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F O R Y O U R I N F O R M A T I O N
OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENT SEARCH PROTOCOL
The Department places children in accordance with the placement priority protocol as outlined in State law and regulations, which require that children be placed in the least restrictive, most family-like setting which meets the child’s needs. Effective April 19, 1999, the placement search process has been revised due to the conversion from the Vacancy Information for Placement (VIP) database to the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) for out-of-home searches. This revised protocol is consistent with the community-based placement concept of Family-to-Family. The Department priorities for placing children are:
  1. Determine if there are any relatives available with whom to place the child, even if it means placing the child outside of his or her current community.
  1. If no relative is available, the placement needs of the child are assessed to determine if a specialized placement is needed, including:
physical conditions
medically fragile
emotional or behavioral conditions
at risk of parental abduction or attack
at risk of environment or community
adoptive placement
other special needs
Children with these needs are placed in the most appropriate facility, which may or may not be in the community from which the child was removed.
  1. Initial searches will be conducted for licensed foster family homes (FFHs) in the zip code from which the child was removed. If no licensed FFHs are available, a Foster Family Agency (FFA) with certified homes located within the same zip code will be contacted to determine if they are available for placement of a child. If no licensed FFHs or FFA-certified home is available within the same zip code, adjacent zip codes will be searched in the same manner until a suitable placement is located.
CONTINUED
/ / BES CONTACT: Connie Weaver (213) 351-5732
APPROVED: ______
Paul V. Freedlund, Deputy Director

FYI - OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENT SEARCH PROTOCOL

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Replacement searches will be conducted for licensed FFHs in the zip code from which the child was last placed. If no licensed FFH is available, an FFA with certified homes located within the zip code from which the child was last placed will be contacted to determine if they are available for placement of a child. If no licensed FFHs or FFA-certified home is available within the same zip code, adjacent zip codes will be searched in the same manner until a suitable placement is located.

This protocol change eliminates:

  1. The need for CSWs to obtain DCFS Headquarters approval for out-of-region placements and
  1. The requirement to complete thirty (30) foster family home searches within a specified zip code and adjacent zip codes prior to contacting a Foster Family Agency to determine if they have certified homes available.