Maryland Administrative Code

.07 Reasonable Fee. A. Domestic Adoption-Related Child Placement Services. A licensed child placement agency providing domestic adoption services may charge a reasonable fee for reimbursement of services by developing a sliding fee scale based on income. The agency may not: (1) C…

.08 Adoptive Parent Recruitment. A. The agency shall have a written plan for continuous recruitment of adoptive homes which includes: (1) The categories of children to be served; (2) Recruitment methods for adoptive homes; (3) Recruitment resources; (4) Time-related goals for app…

.09 Criteria for Consideration as an Adoptive Parent. A. The agency may not deny an individual's application to be an adoptive parent because: (1) An individual: (a) Is divorced; (b) Is separated from a spouse; (c) Is not married; (d) Has other children in the family; (e) Does no…

.10 Application for Adoptive Parent. A. Inquiry Process. An applicant shall complete an agency inquiry process before the agency offers an application form for a home study. The process shall be as follows: (1) Appropriate agency staff conducts an inquiry interview which: (a) Sha…

.11 Home Study. A. The home study is an educational and evaluative process which takes place between the applicant and the agency and is designed to assess the applicant's ability to: (1) Understand the unique issues and challenges of adoptive parenting; and (2) Meet the needs of…

.12 Approval or Denial of Applicant. A. If a child abuse or neglect investigation is pending on the applicant, the agency may not make a decision to approve or deny an applicant until the investigation is completed. B. After the agency child placement worker completes a home stud…

.13 Reconsideration. A. Within 30 days after a completed application for reconsideration, in accordance with Regulation .10B and C of this chapter, the agency child placement worker shall complete a reconsideration of the adoptive parent: (1) When a significant change in the circ…

.14 Preadoptive Foster Care. A. The agency shall take action to obtain guardianship within 6 months from the date of a child's placement in preadoptive foster care. B. The agency child placement worker shall reevaluate a child in preadoptive foster care: (1) When the birth parent…

.15 Placement for Adoption. A. The agency shall select an adoptive parent for a child who meets the child's needs. B. Religious Considerations. When placing a child, the agency: (1) May not, because of religious considerations, cause undue delay in the placement of a child; (2) S…

.16 Post-Placement Services. A. The agency shall provide post-placement services to all children and adoptive parents before an adoption is finalized. B. Home Visits. (1) The agency child placement worker shall visit the adoptive parent at least three times and as needed during t…

.17 Post-Adoption Services. A. Adoptive Parent. After an adoption is finalized, the agency shall extend the following services: (1) Counseling or information and referral services when requested by the adoptive parent; and (2) Provision to the adoptive family of any additionally …

.18 International Adoption. A. If approved by the Administration, the agency may provide services related to an international adoption. B. To facilitate placement of a child from a foreign country, the agency shall cooperate with the international agency, whether based in the Uni…

.19 Requirements for Open Adoption Placements. A. A child may be considered for open adoption when: (1) Family reunification efforts are unsuccessful and adoption is the permanent plan; (2) The child's age and level of contact with, or commitment to, the parent make it emotionall…

.20 Records. A. All records on birth and adoptive parents and adopted children shall be maintained indefinitely in accordance with COMAR 07.05.01.11. B. All records shall include information described in Regulations .04C, .05G, and .11D of this chapter. C. The agency shall mainta…

.21 Appeals. A. The agency shall have a written appeal process for adoption applicants, approved adoptive parents, and any other individuals who believe they are aggrieved as a result of agency actions. B. An individual aggrieved by a decision of the agency or the Administration …

.01 Purpose. The purpose of the private independent living program is to prepare and assist individuals 16 through 20 years old to make the transition from foster care to living as independent citizens.

.02 Definitions. A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. B. Terms Defined. (1) “Apprentice employment” means employment approved by the agency at the entry level which prepares youth for more responsible employment through education, training and ment…

.03 Regulatory Requirements. A. To provide a private independent living program, the agency shall: (1) Have a child placement agency license issued by the Administration in accordance with COMAR 07.05.01; (2) Include at least one resident in the program on the governing board or …

.04 Admission. A. The private independent living program administration shall establish written admission requirements which: (1) Identify the residents to be served; (2) Identify the staff person or persons designated to make recommendations and decisions regarding admission to …

.05 Assessment and Case Plan. A. Within 30 calendar days after placement, the agency child placement worker shall develop a written placement assessment for every resident which: (1) Builds on the case plan completed by the local department as described in COMAR 07.02.10.04B(20) …

.06 Instruction and Monitoring. A. During each resident's first 180 consecutive days in a private independent living program, the agency shall provide at least 5 hours of weekly mandatory instruction which includes the following topics: (1) Transportation; (2) Legal issues; (3) F…

.07 Living Accommodations. A. All residents shall live in: (1) An apartment which is: (a) Negotiated by the agency for independent living purposes; (b) Inspected and approved for occupancy by the appropriate agencies for the local jurisdiction in which it is located; and (c) Occu…

.08 Resident with an Infant. A. The agency shall, if it includes a resident with an infant in the private independent living program, assure that: (1) All legal requirements are met and documented; (2) All requirements of this chapter are met and documented; (3) Sanitary space, t…

.09 Placement Termination. A. The agency shall terminate placement if the resident: (1) Moves to another agency or private independent living program; (2) Is legally emancipated; (3) Decides to leave the private independent living program voluntarily; (4) Has reached the goal of …

.10 Records. A. The agency shall maintain permanent case records documenting the services provided and pertinent information about the resident. B. If the resident moves to a different private independent living program, the receiving agency shall: (1) Obtain all records pertaini…

.01 Purpose and Scope. This chapter provides definitions of terms used throughout COMAR 07.07. Specialized definitions may be included in individual chapters in this subtitle.

.02 Definitions. A. In this subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated. B. Terms Defined. (1) “Accessible” means health insurance coverage that insures primary care services located within the lesser of 30 miles or 30 minutes from the child's primary residence. (1-…

.01 Purpose and Scope. This chapter describes the services that are available through the support enforcement agency and the manner of service delivery.

.02 Child Support Enforcement Services. A. Available Services. An individual eligible for support enforcement services may receive the following services as appropriate: (1) Location of a parent; (2) Establishment of paternity and a support obligation; (3) Review and modification…

.03 Failure to Cooperate. The support enforcement agency shall: A. Notify the FIA when a custodial parent applying for or receiving TCA, Medical Assistance, or Purchase of Child Care fails to cooperate with the support enforcement agency to establish or enforce a support obligati…

.04 Intergovernmental Support Services. A. The Administration shall cooperate with support enforcement agencies of other states to provide child support services when the parties reside in different states. B. The Administration shall maintain a Maryland Central Registry to coord…

.05 Case Closure. A. The support enforcement agency may close a case which meets one or more of the following criteria: (1) There is no longer a current support order and arrearages are under $500 or unenforceable under State law; (2) The noncustodial parent or putative father is…

.06 Record Maintenance. The support enforcement agency shall maintain records of all cases including payment records, court actions, and correspondence.

.07 Reporting. Support enforcement agencies shall compile statistical and fiscal reports as required by the Administration.

.01 Purpose and Scope. This chapter describes the procedures of the support enforcement agency to locate a parent to establish and enforce the duty of support and for other purposes allowed by federal law.

.02 Definitions. A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. B. Terms Defined. (1) “Authorized individual” means a judge or attorney empowered to act on behalf of the State to: (a) Make or enforce a child custody determination; (b) Make or enforce a visit…

.03 Parent Location. A. The support enforcement agency shall make reasonable attempts to locate parents including accessing information in the State Parent Locator Service and the Federal Parent Locator Service for the purpose of establishing, modifying, or enforcing a support ob…

.04 State Parent Locator Service. A. The Administration shall maintain a State Parent Locator Service. B. The State Parent Locator Service shall solicit information from available sources to locate an absent parent upon receipt of a request from: (1) A support enforcement agency;…

.05 Federal Parent Locator Service. A. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers a Federal Parent Locator Service. B. The Federal Parent Locator Service conducts an information search upon receipt of a request from: (1) State Parent Locator Service; or (2) Supp…

.06 Child Custody, Visitation, or Parental Kidnapping. A. The Federal Parent Locator Service is available to authorized individuals for the purpose of locating a parent or child. B. The State Parent Locator Service shall: (1) Request location information from the Federal Parent L…

.07 State Case Registry of Records. The Administration shall maintain a State case registry of child support orders which contains information as required by federal and State law. This regulation does not, and may not be construed to, impose any duty on any unit of the State gov…

.01 Purpose and Scope. This chapter describes the procedures of the support enforcement agency to establish paternity for a child eligible for support enforcement services.

.02 Legal Action. A. The support enforcement agency shall initiate legal action to establish paternity when paternity is at issue as specified in Family Law Article, §5-1006, Annotated Code of Maryland. B. Within 90 days of locating the alleged father, the support enforcement age…

.03 Intergovernmental Establishment of Paternity. A. Maryland as the Initiating State. (1) The support enforcement agency shall attempt to establish paternity using Maryland's long-arm statutes, if appropriate. (2) If use of Maryland's long-arm statutes is inappropriate or unsucc…

.04 Paternity Testing Laboratories. A. The Administration shall maintain a list of laboratories which perform paternity testing to identify or exclude an alleged father from paternity for use by the circuit courts of Maryland. B. A laboratory located in Maryland or out-of-State m…

.01 Purpose and Scope. This chapter describes the actions to be taken by the support enforcement agency to establish court-ordered support obligations.

.02 Legal Action to Establish a Support Obligation. A. The support enforcement agency shall initiate legal action to establish a court-ordered support obligation for a child: (1) Eligible for support enforcement services; and (2) Who has not had a support obligation established. …

.03 Review and Modification of Child Support Orders. A. Notification. (1) Every 3 years, the Administration shall notify each parent subject to a child support order of the right to request that the Administration review the order. (2) The notice shall include: (a) A description …

.04 Intergovernmental Establishment and Modification of Support Order. When providing services in an intergovernmental case to establish or modify an order for support, the support enforcement agency shall comply with the provisions of UIFSA.

.01 Purpose and Scope. This chapter describes the procedures of the support enforcement agency to enforce compliance with the terms of child support orders under its supervision.