Committee approves suite of foster-care rules to speed licensing, clarify appeals and visitation

The House Health and Welfare Committee approved a package of Department of Health and Welfare rule changes that alter foster-care licensing, add a temporary crisis payment authority for high-needs placements, tighten visitation supervision for parents substantiated for abuse and clarify appeals to the Child Protection Central Registry.

Department Director Alex Adams, in opening remarks, said the department wants to reduce its regulatory footprint and prioritize core services. "Quality over quantity," Adams said, adding the department has a goal "of doubling the ratio of foster families relative to the number of foster kids in the state." He told the committee the department has used temporary rules and proposed statutory changes to remove barriers to recruitment and licensure.

The committee voted, by voice, to approve several dockets that the department said would remove duplicative requirements, consolidate chapter text and adopt the National Model Licensing standards that the department said will give caseworkers more flexibility. The package includes temporary and pending dockets that (per the department) allow faster reactivation of previously licensed foster homes, permit 18-year-old sibling placements in some cases, and streamline background- and home-evaluation timelines.

Among the substantive changes discussed:

- Crisis-level payments: The temporary rulemaking for crisis placements allows the department discretion to provide additional time-limited payments to Family Alternate Care providers when there is a shortage of appropriate placements, especially for large sibling groups or children with high acuity. Andy Blackwood, Bureau Chief with the Department of Health and Welfare, told the committee such payments are to be funded within the department's existing budget. "The way that we've used this in the past is when foster parents maybe were struggling and needed additional resources to take care of high needs children or large sibling groups, we would put into place an additional amount of payment to allow for them to have some flexibility with transportation, getting needs met. It was time limited," Blackwood said. Committee discussion referenced a previously considered figure of about $150 per child per day as an upper-bound discussed internally.

- Child Protection Central Registry appeals and timing: The docket clarifies the contested-case and appeal process for individuals substantiated for abuse, neglect or abandonment. Blackwood explained the rule requires the department to provide its information to a person within 14 days so the person can prepare a defense, and that an individual has 28 days from receipt of the substantiation letter to request an administrative review. Blackwood said the registry is a closed registry that is released only on a case-by-case basis for employment or background checks and that the registry entry shows only that the person is listed, not the underlying allegations.

- Visitation supervision for substantiated parents: A temporary rule adopted by the committee requires direct supervision for visits involving parents substantiated at a level 1 or level 2 for physical or sexual abuse. Jared Larson, the department's legislative and regulatory affairs chief, described the rule as adopting a "best-interest-of-the-child" standard and prohibiting unmonitored conversations and sitting on a parent's lap during supervised visits for parents whose substantiation includes physical or sexual abuse.

- Licensing timelines, minimum age and reasonable/prudent-parent model: The replacement licensing chapter adopts the reasonable and prudent parent standard from the national model and reduces some processing timelines. The department also proposed lowering the minimum age for foster parents from 21 to 18 to allow some elder-sibling placements when appropriate. The rule package also allows the department to absorb reasonable costs for basic safety accommodations (smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc.) needed to license a home.

- Re-licensure of prior foster families: A temporary rule permits previously licensed foster parents who wish to return to foster care to reactivate their license more quickly if they can attest they have maintained conformity with department standards; if a household has had significant changes, the family must follow the standard application process.

- Adoption supports and fees: One temporary action consolidated adoption-related language and waived departmental adoption fees for children adopted from the department's custody; adoption-assistance references were consolidated under federal Title IV-E requirements (the department said the rules will remain consistent with Title IV-E).

Safety and process questions from committee members prompted clarifications. Representative concerns included whether background checks for new adults moving into a foster home should occur before the adult moves in; Jared Larson said the department is open to working with legislators on tightening that timeline but noted the need to balance emergency family circumstances. Julie Sepchak, a child-welfare manager, described firearm-safety expectations during inspections: "We would expect that they be stored in a locked box of some type. ... guns are locked and ammunition is stored separately." She said the department provides licensing workers thermometers and guidance for hot-water temperature checks and will be flexible on meeting requirements so families can comply.

Why it matters: Committee members and department leaders said the changes are intended to increase foster-family capacity while preserving child-safety safeguards. Several rule dockets adopted at the meeting implement temporary measures that must be approved by the committee this session for continued effect.

Votes at a glance

- Docket 160601-2402 (temporary rule: crisis payments; contested-case changes): motion to approve made on the record; voice vote, motion carried. - Docket 160601-2403 (temporary rule: adoption fee waivers, enhanced kinship definition): motion to approve made on the record; voice vote, motion carried. - Docket 160601-2404 (temporary rule: supervised visitation protections for substantiated parents): motion to approve made on the record; voice vote, motion carried. - Docket 160601-2405 (ZBR rewrite of children and family services chapter; consolidates prior temporary rules): motion to approve made on the record; voice vote, motion carried. - Docket 160602-2401 (temporary repeal/bridge of prior foster-care chapter pending replacement): motion to approve made on the record; voice vote, motion carried. - Docket 160602-2402 (replacement foster-care licensing chapter adopting prudent-parent model; lowers minimum age to 18): motion to adopt made on the record; voice vote, motion carried. - Docket 160602-2403 (temporary rule to expedite reactivation of prior foster licenses): motion to adopt made on the record; voice vote, motion carried.

Discussion vs. decision: The committee approved each docket by voice vote; committee discussion included both policy-level questions about safety and procedural questions about timelines and implementation. The rules package contains several temporary rules that the department said it implemented earlier in the year and now asks the committee to keep in effect through the session.

Ending: Committee members were reminded the department will return with additional rule dockets and bills this session to carry some changes into statute; Director Adams said the department intends to propose statutory consolidations to move decisions to elected lawmakers and reduce administrative rule volume.