When the child/youth is part of a sibling group and the sibling group is being placed out of the home, it shall be presumed that placement of the entire sibling group in the joint placement is in the best interests of the children/youth, in order to sustain family and/or family like relationships. Such presumption may be rebutted by the county by a preponderance of the evidence that placement of the entire sibling group in the joint placement is not in the best interests of a child/youth or of the children/youth. The county shall make reasonable and continued efforts to locate a joint placement for all of the children/youth in the sibling group unless (1) it is not in the best interests of the children/youth to be placed as a group as determined by the county in consultation with the family, youth, and gal when possible, and (2) these efforts do not unreasonably delay permanency for any child/youth. These efforts depend upon the county's ability to locate an appropriate, capable, willing, and available joint placement for all of the children/youth in the sibling group. As soon as practicable after making a decision affecting sibling placement, the county department shall notify the gal(s) appointed to the case. Efforts to place siblings as a group shall be documented in the Colorado Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS).
Sibling children/youth in foster and/or kinship care shall have the following rights unless:
If certification is not achieved within 180 days of the date of removal, the county department of human/social services shall request the court grant custody of the child/youth to the non-certified kinship caregiver unless there are exceptional circumstances to continue custody with the county department of human/social services. These exceptional circumstances must be approved by the director of the county department of human/social services or their designee.
Not every child at risk needs out-of-home placement. These criteria are designed to provide a decision making model to assist in determining whether Core Service Program services and/or out-of-home placement are indicated. All three criteria must be met unless the youth is eligible for the foster youth transition program as described in 12 CCR 2509-3, 7.203.4.
Criterion 1: The child may be at imminent risk of out-of-home placement, as defined in Section 26-5.3-102(1)(b), C.R.S., because one or more of the following conditions exist:
Criterion 2: Before considering placement, an assessment is completed to determine the level of risk. If assessment of risk determines that the child is at imminent risk of out-of-home placement, then child/family strengths are determined, and the appropriate services and/or community supports (reasonable efforts) needed to address the existing Criterion #1 conditions are identified. When these services are not immediately available, or are absent, unsuccessful, or exhausted, placement in the Core Services Program and/or out-of-home may be considered.
Reasonable efforts include the intervention strategies and advocacy efforts used:
Criterion 3: When placement is the best choice of available options/alternatives at this time to reduce risk to the child while continuing reasonable efforts to resolve the conditions which led to imminent risk, then, placement in the Core Services Program and/or out-of-home may occur.
If a parent whose residence is used to determine the county department's financial responsibility for a child in out-of-home placement moves to another Colorado county, the county department shall initiate procedures to transfer the financial responsibility to the new county, unless:
The county department shall ensure that a child may enter any out-of-home placement only when:
When applicable, the county department shall document and submit to the court existing circumstances in which the court may determine that reasonable efforts are not required to prevent a child's removal from the home or to reunify the child and family. These circumstances are:
These efforts depend upon the county's ability to locate an appropriate, capable, willing, and available joint placement for all of the children/youth in the sibling group. Efforts to place siblings as a group shall be documented in the child/youth's case record.
if an exemption applies, the provider(s) must provide a written statement detailing the basis for the applicable exemption to the agency that licenses the provider(s).
The county department shall:
If the governor or local government declares a disaster or emergency, and because of the declared disaster or emergency the medical and dental exams cannot be completed for the child/youth in the required time frame, the medical exam and dental exam must be completed as soon as possible, but no later than 45 calendar days after the declared conclusion of the disaster or emergency.
Definition:
A Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP) Placement Review means a review conducted by the State Department's Administrative Review Division (ARD), that is open to the participation of the parents, legal guardian or custodian of each child or youth, the child or youth (if age appropriate as determined by the caseworker), the QRTP staff, and attorneys of record; and conducted by a placement reviewer, who is not responsible for the case management of, or the delivery of services to the child or youth who is subject to the review.
Refer to Section 7.500.351, F, for this information.
As the provider, the foster parents shall:
12 CCR 2509-4-7.304