What is MA DCF Placement Policy?
DCF is still responsible for all placement decisions. MA DCF has the authority and responsibility to determine the placement of your child after they get custody of the child, awarded to them by the court. The Department’s power in this matter is subject to judicial review.
For CRA cases, MA DCF is required to follow the court’s recommendations regarding the child’s placement; however, DCF can still determine the duration and nature of this placement.
There is a wide range of placement options available to MA DCF. The most common of these placements is family foster care. Other available options include juvenile group homes, full time treatment programs, and mental health institutions.
At times, children can find themselves between placements. For these instances, MA DCF utilizes a number of different emergency, short-term solutions. Temporary shelters and foster homes are also utilized by the Department . Alternative programs that MA DCF will work with are STARR Programs, which focus on the stabilization, assessment, and reunification of youths and their families.
Placement decisions should work in the child’s best interest and should coincide with a permanency plan.
MA DCF will consider many factors when deciding the best placement for a child. Viable placement options may offer:
-A relatively unrestricted setting to the child
-Proximity to the child’s home
-Proximity to the child’s school
-The ability for siblings to be kept together
-The ability for visits with the child’s family
-Accommodations for the child’s specific needs
-Acknowledgement of the child’s racial, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic background.
What Else does MA DCF Check during Placement?
The Department is required to ask the child’s parents about any relatives who may be available for foster placement before placing a child in foster care. DCF is required to send a written notice to these relatives within thirty days of the removal, detailing how to become a placement resource for the child in question. The Department also has the responsibility to identify any other relatives or adults who have assumed a significant role in the child’s life and to consider their capacity for placement.
MA DCF also has the option to place the child with a sibling who is already in foster care, only if it would be conducive with the child’s best interests.
Placement options with relatives should be given priority; however, if MA DCF decides that this would be against the child’s best interests, they must explain the reasoning for this decision in the service plan.
Can MA DCF Deny Placement for a Child?
It is very rare for DCF to deny a child’s placement with a relative. This can happen if a relative’s home does not offer the proper amount of space for a child or if the relative violates CORI regulations.
Aside from a few exceptions, prospective foster parents who are strangers to the child must go through the same approval process with MA DCF as that of relatives.
MA DCF is unable to place a child with out-of-state relatives until the receiving state has been notified and approved the placement. This approval requires the performance of a home study which can cause a serious delay in the child’s placement.
Another option for placement is the home of a MA DCF employee.
Diagnostic placements, independent living programs, and group homes, require approval from the DCF regional director. In certain instances, DCF may attempt to share the cost of such placements with other agencies; however, this can seriously delay the child’s placement.
What Are Some Special Cases of Placement?
In cases involving the Indian Child Welfare Act, or WICA, MA DCF must prioritize certain forms of placement. This preference goes as follows:
Placement with:
- A member of the child’s extended family, regardless of whether the individual is Indian or non-Indian
- A foster home that has been authorized by the child’s tribe
- An Indian foster home that has been authorized by a non-Indian agency
- An institution that has been accepted by an Indian tribe
Tribes have the authority to establish new orders of preference.
MA DCF should only stray from these preferences if they find justification for doing so. An example of this would be if a parent or child requested to deviate from these preferences.
What Other Factors Determine a Child’s Placement?
MA DCF must conduct a Criminal Offender Record Information investigation, or a CORI investigation, anytime someone applies to be a foster parent. This investigation involves the applicant in question as well as all household members age 14 and up. This includes all individuals who live in the home or regularly visit the house. A CORI investigation will take place during each annual reassessment of the home.
There are two classes of offenses according to MA DCF: Discretionary Disqualifications and Lifetime Presumptive Disqualifications.
If a prospective parent is charged with Discretionary Disqualifications, placement is not off the table. MA DCF can still place the child with this parent if they find that the individual does not pose a serious risk of harm to the child. The Department will consider a series of factors in this decision such as, the severity of the circumstance, the number of offenses, the date of the charge, as well as the individual’s age at the time that any offenses were committed.
If a prospective parent is charged with Lifetime Presumptive Disqualifications there are conditions that must be met before placement can occur. This individual must obtain a written notice from a criminal justice official stating that they do not pose any risk of harm to the child in question. An example of this would be the last parole officer or probation officer to have supervisory responsibility over the individual.
How Does MA DCF Approve Placement?
MA DCF can only approve placement under this alternate process if certain findings are made. These findings are as follows:
- The parent does not pose a risk to the child
- No other members of the household pose a risk to the child
- The previous offence does not involve a crime against a child
- If the parent already plays a significant and positive role in the child’s life
- The parent agrees to submit to a mental health assessment within 30 days of the placement
If disagreements arise over any other aspect of the service plan, your counsel should consult with the case social worker or supervisor. If further action is still required, they may consult with the assistant program manager or area director. Your counsel always has the option to challenge decisions regarding the child’s placement during the Foster Care Review.
What Happens If I Have An Issue with my Child’s Placement?
If MA DCF failed to follow their own regulations during this process, the child can ask for a Fair Hearing to take place. Prospective parents can also request for a Fair Hearing if their home was not approved for placement. Any issue that is not covered at the Fair Hearing can be addressed by filing a grievance.
If the child or parent requests to be placed with a relative or other individual but is denied by MA DCF, an attorney can file a motion with the court. This motion will ask that the court grant temporary custody directly to the prospective parent and bypass MA DCF. The court maintains a substantial amount of power in custodial matters. This can be the best approach to overcoming MA DCF’s complicated regulations.
The Juvenile Court has the authority to grant temporary custody to individuals at the Seventy-Two-Hour Hearing or the subsequent Hearing on the Merits. Although this power is nowhere explicitly stated, the court does have the general power to enter orders in the best interest of the child.
Custodians that receive custody in this manner will not receive foster care payments. MA DCF may also be less likely to offer the family their services.
Another way that the child or parent can challenge MA DCF’s decision by filing an abuse and discretion motion. If the Department is trying to move the child into a different placement, counsel can file for a temporary restraining order. This will prohibit MA DCF from moving the child until the hearing on the abuse and discretion motion can be held.