Rule 34 - Interstate Compact for Placement of ChildrenProcedures for the orderly and timely interstate placement of children shall be pursuant to sections 43-18-1 through 43-18-17 of the Mississippi Code.
Comments & Procedures
Rule 34. In accordance with Mississippi Department of Human Services policies, DFCS workers must complete the incoming ICPC home study within forty-five (45) days and directly send it to the ICPC unit at the State Office. The ICPC unit will then review the home study and, if needed, request additional information from the county staff, prior to sending it to the requesting state on or before the sixty (60) day deadline.
Federal Requirements
These rules require compliance with federal laws and regulations which impact funding for cases within the jurisdiction of the youth court. See U.R.Y.C.P. 7. Failure to comply results in the loss of federal monies crucial in achieving the best interests of the child and the interest of justice. Federal laws and regulations applicable to the interstate compact for placement of children include: Procedures for the orderly and timely interstate placement of children.
42 U.S.C. § 671 (2008) provides in part:
[A State plan to receive formula grants shall] . . .
(25) provide that the State shall have in effect procedures for the orderly and timely interstate placement of children; and procedures implemented in accordance with an interstate compact, if incorporating with the procedures prescribed by paragraph (26), shall be considered to satisfy the requirement of this paragraph;(26) provides that-- (A)(i) within 60 days after the State receives from another State a request to conduct a study of a home environment for purposes of assessing the safety and suitability of placing a child in the home, the State shall, directly or by contract-- (I) conduct and complete the study; and(II) return to the other State a report on the results of the study, which shall address the extent to which placement in the home would meet the needs of the child; and(ii) in the case of a home study begun on or before September 30, 2008, if the State fails to comply with clause (i) within the 60-day period as a result of circumstances beyond the control of the State (such as a failure by a Federal agency to provide the results of a background check, or the failure by any entity to provide completed medical forms, requested by the State at least 45 days before the end of the 60-day period), the State shall have 75 days to comply with clause (i) if the State documents the circumstances involved and certifies that completing the home study is in the best interests of the child; except that (iii) this subparagraph shall not be construed to require the State to have completed, within the applicable period, the parts of the home study involving the education and training of the prospective foster or adoptive parents; (B) the State shall treat any report described in subparagraph (A) that is received from another State or an Indian tribe (or from a private agency under contract with another State) as meeting any requirements imposed by the State for the completion of a home study before placing a child in the home, unless, within 14 days after receipt of the report, the State determines, based on grounds that are specific to the content of the report, that making a decision in reliance on the report would be contrary to the welfare of the child; and (C) the State shall not impose any restriction on the ability of a State agency administering, or supervising the administration of, a State program operated under a State plan approved under this part to contract with a private agency for the conduct of a home study described in subparagraph (A); . . . Miss. R. Youth Ct. Prac. 34
The Uniform Rules of Youth Court Practice were revised by order entered 7/17/2012.