13 CSR 35-30.010 - Voluntary Placement Agreement Solely for the Purpose of Accessing Mental Health Services and Treatment for Children Under Age Eighteen (18)
(1) Parents or legal guardians (parents) who
are considering relinquishing custody solely for the purpose of accessing
clinically indicated mental health services for their child or who otherwise
cannot afford such services shall be referred by the Children's Division (CD)
or Juvenile Court to the Department of Mental Health (DMH) or their designee
for an assessment of eligibility to enter into a Voluntary Placement Agreement
(VPA).
(2) The Department of Social
Services-Children's Division (DSS-CD) and the DMH shall develop protocol,
policy and procedure to assess the level and extent of services needed for such
children and to develop criteria for determining whether a child may be
appropriate for a VPA in accordance with Chapter 536, RSMo.
(3) If DMH determines pursuant to the
procedures, policies, and protocols as indicated in section (2) above, that the
child requires services that cannot be provided in the home and the parent is
currently unable to access or financially afford the clinically indicated care
the child requires, the parent may enter into a VPA with the DSS-CD.
(A) A VPA means a written agreement between
the DSS-CD and a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a child under age
eighteen (18) in need of out-of-home placement, solely because he/she is in
need of mental health treatment and services.
(B) A VPA developed following a DMH
assessment and certification of appropriateness authorizes the DSS-CD to
administer the placement and care of a child while the parent, legal guardian,
or custodian of the child retains legal custody.
(4) The DSS-CD will authorize the DMH to
place the child, administer the placement, and provide care and treatment for
the child while he/she is under the Voluntary Placement Agreement.
(5) The DMH shall ensure that a child's
placement, under the VPA, shall be in the most appropriate and least
restrictive environment available for the shortest period of time as clinically
indicated.
(6) The VPA shall be
effective the date the child is placed. Voluntary Placement Agreements may be
for as short a period as the parties may agree in the best interests of the
child but under no circumstances shall the total period of time that a child
shall remain in care under a VPA exceed one hundred eighty (180) days.
Subsequent agreements may be entered into, but the total period of placement of
the child under a single VPA or a series of VPAs shall not exceed one hundred
eighty (180) days without the express authorization of the director of the
Children's Division or his/her designee.
(7) The parents, DMH and DSS-CD shall hold a
family support team meeting to develop a permanency/treatment plan for the
child either prior to or within seventy-two (72) hours of the date of placement
of the child pursuant to a VPA. The permanency/treatment plan shall be
completed and in place no later than sixty (60) days from the date that the
child is placed according to the agreement.
(8) The parents, the DSS-CD and DMH shall
hold a family support team meeting no later than one hundred (100) days from
the date that the child is placed pursuant to a VPA to determine whether:
(A) The parties have exercised reasonable
efforts to finalize the permanency plan; and
(B) Whether it is in the best interests of
the child to either terminate the VPA and reunite the child with the child's
parents or whether it is in the best interests of the child to continue the
child in care beyond the expiration date of the VPA.
(9) The DSS-CD shall maintain responsibility
for compliance with all Federal Title IV-E requirements. All Voluntary
Placement Agreements shall be consistent with the requirements of sections
210.108 and
210.710, RSMo and Title IV-E of
the Social Security Act and its implementing regulations, including, but not
limited to 42 U.S.C. section
672.
(10) DMH shall develop and submit to DSS-CD
at prescribed intervals a report of services provided to any child served under
a VPA. Such report shall include any information identified by DSS-CD as
required for federal reporting purposes.
(11) The VPA may be terminated by the DSS-CD
upon ten (10) days written notice to the parties.
(12) The parent(s) may terminate the VPA for
any reason at any time by providing either oral or written notification to
DSS-CD. Upon receipt of such notice the VPA shall immediately terminate and the
child shall be returned to the legal and physical custody of the
parents.
(13) All VPAs shall be in
writing and shall be on a form approved by the DSS-CD in consultation with the
DMH.
Notes
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