Section 5.11 - Placement Requirements(1)Documentation of Need. No child shall be placed without written evidence that placement is the most appropriate plan for the child. Such evidence shall include written documentation of: (a) the purpose of placement;(b) a record of previous placements, if any;(c) reasons why placement is considered necessary and appropriate;(d) a record of attempts to provide preventive services and examination of possible alternatives to placement, or a statement as to why placement is warranted without such attempts being made;(e) an estimate of the duration of the need for placement;(f) a description of the types of placement which would best meet the child's needs;(g) a description of the conditions under which the child shall be returned home, if reunification is the goal.(2)Authority to Place a Child in Foster Care or Residential Care. The licensee shall have evidence of the authority to place a child in foster or residential care when it has a copy of the following:(a) a court order giving custody or guardianship of the child to the licensee;(b) a contract with any agency legally authorized to provide foster care or residential care;(c) a written agreement with the child's parent(s) or legal guardian;(d) request for foster care or residential care by the child himself, with any legally required parental consent.(3)Authority to Place a Child for Adoption. A placement agency shall have evidence of the authority to place a child for adoption when it has a copy of the following: (a) a voluntary surrender signed by the birth parent(s) in accordance with the law of the country or state where the surrender is taken;(b) evidence of termination of parental rights and the grounds for termination;(c) verification of compliance with M.G.L. c. 119, § 36, or Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, M.G.L. c. 119, Appendix § 2 for interstate adoptions;(d) verification of compliance with M.G.L. c. 119, § 36 and the immigration laws of the United States for inter-country adoptions;(e) verification of compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 Pub. L. 95-608, 92 Stat 3069, 25 U.S.C. 1901, et seq., and the Multi-ethnic Placement Act, 42 U.S.C. 5115a;(f) verification that the child placed for adoption is not registered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or with the Massachusetts Central Register, required by M.G.L. c. 22A. If the licensee is unable to obtain such verification, it must be able to document that it has attempted to obtain such verification, it must be able to document that it has attempted to obtain the information from the federal or state register. In those cases where the birthmother is already receiving services from the licensee at the time of the child's birth, such verification need not be obtained.(4)Agreements with Other Agencies or with Residential Programs. (a) If the licensee refers any child to another placement agency to place the child in a family foster home, or to a residential program, both agencies or the licensee and residential program, shall enter into an agreement defining their respective roles and responsibilities for providing services to the child and to his family. Such agreement shall include:1. the terms and methods for paying board and other expenses;2. conditions under which direct services (including social, medical, psychological and psychiatric) are to be provided to a child and his family;3. arrangements for special training or education;4. arrangements for contacts between the agencies or agency and residential program including sharing information regarding concerns which may arise during placement;5. arrangements for family visits and other contacts between the resident and friends, including specific information on any restrictions;6. responsibility for seeking judicial approval if required for administration of antipsychotic medication;7. responsibility for transportation;8. estimate of the time the child is expected to be in placement;9. circumstances under which the child may be removed from a family foster home or residential program or under which services to the child or family may be terminated;10. legal responsibilities;11. responsibility for after-care services; and12. for children placed in shelter care, dates of service and discharge planning conferences.(b) If the licensee works with another agency or person to effect the adoption of a child, the licensee shall enter into a written agreement which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:1. responsibility for the provision of direct services, including assessment, counseling, information on alternative plans for the child, service planning, placement, adoptive home evaluation, post-placement supervision, finalization and follow-up;2. financial and legal responsibilities of the respective parties;3. child's legal status at time of the agreement;4. documentation of the agency's or person's legal authority to place children or to facilitate adoption.(5)Required Licensure or Evaluation of Placement; Finding of Capability. The licensee shall place a child only in a licensed residential program, or a foster or adoptive home which has been evaluated according to 606 CMR 5.09(4) or 5.10(6) and which the licensee has found capable of meeting the particular child's needs. If the child to be placed differs from the recommendations made in the original foster parent evaluation, the foster parent evaluation must be updated to explain the factors that make the foster parents capable and appropriate to care for the child. The licensee shall consider the following factors in making a placement decision: child's ethnicity, race, religious needs and native language; special physical and emotional needs of the child; availability of relatives to care for the child; maintaining continuity of current relationships; and the current household composition. No child may be placed in an adoptive home until at least 30 days have elapsed since the initiation of the assessment process. The initiation of the assessment process is defined as the first, in-person meeting pertaining to the assessment between the prospective adoptive parent(s) and a qualified representative of the licensee.(6)Placement of Siblings. (a) Siblings shall be placed in the same foster or adoptive home unless the licensee documents a written explanation in the children's record as to why such placement is not in the best interest of the children.(b) In the event that siblings are not placed together, reconsideration of the placements shall be made within three months to determine whether or not the siblings can and should be reunited.(c) When placement is planned for a child whose sibling has already been placed in a foster or adoptive home, the foster or adoptive parents of the first child shall be offered the opportunity to foster or adopt the sibling, unless the licensee documents a written explanation in the child's record as to why such placement is not in the best interest of both children. This provision shall apply regardless of the time elapsed since the original placement or the agency involved in the original placement.(7)Placement Outside the Commonwealth. No licensee shall place a child outside the Commonwealth unless the foster or adoptive home is approved and supervised by a licensed or otherwise legally authorized agency, or unless the residential program is licensed or otherwise legally authorized to operate.(8)Registration with Adoption Resource Exchange. Each licensee shall register with the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) any child free for adoption for whom the agency has been unable to identify a specific adoptive family or initiate the adoption process with a prospective adoptive family within 60 days of surrender. The licensee shall inform adoptive parents that they may register themselves with a resource exchange.Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1360, eff. 3/9/2018.