16.5 Specialized Foster Care Per Diem

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Child Welfare Policy Manual

Chapter:

(16) Room Board and Watchful Oversight (RBWO)

Policy Title:

Specialized Foster Care Per Diem

Policy Number:

16.5

Previous Policy Number(s):

N/A

Effective Date:

September 2017

Manual Transmittal:

2017-10

Codes/References

N/A

Requirements

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) will consider a specialty rate for a child placed in a DFCS foster home who has a significant level of mental, emotional and physical needs that require care and services that cannot be adequately compensated by the basic foster care maintenance per diem.

Procedures

Social Services Case Manager

  1. Complete the Universal Application in Georgia SHINES.

  2. Have the foster parent complete the Caregiver Effort Declaration.

  3. Gather any documentation to support the application.

  4. Submit the following to the Placement Resource Operations Unit (PRO) via GA SCORE:

    1. Completed Universal Application;

    2. Completed Caregiver Effort Declaration; and

    3. Any supporting documentation.

Placement Resource Operations Unit

  1. Make a decision on the application within five business days.

  2. Notify the SSCM of the approval decision in writing via memorandum.

  3. If approved, provide a memorandum that includes the:

    1. Date the specialized rate will begin; and

    2. Date the specialized rate will end.

  4. If denied, provide a denial letter indicating the reason(s) for denial.

Practice Guidance

DFCS staff shall not promise a foster parent a dollar amount or inform a foster parent that they will be approved for the specialized rate prior to obtaining approval from the PRO.

Universal Application

The Universal Application serves as the singular document for RBWO Program Designations requests, Specialized Foster Care requests and placement referrals. It replaces the RBWO Match Screening Summary (MSS), RBWO Program Designation and Waiver Application, and Specialized Foster Care Per Diem Application. For DFCS staff, the Universal Application is located in Georgia SHINES in the FCC stage under the Placement Tab. Many of the fields on the Universal Application pre-populate. To take full advantage of this feature, prior to launching the Universal Application in Georgia SHINES complete the Person Detail, Health Detail, and Education Detail pages. Following completion save the Universal Application in PDF format and submit to the Placement Resource Operations Team (PRO) on the Georgia Score’s website at www.gascore.com/proteam/step1.cfm. For RBWO providers, the Universal Application can be located on Georgia Score’s website at www.gascore.com. Click on the DFCS PRO Team Link for further instructions and guidelines.

Forms and Tools

Caregiver Effort Declaration