Department of Children, Youth & Families

Original Date: September 27, 1995

Revised Date: July 1, 2024

Sunset Review Date: July 31, 2028

Approved by: Natalie Green, Assistant Secretary of Child Welfare Division

Purpose

This policy provides guidance when placing and supporting children or youth when they are placed in out-of-home care with relatives and suitable persons.

Scope

This policy applies to Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) employees.

Laws

RCW 13.34.060 Shelter care-Placement-Custody-Duties of parties

RCW 13.34.065 Shelter care-Hearing-Recommendation as to further need-Release

RCW 13.34.096 Right to be heard-Notice

RCW 13.34.130 Order of disposition for a dependent child, alternatives-Petition seeking termination of parent-child relationship-Placement with relatives, foster family home, group care facility, or other suitable persons-Placement of an Indian child in out-of-home care-Contact with siblings

RCW 13.34.260 Foster home placement-parental preferences-Foster parent contact with birth parents encouraged

RCW 13.38.030 Findings and Intent

RCW 26.44.030 Reports-Duty and authority to make-Duty of receiving agency-Duty to notify-Case planning and consultation-Penalty for unauthorized exchange of information-Filing dependency petitions-Investigations-Interviews of children-Records-Risk assessment process

RCW 26.44.240 Out-of-Home care-Emergency Placement-Criminal history record check

RCW 74.13.031 Duties of department-Child welfare services-Children’s services advisory committee

RCW 74.13.280 Client information

RCW 74.13.290 Fewest possible placements for children-Preferred placements

RCW 74.13.332 Rights of foster parents

RCW 74.13.710 Out-of-home care-Childhood activities-Prudent parent standard

RCW 74.13.335 Foster care-Reimbursement-Property damage

RCW 74.14A.020 Services for emotionally disturbed and mentally ill children, potentially dependent children, and families-in-conflict

RCW 74.15.020 Definitions

PL 110-351 Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008

Policy

Caseworkers must:
1. Give placement preference to relatives and suitable persons with whom the children or youth have a relationship with and are comfortable and when in the child’s or youth’s best interest.
  1. Absent good cause, shall follow the wishes of the natural parent regarding the placement of the child or youth with a relative or other suitable person pursuant RCW 13.34.130. If the parent’s preference is for the child not to be placed with a relative or suitable other, DCYF is not relieved of the responsibility of engaging the interested relative or suitable other for the purpose of evaluating placement.
  2. Reconsider relatives and other suitable persons previously evaluated and ruled out as placement options if their circumstances change.
  3. Place children or youth in licensed foster care only when relatives and suitable persons placements are not available or appropriate, per the Placement and Support for Licensed Relatives, Licensed Suitable Persons, and Foster Parents policy.
2. Follow these policies:
  1. Relative Search and Notification.
  2. Placement moves if considering a move for a child or youth.
  3. Indian Child Welfare (ICW) Tribal Inquiry if there is reason to know children are or may be Indian children to:
    1. Verify whether children are recognized as Indian children with the tribes.
    2. Learn if there are tribal relatives.
3. Inform relatives and suitable person placements of initial licenses.
4. Provide relatives or suitable persons financial information, available resources, and critical child or youth-specific information:
  1. At time of placement or within three calendar days of an emergent placement.
  2. During:
    1. Shared Planning Meetings (SPM)
    2. Monthly health and safety visits
  3. As needed throughout the children’s or youth’s placement.
5. Follow the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) policy if relatives or suitable persons’ placements reside outside of Washington State.
6. Notify the following within seven calendar days when initial licenses, home studies, or background checks for household members are not approved:
  1. Assistant attorney general (AAG)
  2. Court
LD workers must support relatives and suitable persons, during the:
1. Initial license
2. Home study
3. Foster care licensing process
4. Post-licensure
Tribal payment only (TPO) workers or designees must support tribes in their case management with their relatives and suitable persons with their children under tribal jurisdiction.

Procedure

Prioritizing Placement with Relatives and Suitable Persons
Caseworkers must:
1. Prioritize:
  1. Parent’s, guardian’s, child’s, and youth’s placement preferences, per the Out-of-Home Placements policy.
  2. Relatives and suitable persons’ placements for children or youth that are placed in out-of-home care:
    1. When:
      1. There are no safety threats. If there are risks, caseworkers must offer:
        In-home services.
        Concrete Goods.
        It is in their best interest.
    2. By following these policies:
      1. Relative Search and Notification.
      2. Out-of-Home Placements.
2. Invite relatives and suitable persons’ placements to Family Team Decision Making (FTDM) meetings to:
  1. Identify placements options.
  2. Remove barriers to placements.
3. Complete the following when relatives or suitable persons have been identified and children or youth may potentially be moving from a foster home or group care facility to their home:
  1. Follow the Placement Moves policy.
  2. Conduct a FTDM.
  3. Request their home study within 10 calendar days of the FTDM recommending the placement move in the DCYF-Child Welfare Field Ops Hub SharePoint.
4. Report on the status of the licensure process during the entry of any dispositional orders in the case.
Prior to Placing with Relatives and Suitable Persons
Caseworkers:
1. Must complete the following before placing children and youth with relatives and suitable persons:
  1. Follow the:
    1. Out-of-Home Placements policy.
    2. Timely & Accurate Placement Entry User Guide document.
  2. Identify all individuals living in the home and those living on the premises.
  3. Complete background checks, per the Background Checks policy.
  4. Assess the home and property for safety concerns by:
    1. Conducting a thorough walkthrough of the home and all outbuildings.
    2. Completing the Home Inspection Checklist (Kinship) DCYF 10-453 form.
  5. Verify relatives and suitable persons’ placements are able and willing to complete the following for children or youth:
    1. Provide:
      1. Infants a safe sleep environment.
      2. Them a safe and stable home, that meets their health, safety, and well-being needs.
      3. For their basic and special needs.
    2. Meet their cultural, sexual orientation, gender identity expression, and other individualized needs, per the DCYF Administrative 6.04 Supporting LGBTQIA+ Individuals policy.
    3. Is able to meet any special needs of the child or youth.
    4. Not hinder efforts to reunify the parents and children or youth, but support reunification when reunification can safely occur.
    5. Cooperate with their case plans.
    6. Make them available for court ordered family time.
    7. Facilitate sibling visits, if visitation is court ordered.
Placing with Relatives and Suitable Persons
Caseworkers must complete the following:
1. At the time of placement:
  1. Complete the following with relatives and suitable person placements:
    1. Placement Agreement DCYF 15-281 form.
    2. Provide information regarding the initial license process to them, including:
      1. The option and process for applying and receiving Non-Needy Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) immediately for the months until the foster care maintenance payment (FCMP) is received.
      2. Notifying caregivers that if they receive TANF, they must notify the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Community Service Office (CSO), by the 10th of the month following their receipt of their first FCMP to either:
        Report the change of income, which will count the FCMP as income against their family benefits.
        Remove the child or youth placed in their care from the DSHS CSO Assistant Unit, which will not count the FCMP as income against their family’s benefits.
  2. Follow the:
    1. Out-of-Home placements policy for required notification to either NCIC BCU or fiduciaries of emergent and non-emergent initial placements and placement changes.
    2. Timely & Accurate Placement Entry User Guide document.
  3. Document unlicensed caregivers’ emergency contact information in FamLink and review and update the information:
    1. When they are notified of changes.
    2. Yearly, at a minimum.
  4. File upload the following signed forms in FamLink:
    1. Placement Agreement DCYF 15-281, name “Placement Agreement MM/YY” using the month and year of the inspection.
    2. Home Inspection Checklist (Kinship) DCYF 10-453, name “Home Inspection MM/YY” using the month and year of the inspection.
  5. Verify placement care and authority is open in FamLink, for NCIC BCU to document placement.
  6. Follow the Notification of Court Hearings, Providing Reports to Court, and Information Sharing with Out-of-Home Caregivers policy.
  7. Provide the required information on the children or youth to the caregiver, including but not limited to:
    1. Court hearing information.
    2. Health care information.
    3. Kinship and Foster Placement Packet Overview document and complete placement packet.
  8. Inform relatives and suitable persons about:
    1. The home study process.
    2. Initial licenses.
    3. Available caregiver resources.
    4. Case plan and court orders, and their required compliance including, but not limited to:
      1. Family time and sibling and relative visits.
      2. Conditions ordered by the court.
      3. Keeping information about the children or youth confidential except as allowed by:
        RCW 26.44.030
        RCW 74.13.280
    5. Non-compliance with court orders or intentional disruption of the case plan may be grounds for children or youth to be moved from their home and will be discussed with them at a SPM.
    6. Children’s or youth’s communication with their parents or guardians, per the Outside Communication for Children in Out-of-Home Care policy.
2. Inform the court at the shelter care hearing of the caregiver’s interest in an initial license.
3. Within seven calendar days of placement, complete the health and safety visit and ask the caregivers privately:
  1. How the children or youth are adjusting?
  2. If they:
    1. Need additional services to provide appropriate care and supervision to meet the children’s or youth’s health, safety, and well-being needs?
    2. Have any immediate needs or if there are any barriers to maintaining placement?
Initial License Placements and Payments
Fiduciaries must:
1. Correct any placements entered in error and notify NCIC of the error, when appropriate.
2. Close unlicensed placements and open initial license placements with correct codes when notified by LD workers.
3. Track the 90-day expiration date to prevent overpayment.
4. Close initial license placements on the 91st day and open either the:
  1. Child Specific License Placement with the correct codes, when notified by LD workers.
  2. Unlicensed Placement with correct codes on 91st day.
Supporting Relatives and Suitable Persons Placements
Caseworkers must support relatives and suitable persons, when applicable by:
1. Continuing to assess their:
  1. Ability to provide safe care to children and youth.
  2. Ongoing need for services.
2. Using the Concrete Goods policy to provide goods and services to unlicensed relatives and suitable persons to:
  1. Meet the needs of children and youth in their care.
  2. Remove barriers to home studies or foster care licenses.
3. Providing them following:
  1. Information on financial resources:
    1. The monthly:
      1. Initial license reimbursement payment, if applicable.
      2. Foster care reimbursement payments, if licensed.
    2. Concrete goods to support relatives and suitable persons.
    3. Reimbursement or exceptional cost payments if applicable, per the Administrative Approvals for Child Welfare policy.
    4. Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits if applicable, by following the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI) Benefits for Children in Out-of-Home Placements policy.
    5. Travel and Transportation reimbursement for children or youth-related travel costs, including mileage.
    6. Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) subsidy when both:
      1. Children or youth are placed with a qualified caregiver.
      2. A determination has been made through a SPM that guardianship is in their best interest.
  2. Training information through the Alliance for Child Welfare.
  3. Information on support and resources available through the Alliance Caregiver Retention, Education, Support (CaRES) program.
  4. Available resources to support children or youth placed in out-of-home care, including, but not limited to:
    1. Child care
    2. Respite care for relatives and suitable persons
    3. Developmental Disability Administration (DDA) when children or youth may be eligible for DDA services. Services for youth may extend beyond age 18, if they are eligible.
    4. In-home services
    5. DSHS Kinship Navigator program.
    6. Local resources
Tribal Jurisdiction Cases
TPO workers or designees must support tribes in their case management with their relatives and suitable persons by:
1. Opening the TPO FamLink case.
2. Submitting the tribe’s request for an initial or kinship license to the Licensing Division, if applicable.
3. Assisting caseworkers or GAP gatekeepers with GAP subsidy, if applicable, by following the Tribal Guidance Assistance Payment Guide (TGAP) document.
Placement Concerns
Caseworkers must complete the following when placement concerns arise in relatives’ or suitable persons’ homes:
1. Consult with their supervisor.
2. Complete a Safe Child Consultation.
3. Notify the tribe, if applicable.
4. Follow these policies:
  1. Safety Assessment
  2. Placement Moves
5. If it is determined there is no present or impending danger, but there is concern for risk:
  1. Develop a Placement Support Plan DCYF 10-025 form.
  2. Offer in-home services and concrete goods, as applicable.
6. If the home is found to be unqualified for licensure notify the:
  1. Tribe, if applicable.
  2. Court within seven calendar days by filing the Notice of Inability to Recommend Placement DCYF 09-025 form from the LD worker.
Documentation
Caseworkers must:
1. Follow the Documentation policy.
2. Document:
  1. In FamLink case notes:
    1. Conversations with caregivers about the supports they need or to maintain or stabilize placement.
    2. What supports caseworkers believe are needed to maintain or stabilize the placement.
    3. How caregivers have been supported or why DCYF was unable to provide the needed or requested support.
  2. The following information for the unlicensed caregiver in their FamLink Provider file:
    1. Email address.
    2. Emergency contact information, including at minimum one individual that does not live in their household.:
    3. Current:
      1. Address and their emergency contacts’ address.
      2. Phone numbers and their emergency contacts’ phone numbers.
  3. Exceptional costs, as applicable, in both:
    1. FamLink case note.
    2. Administrative Approval Request DCYF 05-210 form.

Forms

Administrative Approval Request DCYF 05-210 (located in the Forms repository on the DCYF intranet)

Background Check Authorization DCYF 09-653

Caregiver Court Notification Letter DCYF 09-086 (located in the Forms repository on the DCYF intranet)

Caregiver Monthly Transportation Reimbursement DCYF 07-090

Caregiver’s Report to the Court DCYF 15-313

Foster Parent Reimbursement Claim and Checklist DCYF 18-400

Home Inspection Checklist (Kinship) DCYF 10-453

Notice of Inability to Recommend Placement DCYF 09-025 (located in the Forms repository on the DCYF intranet)

Permanency Planning Matrix DCYF 16-231

Placement Support Plan DCYF 10-025 (located in the Forms repository on the DCYF intranet)

Policy Agreements DCYF 10-290 (located in the Forms repository on the DCYF intranet)

Vendor Affidavit of Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed Warrant DCYF 09-013

Resources

Alliance Caregiver Retention, Education, Support (CaRES) program

Caregivers and Court Dependency Process DCYF CWP_0065 publication

Concrete Goods Guide document (located on the DCYF intranet under Programs, CFWS, and Services)

DCYF Administrative 6.04 Supporting LGBTQIA+ Individuals policy

DCYF Become a Foster Parent

DCYF Kinship Care: Family and Close Family Friends

Documentation policy

First Rack Card DCYF CWP_0005 publication

Foster Care Licensing for Kinship Caregivers DCYF Lic_0017 publication

Foster Parent Guide to Foster Care Rate Assessment DCYF CWP_0038 publication

Foster Parent Rights and Responsibilities DCYF Lic_0001 publication

Health and Safety Visits with Children and Youth and Monthly Visits with Parents and Caregivers policy

ICW Tribal Inquiry policy

Kinship and Foster Placement Packet Overview document (located on the DCYF Intranet, under Programs, under Child Welfare, under Placement Packet)

Kinship Care: Relative and Suitable Person Placement DCYF CWP_0074 publication

Out-of-Home Placements policy

Placement Packet (located on the DCYF intranet, under Forms, and Placement Packet)

Prudent Parenting Guide DCYF CWP_0078 publication

Relative Search and Notification policy

Safety Plan policy

Shared Planning Guide DCYF CWP_0070 publication

Timely & Accurate Placement Entry User Guide document (located on the DCYF Child Welfare intranet, under Practice Guides)

Tribal GAP and Extended GAP Guide (TGAP) document (located on the DCYF intranet, Programs, Permanency, Guardianship)

4527. Placing with and Supporting Unlicensed Relatives and Suitable Persons