Operational Requirements

PURPOSE: This rule sets forth the requirements for office space and equipment, fees and fiscal practices, record maintenance, and extraordinary events. (1) Office Space and Equipment. (A) An agency shall provide a bona fide office physically located within the state of Missouri which is accessible to the public and appropriate for the administrative program and supportive services; (B) An agency shall maintain sufficient space to provide for the confidentiality of client interviews; (C) An agency shall have adequate staff for that office; (D) An agency shall provide and maintain sufficient equipment and supplies to assure delivery of services; (E) An agency shall have Missouri telephone service or a toll-free number and be listed in the local directory; (F) An agency shall ensure that the office is a safe, well-maintained environment for both clients and employees; and (G) An agency shall maintain adequate space to store all records of Missouri clients served in Missouri. (2) Fees and Fiscal Practices. (A) The agency shall prepare and maintain on file a written description of— 1. Policies describing financial responsibilities of the agency, the birth parent(s), and the adoptive parent(s), for the period prior to the placement of a child through the date that a decree of adoption is entered; 2. Procedures for the setting, collecting, waiving, nonpayment, and refunding of fees, along with guidelines for exceptions to these policies and procedures; and 3. Policies regarding making refunds to an eligible client no more than thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of a written request for such refunds from an agency client. (B) The agency shall prepare and maintain on file a written schedule of all fees in each case and provide a copy of the schedule to an agency client before service delivery begins. The client shall sign the schedule and a copy will be kept in each client’s record. (C) The agency shall identify in writing for the birth parent(s) and the adoptive parent(s), the anticipated services which they must obtain for themselves, which are not provided by the agency. (D) If the agency uses a sliding fee scale or subsidies, actual costs and costs as determined by the sliding fee scale or subsidies shall be available upon request by legal or licensing authorities. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent agencies from using sliding fee scales or subsidies. (E) If the agency uses a schedule for payments, the agency shall provide the client(s) with written information concerning initial payments and frequency and conditions for subsequent payments. (F) The financial policies and practices, general financial records, and financial records of individual placement cases shall be made available by the agency to the division upon request. (G) The agency shall not consider the clients’ willingness to donate money, goods, or services or to participate in agency fund- raising efforts in determining their eligibility for services. (H) The agency shall provide equal access to services to all eligible clients without regard to actual or potential donations of money, goods, time, or efforts. (I) Adoption fees shall be reasonable and shall be established based on the cost of the individual adoption or based on the costs of the following services for the total adoption program: 1. Medical services to the birth mother and/or child; 2. Legal services for the placement and/or adoption of the child(ren); 3. Counseling services; 4. Family assessment services; 5. Child finding services; 6. Foster care services; 7. Pre- and post-placement social services; 8. Transportation; 9. Contracted services, if applicable; and 10. Any other services as may be reasonably foreseeable. (J) Client fees relative to the above service components shall be kept in a separate trust account until such services have been provided. (3) Records. (A) An agency shall maintain a register of all children currently placed in foster or adoptive homes including the child’s name, sex, birthdate, dates of foster and adoptive placements, the person legally responsible for the child, and, if available a Social Security number. (B) An agency shall record all case activities every thirty (30) days. (C) Individual case records for all children placed in foster care shall be maintained for at least ten (10) years after the agency terminates service to the child. (D) Adoption records shall be kept in a permanent file and shall not be destroyed. (E) Missouri foster care and adoption records shall be kept and maintained in Missouri. (F) Birth parent, child, and adoptive parent records shall be cross-referenced for identification purposes, in cases of adoption. (G) The agency shall maintain permanent records for each adoptive family. The permanent record shall contain— 1. The adoptive family evaluation and supporting documents; 2. Copy of any written information given to adoptive parent(s) concerning the child; 3. Summaries of post-placement supervision and recommendations to the court; 4. Legal documents required for adoption; 5. Progress notes and/or counseling; and 6. Closing summary. (H) The agency shall maintain a permanent adoption record of the child, which shall contain the following: 1. The child assessment summary as defined in 13 CSR 35-73.080(3)(A) and supporting documentation; 2. Summaries of post placement supervision and recommendations to the court; 3. Legal documents required for adoption; and 4. Closing summary. (I) The agency shall maintain a permanent birth parent(s) record(s), which shall contain the following: 1. The birth parent evaluation and supporting documentation; 2. All agreements signed by the birth parents; 3. Legal documents required for adoption; 4. Progress notes and/or counseling; and 5. Closing summary. (J) An applicant for initial or continuing licensure must submit a written plan indicating how the agency will provide for the transfer of records on both open and closed cases to a licensed Missouri child placing agency if the agency closes. 1. Plans for the transfer of open cases and case records must specify arrangements the agency will make to transfer clients to another licensed agency for continuation of services and to transfer the case record with the client. 2. Plans for the transfer of closed adoption records must be accompanied by a signed agreement or other documentation indicating that a licensed child placing agency has agreed to accept and maintain the agency’s closed case records and to provide followup services to affected clients. (4) Extraordinary Events. (A) The agency shall notify the division orally of any extraordinary changes or events within twenty-four (24) hours after the agency learns of their occurrence and shall submit written notification to the division within five (5) working days. (B) This shall include, but not be limited to, the following: 1. Unanticipated permanent or temporary closing of the agency or any part thereof; 2. Any serious injury, endangerment or death of a child; 3. Any convictions of any staff member and volunteers involved in the agency, excluding minor traffic violations; 4. Legal action against the agency or a staff member which involves the operation of the agency or any child under the care of the agency, excluding any legal actions unrelated to agency business or child welfare; 5. Damage to agency facilities which substantially disrupts the program or the agency’s accessibility to clients; or 6. Knowledge of any child placement by any other party which the agency has reason to believe is not permitted by law or by these rules. (5) An agency that plans to place a child with an out-of-state family or to receive a child from out-of-state for placement within the state or supervise a Missouri family who relocates to another state shall notify the Interstate Compact Unit of the division and shall comply with applicable regulations governing child placement in both states. (6) Prior to adoptive placement, an agency shall comply with the requirements of the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act for placement of Native American or Native Alaskan children. (7) Prior to adoptive placement, an agency shall comply with the requirement of the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act. AUTHORITY sections 207.020 and 660.017, RSMo 2016.* This rule originally filed as 13 CSR 40-73.040. Original rule filed Sept. 18, 1956, effective Sept. 28, 1956. Refiled: March 12, 1976. Amended: Filed Nov. 6, 1981, effective Feb. 11, 1982. Amended: Filed Oct. 13, 1982, effective Jan. 13, 1983. Rescinded: Filed Jan. 14, 1997, effective July 30, 1997. Readopted: Filed Feb. 6, 1997, effective July 30, 1997. Moved to 13 CSR 3573.040 and amended: Filed Sept. 7, 2018, effective April 30, 2019. *Original authority: 207.020, RSMo 1945, amended 1961, 1965, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1993, 2014 and 660.017, RSMo 1993, amended 1995.