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AGREEMENT FOR PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN HOME STUDIES AND SUPERVISION PERTAINING TO THE INTERSTATE COMPACT ON THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN
The State of Nebraska and the State of Iowa acting by Nancy Montanez, Director, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and Kevin W. Concannon, Director, Iowa Department of Human Services hereby agree as follows:
1. Definitions
As used in this agreement:
(a) Terms shall have the same meanings as in the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (herein "ICPC" or "the Compact"), except as otherwise defined in this Agreement. If not expressly defined in the Compact or in this Agreement, a term shall have its ordinary meaning in English usage.
(b) "Home study" means an investigation, evaluation, and written report on a prospective placement recipent or placement recipients, including one or more interviews with prospective placement recipient or placement recipients; interviews with other persons where appropriate; on-site inspection of the prospective placement recipient's home and immediate neighborhood; and child abuse/neglect and criminal background checks as required by state law and department regulations.
(c) "Home" means a place in which it is proposed that a child would live, including a family residence or other facility, if placed with the placement recipient.
2. Geographic Area
The geographic area to which this agreement applies is the common boundary between the states of Nebraska and Iowa, contiguous counties on either side of the Missouri River.
3. Home Studies Performed by Personnel From Other State:
(a) It is recognized that the performance of a home study is the primary reponsibility of the receiving state, but that there are extenuating circumstances which may justify performance by personnel from the sending state.
(b) Personnel who may perform home studies in the other party state must be employees or contractors of the state government or of a local public agency (excluding student interns or trainees) who preform home studies within their own jurisdictions as part of their regular employment.
(1) The local public agency which would normally perform the home study has three (3) or more requests for placement pursuant to ICPC pending from the other party state to this Agreement on which it has not yet performed home studies; or
(2) The receiving state Compact Administrator informas the sending agency and the sending state Compact Administrator that due to the existence of extenuating circumstances (set forth in the notification), the personnel of the receiving state who would normally perform the home study are unable to do so in a timely manner; or
(3) The sending state requests, through the receiving state Compact Administrator or the local public agency in the receiving state, that personnel from the sending state perform the home study, and the receiving state consents. In this case, the sending state shall transmit the study as a supporting document with the original request for placement (ICPC-100A).
(c) This agreement is intended for further interstate cooperation between the agencies and departments of Nebraska and Iowa. Nothing in this agreement shall be construed as to authorize personnel in one state's agencies or departments to direct or require the performance of any duties by personnel of the other state's agencies or departments.
4. Uses of Home Studies
(a) The agency whose employee or contractor performs a home study pursuant to this Agreement shall submit copies thereof to the receiving state Compact Administrator and to the local public agency in the receiving state which would otherwise have performed the home study. Before using the home study, the receiving state Compact Administrator shall make a specific telephone inquiry of the local agency to ascertain whether the latter has an objection.
The receiving state Compact Administrator may use the home study in making the finding required by Article III (d) of the Compact and the sending agency may use the home study in deciding whether to make a proposed placement.
5. Supervision
In any case when a placement is allowed by the receiving state Compact Administrator and where the home study used is one performed pursuant to this Agreement, the receiving state shall have full responsibility for supervising the placement. However, the sending state can offer to provide the supervision instead. It is the decision of the receiving state Compact Administrator whether to accept the offer of the sending state, or provide the placement supervision themselves.
7. Scope of Employment
A person engaged in the performance of a home study pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed in the course and within the scope of his/her regular employment.
8. Costs
It is also understood that the parties of this Agreement will not charge each other fees, either directly or indirectly, for home studies performed under the auspices of this Agreement.
9. Termination
This Agreement may be terminated by 60 day notice given in writing by either party or the other. However, any home studies in progress on the date of termination may be completed and any placement procedure pending on such termination date may continue with the same effect as though the termination has not occurred.
10. Effective Date of This Agreement
This Agreement shall become effective September 15, 2004 and shall remain in effect until termination as specified in item 9 above.
**Signed by both Nancy Montanez and Kevin W. Concaccon.**
http://dhhs.ne.gov/children_family_services/Documents/AM-14.pdf
