Okla. Admin. Code § 340:75-19-32 - Agreements for foster care
(a) The
Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Section
40.7 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma
Statutes authorizes Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) to enter into contractual
agreements with Indian tribes for the care and custody of Indian children and
jurisdiction over child custody proceedings which provide for orderly transfer
of jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis and provide for concurrent
jurisdiction. The objective of the agreements is to enhance coordination and
cooperation between the tribes and OKDHS in providing appropriate foster care
and related services to Indian children in both OKDHS and tribal
custody.
(b) OKDHS pays the costs
of foster care to tribally approved foster homes for the placement of Indian
children in OKDHS or tribal custody.
(c) Tribes develop and implement tribal
foster home standards according to each tribe's culture and standards. The
tribe's foster home standards are submitted in writing to OKDHS tribal program
staff and the tribe uses these standards to certify tribal foster homes.
Tribal-certified foster families may serve as placement resources for the
Indian child in OKDHS or tribal custody.
(d) The foster care maintenance payment to
the tribal-certified foster home is initiated only after the tribe submits the
tribal-certified foster resource home study. Maintenance payments are not
provided to any tribal foster home prior to the tribe's approval date and
OKDHS' receipt of all required documentation including all required background
checks. The tribe mails or faxes each completed tribal-certified foster
resource home study and re-assessment to Child Welfare Services (CWS) tribal
IV-E program staff. The Indian child welfare (ICW) worker sends documentation
of the effective date and reason for closure of tribal foster homes to CWS
tribal IV-E program staff.
(e)
Confidentiality is addressed in each contractual agreement for foster care. The
tribe agrees to exercise confidentiality and provide information only to those
persons who need the information in order to exercise the tribes' rights under
the federal and state ICWA.
(f)
Federal and Oklahoma laws and regulations regarding review hearings, permanency
hearings, case plans, and recordkeeping are applicable to the Indian child
placed in tribal custody and a tribal foster home.
(g) Each contractual agreement for foster
care includes OKDHS responsibilities for placement of the Indian child in
tribal custody.
(h) The tribe
agrees to abide by the placement preferences of the federal and state ICWA
unless the tribe establishes a different order of preference by resolution. The
tribe submits any changes in the tribe's placement preference order, in
writing, within 10-calendar days, to OKDHS tribal program staff.
(i) The Plan of Operation is a binding part
of each contractual agreement for foster care and sets forth tribal foster home
procedures and protocols for the placement and services of the Indian child in
tribal custody.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.