Provision of Guardianship Services

PURPOSE: This rule sets criteria for provision of guardianship services. (1) The Children’s Division shall accept home assessments from families having an approved family assessment completed by the division, or other licensed child-placing agencies; registration of children designated as available for placement; and will cooperate with other state, regional, and national exchanges in the registration of children with special needs. (2) The Children’s Division shall provide subsidized guardianship services to children who are considered to have special needs and who have no other financial resources or limited financial resources. (3) In order for a child to be determined eligible for subsidized guardianship services, he/she shall meet one (1) or more of the following conditions: (A) Physical Handicap. Any physical abnormality or condition, whether congenital or not, which requires or is likely to require treatment or the purchase of special equipment or services; (B) Intellectual Impairment. Mental development below an IQ of eighty (80) or other intellectual dysfunction as documented by psychological testing; (C) Racial or Ethnic Minority. The child’s ancestry is not Caucasian; and (D) Other Conditions. 1. Age. The child is five (5) years old or older and has not reached the age of eighteen (18). 2. Member of a sibling group. Two (2) or more children who are siblings and are being placed with the same guardian. 3. Developmental disability. Any documented physical or mental condition not otherwise listed which prevents the child from functioning at the normal level for his/her age. 4. Mental or emotional disturbance. A diagnosed and documented condition which impairs the child’s mental functioning, including learning dysfunctions. 5. Social maladjustment. A severe behavioral condition or inadequate social development which interferes with the child’s ability to form satisfactory relationships with others. (4) In order for a guardian to be eligible for subsidy, he/she shall be a grandparent or great-grandparent, aunt or great-aunt, uncle or great-uncle, adult sibling, or adult first cousin of the child who has been approved as a guardianship placement by the Children’s Division, a licensed or approved child-placing agency; or for a family residing outside Missouri, a governmental child-placing agency or a licensed or approved child-placing agency in that state; and shall cooperate in providing information for the division to reach an agreement with the guardian regarding the amount of services, length of time of services, and types of services for which the division will make a subsidy payment and shall sign an agreement specifying the terms of the guardianship subsidy. AUTHORITY: section 453.072, RSMo Supp. 2009.* Original rule filed May 27, 2010, effective Nov. 30, 2010. *Original authority: 453.072, RSMo 1999, amended 2001, 2005, 2008.