Source: http://www.okdhs.org/library/policy/pages/oac340075070024000.aspx
Timestamp: 2018-02-26 01:04:05
Document Index: 244225079

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1']

24. Kinship placement for the child in OKDHS custody
340:75-7-24. Kinship placement for the child in OKDHS custody
• 1 through • 5
(a) Kinship care.
(1) Per Section 1-9-106 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-9-106), Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) establishes standards for kinship foster care.
(A) A person related by blood, marriage, adoption, by tie or bond to a child, and to who has been ascribed a family relationship role with the child's parents or the child may be eligible for approval as a kinship foster parent.
(B) When the child is in protective or OKDHS emergency custody, priority is given by OKDHS to the child's noncustodial parent for placement, unless the placement is not in the best interest of the child.
(C) When the child cannot be placed with the noncustodial parent, the child's placement is made in accord with 10A O.S. § 1-4-204.
(2) Per 10A O.S. § 1-4-204, when determining the placement of a child in OKDHS custody, a preference is given to relatives and persons who have a kinship relationship with the child. OKDHS makes diligent efforts to place the child accordingly and reports to the court the efforts made to secure the placement. When the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) applies, ICWA placement preferences are followed.
(3) When the child is not placed with a relative considered for placement, OKDHS notifies the court in writing the reasons the relative was denied placement and the notice is made a part of the court record per 10A O.S. § 1-4-204. • 1
(b) Kinship relationships. Kinship relationships are identified in paragraphs (1) through (4).
(1) Related by blood. Maternal and paternal blood relatives considered as kinship, including half-blood, are:
(B) grandparents, including those denoted by prefixes of great and great-great;
(C) aunts and uncles, including those denoted by prefixes of great and great-great;
(D) nieces and nephews, including those denoted by prefixes of grand and great-grand; and
(E) cousins.
(2) Related by marriage. Relationships created by marriage, as described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, whether by common-law or ceremony include:
(A) step-relations; and
(B) the previous relationship designation prior to the termination of the marriage by death or divorce.
(3) Related by adoption. Relatives by adoption as described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection are considered kinship.
(4) Related by emotional tie or bond. An emotional tie or bond exists when a child or the child's parent acknowledges and accepts a person as part of the extended family or in the family's close network of friends and relationships. The family relationship role must exist prior to the necessity for the child's out-of-home placement. • 2
(c) Parent not considered kinship. A kinship placement does not include:
(1) the child's custodial or noncustodial parent with whom the child is placed or to whom the child is returned; or
(2) a parent whose parental rights are terminated.
(d) Parent not eligible for foster care maintenance payment. A biological parent, regardless whether parental rights are intact or terminated, cannot be a kinship resource and is not eligible for a foster care maintenance payment when the child is in OKDHS custody and placed in the parent's home. • 3
(e) Initial kinship placement. Per 10A O.S. § 1-7-111, a child may be placed in the kinship foster home prior to completion of the resource family assessment, criminal history records search, child abuse and neglect checks, and pre-service training when the foster parent applicant and each adult residing in the home of the applicant have resided in the State of Oklahoma for at least five years immediately preceding placement, provided:
(1) Form 04FC001E, Initial Kinship Placement Agreement, is completed and signed;
(2) Forms 04AF001E, Bridge Resource Family Assessment Application, and 04AD003E, Request for Background Check, are completed and signed, per OAC 340:75-7-15 and 340:75-7-18;
(3) an OKDHS records search, including Child Welfare Services (CWS) records, is completed and documented on Form 04AF007E, Records Check Documentation Form;
(4) Form 04AF004E, House Assessment, is completed and approved; and
(5) three personal references, only one of whom is a family member, are interviewed. • 4
(f) Kinship maintenance payment option. The kinship applicant may opt for:
(1) a foster care maintenance payment from OKDHS; or
(2) a money payment for which the child is eligible instead of the foster care maintenance payment.
(A) The foster care maintenance payment is reduced by the amount of the money payment when the money payment is less than the foster care maintenance payment. Refer to OAC 340:75-7-52.1 for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits received for a parent who is deceased or disabled.
(B) Payment may include:
(i) other financial resources, per OAC 340:75-13-28; or
(ii) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, per OAC 340:10-9. • 5
(g) Kinship and traditional foster home requirements the same. Each kinship foster home, whether paid or non-paid, must meet the same requirements as the traditional non-related foster home.
(h) Kinship start-up and training stipend. The kinship foster family that has not been approved within the preceding five years, is entitled to receive, as set out in OKDHS Appendix C-20 (.pdf, 8 pp, 229 KB), Children and Family Services Division Rates Schedule:
(1) a one-time kinship start-up stipend to assist with initial expenditures for each child placed in the home for 14 calendar days; and
(2) a training stipend. Half of the total stipend is paid to the kinship foster family after the kinship foster parent(s) enrolls in the pre-service training and the second half of the total stipend is paid to the kinship foster parent(s) after the kinship foster parent(s) completes the pre-service training when:
(A) a child is placed and residing in the home at the time the kinship foster parent enrolls in training; and
(B) the child remains in the home until the kinship foster parent completes training.
(i) Foster care maintenance payments begin when requirements satisfied. Per 10A O.S. § 1-9-106, the kinship foster parent is not entitled to any payments for providing foster care until the foster parent receives final approval from OKDHS. Foster care maintenance payments for paid kinship foster homes begin at the time requirements are met per OAC 340:75-7-18 and are not retroactive. • 5
INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:75-7-24
1. Notification to court of relative denied placement. When the relative considered for placement is denied placement, Form 04MP056E, Notice to the Court of Relative Denied Placement, is submitted to the court per OAC 340:75-7-18.
2. Exception to kinship relationship requirements. An exception to the requirement for emotional tie or bond for a kinship relationship may be requested from, and approved on a case-by-case basis by the field manager when:
(1) a diligent search for kinship has been completed per OAC 340:75-6-85.2 and documented in the child's KIDS case;
(2) an appropriate kinship provider as defined in OAC 340:75-7-24 is not located; and
(3) a specialized skill is needed to care for the child;
(4) a teenager has found placement through a connection in the community; or
(5) a child in permanent custody or long-term placement has a connection in the community; or
(6) other similar circumstance exists.
3. Kinship. Diligent efforts, per Section 1-4-204 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-4-204), are made to place a child in a kinship placement. The resource specialist carefully considers the child's physical and emotional health and safety when identifying potential kin providers.
4. Initial kinship placement. An Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) records search, including Child Welfare Services (CWS) records, is completed first on potential kinship providers and documented on Form 04AF007E, Records Check Documentation Form. When the CW specialist completes the initial kinship placement, the CW specialist provides the necessary paperwork to the resource specialist within two business days. The resource specialist:
(1) copies the KIDS Pre-Resource to a Resource after the child is placed in the kinship foster home and the initial placement requirements are completed, per OAC 340:75-7-24;
(2) documents the kinship provider's relationship in KIDS Resource General Information screen. When requesting an out-of-district kinship placement, a KIDS Pre-Resource is assigned to the district where the kinship provider resides;
(3) end dates the KIDS Pre-Resource after the conversion to a Resource; and
(A) Form 04FC001E, Initial Kinship Placement Agreement;
(B) the criminal records search, OKDHS records review, background checks, and Juvenile Justice Information System (JOLTS) review for any child older than 13 years of age residing in the home, per OAC 340:75-7-15;
(C) Form 04AF004E, House Assessment, and submits Form 04AF004E to the resource supervisor for review; and
(D) an interview by phone with three personal references, only one of whom is a family member. When all other requirements are satisfied and the placement is occurring after 10:00 p.m., the child may be placed and the references contacted the next day.
5. Kinship stipend and maintenance payment.
(1) The kinship start-up stipend (KSUS) and the training stipend is entered automatically by the KIDS system.
(A) The KIDS system automatically generates the KSUS on the 15th day of the child's placement when the child is in the placement for 14 consecutive days.
(B) The KIDS system allows a date range for automatic payment of the training stipend that includes the kinship provider:
(i) enrolling in the pre-service training up to seven calendar days prior to the child's placement; and
(ii) completing the pre-service training up to seven calendar days after the child leaves the placement.
(2) The resource specialist:
(A) refers the relative kinship provider to the local OKDHS office to apply for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits pending completion of the assessment process to become a paid foster family;
(B) to avoid an overpayment, informs the Family Support Services worker no later than the next business day after the foster care home requirements are satisfied for foster care;
(C) at the initial consultation:
(i) obtains each kinship provider's signature on a foster care contract, per OAC 340:75-7-52 Instructions to Staff, or when the provider is a non-paid kinship provider, on Form 04FC002E, Nonpaid Agreement; and
(ii) provides each adult applicant in the home with fingerprint cards to be completed and returned to the resource specialist within five calendar days; and
(D) consults with the resource supervisor and determines whether an exception is necessary.
(i) Exceptions for payments made before requirements are completed are considered on a case-by-case basis.
(ii) A request for a one-time 60-day training or home study waiver is requested only after all efforts by the district to expedite training or the home study are exhausted, and the efforts are documented in KIDS Resource Contacts screens.
(iii) A written request and a waiver request on KIDS is submitted by the resource supervisor to the field manager who, when in agreement with the request, forwards the request via KIDS to the program administrator who approves or denies the request in KIDS.
(iv) The types of training waivers include a:
(I) temporary waiver when pre-service training is not available and all other requirements are satisfied; and
(II) permanent training waiver for an incapacitated spouse that is available only after the primary kinship provider completes the pre-service training.
(v) A home assessment waiver is requested when:
(I) the resource specialist has not completed the home assessment timely; or
(II) required documentation is not received.