Virginia Administrative Code › Title 22 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Agency 40 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter 201 - PERMANENCY SERVICES - PREVENTION, FOSTER CARE, ADOPTION AND INDEPENDENT LIVING › Section 22VAC40-201-100 - Providing independent living services: service for youth 14 years of age and older

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Independent
				living services shall be identified by the youth, parent or prior custodian,
				foster or adoptive family, local department, service providers, legal
				community, and other interested individuals and shall be included in the
				service plan. Input from the youth in assembling these individuals and
				developing the services is required.
B. Independent living services shall be
				provided to all youth in foster care ages 14 to 21 years and shall be offered
				to any person from the age of 14 until they reach 23 years of age and who was
				in foster care at any point between 14 and 21 years of age.
C. Independent living services include
				education, vocational training, employment, mental and physical health
				services, transportation, housing, financial support, daily living skills,
				counseling, and development of permanent connections with adults.
D. Local departments shall conduct life
				skills assessments and develop transition plans, which include independent
				living services to be offered, within 30 days of a child in foster care
				reaching 14 years of age or within 30 days of a child who is 14 years of age or
				older entering foster care and update such assessments and plans
				annually.
E. A youth age 16 years
				and older is eligible to live in an independent living arrangement provided the
				local department utilizes the independent living arrangement placement criteria
				developed by the department to determine that such an arrangement is in the
				youth's best interest. An eligible youth may receive an independent living
				stipend to assist him with the costs of maintenance. The eligibility criteria
				for receiving an independent living stipend will be developed by the
				department.
F. Local departments
				shall assist eligible youth in applying for educational and vocational
				financial assistance. Educational and vocational specific funding sources shall
				be used prior to using other sources.
G. A youth who has been in care six months or
				more and turns 18 years of age while in foster care shall receive a certified
				copy of his birth certificate, social security card, health insurance
				information, medical records, and state-issued identification or driver's
				license.
H. The local department
				shall run annual credit checks on all youth in foster care who are 14 years of
				age and older but younger than 18 years of age. The local department shall
				assist a youth in resolving any discrepancies in the youth's credit report. The
				local department shall assist a youth in foster care over 18 years of age in
				obtaining the youth's annual credit report.
I. The local department shall ensure that any
				youth in foster care on the youth's 18th birthday is enrolled in Medicaid,
				unless the youth objects or is otherwise ineligible.
J. The local department shall ensure that any
				youth who turns 18 years of age while in foster care is given the opportunity
				to complete a survey to provide feedback regarding the youth's experience in
				foster care.
Statutory Authority: §§ 63.2-217 and 63.2-319 of
					 the Code of Virginia.