The Children’s Service Worker will provide case management services as outlined in Regulation 11 of the ICPC. Regulation 11 clarifies the supervisory role of the assigned worker in the receiving state once placement is made through an approved ICPC home study. The supervising worker in the receiving state is to provide the following services. Please note, this is not an all-inclusive list. Each case is different and will require different approaches and services. The Children’s Service Worker assigned to complete the initial home study will:

• Receive the placement request from the ICPC Coordinator in Central Office. Any request received directly from a sending agency must be forwarded to Central Office. Do not complete an assessment, home study, or walkthrough without a referral from Central Office. Walkthroughs are outside the scope of the ICPC.
• Complete and return the results of the requested preliminary home assessment. Guide for Conducting Resource Provider Assessments, within 60 calendar days to the ICPC unit in Central Office pursuant to Public Law 109-239. The preliminary home assessment does not require the training component or FBI checks, but should evaluate the safety and suitability of placing a child in the prospective relative, foster or adoptive home.
• Staff will then proceed with completing the home study. The home study must address the extent to which the proposed placement will meet the specific needs of the child, including the child’s safety, permanency and well-being.   FBI background checks are required. If the request is for licensure, then the training component must be completed. Please refer to Memorandum CD07-60 regarding the acceptance of pre service training for resource providers who have moved to Missouri from other states.
• Staff will then make a recommendation in FACES under Referral in the Case Management screen using the Call/Case number provided by the ICPC unit on the transmittal. If the recommendation by the home study worker is against placement and the resource wishes to contest that recommendation, then staff are directed to follow the Children’s Division Fair Hearing Process.
• Complete the Vendor Licensure/Approval and Renewal screen in FACES, if the receiving state requests the family to be licensed. The sending state is not obligated to make a payment to the family if the sending state did not request a licensing study. Missouri resource providers are not entitled to receive the Professional Parenting maintenance payment when they accept children from another state.
• The foster/adoptive home study must be completed and submitted to the ICPC unit in Central Office within 90 calendar days after the State received the original request. The Children’s Service Worker should submit the original and 2 copies of the completed home study along with a recommendation for or against placement. The ICPC Coordinator will make the decision whether or not the placement is approved. DO NOT send the information directly to the requesting state’s worker or to the requesting state’s ICPC office.

If Missouri is the Sending Agency and is going to make a maintenance payment to the resource provider should the placement be approved, a foster home study should be requested regardless of the degree of relationship. The home study is not “official” until the ICPC Coordinator in the receiving state has made a determination for or against the placement.

The above procedure does not apply to parents and unlicensed relatives. Parents and unlicensed relatives will go through the same home study process as an applicant applying for licensure, which is clarified in Memorandum CD04-63 and in the Child Welfare Manual. The differences are that parents and unlicensed relatives are not required to complete training, and the time frame pursuant to Public Law 109-239 for completing their assessment/home study is 60 days.

• The assigned county will, upon notification of placement via the ICPC 100B, from the MO ICPC coordinator:
  • Complete the Alternative Care Client screen in FACES, for relative foster care, foster, or adoptive placements, or the Family-Centered Services Case screen in FACES, for a parent or non-licensed relative placement and notify ICPC Central Office of the assigned Children’s Service Worker and supervisor
  • Supervision/contact is to be made/initiated as soon as the receiving state is made aware that the child/ren have been placed;
  • Cooperate in arranging services for the family;
  • Determine with verification from the sending state, if the child is eligible for Title IV-E Medicaid; and
  • Open Title IV-E Medicaid if the family is licensed and receiving payment from the sending state. Refer to Child Welfare Manual for more information regarding ICAMA.
• Provide services accordingly to include:
  • The worker who completed the home study should provide a copy of the initial referral and home study to the worker who has been assigned to supervise the placement.
  • Prepare written quarterly progress reports and submit the original and two (2) copies to ICPC Central Office. At a minimum, these reports are to include:
    • Date and location of each face-to-face contact with the child since the last report was submitted;
    • A summary of the child’s current circumstances, including on-going safety & well-being;
    • A summary of the child’s academic performance along with any pertinent documentation (i.e. Report card, IEP, etc);
    • A summary of child’s current health status, including mental health and copies of any pertinent therapeutic or medical reports;
    • An assessment of the current placement/ caretakers and their continued appropriateness as a placement for child/ren;
    • A description of any unmet needs and any recommendations for meeting identified needs.
    • When applicable, the supervising worker’s recommendation regarding continuation of placement, return or legal custody to a parent/s and termination of the sending state’s jurisdiction, finalization of adoption by child’s current caretakers or the granting of legal guardianship to the child’s current caretakers.
  • Placement supervision is for a minimum of six (6) months.
  • If there is a hotline on the proposed placement and/or involving the child/ren placed through ICPC, the supervising worker is to follow their agency protocols for ensuring the safety of the child/ren. If the child/ren must be removed, the supervising worker does so and then notifies the sending state as well as the receiving state’s ICPC office.
  • The sending state remains the financially responsible party for the child/ren and is responsible for all case management decisions. The receiving state assists in locating services to meet the needs of the child/ren and the placement resource. The sending state worker should be notified prior to any financial decision being made on behalf of the child (i.e.: residential treatment etc). Written verification MUST be received from the sending state that they are in agreement to and will be financially responsible for payment of the identified service prior to the initiation of the service. If it is determined that ICPC services are not appropriate, the Missouri ICPC Coordinator should be informed immediately.
  • Notify the ICPC Coordinator in Central Office as soon as possible if the child is returned. Send the ICPC 100-B to close out the ICPC case, if a disruption may, or has occurred.
  • Submit a recommendation for a transfer of custody or case closing in writing to ICPC. Do not submit directly to the case manager in the sending state.

Compact Termination/ Placement Disruption or Closure:

Terminate services when permanency has been established through one of the following:

• The child’s adoption is legally finalized;
• The child reaches the age of majority (18 years);
• The child becomes self-supporting;
• The child returns to the sending state;
• The child is discharged from court jurisdiction with concurrence of the appropriate authority in the receiving state; or

Close the case and record a brief narrative/summary in the file. Submit the closing narrative/summary to the ICPC office and retain a copy in the ICPC section of the child’s electronic case file.

Related Practice Alerts and Memos:

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