Requirements for Children Placed in Congregate Care Facility – MDCPS refers

Requirements for Children Placed in Congregate Care Facility – MDCPS refers and places children only in Partner Providers who have been licensed by MDCPS.  This requirement includes: 1. Therapeutic Group Homes, Therapeutic Foster Care, Teen Maternity Homes, Specialized Group Care for Minor Victims of Human Trafficking and Supervised Independent Living must be licensed by MDCPS and also certified by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH). 2. No child under ten (10) years of age shall be placed in a congregate care setting, including group homes and Intake and Assessment Center, unless: a. The child has exceptional needs that cannot be met in a licensed foster home; or b. To keep a sibling group together for a temporary period; or c. To enable a mother and baby to be placed together and there is not an available foster home for both; or d. The appropriate MDCPS Assistant Deputy Commissioner has granted express written approval for the congregate care placement. 3. MDCPS must select an appropriate facility for a child and document in the child’s case record the following: a. The child’s level of development, social and emotional needs and the reason the child needs a group living experience; b. The child’s Family Service Plan; c. Description of the parent-child relationship and the potential for parental, Foster Parent, or guardian participation in the program and visitation; d. The plan for sibling visitation if not placed together; e. Documentation on reason siblings are not placed together and the plan to reunite siblings; f. The reason the congregate care Partner Provider was selected as the most appropriate for the child; g. Statement regarding proximity of placement to child’s family and county of jurisdiction. 4. The facility must also meet the definition of a child care institution (CCI) at sections 472(c)(2)(A) and (C) of the Social Security Act, including that it must be licensed (in accordance with section 471(a)(10) of the Social Security Act) and that criminal record and child abuse and neglect registry checks must be completed in accordance with section 471(a)(20)(D) of the Social Security Act.