Washington – Oregon ICPC Border Agreement Training

Topics covered in this training Brief history of the agreement Key provisions Process and forms for making a placement request under the agreement Post-placement requirements and process

Brief History Why a border agreement? Work began over 15 years ago Initial draft built on the idea of having workers cross the border to perform home studies. May 2009, decision to move forward with drafting an agreement based on the idea of each state provisionally approving placements within a specified time-frame. Negotiating and drafting of the agreement, legal review, etc. Agreement originally signed August 30, 2010. Expansion signed October 27, 2014, being implemented in stages.

Counties eligible to use the agreement In Washington: Benton, Clark, Cowlitz, Franklin, Pacific, Wahiakum, Walla Walla, Skamania and Klickitat In Oregon: Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Morrow, Multnomah,Umatilla, Washington, Sherman, Gilliam, Wasco and Hood River

Children placed under the border agreement must originate from one of the counties covered by the agreement in the sending state, and they must be placed with a family located in one of the counties covered by the agreement in the receiving state.

Other Key Provisions Proposed placement must be with a relative or with a person “with whom the child has an established relationship and with whom the child has spent a substantial amount of time.” Children must be in the legal custody of DHS. Children cannot be physically residing in the home of the prospective placement family (including “visits”) at any time unless and until the placement is approved in writing according to the terms of the border agreement.

Limits on the quantity of requests No more than one placement request at a time for any given child Maximum of 75 placement requests per year from either state. This includes: Requests that are denied Requests that the receiving state ICPC office determines do not meet criteria to be considered for provisional approval

Pre-Screening Before submitting a Border Agreement request, the Caseworker must conduct a detailed phone interview with the prospective placement resource. The two primary functions of the interview: To the extent possible, determine the viability of the prospective placement resource in terms of willingness, ability and fitness to care for the child/children. Advise the prospective placement resource of the urgency of the need to place the child or children and of the placement resource’s responsibilities in ensuring a timely decision from the receiving state concerning provisional placement approval.

Documentation required for a Border Agreement Referral Border Agreement Request form Completed form 100A Court order indicating agency’s custody of the child Documentation of reason for child entering care Form 1044 completed by the branch IV-E Specialist Psychological, medical or other relevant evaluations, if available Birth certificate and/or Soc. Sec. card, if available

Q. Where can we find the Border Agreement request form and referral procedures? Child Welfare Staff Tools, scroll down to the link for the “ICPC Tools” Page http://www.dhs.state.or.us/policy/childwelfare/icpc_tools.html

ICPC Coordinator will review: Scan & E-mail referral documents to the ICPC unit in Central Office oregon.icpc@state.or.us ICPC Coordinator will review: Does the referral meet the criteria for submission under the border agreement? Is the provisional placement request form complete? Does the packet contain all the required documents?

Process after referral leaves Oregon The WA ICPC office checks to make sure referral is complete and meets border agreement criteria. If accepted, the referral is transmitted immediately to local office. Worker in local office evaluates prospective placement WA ICPC approves or denies provisional placement request within 7 working days of receipt of the referral.

Denials Provisional placement may be denied, but regular home study process may continue and may ultimately result in placement approval. Placement request may be denied completely, without continuation of the home study.

Placement must be made within 20 calendar days of approval

Following placement approval, call the provisionally approved placement resource Remind the resource that even though the child will be placed, the full home study process must continue in order for the placement to receive final, full approval. Ensure that the placement resource is aware of what the full home study process entails and explain that the placement resource needs to cooperate with the worker conducting the study by providing information and being available when requested.

Placement Notify the Oregon ICPC office when the child is placed. The 100B form then will be sent to Washington to request courtesy supervision of the placement. The Oregon ICPC office will instruct the worker on how to open the placement on OR-Kids. Foster payments will be made, and the care provider will need to apply for WA Medicaid.

If full approval of placement is denied, or if at any point Washington requests that the child be returned, the child must be returned to Oregon immediately.

ICPC still applies All ICPC-related laws, rules and procedures still apply to placements made using the border agreement. Examples: Custody cannot be dismissed without concurrence from the receiving state. The sending state remains responsible for financial support of the child. The receiving state monitors the placement and sends quarterly supervision reports.

Communication Some things need to be communicated through the ICPC offices: Oregon Branch Offices Oregon ICPC Office Washington ICPC Office Washington Branch Offices placement referral notification of placement approval or denial notification of child placement withdrawal of a placement request request to return a child Other direct communication between local workers in sending and receiving states is encouraged

Oregon ICPC Contacts ICPC Office 500 Summer St. NE, #E-70 Salem, OR 97301 Fax: 503-947-5072 E-mail: oregon.icpc@state.or.us Case assignments are based on the oldest child’s last name: A–Gn Amanda Kramer, 503-945-5673 Go–O Terrie Anderson, 503-945-7019 P–Z Lindsay Armstrong, 503-945-5671 ICPC Manager: Vera James 503-945-6685