214 R.I. Code R. 214-RICR-30-00-1.17

Current through December 3, 2024

Section 214-RICR-30-00-1.17 - Voluntary Extension of Care

A. Young adults may elect to continue to receive services and placement from the Department and remain under the legal supervision of the Family Court until the young adult's twenty-first (21st) birthday through the Voluntary Extension of Care (VEC) program.

B. Eligibility

1. Young adults who were in foster care on their eighteenth (18th) birthday and in the legal custody of the Department, or;

2. Young adults who were adopted or placed in a guardianship with an adoption or a guardianship assistance agreement that was executed on or after the young adult's sixteenth (16th) birthday and prior to the young adult's eighteenth (18th) birthday may voluntarily elect to enter into care and agree to placement and legal supervision by the Family Court until age twenty-one (21) provided the young adult satisfies the requirements of §§ 1.17(B)(3)(a) through (f) of this Part. Young adults exercising this option would result in the termination of the adoption or guardianship subsidy if it is determined that the adoptive parent or legal guardian is no longer providing any support for the young adult, and;

3. A youth must meet at least one of the following requirements to be eligible for the VEC program:

a. Working toward a high school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED) or a program leading to an equivalent credential; or

b. Enrolled in an institution that provides post-secondary or vocational education; or

c. Enrolled in a job training program or activity designed to promote or remove barriers to employment; or

d. Employed for at least eighty (80) hours a month; or

e. A combination of work-related and educational activities; or

f. The Department determines that the youth is incapable of doing any of the foregoing due to a medical condition that is certified by a licensed physician or nurse practitioner and documented in the case plan.

C. Young adults in the VEC program may live in a supervised living arrangement that is approved by the Department. Such living arrangements may include:

1. Living with a current or former foster parent;

2. Living with an adult support;

3. Living with relatives or kin;

4. Living in a dormitory;

5. Living in an independent apartment alone, with a partner/spouse, or child; or

6. Living in a shared home.

7. The Department has the authority to determine the amount of financial assistance and the payment process for living arrangements on a case-by-case basis.

D. For the purposes of the VEC program, a supervised independent living setting is a housing arrangement which meets the approval of the Department and includes ongoing oversight and case management provided by Department staff and/or another entity with whom the Department has contracted with to perform such services.

1. Prior to living in the setting or making any payments, the Department or designated entity must inspect the living arrangement to ensure it meets basic health and safety standards (e.g., running water, electricity, heating, etc.). The young adult must be present at the inspection.

2. If a young adult intends to live in a college dormitory or a family foster home licensed by the Department or a child welfare agency in another state, the living arrangement is automatically approved and does not need to be assessed.

3. Funding for the living arrangement is not provided until the living arrangement has been inspected (if applicable), and approved, and, a lease or rental agreement is signed, if required.

E. The VEC program assists young adults with:

1. educational, vocational, and employment opportunities;

2. connections to behavioral, emotional, and physical care providers;

3. financial literacy and money management skills;

4. acquisitions of key documents;

5. developing long term natural supports; and

6. securing living arrangements.

F. The Department petitions the Family Court to close any youth still open to the Department on a miscellaneous, abuse, neglect or dependency petition who elects not to participate in the VEC program after being offered the opportunity within thirty (30) days of the youth's eighteenth (18th) birthday.

G. The Department petitions the Family Court to close any youth open to the Department on a delinquency petition who elects not to participate in the VEC program upon the young adult reaching the end of the delinquency petition sentence or attaining (19th) years of age, whichever event occurs first.

H. Any young adult who is open to the Department and who elects not to participate in the VEC program or who terminates his or her VEC participation may request to be reinstated into the VEC program prior to his or her twenty-first (21) birthday if he or she continues to meet the edibility requirements as presented in §§ 1.17(B)(1)(a) through (f) of this Part.

1. The Department may terminate a youth's involvement in the VEC program prior to the young adult's twenty-first (21) birthday with the approval of the Family Court based on a motion for good cause.

214 R.I. Code R. 214-RICR-30-00-1.17

Adopted effective 12/27/2018