Admission Procedures – The Partner Provider must have and follow clearly defined,

Admission Procedures – The Partner Provider must have and follow clearly defined, written admission policies and procedures which include the following: 1. All denials for admission must be based upon the clinical justifications of a fully licensed mental health professional (LCSW, LPC, LMFT, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Psychologist, Psychiatrist). a. Denials for admission based upon past behaviors not involving acts of physical violence and/or acts of sexual aggression shall be considered a violation of contract agreement. b. Written justification for the denial of admission must be provided to MDCPS within 24 hours, and it will be reviewed to determine if the reasons meet the terms of MDCPS’s policy and agreed upon contract. Written justification may be provided by the provider’s licensed mental health professional (delineated above). 2. An outline of the admissions process to include capacity to provide support to MDCPS in locating appropriate homes for youth placement twenty-four (24) hours per day – seven days per week, to include holidays and weekends. This policy or procedure should include the Partner Provider’s 24 hour on- call process for emergency admissions. 3. A description of the Partner Provider’s history and current capacity to serve youth in foster care who have experienced complex trauma often manifested by high-risk behaviors such as elopements, verbal outbursts, physical intimidation, aggression, self-harm histories, poor school attendance/grades, etc. This description must also include any outcomes of current utilization of evidenced-based intervention models. 4. A description of the Partner Provider’s plan to adequately inform foster parents of the potential characteristics and behavior manifestations of youth who have experienced complex trauma. 5. A requirement that Partner Provider ensures that each youth receives an Initial Safety/Risk Assessment within 24 hours of admission. 6. A description of the Partner Provider’s ability to ensure that each youth receives a comprehensive initial assessment and individual service plan to be performed by a fully licensed mental health professional (delineated above) within 14 days of admission. 7. A requirement that the Partner Provider shall receive child/youth referrals from the MDCPS Therapeutic Placement Department via a Residential Services Application (RSA) sent to the Partner Provider’s designated email address provided to MDCPS. a. Partner Providers shall have up to 24 hours to respond to the RSA email with Acceptance or Denial of admission (this excludes emergency placements). 8. The Partner Provider is encouraged to interview any child via in person/remote within a reasonable timeframe to assist youth with a comfortable transition and pre-welcome (with the exception of emergency placements). 9. Placement change procedures for the child including; a. Notification of parent or guardian; b. Documentation to MDCPS prior to any placement change; c. Method used to assign a child to an appropriate group; and d. Method used to determine whether the Partner Provider is equipped to adequately serve the child’s needs. 10. An MDCPS approved pre-placement visit plan for the child to the Partner Provider as well as the date and outcome of the visit must be documented in the child’s record, if applicable. 11. Placement must comply with all federal civil rights laws. 12. The Partner Provider may only accept children within the age range of their license. 13. Sibling groups in which one or more of the siblings are under the age of ten (10) must not be placed in congregate care settings for more than sixty (60) days. Any approvals must be provided by MDPCS.