La. Admin. Code tit. 67 § III-6929

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section III-6929 - Eligibility

A. Guiding Principles. These standards seek to ensure the availability and equal provision of services to family violence survivors and their dependents. These standards also define circumstances and situations that could render a survivor ineligible for program services.

B. Critical Minimum Standards

1. Standard 8.1. The program must provide services regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, citizenship, immigration status, marital status, or language spoken. The program must assist and accommodate persons with mental or physical special needs. Assistance shall be provided through coordinated efforts between family violence program staff members and other identified service providers.

C. Minimum Standards

1. Standard 8.2. Persons that are eligible for services shall include family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence survivors and their dependents. Eligible persons include adults, legally emancipated minors, minors granted permission for services by a parent, a guardian, a judges orders, or caretakers of eligible persons. In the event that a non-emancipated minor seeks services, the program must acquire parental permission prior to providing any services. No dependent males or females that are with their parent or guardian shall be denied access to services.

a. Those eligible for services include survivors who may be in imminent danger of being abused by their current or former intimate partner or family member, those who are in danger of being emotionally, physically, or sexually abused, and survivors who have no safe place to go.

b. The program must provide comparable services to eligible male survivors.

2. Standard 8.3. Upon initial contact with survivors, program staff members must complete an assessment which will cover the following:

a. eligibility for support and intervention services;

b. immediate safety issues;

c. batterers potential for lethality;

d. ensure that the person requesting services is the survivor and not the perpetrator;

e. special needs based on a disability;

f. special needs based on the requirements of a persons self-identified religious, cultural, ethnic, geographic, and other affiliations; and

g. other appropriate services.

3. Standard 8.4. The program must develop and provide a written grievance policy that must be given to every survivor upon admission to services. The policy shall include procedures to follow in the event a survivor:

a. believes they have been unjustly denied services;

b. is dissatisfied with the quality of services; or

c. is dissatisfied with the behaviors of a staff member or volunteer.

4. Standard 8.5. Survivors may be denied shelter services or be ineligible for other program services. In these instances, the program must, as soon as possible, inform survivors seeking services of the criteria that may render them ineligible for services. This standard is intended to guard against a survivor discovering she or he is ineligible for services when they have already risked leaving their abuser. Information and referrals are to be made for other appropriate services.

a. When the program cannot admit new survivors to a shelter due to capacity, every effort must be made to secure and facilitate admission to safe alternative accommodations (see §6947, standard 17.21).

b. If it is determined that a person is ineligible for services after admission to a shelter, program staff must refer the person to other appropriate services and assist the person to access transportation to receive the other appropriate services.

5. Standard 8.6. The extent to which eligibility can affect the long-term or future eligibility for services must be evaluated and documented on a case-by-case basis. Examples of ineligibility criteria include:

a. not an adult or emancipated minor or a minor granted permission; and

b. exhibits signs of suicidal or homicidal behaviors.

La. Admin. Code tit. 67, § III-6929

Promulgated by the Department of Children and Family Services, Economic Stability Section, LR 4431 (1/1/2018).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 46:2121-2128.