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Interstate
Compact on the
Placement of Children
By Kimball DeLaMare
(This
article is reprinted from the Summer 2002 National Association
of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, Inc Newsletter with
permission of author Kimball DeLaMare. Other articles
on ICPC can be found in the Woodbury Reports’ archives
at www.strugglingteens.com/archives/ including: The
ICPC and You, by Dave Pitkin, # 31. 12/94,
What
Happened at Skyland Ranch, by Dave Pitkin #38, 2/96
A
Statement on how it relates to wilderness programs, #42 10/96
and Interstate
Compact Tightened in Utah, #57 4/99.)
Over the past three years, NATSAP has conducted
two surveys pursuant to clarifying how the Interstate Compact
on the Placement of Children (ICPC), applies to our schools
and programs. The returns from our two surveys have indicated that
a slight majority of our programs are familiar with ICPC and that
approximately 1/3 of our programs are routinely subject to the Compact.
Partially, due to dialog between a consortium of Utah providers
and the inconsistencies noted by various compact administrators,
there has been a significant revision of compact regulation definitions,
which have been adopted as of 2001 and are in force in all 50 states.
What is the Compact?
The ICPC applies to any government agency, court or person (including
parents and relatives) corporation, association or charitable agency
that desires to place a child in another state for the purposes
of long term care adoption, treatment of chronic conditions and
for the provision of care that would otherwise be provided by a
parent. The compact ensures that children are guaranteed legal and
financial protection; allows receiving states to ensure that placements
are not contrary to the interest of the child and that both the
sending and receiving states ensure that their applicable laws and
policies have been followed before approving placement. The compact
was originally conceived in the 1950’s and has been adopted by all
50 states as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
The Compact May Now Apply to You
With recent revisions and clarification as ratified by the ICPC
compact administrators in April of 2001, there is now more specific
language detailing when the Interstate Compact is in force. Such
notable exemptions to the Compact in the past have included boarding
schools, hospitals and other medical facilities, as well as institutions
for the mentally ill or mentally impaired. Residential institutions
have not been deemed as exempt in the past and continue with the
same designation. Educational institutions may now be subject to
ICPC if they provide any of the following:
1) If the school or program provides or holds itself out as providing
childcare, constituting nurture, sufficient to substitute for parental
supervision and control, or provides foster care.
2) The school or program provides any other services to children,
except those customarily regarded as extracurricular or co-extracurricular
school activities, pupil support services, and those services necessary
to make it possible for children to be maintained on a residential
basis in the aforementioned school program or programs.
3) The school or program accepts responsibility for children during
the entire year.
How the Compact Works
ICPC administrators have devised two forms related to the Interstate
Compact. Form 100A is to be filled out by “sending parties.” Sending
parties include parents, guardians, government agencies and courts.
This form with an accompanying social history or other rationale
for placement is submitted to a potential “receiving state.” The
receiving state has up to 30 working days to approve or disapprove
the placement. In unusual circumstances, a placement can be approved
in as little as two days if certain requirements are met.
When a receiving state approves placement, the child can then be
transported to that State. Upon completion of a program or other
circumstances where the child can then return to his/her home state,
the ICPC form 100E is completed which informs the original state
that the child is returning. Transfer to other states is subject
to the use of the 100A form.
Implications
The revisions to the ICPC have several implications for our member
programs. Perhaps most importantly there may be many of our members
who could be deemed out of compliance with the State or Federal
law. These revisions could significantly impede our ability as helping
professionals to serve children who are in immediate need of our
services but may not be deemed as needing stabilization in an acute
care environment. The ICPC is seen by several of the families who
have children in our programs as intrusive. Many of these families
feel that their privacy is being violated by state oversight of
their decisions to provide services for a needy child. In some circumstances,
there have been discussions that placements in another state may
have to be confined to institutions that agree to follow all of
that specific state’s regulatory expectations. Referring professionals
such as educational consultants may also be impeded in their role
to provide timely assistance to clients who may then further deteriorate
necessitating temporary placement in highly expensive local institutions.
What’s Next?
In the coming months, the NATSAP Board of Directors will meet to
look more closely at the ICPC and will help to devise a strategy,
which could include an Ad Hoc Committee, lobbying efforts or other
action by which to deal with these important concerns. Hopefully,
our organization will be able to provide significant direction and
education regarding the Interstate Compact. There is a detailed
guide, which includes all revisions available through each state’s
compact administrator.
Booklets are also available through the American
Public Human Services Association (APSHA, 810 First
Street, NE Suite 500, Washington, DC 20002-4267, 202-682-0100,
fax: 202- 289-6555.
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