When staff cannot find a placement, the Centralized Placement Unit (CPU) or residential treatment placement coordinator (RTPC) must elevate the issue to CPS state office and include, at a minimum, the following information:

• A recently updated Application for Placement.
• A current Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths assessment (if applicable).
• A current psychological assessment (if available).
• A current psychiatric assessment (if available).
• The child or youth’s service level authorization.
• The placement search log.
• The contact with the behavioral health service manager (if appropriate).

CPS state office staff must review the information and provide guidance, suggestions, and feedback to help CPU or the RTPC secure an appropriate placement.

If staff cannot secure an appropriate placement for the child or youth, the regional director or designee must approve overnight plans for the child or youth.

Until a placement can be secured, the caseworker must notify his or her chain of command, including the regional director, each day a child or youth is under DFPS supervision. The caseworker must complete Form 2915 Child Without PlacementPDF Document and email the completed form to all of the following::

• Child Without Placement mailbox [sic, email link] 
• CPU
• RTPC involved in the search
• Regional director

The caseworker does not need to complete a new form for consecutive overnight stays. However, the caseworker must send an email each day to the region’s central point of contact to provide an update. The email must include all of the following:

• The child’s:
  • Name
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Person identification number (PID)
  • County
  • Level of care (LOC)
  • Barriers to placement
• Where the child came from directly before child watch
• Location of child watch (child’s location while without placement)
• Any update on placement

Regional placement staff must continue searching for a placement that meets the needs of the child or youth until a placement is secured. Regional placement staff must discuss placement options with the state office Placement Division frequently until a placement is secured.