Assessment and Licensing of Foster/Pre-adoptive Parent Applicants

(1) All applicants seeking licensure as an unrestricted foster/pre-adoptive parent are required to complete the Department’s foster/pre-adoptive parent pre-service training program. Within 30 working days after the applicant completes the training, or approval of a pre-service training waiver, the Department shall complete a comprehensive assessment of the foster/pre-adoptive applicant, unless the foster/pre-adoptive applicant requests, and the Department approves, an extension of time to complete the assessment. (2) The comprehensive assessment will be performed by the Department in accordance with 102 CMR 5.10(5) and shall include at least the following: (a) an interview with each household member as appropriate to her/his age and verbal capacity including an individual interview with each applicant. (b) Home visit(s); and (c) Contact(s) with personal references supplied by the applicant and other individuals seen by the Department as useful to the assessment. (d) Contact(s) with a licensed physician who has conducted a current medical examination of the applicant and each household member; and (e) contact with the employer for each employed applicant; and (f) contact with the school for the school age children living in the home and younger children who participate in pre-school or a child care program; and (g) a check of the Department's Central Registry, and the Department's Computerized data system; and (h) for any applicant who has lived out of state within the five years prior to application, a check of the Central Registry of child abuse and neglect of each state in which the applicant lived in the prior five years; and (i) a check of the state criminal offender record information as defined pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 167 and 172; and (j) a fingerprint-based check of the national crime information databases for each foster/pre-adoptive parent during the initial license study. This requirement will begin October 1, 2008 for new applicants only; and (k) A specific assessment of the applicant's ability to meet the special needs of children the Department will be placing; and (l) Successful completion of the Department's training program, unless waived; and (m) confirmation that the applicant(s) and the home meet the standards established by 110 CMR 7.104 and 7.105. (3) The Department shall enter all information obtained as a result of its comprehensive assessment [except for any information obtained as a result of any check required by 110 CMR 7.107(2)] in the foster parent file, which may be a combination of an electronic file and a hardcopy file. Any information obtained as a result of any check required by 110 CMR 7.107(2)(i) and (j) shall be stored separately in a locked file cabinet, as required by the Criminal History Systems Board. (4) If at any time during the application or comprehensive assessment process the Department obtains information, which if known at the time of the initial eligibility screening process, would, for any of the reasons set forth in 110 CMR 7.100(3) and (4), have excluded the individual from applying to become a foster/pre-adoptive parent, as set forth at 110 CMR 7.100, the Department shall discontinue the comprehensive assessment process and notify the individual that she/he is ineligible to apply to be a foster/pre-adoptive parent. This may include events which occur after the initial eligibility screening process, such as a report of child abuse/neglect is supported after an investigation under M.G.L. c. 119, § 51B or the individual is charged with a crime which poses a risk to a child's safety. This determination shall be final and the individual shall not have a right to appeal this decision through the Department’s fair hearing process. (5) Within ten working days after completing the comprehensive assessment, the Department shall reach one of the following decisions: (a) The foster/pre-adoptive parent applicant shall be licensed. (b) The foster/pre-adoptive parent applicant shall not be licensed. (6) Within ten working days after reaching a decision to license or not to license a foster/pre­ adoptive parent applicant as a foster parent, the Department shall give written notice of its decision to the foster/pre-adoptive parent applicant. The written notice shall include: (a) if the decision reached is to license the age, sex or other characteristics of the children who may be placed in the foster/pre-adoptive home; or (b) if the decision reached is not to license the reason(s) for the decision, notice of the foster/pre-adoptive parent applicant's right to appeal the decision, and the procedure for requesting such an appeal. A copy of the written notice shall be entered in the foster/pre-adoptive parent file. Upon written request, the foster/pre-adoptive applicant is entitled to receive a copy of the completed assessment. (7) Either together with or subsequent to the notice of the decision to license, the Department shall issue a foster/pre-adoptive license. (8) The duration of a foster/pre-adoptive license shall be two years but, in any event, shall be subject to the provisions of 110 CMR 7.107 (9), 110 CMR 7.113, 7.113A, 7.113B, 7.113C and 7.116. In any case in which the Department is delayed in completing its re-assessment of the foster/pre-adoptive license, the foster/pre-adoptive license shall continue in effect until such time as the Department completes its re-assessment process and sends notice of its decision to the foster/pre-adoptive parent(s). If a foster/pre-adoptive home files for a fair hearing to challenge the Department’s decision to terminate their license, the license shall remain in effect until the fair hearing decision is issued. (9) A license applies only to the home in which the foster/pre-adoptive parent(s) resides at the time of the comprehensive assessment. Except in the case of an emergency, a foster/pre-adoptive parent(s) must notify the Department of any planned change of residence at least 60 days in advance. If a change of residence is necessitated by an emergency, the foster/pre-adoptive parent(s) must notify the Department within 24 hours after the change. If a foster/pre-adoptive parent(s) changes his/her residence without providing the required notice to the Department, or if the foster/pre-adoptive parent(s)’ new home does not meet all of the standards set forth in 110 CMR 7.105, the license shall be revoked. In the latter circumstance, there shall be no right to appeal from the revocation of the license.