§ 622 — State Plans For Child Welfare Services

(a) In order to be eligible for payment under this subpart, a State must have a plan for child welfare services which has been developed jointly by the Secretary and the State agency designated pursuant to subsection (b)(1), and which meets the requirements of subsection (b). (b) Each plan for child welfare services under this subpart shall— (1) provide that a State agency will administer or supervise the administration of the plan under this subpart; (2) under part E, and under other State programs having a relationship to the program under this subpart, with a view to provision of welfare and related services which will best promote the welfare of such children and their families; (3) include a description of the services and activities which the State will fund under the State program carried out pursuant to this subpart, and how the services and activities will achieve the purpose of this subpart; (4) contain a description of— (A) the steps the State will take to provide child welfare services statewide and to expand and strengthen the range of existing services and develop and implement services to improve child outcomes; (B) the child welfare services staff development and training plans of the State; and (C) the steps that the State will take to ensure that, with respect to any judicial proceeding involving a child and in which there is an allegation of child abuse or neglect, including a proceeding on dependency, adoption, guardianship, or termination of parental rights, information about available independent legal representation is provided to— (i) the child, as appropriate; and (ii) any individual who is a parent or guardian, or has legal custody, of the child; (5) provide, in the development of services for children, for utilization of the facilities and experience of voluntary agencies in accordance with State and local programs and arrangements, as authorized by the State; (6) provide that the agency administering or supervising the administration of the plan will furnish such reports, containing such information, and participate in such evaluations, as the Secretary may require; (7) provide for the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the State for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed; (8) provide assurances that the State— (A) is operating, to the satisfaction of the Secretary— (i) a statewide information system from which can be readily determined the status, demographic characteristics, location, and goals for the placement of every child who is (or, within the immediately preceding 12 months, has been) in foster care; (ii) a case review system (as defined in section 675(5) of this title and in accordance with the requirements of section 675a of this title) for each child receiving foster care under the supervision of the State; (iii) a service program designed to help children— (I) where safe and appropriate, return to families from which they have been removed; or (II) be placed for adoption, with a legal guardian, or, if adoption or legal guardianship is determined not to be appropriate for a child, in some other planned, permanent living arrangement, subject to the requirements of sections 675(5)(C) and 675a(a) of this title, which may include a residential educational program; and (iv) a preplacement preventive services program designed to help children at risk of foster care placement remain safely with their families; and (B) has in effect policies and administrative and judicial procedures for children abandoned at or shortly after birth (including policies and procedures providing for legal representation of the children) which enable permanent decisions to be made expeditiously with respect to the placement of the children; (9) contain a description, developed after consultation with tribal organizations (as defined in section 5304 of title 25) in the State, of the specific measures taken by the State to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 [25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.], including how the State will ensure timely notice to Indian tribes of State custody proceedings involving Indian children, foster care or adoptive placements of Indian children, and case recordkeeping as such matters relate to transfers of jurisdiction, termination of parental rights, and active efforts; (10) contain assurances that the State shall make effective use of cross-jurisdictional resources (including through contracts for the purchase of services), and shall eliminate legal barriers, to facilitate timely adoptive or permanent placements for waiting children; (11) contain a description of the activities that the State has undertaken for children adopted from other countries, including the provision of adoption and post-adoption services; (12) provide that the State shall collect and report information on children who are adopted from other countries and who enter into State custody as a result of the disruption of a placement for adoption or the dissolution of an adoption, including the number of children, the agencies who handled the placement or adoption, the plans for the child, and the reasons for the disruption or dissolution; (13) demonstrate substantial, ongoing, and meaningful collaboration with State courts in the development and implementation of the State plan under this subpart, the State plan approved under subpart 2, and the State plan approved under part E, and in the development and implementation of any program improvement plan required under section 1320a–2a of this title; (14) not later than October 1, 2007, include assurances that not more than 10 percent of the expenditures of the State with respect to activities funded from amounts provided under this subpart will be for administrative costs; (A) that the State will develop, in coordination and collaboration with the State agency referred to in paragraph (1) and the State agency responsible for administering the State plan approved under subchapter XIX, and, if applicable, the State agency responsible for mental health services, and in consultation with pediatricians, mental health providers, other experts in health care, and experts in and recipients of child welfare services, a plan for the ongoing oversight and coordination of health care services for any child in a foster care placement, which shall ensure a coordinated strategy to identify and respond to the health care needs of children in foster care placements, including mental health and dental health needs, and shall include an outline of— (i) a schedule for initial and follow-up health screenings that meet reasonable standards of medical practice; (ii) how health needs identified through screenings will be monitored and treated, including a list of services provided to support the physical and emotional trauma associated with a child’s maltreatment and removal from home; (iii) how medical information for children in care will be updated and appropriately shared, which may include the development and implementation of an electronic health record; (iv) steps to ensure continuity of health care and mental health services, which may include the establishment of a medical home for every child in care; (v) the oversight of prescription medicines, including protocols for the appropriate use and monitoring of psychotropic medications, informed consent of youth, and compliance with professional practice guidelines; (vi) how the State actively consults with and involves physicians, licensed mental health providers, or other appropriate medical or non-medical professionals in assessing the health and well-being of children in foster care and in determining appropriate medical treatment for the children; (vii) the procedures and protocols the State has established to ensure that children in foster care placements are not inappropriately diagnosed with mental illness, other emotional or behavioral disorders, medically fragile conditions, or developmental disabilities, and placed in settings that are not foster family homes as a result of the inappropriate diagnoses; and (viii) steps to ensure that the components of the transition plan development process required under section 675(5)(H) of this title that relate to the health care needs of children aging out of foster care, including the requirements to include options for health insurance, information about a health care power of attorney, health care proxy, or other similar document recognized under State law, and to provide the child with the option to execute such a document, are met; and (B) subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to reduce or limit the responsibility of the State agency responsible for administering the State plan approved under subchapter XIX to administer and provide care and services for children with respect to whom services are provided under the State plan developed pursuant to this subpart; (16) provide that, not later than 1 year after September 28, 2006, the State shall have in place procedures providing for how the State programs assisted under this subpart, subpart 2 of this part, or part E would respond to a disaster, in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary which should include how a State would— (A) identify, locate, and continue availability of services for children under State care or supervision who are displaced or adversely affected by a disaster; (B) respond, as appropriate, to new child welfare cases in areas adversely affected by a disaster, and provide services in those cases; (C) remain in communication with caseworkers and other essential child welfare personnel who are displaced because of a disaster; (D) preserve essential program records; and (E) coordinate services and share information with other States; (17) not later than October 1, 2007, describe the State standards for the content and frequency of caseworker visits for children who are in foster care under the responsibility of the State, which, at a minimum, ensure that the children are visited on a monthly basis and that the caseworker visits are well-planned and focused on issues pertinent to case planning and service delivery to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of the children, and include a description of how the State may offer virtual caseworker visits to youth in care who have attained the age of 18 years and provided informed consent for virtual visits; (18) include a description of the activities that the State has undertaken to reduce the length of time children who have not attained 5 years of age are without a permanent family, and the activities the State undertakes to address the developmental needs of all vulnerable children under 5 years of age who receive benefits or services under this part or part E; and (19) document steps taken to track and prevent child maltreatment deaths by including— (A) a description of the steps the State is taking to compile complete and accurate information on the deaths required by Federal law to be reported by the State agency referred to in paragraph (1), including gathering relevant information on the deaths from the relevant organizations in the State including entities such as State vital statistics department, child death review teams, law enforcement agencies, offices of medical examiners, or coroners; and (B) a description of the steps the State is taking to develop and implement a comprehensive, statewide plan to prevent the fatalities that involves and engages relevant public and private agency partners, including those in public health, law enforcement, and the courts. (c) In this subpart: (1) The term “administrative costs” means costs for the following, but only to the extent incurred in administering the State plan developed pursuant to this subpart: procurement, payroll management, personnel functions (other than the portion of the salaries of supervisors attributable to time spent directly supervising the provision of services by caseworkers), management, maintenance and operation of space and property, data processing and computer services, accounting, budgeting, auditing, and travel expenses (except those related to the provision of services by caseworkers or the oversight of programs funded under this subpart). (2) For definitions of other terms used in this part, see section 675 of this title.