Child and Family Services Policy > Section V - Services to Children in Substitute Care > V. D-4. Placement with Department Employees and AAG's

Placement of a child who is in the care or custody of the Department or who is a case member in an open child protective case in the home of a Department employee or Assistant Attorney General may engender charges of conflict of interest or may complicate case planning and supervision. This policy, which is intended to prevent or minimize the impact of these, applies to placement of children in the care or custody of the Department and children who are case members of an open child protective case placed by either the Department or a licensed child placing agency.

DEFINITIONS

For the application of this policy, the following are defined as:

Foster home placement is any placement of a child with other than his parent(s) or legal guardian by either the Department or a licensed child placing agency for either foster care or respite care.

Adoptive placement is any placement of a child for the purpose of adoption and where a Form BSSAC-034, Adoptive Home Placement Agreement, has been signed.

Department employees include the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioners, the Directors of all Bureaus, all employees of the Bureau of Child and Services in regional offices and Central Office, Regional Program Managers for the Bureaus of Income Maintenance, Rehabilitation, and Regional Administration, and unit supervisors for regional Bureau of Income Maintenance and Bureau of Rehabilitation programs.

Assistant Attorneys General include any Assistant Attorney General who represents the Department in child protective proceedings, licensing, or other child welfare related matters.

PLACEMENT RESTRICTIONS

Children who are not to be placed with department employees or Assistant Attorneys General are:

1.	Children in voluntary care (V-l, V-2, V-7 and V-8).

2.	Children in the temporary custody of the Department (C-l, C-6 and C-9).

3.	Children where the goal of the case plan is for reunification with family (CC50).

4.	Children where the goal of the case plan is for termination of parental rights (CC62).

5.	Children for whom the goal of the case plan is adoption (CC60) but for whom the placement is not an adoptive placement (no Form BSSAC-034 has been signed).

6.	Children who are case members in an open child protective case (PC50, PC5l, PC53, PC55).

Exceptions to these restrictions may be requested from the Director, Bureau of Child and Services or designee in order to meet the individual needs of a specific child.

PROCEDURES

Selection

Placement of children for whom there are not placement restrictions may be considered only with an employee or Assistant Attorney General who has a license as a family foster home for children or who has an adoptive home study completed and approved by a Department regional office in accordance with Chapter VIII. Adoption, A. 10., or a licensed private adoption agency.

Before a decision is made to place a child in the home of an employee or Assistant Attorney General with such a license or approval, the following steps are to be taken:

a.	The needs of the child and the characteristics and the experience of the substitute or adoptive parents sought to meet the child's needs are identified in writing.

b.	The home studies of all licensed or approved foster or adoptive parent(s) who may have the identified characteristics are read by the child's caseworker and supervisor.

If the study does not provide sufficient information to assess the potential foster or adoptive parent(s)' willingness or ability to meet the needs of the child needing placement, additional clarification will be sought from the family or the Foster Care Licensing worker, (or for adoptive placements, the adoption caseworker).

If, in following general Department placement policies and if applicable, with adoption placement policy, an employee or Assistant Attorney General is selected, record both the reasons for selecting that home and for considering the other families whose studies were read inappropriate or less appropriate.

Approval

The information recorded in 1(a), and 1(c), and 1(d) above is submitted to the Regional Program Manager for review and approval of the placement.

If there appear to be conflict of interest issues, advice will be requested from an Assistant Attorney General; if placement is being considered with an Assistant Attorney General, advice is to be sought from the Deputy Attorney General.

If the Regional Program Manager or designee approves the placement, he or she will also establish who will provide case supervision. If the employee resides in another region, the policy or placement in another region also applies.

If the placement is with an Assistant Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General will be notified of the placement and the date the next judicial review is due or scheduled.

Review

Every three months the caseworker and supervisor will jointly review the case progress and plan, and every six months the Regional Program Manager will join in that review.