Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 441 - Human Services Department › Title XIV - Grant/contract/payment Administration › Chapter 156 - Payments for Foster Care › Rule 441-156.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
"Child welfare services"
means
				  age-appropriate activities to maintain a child's connection to the child's
				  family and community, to promote reunification or other permanent placement,
				  and to facilitate a child's transition to adulthood.
"Cost of foster care"
means the maintenance
				  and supervision costs of foster family care, the maintenance costs and child
				  welfare service costs of group care, and the maintenance and service costs of
				  supervised apartment living and shelter care. The cost for foster family care
				  supervision and for supervised apartment living services provided directly by
				  the department caseworker shall be $250 per month. When using this average
				  monthly charge results in unearned income or parental liability being collected
				  in excess of the cost of foster care, the excess funds shall be placed in the
				  child's escrow account. The cost for supervised apartment living services
				  purchased from a private provider shall be the actual costs paid by the
				  department.
"Department"
means the Iowa department of
				  human services and includes the local offices of the department.
"Director"
means the director of the
				  department of human services or the director's designee.
"Earned income"
means income in the form of
				  a salary, wages, tips, bonuses, commissions earned as an employee, income from
				  job corps or profit from self-employment.
"Escrow account"
means an interest bearing
				  account in a bank or savings and loan association that is maintained by the
				  department in the name of a particular child.
"Family foster care supervision"
means the
				  support, assistance, and oversight provided by department caseworkers to
				  children in family foster care and directed toward achievement of the child's
				  permanency plan goals.
"Foster care"
means substitute care
				  furnished on a 24-hour-a-day basis to an eligible child in a licensed or
				  approved facility by a person or agency other than the child's parent or
				  guardian but does not include care provided in a family home through an
				  informal arrangement for a period of 20 days or less. Child foster care shall
				  include but is not limited to the provision of food, lodging, training,
				  education, supervision and health care.
"Foster family care"
means foster care
				  provided by a foster family licensed by the department according to 441-Chapter
				  113 or licensed or approved by the placing state. The care includes the
				  provision of food, lodging, clothing, transportation, recreation, and training
				  that is appropriate for the child's age and mental and physical
				  capacity.
"Group care maintenance"
means food,
				  clothing, shelter, school supplies, personal incidentals, daily care, general
				  parenting, discipline, and supervision of children to ensure their well-being
				  and safety, and administration of maintenance items provided in a group care
				  facility.
"Income"
means earned and unearned
				  income.
"Inflation factor"
means the amount by which
				  the consumer price index for all urban consumers increased during the calendar
				  year ending December 31 that preceded the contractor's fiscal year end.
"Intellectual disabilities professional"
means a psychologist, physician, registered nurse, educator, social worker,
				  physical or occupational therapist, speech therapist or audiologist who meets
				  the educational requirements for the profession, as required in the state of
				  Iowa, and has at least one year of experience working with persons with an
				  intellectual disability.
"Kinship caregiver"
means, for this chapter
				  only, a person to whom a child is related by blood, marriage, or adoption, or a
				  person who has a significant, committed, positive relationship with the child,
				  who is caring for a child in foster care, pursuant to Iowa Code chapter
				  232.
"Mental health professional"
means a person
				  who meets all of the following conditions:
1. Holds at least a master's degree in a
				mental health field including, but not limited to, psychology, counseling and
				guidance, psychiatric nursing and social work; or is a doctor of medicine or
				osteopathic medicine; and
2. Holds
				a current Iowa license when required by the Iowa professional licensure laws
				(such as a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a marital and family therapist, a
				mental health counselor, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, a
				psychiatric nurse, or a social worker); and
3. Has at least two years of postdegree
				experience supervised by a mental health professional in assessing mental
				health problems, mental illness, and service needs and in providing mental
				health services.
"Parent"
means the biological or adoptive
				  parent of the child.
"Parental liability"
means a parent's
				  liability for the support of a child during the period of foster care
				  placement. Liability shall be determined pursuant to 441-Chapter 99, Division
				  I.
"Physician"
means a licensed medical or
				  osteopathic doctor as defined in Iowa Code section
				  135.1(4).
"Prevailing rate"
means the maximum combined
				  service and maintenance reimbursement rate the department pays to contracted
				  shelter care providers as authorized by the legislature.
"Provider"
means the entity that has
				  executed a contract with the department to provide services.
"Service area manager"
means the department
				  employee or designee responsible for managing department offices and personnel
				  within the service area and for implementing policies and procedures of the
				  department.
"Special needs child"
means a child with
				  needs for emotional care, behavioral care, or physical and personal care that
				  require additional skills, knowledge, or responsibility on the part of the
				  foster parents, as measured by Form 470-4401, Foster Child Behavioral
				  Assessment. See subrule 156.6(4).
"Unearned income"
means any income that is
				  not earned income and includes supplemental security income (SSI) and other
				  funds available to a child residing in a foster care placement.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section
				  234.39.