Native American Foster Families on the Reservation 622-05-45

 

Affidavit of Compliance with Licensing Requirements in Lieu of License for Foster Care 622-05-45-05

(Revised 4/26/2017 ML #3503)

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In cases where a family is located on a recognized Indian reservation in ND, and is not subject to the jurisdiction of the state of North Dakota licensing, NDDHS shall accept an affidavit of licensing compliance signed by the superintendent of a Tribal agency, the Tribal chairperson, or other authorized person from the Tribe. An agreement was put into law to allow for the Tribe to license providers and submit an affidavit for approval. The affidavit (SFN 890) and completed SFN 400 will be accepted in lieu of a foster parent licensing packet. (NDCC 50-11-02 and NDAC 75-03-14-02)

 

A Tribal affidavit family foster home is not issued a foster care “license” by NDDHS, rather an “approval” to provide foster care for children is issued. ND authorized licensing agent’s (County, PATH, etc.), outside the jurisdiction of the Tribe, have no authority to license a home on reservation land. The Tribe cannot license family foster homes for children off reservation land and a ND authorized licensing agent cannot license family foster homes for children on reservation land.

 

NDDHS has Tribal IV-E agreements with four ND Tribes; Spirit Lake Nation, Standing Rock Nation, Three Affiliated Tribes, and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Each Tribe has their own family foster home licensing standards, adopted by Tribal resolution.

 

Tribal Responsibility: The Tribe is responsible to train, educate, and prepare prospective foster families on the process of becoming a foster parent for children. The Tribe supports the foster parents with ongoing training, placement concerns of the child, non- IV-E payments, etc. The Tribe assists the family in submitting required paperwork to gain “approval” to provide foster care.

 

The Tribal affidavit paperwork must be submitted to the Regional Supervisor for approval. The Regional Supervisor will review the paperwork, approve the affidavit home, enter the information into the payment system, and forward the information to the ND County Social Service office that encompasses the reservation land where the affidavit provider lives.

Example: the family lives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, the affidavit paperwork must be submitted to the Regional Supervisor who will forward the “approval” paperwork to Rolette County Social Services for the payment/eligibility file.

**If the Tribal affidavit home chooses to be an “approved” therapeutic provider, their paperwork must be submitted by the Tribe to the authorized licensing agent (Ex: PATH). The authorized licensing agent will submit the paperwork to the Regional Supervisor for final approval. The regional office will forward the approval to the local County Social Service office for payment purposes.

 

Initial Approval Paperwork Includes:

  1. SFN 890, Affidavit (Completed by the Tribe)
  2. SFN 400
    1. The family will complete the top section of the form by updating family demographics. The foster parents must sign the form and provide it to the licensor at the Tribe. There is a section of the form labeled, “Authorized Licensing Agent”. This section must be completed and signed by the Tribe detailing the number of beds, ages, gender of foster children accepted into the home, etc.
  1. Background checks - satisfactory completion of a fingerprint based criminal background check. The Tribe must provide documentation that a fingerprint based criminal background check was conducted on each adult living in the home. The background check consists of the following submitted to NDDHS – Criminal Background Check Unit (CBCU):
    1. Completion of “Personal Authorization for Criminal Record Inquiry,” SFN 838, for each adult living in the prospective home.
    2. Completion of “Background Check Address Disclosure,” SFN 377, for each adult in the prospective home.
    3. Completion of two fingerprinting cards or Live Scan prints at a Regional Human Service Center.
    4. CPS registry check in each State the prospective foster parent, and other adults living in the home, have resided in the preceding 5 years.

The completed background check information is forwarded to NDDHS Criminal Background Check Unit (CBCU). CBCU will conduct a Child Abuse and Neglect Index search, request tribal court/child welfare records and review the National SO Registry. CBCU will forward the authorization form and print cards to the Bureau of Criminal investigation (BCI) for final processing.

 

Annual Approval Paperwork: Affidavit foster homes are held to the same timeliness standard as licensed family foster homes located off the reservation. Timeliness of the paperwork required for the annual renewal must be presented to the Regional office fifteen (15) days before the expiration of the approval in order for the previous approval to be continued. If the information is not received timely and the approval lapses; the process, including each adult background check, will need to start over. If a provider home is not “approved”, no payment can be made until the approval process is complete.

 

Required Annual Paperwork Includes:

  1. SFN 890, Affidavit (Completed by the Tribe)
  2. SFN 400, Annual Application (Completed by the Parents/Tribe)
    1. The family will complete the top section of the form by updating family demographics. The foster parents must sign the form and provide it to the licensor at the Tribe. There is a section of the form labeled, “Authorized Licensing Agent”. This section must be completed and signed by the Tribe detailing the number of beds, ages, gender of foster children accepted into the home, etc.

Tribal Affidavit Payments: The financial County Social Service office working with the Tribe will need various documents completed in order to determine a foster child’s eligibility for Title IV-E reimbursement (See Policy Chapter 447-10). Once a child under the custody of the Tribe is determined Title IV-E eligible, the county must have a copy of:

  1. A valid court order,
  2. Approved care plan, and
  3. A licensed/approved provider in order to authorize a payment.

The County will authorize eligible payments and NDDHS will issue maintenance payments to licensed/approved providers to meet the needs of the child in placement. If a child under the custody of the Tribe does not meet the eligibility criteria for Title IV-E, the Tribe is responsible to pay the provider. For more information on payment, see Policy Chapter 623-05.