Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 15 - Children and Family Services › Rule 016.15.23-002 - Financial Support to Resource Parents

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
POLICY V-C: FAMILY SUPPORT FUND
The Division of Children and Family Services will ensure that
				staff has prompt access to the Family Support Fund to prevent children from
				entering or remaining in foster care due to the parents' financial inability to
				meet the children's basic needs or to participate in case plan services.
				Examples may include short-term assistance with utilities, gas cards, or
				purchases for the home to help ensure the safety of children (such as a crib to
				ensure a safe sleep environment for an infant). All requests will be assessed
				on a case-by-case basis. Requests to access the Family Support Fund for
				families involved in child maltreatment investigations and any type of case
				services will be made via the assigned Family Service Worker's chain of
				command.
Excerpt from Policy VIII-I: Adoption Subsidy
POLICY VIII-I: ADOPTION SUBSIDY
SUBSIDY AMOUNT
If eligible, the Division will make adoption assistance
				payments to adoptive parents in amounts so determined through an adoption
				assistance agreement. The amount of such payment:
1) Will take into account the circumstances
			 of the adopting parents and the needs of the child being adopted;
2) May be adjusted periodically with the
			 concurrence of the adoptive parents to reflect changing circumstances;
			 and
3) May not exceed the child's
			 foster care maintenance payment that is in effect at the time a subsidy is
			 approved (if the child with respect to whom the adoption assistance payment is
			 made had been in a resource home).
The standard foster care maintenance board rate scale is found
				below. New rates will not be paid until the child reaches the next age
				range.
Age of Child
Amount of Monthly Maintenance
Birth through five (5) years
$451.00
Six (6) through eleven (11) years
$484.00
Twelve (12) through fourteen (14) years
$517.00
Fifteen (15) through seventeen (17) years
$550.00
POLICY Vll-M: FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO RESOURCE
				PARENTS
The Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS or Division)
				provides foster care maintenance payments for a child in foster care to help
				defray the costs of providing:
* Food
* Shelter
* Clothing
* Daily supervision
* Standard school supplies
* A child's personal incidentals
* A reasonable monthly allowance to the child depending on the
				child's age and other factors
* Liability insurance with respect to the child
* Reasonable travel to the child's daycare, school, or
				extracurricular activities
The foster care maintenance payment is more frequently referred
				to as a monthly board payment. The monthly board payment is for the period
				starting on the first of the month and ending the last day of the month and is
				paid by the fifteenth of the subsequent month. If a child is absent from the
				resource home for hospitalization or a trial placement for ten (10) days or
				less and is to return to that resource home, no change of status in the
				Division's information management system is necessary. However, the child's
				Family Service Worker (FSW) must always be advised of an absence from the home.
				The agency pays according to the number of nights a child is in the resource
				home. Payment for stays of less than twenty-four (24) hours will be based upon
				a daily rate determined by the Division. If a child is in the home for part of
				a month, a partial board payment will be made.
Resource parents may choose to have their board payment
				directly deposited into their checking account or issued as a paper warrant and
				mailed to the resource home. DCFS strongly encourages the use of direct deposit
				to prevent payment delays when a warrant is lost in the mail or
				misplaced.
For children who are IV-E eligible and placed in a IV-E
				reimbursable foster care placement, title IV-E funds the board payment. For
				children who are either not IV-E eligible or who are placed in a non-IV-E
				reimbursable foster care placement, other appropriate funding streams fund the
				board payment.
Standard Board Rate
DCFS shall pay resource parents a standard monthly board rate
				according to the chart below. These rates are effective for board payments
				beginning August 2023 and continuing thereafter.
The Division shall review the amount of payment made for foster
				care maintenance every five (5) years to assure continued
				appropriateness.
Birth through 5 years
$451.00 Monthly
Board and Care
381.00
Clothing
50.00
Personal Needs
20.00
6 through 11 years
$484.00 Monthly
Board and Care
397.00
Clothing
57.00
School and Personal Needs
30.00
12 through 14 years
$517.00 Monthly
Board and Care
410.00
Clothing
67.00
School and Personal Needs
40.00
15 through 17 years
$550.00 Monthly
Board and Care
425.00
Clothing
80.00
School and Personal Needs
45.00
Special Board Rate
When resource parents are caring for a child with special needs
				and the child's needs cannot be met with the standard board payment, the
				Division may provide the resource parents with a board payment that exceeds the
				standard board rates listed above. This is referred to as a special board
				rate.
Increased Special Board Rates
The amount of higher special board rates will be based on the
				nature and extent of the child's special needs and any additional activities
				that a resource parent takes part in to support those needs. Increased special
				board payments may also be considered when the resource parent is directly
				involved in certain family time activities that support reunification.
To determine the exact amount of an increased special board
				rate, local DCFS staff will complete the CFS-304: Justification of Special
				Board Rate after receiving documentation of the child's special needs and any
				additional activities required of or offered by the resource parents to meet
				those needs and submit to the DCFS Area Director. The Area Director or designee
				will have final approval of the CFS-304: Justification of Special Board Rate.
				The Area Director may consult with the DCFS Foster Care Unit Manager or
				designee for review and technical assistance as needed. Any special board rate
				over one thousand dollars ($1,000) will also be reviewed and approved or denied
				by the Assistant Director of Field Operations or designee.
Other reasons for an increased special board rate that do not
				require the completion of the CFS-304: Justification of Special Board Rate form
				may occur under the following situations:
Board Payments to Youth in the Extended Foster Care
				Program
Refer to Policy Vlll-B: Extended Foster Care for requirements
				to continue board payments for youth eighteen to twenty-one (18-21) years of
				age who participate in the Extended Foster Care Program and may qualify for an
				increased special board rate based upon their individualized budget. Board
				payments must end the day the youth elects to leave the Extended Foster Care
				Program or the end of the month of their twenty-first birthday.
Providing Financial Support for Children of a Minor
				in Foster Care
When a minor in foster care or young adult in Extended Foster
				Care has a child of their own who is placed in the same resource home or other
				provider setting, foster care maintenance payments made on behalf of the youth
				shall include the board amounts listed above based on the age of the minor or
				young adult's child.
For youth participating in the Extended Foster Care Program who
				live independently and have a child or children of their own, the board payment
				for the youth in the Extended Foster Care Program may also be augmented to
				assist the youth in caring for their child in their custody. The maximum amount
				by which the youth's board payment will be increased is the board amount listed
				above based on the age of the young adult's child. The amount will also take
				into account the youth's overall budget when determining the additional amount
				designed to help care for the child of the young adult.
Providing a Comparable Board Rate to a Placement
				State
Increased special board rates may also be approved for children
				taken into foster care in Arkansas but placed via the Interstate Compact on the
				Placement of Children (ICPC) with kin in another state. In these situations,
				the Assistant Director of Field Operations or designee may approve an increased
				special board rate up to the amount of the placement state's standard foster
				care board rate for the age of the applicable child. A special board rate
				becomes effective the day the Area Director or Assistant Director, as
				applicable, authorizes the rate to become active. Retroactive payments will be
				determined on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the Area Director or
				Assistant Director of Field Operations or designee.
While the child remains in the resource home placement, the
				local DCFS staff will review the continuing need for a special board rate as
				directed by the Area Director and, if appropriate, resubmit for
				reevaluation.
The special board rate will also be reviewed in consultation
				with new resource parents each time a child changes placement, to determine if
				the new resource placement is providing the same level of care and that the
				child continues to have the same behaviors or special needs. If the current
				approved special board rate is still appropriate, the CFS-304: Justification of
				Special Board Rate does not have to be completed again nor sent through the
				approval process each time the child changes placement.
DCFS staff will inform the resource parents in writing of the
				ultimate decision to continue or discontinue any currently approved special
				board rate and the reason for that decision, noting that any continued approval
				for special board rate is for the period designated by the Area Director and
				the documentation of continuing need must be reviewed accordingly.
Any increased special board rate request for a resource home
				that will serve as a pre-adoptive placement must be provided to the Area
				Director or designee for review sixty (60) days prior to a pre-adoptive
				placement being made.
Decreased Special Board Rates
A special board rate can also be a decrease in the standard
				board amount. Federal law prohibits any individual from receiving more than one
				(1) federal payment designed to provide financial assistance for the care of
				another individual in their care. As a result, DCFS will reduce a child's
				monthly board payment rate dollar for dollar based on the amount of the monthly
				federal benefits that a child receives when the resource home provider is the
				payee for that child. The resource parent will be expected to use the funds for
				which they are payee on behalf of the child to support the child's care. In
				instances when the child's federal benefits exceed the standard board amount,
				the DCFS board amount entered will be zero (0) dollars.
The only exception to reducing the DCFS board amount when the
				child is receiving other federal benefits is when a child in foster care
				receives Title II Death Benefits and the resource parent is the payee.
A child's income must be monitored as a resource in the home
				and the payee for the income must report how the income is used based on the
				requirement for the issuing source of the income. Resource parents are
				responsible for completing all reporting requirements to the payment source
				when becoming payee for a child's benefits. Resource parents are also required
				to report any change in payee status to DCFS. To assist in this process, DCFS
				staff will inquire about payee status during visits to the resource
				home.
Medical Expenses
Medicaid is the primary payment source for medical and dental
				services for children in foster care, including hospitalization. If a child in
				foster care is eligible for Medicaid, resource parents are required to use a
				Medicaid provider for meeting the medical needs of the child. If Medicaid
				cannot cover such expenses, state funds may be a secondary payment option.
				Other services or supplies needed by the child must be authorized and approved
				by DCFS. A child will not be denied medical services due to being ineligible
				for Medicaid.
Transportation
Transportation costs associated with the child's case plan,
				such as attending Family Team Meetings and court well as transporting the child
				to family time and medical appointments may be reimbursed. Allowable
				transportation costs are reimbursed to the resource parent at a rate determined
				by DCFS. To be reimbursed, the resource parent must complete a travel
				reimbursement request in the designated web-based system. Requests for travel
				reimbursement must be submitted at least monthly.
Clothing
As stated above, a portion of the monthly board allowance is
				designed to go toward defraying the cost of clothing for a child placed in a
				resource home. The portion for clothing costs may be spent monthly or may be
				saved and used for a larger purchase later. All receipts from the purchase
				clothes must be retained by the resource parent and given to the resource
				worker during the resource worker's quarterly visit.
However, when a child first enters foster care, DCFS may issue
				an initial clothing order for the purchase of new clothing. Initial clothing
				orders will be issued on a case-by-case basis. Not all children will need to
				purchase new clothing as they may enter foster care with ample and suitable
				clothing. The FSW will assess what clothing items are needed.
Supplemental clothing orders may also be approved for
				circumstances in which a child in foster care needs new clothing items that
				exceed the amount included in the monthly board payment. Examples include, but
				are not limited to, when a child has a significant growth spurt, the child has
				an event for a school, extracurricular, or faith-based event that requires
				special attire, or the child needs new items for an upcoming season. The
				resource parent must obtain prior approval from the FSW for supplemental
				clothing orders. Supplemental clothing orders will be approved no more than
				once a quarter.
Children will be included in the selection of their own
				clothing as age and developmentally appropriate. All clothing purchased for a
				child in foster care will be clean, well-fitting, seasonally appropriate, and
				comparable to community standards. Any clothing purchased for a child, whether
				through monthly board payment funds or supplemental clothing orders, and any
				other personal needs items will be sent with the child upon any change in
				placement.
Incidental Expense Fund
An Incidental Expense Fund for children ages birth to thirteen
				(13) years of age exists to provide items and activities intended to help
				normalize a child's life experience while in care. Examples include but are not
				limited to, camp fees, extracurricular activities, school uniforms, field
				trips, and specialized school supplies such as graphing calculators required by
				the school. However, standard school supplies will be covered by personal needs
				monies within the board payment.
The Incidental Expense Fund is intended for items or activities
				that cost twenty-five dollars ($25) or more and must be accompanied by
				documentation of need for the expense. Items covered by the monthly board
				payment or contracts are not eligible for reimbursement from this fund. In
				addition, the Incidental Expense Fund will not be used for holiday
				gifts.
The FSW will assist the resource parent in accessing these
				funding requests when the money is needed for a situation that meets these
				policy guidelines. These funding requests must also be approved by the DCFS
				Financial Support Unit. Use of the Incidental Expense Fund will be limited to
				one (1) request per quarter. Resource parents must have prior approval for such
				purchases.
Transitional Youth Services Funded through
				Chafee
Youth that are fourteen (14) years of age and older in foster
				care are eligible for John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful
				Transition to Adulthood funding for a variety of activities designed to promote
				normalcy, develop leadership skills, or help youth in foster care prepare for
				adulthood. The maximum amount allowed for Chafee-funded activities is dependent
				on the particular activity and must receive final approval from the DCFS
				Director or designee. Generally, the use of Chafee funding will be
				pre-approved. However, Chafee funding may be provided on a reimbursement basis
				when necessary if all appropriate documentation is provided.
Additional Assistance with Expenses
In addition to the items already described, the following items
				are allowable with the approval of the County Office Supervisor or
				designee:
A. Emergency medical
			 services and drugs that are not covered by Medicaid.
B. Childcare or baby-sitting fees may also be
			 defrayed with financial support from DCFS, when the resource parent is required
			 to attend resource parent training, if and when funding is available. This does
			 not include childcare for a resource parent's employment as any regular
			 childcare arrangements for a child in foster care will be arranged through the
			 state's Child Care Assistance Program.