The intent of Regulation 4 is to provide for the protection and safety of children being placed in a residential facility in another state, through the monitoring of the residential facility while the child is placed and to prevent children from being abandoned in the receiving state. The primary application of this regulation is to request approval to place prior to placement at the residential facility. If the child is placed prior to approval being received, this is considered a violation of the Compact. The receiving state is not obligated to process and approve the placement request as long as the child is placed in violation of the Compact.

Types of Placements Exempt from Regulation 4

Regulation 4 does not apply when placement is sought in the following facilities across state lines:

• A primarily educational institution defined under Regulation 4 as an institution that operates one or more programs that can be offered in satisfaction of compulsory school attendance laws, in which the primary purpose of accepting children is to meet their educational needs.
• A hospital or other medical facility defined as an institution for the acutely ill that discharges its patients when they are no longer acutely ill, which does not provide or hold itself out as providing child care in substitution for parental and/or foster care, and in which a child is placed for the primary purpose of treating an acute medical problem.
• An institution for the mentally ill or developmentally disabled minors means a facility that is responsible for treatment of acute conditions, both psychiatric and medical, as well as such custodial care as is necessary for the treatment of such acute conditions of minors who are either voluntarily committed or involuntarily committed by a court of competent jurisdiction to reside in it;
• Outpatient services provided for the treatment, care, and other services by an institution for the mentally ill or developmentally disabled may accept a child for treatment and care without complying with ICPC.

Missouri as the Sending State

All ICPC Referrals are to be entered in FACES.

When making a request for a residential placement in another state, the Children’s Service Worker will submit the same documentation as for any other type of home study request through ICPC. In addition to the documentation listed above, the following documentation is to be included:

• Letter of acceptance from the residential facility. This provides the receiving state’s ICPC office with indication that the residential facility has screened the child as an appropriate placement for their facility.
• Placement Disruption Agreement which indicates who will be responsible for the return of the child to the sending state if the child disrupts or a request is made for the child’s removal and return to the sending state.
• Signed ICPC 100B, Child Placement Report, if child is already placed in the facility in the receiving state.

The receiving state’s ICPC office is to provide an approval or denial for placement within three (3) business days from receipt of the complete request.

Placement of a Missouri Child in a Residential Care Facility in another State

Once approval is received, and the child is placed, the Children’s Service Worker is to complete the ICPC 100B, Report on Child Placement Status. This form is to be signed and submitted to Missouri ICPC. 

For placements in a residential facility in another state, the residential facility is viewed as the agency responsible for the twenty four (24) hour care of a child away from the child’s parental home. In that capacity the residential facility is responsible for the supervision, protection, safety, and well-being of the child.  The sending agency making the placement is expected to enter into an agreement with the residential facility as to the program plan or expected level of supervision and treatment and the frequency and nature of any written progress or treatment reports.

For children placed in residential facilities in another state, the receiving state’s local child welfare workers and probation staff are not expected to provide any monitoring or supervision.

Related Practice Alerts and Memos:

1-16-20 – CD20-07 – Interstate Compact Policy and Procedure Changes