Florida Administrative Code › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › 65C - Family Safety and Preservation Program › Chapter 65C-17 - MASTER TRUST › Section 65C-17.004 - Criteria

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
Any determination as to whether funds should be transferred
				  to a different subaccount for the client, or whether, subject to availability
				  of funding, a fee waiver or change in allowance should be granted shall be made
				  by utilizing the following criteria to balance current and long-term needs of
				  Family Safety and Preservation program Master Trust client
				  beneficiaries:
(1) Expressed
				preferences of the client previously made known to the caseworker and
				documented in a PASS, PASS-ND, Independent Living or other case plan. The
				department caseworker shall work with each client who is completing a PASS or
				PASS-ND plan.
(2) Age of the
				client. Although PASS and the Independent Living program are primarily geared
				toward clients age 15 and older, younger children are eligible for a fee waiver
				or change in allowance in order to obtain goods or services linked to goals in
				the case plan. For example, a young child may exhibit special talents or
				abilities which would be enhanced by specialized training, classes, or
				equipment.
(3) Health status and
				needs of the client. Children who are confined to bed or who have limited
				mobility benefit from in-home physical therapy, tutoring, visual aids such as
				television or video cassette recordings, or a specially adapted computer or
				wheelchair.
(4) Status of the case
				(such as goal of reunification, long-term substitute care, or independent
				living). If the goal is reunification, care must be taken to monitor subaccount
				balances to avoid making the child or family ineligible for benefits when the
				child returns home. If the goal is long-term substitute care, quality-of-life
				considerations become more critical. When independent living is the case goal,
				educational and vocational needs, as well as sufficient funds for such needs as
				an apartment and transportation become primary.
(5) Amount and duration of benefits,
				including the amount of money currently available to the child as a personal
				allowance in his master trust account. If benefits terminate at age 18 (such as
				Social Security Act Title II benefits) future needs (such as those enunciated
				in a PASS-ND, subsidized independent living or other case plan) shall be a
				priority in terms of the amount of money set aside as savings for the child. If
				a fee waiver is being requested, the child's own resources shall be considered
				in the determination of whether to grant the waiver. However, absence of
				personal resources shall not make the child ineligible to apply for a fee
				waiver.
(6) Other resources
				reasonably available to the client such as voluntary or court-ordered child
				support paid into the child's current needs account, or other family or
				community support. A fee waiver shall not be used to purchase goods or services
				for which the client is eligible from community agencies or other federal and
				state programs, unless such goods or services are shown to be
				unavailable.
(7) If a fee waiver is
				contemplated, the duration of the proposed waiver. A fee waiver shall be
				subject to availability of funding and shall normally be limited to a sum
				certain; for example, $250 security deposit plus $100 utilities deposit for a
				total fee waiver of $350.
(8)
				Relationship of the proposed transfer or fee waiver to the client's PASS,
				PASS-ND, Independent Living or other case plan. The proposed transfer or fee
				waiver must be directly related to the goal(s) in the plan in one or more of
				the following ways:
(a) The client's interests
				and abilities in relation to the goals expressed in the plan need to be
				assessed in order to determine if the goals are realistic;
(b) The client's vocational assessment
				supports the goals, but the client needs remedial tutoring or classes in
				specified areas, along with books, supplies or transportation;
(c) As shown by the client's vocational
				assessment or academic record, remedial classes are not necessary, but the
				client needs funding for such things as tuition, fees, books, supplies,
				supported employment services, attendant or child care expenses, equipment,
				tools, or uniforms for school, training or to do a job;
(d) The client's academic record, interests,
				and motivation clearly support the client's college potential and justify
				funding of a prepaid college tuition plan;
(e) The client's independent living plan
				includes realistic and practical means for continuing to finance an apartment
				and other living expenses. In this regard, a fee waiver or change in allowance
				can be granted to enable the child to accumulate savings as part of the
				articulated plan for the child's use upon discharge from foster
				care.