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Subcommittee raises appeal threshold and clarifies administrative hearing rights for foster parents
Summary
Regulation 5313 was approved to change when foster parents may appeal a removal (raising the threshold from 120 days to 12 months) and to add additional categories that trigger administrative hearing rights, while DSS explained extended foster care and age-based board payment bands are set by the General Assembly.
The Health and Healthcare Industry Subcommittee voted to approve Regulation 5313, which revises rules about administrative hearings and appeal rights for foster parents and clarifies related foster care procedures.
Department of Social Services staff explained the rule raises the threshold for when a foster parent may appeal a child’s removal, changing the prior 120-day threshold to 12 months in certain circumstances while also adding specific categories that permit appeal rights. Those added categories include situations where foster parents have not provided required paperwork within a 90-day window, efforts to reunify siblings, transfers to kinship caregivers and cases where the foster family is not the identified adoptive resource.
Staff also reviewed the state’s age brackets for monthly board payments (0–6, 7–12 and 13–17) and noted the General Assembly sets the monthly rate via proviso. Department staff said the Legislature in 2022 expanded extended foster care options allowing youth to voluntarily return to care after turning 18 up to a higher age (mentioned as up to age 20 in testimony), subject to participation requirements such as schooling or employment.
The committee approved the regulation by voice vote and the chair announced the motion carried.
Why it matters: The rule adjusts foster parents’ administrative hearing rights and clarifies timelines and categories for appeals, procedures that affect placement stability and how disputes over removals are processed.
