15.3 Placement of Children from Other States into Georgia (Georgia as the Receiving State)

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Child Welfare Policy Manual

Chapter:

(15) Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children

Policy Title:

Placement of Children from Other States into Georgia (Georgia as the Receiving State)

Policy Number:

15.3

Previous Policy Number(s):

N/A

Effective Date:

September 2020

Manual Transmittal:

2020-06

Codes/References

O.C.G.A. § 39-4-4 through § 39-4-10 Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
Title IV-E of the Social Security Act § 471(a)(25)-(26)
ICPC Regulation 2 – Public Court Jurisdiction Cases

Requirements

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

  1. Ensure all requests for placements of children from other states into Georgia are processed in an orderly and timely manner in accordance with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC).

  2. Have procedures in effect for the orderly and timely interstate placement of children which provide that:

    1. 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 will, directly or by contract, conduct and complete the study and 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:

      1. The State Office ICPC Administrator has three calendar days from receipt of request from the sending state to assign to the County.

      2. DFCS County staff shall complete the home study and document in Georgia SHINES within 45 calendar days of case assignment.

      3. The State Office ICPC Administrator will notify the sending state within 12 calendar days of the approval or denial of the home study.

    2. DFCS is not required to complete within the applicable time period the parts of the home study involving the education and training of the prospective foster or adoptive parents;

    3. DFCS shall treat any such report that is received from another State or Tribe (or from a private agency under contract with another State/Tribe) as meeting any requirements imposed by the State or Tribe for the completion of a home study before placing a child in the home, unless within 14 days after receipt of the report, DFCS determines, based on grounds that are specific to the content of the report, that making a decision in reliance on the report would be contrary to the welfare of the child; and

    4. DFCS shall not impose any restriction on the ability of an agency administering, or supervising the administration of, a State or Tribal program operated under a plan approved under this part to contract with a private agency for the conduct of such a home study.

  3. Authorize the appropriate placement of children from other states into Georgia, with the exception of placements authorized under an approved Border Agreement.

Procedures

Processing of ICPC Requests Received From Other States

Upon receipt of an ICPC Request packet from another state ICPC Compact Administrator requesting completion of a relative/foster/adoptive home study for the placement of a child(ren), the assigned Georgia ICPC Administrator will:

  1. Review the information received to ensure all required items/information has been received:

    1. Incomplete ICPC packets shall be returned to the sending state within one business day, unless the sending state ICPC Administrator can be immediately (that same day) contacted and informed of the missing item(s) and transmit a copy of the missing item(s) to the Georgia ICPC Administrator within one business day;

    2. If the needed item(s) is not received, proceed with returning the ICPC packet to the sending state ICPC Compact Administrator with a transmittal identifying the missing item(s) and notice that the assessment shall not be initiated until all required items are received.

  2. Input the ICPC request into Georgia SHINES within two business days by:

    1. Completing a non-incident Intake type ICPC;

    2. Stage progress the Intake to a Foster Care Child (FCC) stage, establishing the case in the name of the oldest child subject to the request;

    3. Assigning the appropriate Georgia ICPC Administrator as the primary case manager for the FCC case/stage;

    4. Uploading all documents received from the sending state into the FCC stage, Case Management second level tab, External Documentation third level tab and other ICPC documents. The original documents shall be forwarded via United States (US) Mail to the County DFCS office for maintenance of an audit trail.

  3. Within three business days, contact the DFCS County ICPC Liaison to identify the Social Services Case Manager (SSCM) to be assigned as secondary case manager for the purpose of completing the home study.

  4. Assign the identified SSCM as the secondary worker.

  5. Send a Georgia SHINES alert to the secondary worker and County Director/designee, providing notice that a new ICPC case has been assigned and informing them of the identity of the State Office ICPC Administrator responsible for monitoring compliance with the ICPC requirements.

Upon receipt of an authorized ICPC Request and attachments from the Georgia ICPC Administrator/designee:

  1. The DFCS County ICPC Liaison shall acknowledge receipt of the ICPC packet via email and include the name of the SSCM assigned responsibility for assuring the timely completion of the study;

  2. Within five business days of assignment of the ICPC home study request the SSCM shall:

    1. Initiate contact with the primary and all other adult caregivers identified in the ICPC home study request to validate their interest and willingness to assume placement/custodial care for the child(ren) who is the subject of the ICPC request.

    2. Provide the caregiver(s) with an explanation of the assessment process and the time frame for completion. The explanation shall include the necessity for them to undergo GCIC/NCIC fingerprint criminal records search, medical assessments and drug testing as a component of the assessment process.

    3. Screen all household members as outlined in policy 19.9 Case Management: Safety Screenings and conduct criminal records checks for all adult household members in accordance with policy 19.8 Case Management: Criminal Records Checks.

      1. If the screening results raise concerns about the viability of the proposed placement resource, consult the supervisor regarding how to proceed.

      2. If the screening results are of concern, discuss the concerns with the caregiver affording them the opportunity to provide an explanation.

      3. If the screening results are favorable for an approval of the home study and the prospective caregiver(s) remains interested, the SSCM shall proceed with completing the required study within 45 days of assignment. See policy 22.3 Kinship: Kinship Assessment or 14.10 Resource Development: Initial Family Evaluation.

      4. Document the home study, utilizing the Kinship Care Assessment in Georgia SHINES; or

      5. For prospective foster or adoptive homes, complete FAD stage in Georgia SHINES.

    4. Staff the case with the supervisor and assigned ICPC Administrator if there are concerns. Determine if any of the non-safety approval requirements may be waived or postponed for the purpose of granting provisional approval for placement (see policy 22.6 Kinship: Waiver of Non-Safety Approval Standards for Kinship Foster Homes).

    5. Completing the Interstate Compact Placement Request (ICPC- 100A) indicating the County decision concerning the assessment conclusion. The assessment conclusion shall provide:

      1. Recommendation that placement may be made when there is an approval. Approval may be withdrawn should the home fail to comply with reasonable expectations of the County DFCS office; or

      2. Recommendation that placement shall not be made if the caregivers are no longer interested in pursuing placement of the child(ren) or if the screening results or home study assessment results are inadequate.

    6. Upon completion of the home study, the SSCM shall immediately notify the Georgia ICPC office by sending an email to the assigned ICPC Administrator and ICPC@dhs.ga.gov.

      At any point the placement is found to not be appropriate for the placement of children due to caregiver disinterest, negative CPS or criminal records information, etc., the decision to deny the placement shall be immediately staffed with the Georgia ICPC Administrator and County Supervisor. No decision concerning the placement of children shall be unnecessarily delayed. The 45 calendar day requirement is the maximum length of time the County has to complete the assessment and ICPC Request reflecting the approval decision. Completion of the home study does not constitute authorization for placement.

The Georgia ICPC Administrator shall:

  1. Immediately transmit to the sending state ICPC Administrator a report on the results of the home study that shall address the extent to which placement in the home would meet the needs of the child.

    1. This report may or may not include a decision approving or denying permission to place the child(ren).

    2. In the event the parts of the home study involving the education and training of the placement resource remain incomplete, the report shall reference such items by including an anticipated date of completion.

  2. Provide final approval or denial of the placement resource in the form of a signed ICPC Request, as soon as practical but no later than 180 calendar days (six months) from receipt of the initial home study request.

    This six month window is to accommodate licensure and/or other receiving state requirements applicable to foster or adoption home study requests.

Upon the Approval of the Placement

  1. The requesting state has six months in which to utilize an approved placement.

  2. If the requesting state decides to use the approved placement, they shall send an ICPC Interstate Compact Report for Child’s Placement Status (ICPC-100B) notifying the Georgia ICPC Administrator of the intent to place the child(ren).

  3. Upon receipt of the ICPC Interstate Compact Report for Child’s Placement Status (ICPC-100B) notifying Georgia of the intent to place a child into Georgia, the State Office ICPC Unit shall alert via email the County DFCS SSCM assigned responsibility for the assessment.

  4. Contact standards will be at least one face to face monthly visit or more frequently if such is agreed upon by the sending and receiving states (see policy 10.18 Foster Care: Purposeful Contacts in Foster Care). Document contacts with the child(ren) and the placement resource(s) in Georgia SHINES Contacts/Summaries.

  5. On a monthly basis complete the Interstate Compact Report on Child’s Placement Status (ICPC-100B), attach documentation of the purposeful visits with the child(ren) and placement resource(s) and upload to Georgia SHINES External Documentation.

  6. The State Office ICPC Unit will retrieve from Georgia SHINES External Documentation the Interstate Compact Report on Child’s Placement Status (ICPC-100B) completed by the Case Manager and forward to the sending state. Documentation of contacts with the child(ren) and placement resource(s) shall be shared with the sending state as specified in the ICPC Interstate Compact Report for Child’s Placement Status.

ICPC Reporting

The State Office ICPC Unit shall assist the County office in ongoing monitoring of relative/ foster/adoptive home study requests to ensure compliance with the Safe and Timely Act by providing ICPC data reports to each Regional Director. This shall be achieved as follows:

  1. Each Regional Director or their designees shall receive a listing of all ICPC overdue and pending cases assigned to their region by the fifth of each month.

  2. The Regional Director/designee shall provide an update on each pending and overdue case to the State Office ICPC unit within five business days of receipt of the overdue/pending list. All cases listed as overdue must have a plan developed for immediate completion of the home study request. This update should be emailed to the assigned ICPC Administrator and ICPC@dhs.ga.gov.

  3. The Georgia ICPC Administrator shall provide a report to the Regional Director/designee by the 15th of each month detailing:

    1. ICPC cases that have been open at least 30 days with no activity;

    2. Status/movement of all overdue cases;

    3. Cases where no update has been provided.

  4. The Georgia ICPC Administrator shall send monthly updates to the requesting states based upon the progress indicated by the County offices.

County Receipt of ICPC Study Requests Directly From Other States

If an ICPC request for placement of a child(ren) is received directly by a County Department, the County Department shall:

  1. Immediately forward, via US Mail, all information to the Georgia ICPC Administrator:

    1. An email message shall be sent to the Georgia ICPC Administrator informing them of the receipt of the information and that it is being mailed to the Georgia ICPC Administrator for handling.

    2. If a request is received by telephone to a County DFCS office from another state, DFCS staff shall inform the sending state to transmit a written request through the sending state ICPC office to the Georgia ICPC Office for processing.

  2. The County DFCS shall not initiate the home evaluation until an official request is received from the Georgia ICPC office.

The existence of an Border Agreement, properly executed by the Commissioners/Directors of both the sending state and receiving state, permits requests for assistance in assessing relative and foster homes to occur immediately, prior to receiving the approval of the respective state’s ICPC Compact Administrators (see policy 15.8 Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children: Border Agreements).

Practice Guidance

Once the Georgia ICPC office has received a request from a sending State/Tribe to place a child(ren) in Georgia, time is of the essence for work to be completed so the child(ren) can be placed. The timely assessment of relative placements is critical to assuring that children in foster care maintain important family connections, experience placement stability, and achieve safety, well-being and permanency, while also impacting each state’s achievement of performance benchmarks. For this reason, the county’s completion of the home study as thoroughly and quickly as possible is essential.

Georgia ICPC Administrators are subject matter experts in the law and regulations governing interstate placements. Maintaining open communication with the assigned ICPC Administrator ensures decisions agreed upon are in the best interests of the child(ren) addressed in the requests.

SHINES is the official case record and must be utilized to document all activities related to such requests from other states for the assessment of relative, foster and adoptive resources. Due to the child(ren) subject to the request not being in the custody of the State of Georgia, the Georgia ICPC Administrator shall assume the role of the primary worker and input the Intake that initiates services into SHINES. While the County SSCM is assigned as a secondary worker, the responsibility for assuring all case management responsibilities are completed rests with the County DFCS SSCM. The standard for assuring all documents and case activities are entered/uploaded into Georgia SHINES is within 72 hours of occurrence.

Forms and Tools

Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children – ICPC Articles
Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children – ICPC Regulations
Field Fiscal Services Financial Manual 2301 Direct Benefits: Family Foster Care
Interstate Compact Report on the Child’s Placement Status (ICPC-100B)
Interstate Compact Report on the Child’s Placement Status (ICPC-100B-I)