Advocacy on Behalf of Children with Special Needs in Department Care or Custody

(1) Children in the Custody of the Department. The child's educational advocate in the special education process shall be: (a) An educational advocate appointed by an authorized educational advocacy program established by the Department of Education pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1401; or, if no educational advocate is available; (b) A foster parent if the Department has delegated this authority to the foster parent via written agreement; or if there are compelling reasons why no such delegation can be made; (c) A Department social worker. Special education advocacy shall in any event be done in conjunction with the child's natural or foster parent(s) whenever possible; however, in the event of a disagreement between the Department and the natural parent(s) concerning an educational program, Department rights supersede parental rights for children in the custody of the Department. (2) Children in the Care of the Department. For children in the care of the Department, the Department shall not exercise special education parental rights unless there is specific language in the Voluntary Placement Agreement delegating special education parental rights to the Department. The Department shall onlyrequest delegation of special education parental rights for children placed in Department care voluntarily when supported by an assessment which determines that exercise of those parental rights is essential to the provision of social services to the family. The Department will not enter into voluntaryplacement agreements with the child's parent(s) solely for the purpose of sharing the costs of any residential school placement with an LEA. (3) Signature Authority on Cost Shared IEP's and Cost Sharing Agreements. Education plans (IEPs) raising cost sharing issues and cost sharing agreements will be binding upon the Department only if signed by a Department Area Director or his/her designee.