The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)
What is the ICPC?
Yes. The ICPC, in addition to applying to adoption, allows children from Massachusetts to be “sent” to another state by a state agency, i.e., the Department of Children and Family Services (DCF) or the Juvenile Court itself for the purpose of foster care in another state. This act, enacted in all 50 states, has been adopted by Massachusetts under M.G.L. c119, App. section 2-1.
What Rules Govern the ICPC?
In order for placement in a foster home in another state by DCF or a Juvenile Court in Massachusetts to be considered a legitimate placement within the ICPC, the placement must meet certain requirements of the Act:
- The sending agency, that is, the Massachusetts Juvenile Court or DCF must request that the receiving state perform a home study on the prospective foster care placement in the other state.
- The receiving state must provide to the sending agency (in Massachusetts) findings that the placement being proposed is not contrary to the best interests of the child being placed in foster care.
- The receiving state has 60 days to finish the home study of the proposed foster home location once it has received all necessary information from the sending state (Massachusetts). The receiving state then has 180 days from the date of the home study request to either approve or deny the placement. The rules under the ICPC vary where the placement in question involves residential placement by a sending agency or parent residing out of state.
- It is the sending agency, here Massachusetts DCF or Court which retains financial responsibility for the maintenance and support of the child while the child remains out-of-state. Not only is financial responsibility retained by Massachusetts, but Massachusetts also retains jurisdiction with respect to the care, supervision, custody, treatment and ultimately the disposition of the child until the child reaches the age of majority, is discharged, becomes able to support themselves, or is adopted.
Speeding Up the ICPC Placement Process
The ICPC provides for the out-of-state placement of a child from Massachusetts into a foster home in another, receiving state. However, the process can take some time – as long as 6 months or more. It is possible to speed up the placement of a child into a foster home out of Massachusetts when certain conditions have been met, see below:
- The home study must be conducted in the receiving state by 20 days if the foster home in which the child is to be placed is that of a parent, step-parent, grandparent, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, or Gaurdian; AND
- the recent incapacitation or death of the child’s parent or guardian has resulted in the unexpected dependency of the child, OR
the Child is 4 years old or less, OR
a Court finds that any child in a sibling group that is to be placed has a substantial relationship with the proposed placement; OR
the Child is presently in an emergency placement.
When the ICPC Does Not Apply
When a parent or guardian (not a state agency guardian) is the individual attempting to place the child out of state, the ICPC will not apply when attempting to make the placement with a listed relative of the parent or guardian. Several other portions of the ICPC address other restriction, but the aforementioned restriction is likely to have the greatest impact on most families considering placement in a foster home from Massachusetts to another state.
The ICPC does not apply when the foster home placement is with an out-of-state parent. For example, if a mother located in Massachusetts is attempting to grant custody to a father located in New York, the father should not have to meet the conditions of the ICPC (that is, the home study, receiving state denial or approval of placement, etc.) because the ICPC would not apply because the foster home placement is an out-of-state parent.
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