Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 148 - OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES › Chapter 14 - RULES FOR LEVELS OF CARE FOR FOSTER HOMES › Section 148-14-1 - Definitions

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
As used in these rules the following definitions shall
				  apply:
A.
"Basic Care"
is
				the type of care offered in Family Foster Homes for Children.
B.
"Caseworker"
is the child
				welfare staff within OCFS that is assigned to serve as guardian for the foster
				child being assessed.
C.
"Child Assessment"
is the process used to assess a child's level
				of care through the use of assessment tools approved by the Department,
				including but not limited to, the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment
				Scale (CAFAS), the Preschool and Early Childhood Functional Assessment Scale
				(PECFAS), the Children's Habilitation Assessment Tool (CHAT), the Vineland
				Behavior Scales, and the Temperamental and Atypical Behavior Scale (TABS)
				Assessment Tool. Assessment tools include, but are not limited to, clinically
				developed assessments that have been tested to determine that they measure as
				expected when they are used by different assessors with children with varying
				demographic characteristics. Assessment tools may be administered only by those
				with appropriate training and/or certification. The Child Assessment may
				involve the use of information from the following sources:
Interviews with Foster Parents and others.
									Evaluations and reports of child functioning from Child
					 Placing Agencies, mental health providers, schools and/or
					 facilities.
									Interviews with Caseworkers.
									Review of case information from Departmental
					 records.
									Any other information that is deemed pertinent to the
					 Child Assessment process by the Department.
D.
"Child
				Placing Agency"
shall mean a licensed facility which advertises itself
				or holds itself out as finding homes for or otherwise placing children under
				the age of 18, in homes where care is provided on the basis of 24 hours a day.
				A Child Placing Agency may also provide contracted services to children and the
				foster families affiliated with them. Child Placing Agencies may be designed to
				serve either Family or Specialized Foster Homes.
E.
"Contracted Entity"
is the
				entity contracted by the Department to review and authorize Levels of Care for
				children in Treatment Foster Care.
F. "
Department"
shall mean the
				Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
G.
"Family Foster Home for
				Children"
means a children's home that is a private dwelling, where
				substitute parental care is provided within a family on a regular, 24-hour a
				day, residential basis to children under l8 years of age and unrelated to the
				foster family by blood, marriage or adoption. Family Foster Home for Children
				is further defined in Chapter 16 "Rules Providing for the Licensing of Family
				Foster Homes for Children."
H.
"Foster Child"
shall mean a child under l8 years of age, unrelated
				to the foster family by blood, marriage or adoption, who requires out of home
				care on a regular 24-hour a day, residential basis.
I. For Foster Parents with a Family Foster
				Home for Children,
"Foster Parent"
shall mean a person maintaining
				a Family Foster Home.
J. For Foster
				Parents with a Specialized Children's Foster Home,
"Foster Parent"
shall mean a person maintaining a Specialized Foster Home.
K.
"Level of Care (LOC)"
is the
				level of need and reimbursement rate for the Foster Child determined through
				the Child Assessment.
L.
"Levels of Care - Child Functioning Levels"
is the guide to the
				five levels of care which specifies child behavior and needs by level and sets
				a reimbursement rate for each level.
M.
"LOC Reviewers"
are the child
				welfare staff within OCFS and the Contracted Entity charged with the
				responsibility to review and authorize LOC for all foster children in Family
				Foster Homes and Specialized Children's Foster Homes.
N.
"OCFS"
shall mean the Office
				of Child and Family Services within the Department of Health and Human
				Services.
O.
"Reimbursement
				rate"
is the daily foster care maintenance payment paid to Foster
				Parents to cover the cost of food, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies,
				a child's personal incidentals, and reasonable travel for a child's visitation
				with family.
P.
"Special
				Review"
is a non-scheduled review that may be conducted in response to a
				claim that a child's needs have substantially changed or that pertinent
				information was not available at the time of the previous review. Such reviews
				may be requested by the:
Caseworker or LOC Reviewer w/ Supervisory
					 approval
									Foster Parent
									Child Placing Agency Staff
Q.
"Specialized Children's Foster Home"
shall mean a children's
				licensed home that is a private dwelling where substitute parental care is
				provided within a family on a regular, 24hour a day residential basis to
				children under 18 years of age and unrelated to the foster family by blood,
				marriage or adoption. Specialized care is further defined in Chapter 15 "Rules
				Providing for the Licensing of Specialized Children's Foster Homes."
R.
"Treatment Foster Care"
is
				the type of care offered in Specialized Children's Foster Homes. Treatment
				Foster Care is also referred to as "Treatment Care."
S. Foster children who become adults may
				continue under the
V9 or extended care program at age 18 or older if they
				are no longer in state custody but are receiving
ongoing services
				through a voluntary agreement with OCFS. These services are designed to assist
				the child in completing an educational program, either high school or
				post-secondary education.