placement of a Child From Another State Into Georgia for the Purpose of Adoption

Policy Number:

11.19

Previous Policy Number(s):

110.6, 110.9 - 110.10

Effective Date:

August 2015

Manual Transmittal:

2015-07

Codes/References

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, Section 471(a)(25)&(26)
Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006, P.L. 109-239

Requirements

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) will:

  1. Have in effect procedures for the orderly and timely interstate placement of children which provides that within 60 days after DFCS receives from another State or Tribe a request to conduct a study of a home environment for purposes of assessing the safety and suitability of placing a child in the home, DFCS shall, directly or by contract:

    1. Conduct and complete the family evaluation; and

    2. Return to the other State or Tribe a report on the results of the study which shall address the extent to which placement in the home would meet the needs of the child.

    DFCS is not required to complete within the applicable time period the parts of the family evaluation involving the education and training of the prospective foster or adoptive parents.

  2. Review all requests for an interstate adoption placement into Georgia through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) Administrator.

  3. Initiate a family evaluation for the adoptive placement of an out-of-state child following verification that the parental rights of both parents have been terminated or surrendered.

Procedures

ICPC Adoption Placement Request

The ICPC Administrator will:

  1. Review the packet to determine if all necessary information and legal documents are included and request any missing information when a referral is received by the ICPC Unit.

  2. Input the ICPC request into Georgia SHINES within two business days by (see Forms and Tools: Entering Intakes - Georgia SHINES Job Aide):

    1. Completing a non-incident Child Protection Services (CPS) Intake, type ICPC;

    2. Stage progress the CPS Intake to a foster care child (FCC) stage, establishing the case in the name of the oldest child subject to the request.

  3. Upload all documents received from the sending state into Georgia SHINES External Documentation.

  4. If the sending state is requesting that an adoptive family evaluation be completed by the receiving state for a public agency child:

    1. Forward the referral information to the agency under contract with the state; or

    2. Contact the DFCS county ICPC liaison to identify the Social Services Case Manager assigned to complete the family evaluation; and

    3. Assign the identified Social Services Case Manager as the primary worker and the ICPC Administrator as secondary worker.

  5. Upon receipt of the completed family evaluation, review for completeness.

    If the agency under contract with the state was used to complete the family evaluation, the ICPC Administrator will input the information into the FAD stage in Georgia SHINES upon receipt of the family evaluation from the contract agency.

  6. Send the completed family evaluation within 60 days after the state receives the request to the sending state’s ICPC Administrator.

    The education and training of foster parents does not need to be completed within the 60-day timeframe.

The Social Services Case Manager will:

  1. Initiate the family evaluation only after the official request from the Georgia ICPC Unit.

  2. Complete the family evaluation in the FAD stage in Georgia SHINES within 45 calendar days using the procedures outlined in policy 14.10 Resource Development: Initial Family Evaluation.

  3. At the completion of the family evaluation, upload the following to Georgia SHINES External Documentation:

    1. ICPC Cover letter; and

    2. The completed and approved family evaluation and associated documents.

  4. Send an email to icpc@dhs.ga.gov providing notification to the ICPC unit of the completed family evaluation; the email subject line should read “ICPC Complete Family Evaluation.”

Approval Decision for Placement

The ICPC Administrator will:

  1. Sign the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Request (ICPC 100A) giving/denying permission for the placement to occur.

  2. Forward the signed Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Request (ICPC 100A) along with two copies of the family evaluation to the sending state’s ICPC Administrator.

  3. Send a copy of the signed Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Request (ICPC 100A) to the contract agency (if applicable).

Post Placement Supervision and Reports

The ICPC Administrator will:

  1. Upon receipt of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Report on Child’s Placement Status (ICPC 100B) indicating the placement has occurred, input the ICPC supervision request in Georgia SHINES within two business days of being notified of the placement by:

    1. Completing a non-incident Child Protection Services (CPS) Intake, type ICPC;

    2. Stage progressing the CPS Intake to the FCC stage;

    3. Uploading to Georgia SHINES External Documentation Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Report on Child’s Placement Status (ICPC 100B) indicating the placement has occurred.

  2. Contact the DFCS county ICPC liaison to identify the Social Services Case Manager assigned to provide the post-placement supervision.

  3. Assign the identified Social Services Case Manager as the secondary worker.

  4. On a quarterly basis, retrieve from Georgia SHINES External Documentation post placement supervision report completed by the Social Services Case Manager and forward to the sending state’s ICPC Administrator.

The sending state makes the final determination of whether to use the approved prospective adoptive resource. Only if the sending state decides to use the approved placement will the ICPC Administrator receive the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Report on Child’s Placement Status (ICPC100B). The ICPC approval is valid for six months from the date the Interstate Compact Report on Child’s Placement Status (ICPC 100B) was signed by the receiving state.

The Social Services Case Manager will

  1. Make and document in Georgia SHINES purposeful monthly contact with the child (see policy 10.18 Foster Care: Purposeful in Foster Care for practice guidance on purposeful contact); and

  2. Refer to policy 15.5 Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC): ICPC Placement Supervision for guidelines on supervision and supervision reports for children placed into Georgia.

The Social Services Case Manager will:

  1. At the appropriate time, make the recommendation that the child be released by the sending agency to the pre-adoptive family for adoption finalization.

  2. Upload to Georgia SHINES External Documentation the recommendation that the child be released by the sending agency to the pre-adoptive family for adoption finalization.

  3. Send an email to the assigned ICPC Administrator to notify of the ICPC Administrator of the recommendation and inform it has been uploaded to Georgia SHINES External Documentation.

The ICPC Administrator will:

  1. Forward the recommendation to the sending state’s ICPC Administrator.

  2. Request that the sending agency send the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Report on Child’s Placement Status and final adoption decree.

If these documents are received in the county office, they should immediately be sent to the ICPC Administrator.

Finalization, Closing and Submitting the File

The ICPC Administrator will:

  1. Upon receipt of the following documents from the sending state ICPC Administrator, upload to Georgia SHINES External Documentation:

    1. The final documents and adoption decree; and

    2. Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Report on Child’s Placement Status indicating that the adoption has been finalized and the ICPC services are terminated.

  2. Notify the Social Services Case Manager and the County Director/Designee of receipt of the information.

The Social Services Case Manager will:

  1. Prepare the Georgia SHINES case record to be retained, sealed and locked within 30 days of finalizing the adoption (see policy 2.2 Information Management: Adoption Case Record).

Practice Guidance

If a request from an out-of-state agency comes directly to the county, it should be immediately forwarded to the ICPC Administrator with no other action taken. If a family approaches the county requesting that an adoptive family evaluation be completed for an out-of-state agency, inform the family that evaluations for out-of-state children are done by the county department and/or a private agency under contract with the state. The contract agency will only complete family evaluations if a specific child is identified and the complete ICPC packet has been submitted by the out-of-state agency holding legal custody of the child. The ICPC packet must contain evidence that the rights of both parents have been terminated or surrendered. If there is no specific child identified, refer the family to the Office of Regulatory Services (404) 657-5562 for a list of current licensed private adoption agencies who can complete the required family evaluation.

The receiving state is required to complete and return the results of a family evaluation within 60 days after the state receives the request. The education and training of foster parents is not required to be completed within the 60-day timeframe.

If DFCS receives a request for an adoptive family evaluation and the out-of-state child is already in the home by means of an approved relative or foster care ICPC placement and DFCS is already supervising the placement, the Social Services Case Manager will continue to supervise that placement until notified by the ICPC Administrator that adoption is final and supervision can discontinue.

When a pre-adoptive family moves to Georgia prior to finalizing the adoption and the child is in their home, DFCS will adhere to the ICPC process. If the family was working with a private agency in their former state, they will usually be referred to a private agency in Georgia to complete the adoption process. If the family was working with the state agency in their former state, DFCS will usually be asked to complete the process. Depending on the point in the adoption process at which the move occurs, the family may or may not be returning to their former state to finalize the adoption.

Forms and Tools

ICPC Cover Letter – Sample
Interstate Compact Report on Child’s Placement Status (ICPC 100B)
Interstate Compact Report on Child’s Placement Status - Instructions (ICPC 100B-I)
Interstate Compact Placement Request (ICPC 100A)
Interstate Compact Placement Request – Instructions (ICPC 100A-I)