North Dakota Administrative Code

1. The child-placing agency shall employ or contract with service providers to perform necessary child-placing agency functions. Required employees and their qualifications include: a. Administrator. The administrator shall provide for the general management and administration of…

1. The child-placing agency shall ensure that the supervisor and child placement coordinator receive at least ten hours of training per year with evidence of completion in the employee file. Activities related to orientation and supervision of the employees and routine tasks are …

Repealed effective April 1, 2024.

1. The department requires an initial fingerprint-based criminal background check for each child- placing agency owner, employee, or nonemployee with direct contact with clients. An initial fingerprint-based criminal background check is also required for each prospective adoptive…

1. A child-placing agency that utilizes nonemployees who work directly with children and families on a regular basis shall: a. Develop and aprovide description of duties and specified responsibilities; b. Require personal references, if applicable; c. Designate an employee to sup…

Repealed effective April 1, 2024. 11

1. The child-placing agency shall follow the mandated procedures for reporting child abuse and neglect as outlined in North Dakota Century Code section 50-25.1-03. Upon hire and annually thereafter, all employees and nonemployees shall certify having read the law requiring the re…

Repealed effective April 1, 2024.

The child-placing agency shall have written policy outlining the documentation and reporting of incidents and sentinel events that occur while a child is in a foster care or adoption placement prior to the adoption finalization. The policy must include: 1. A description of an inc…

The child-placing agency shall have a written disaster plan to accommodate emergencies. The disaster plan must specify: 1. Employee roles and responsibilities; 2. Processes to ensure ongoing communication is maintained with children in placement, foster care providers, or prospec…

1. The child-placing agency shall have written procedures for safeguarding the confidentiality of records. 2. Except as otherwise provided in this section and North Dakota Century Code section 14-15-16, child-placing agency records concerning children and families who have receiv…

Repealed effective April 1, 2024.

A child-placing agency shall have a performance and providing quality improvement plan that ensures licensing compliance, advances service delivery, reviews management practices, and measures the achievement of program goals and outcomes. Quality assurance must include: 1. A proc…

The child-placing agency shall have a policy and procedure in the event a child-placing agency closes. Prior to closing, the administrator shall provide at least a sixty-day written notice to the department, including: 1. A detailed plan for closure, specifying: a. Date of closur…

A child-placing agency shall work in conjunction with a referral source, which may include a birth parent or a public agency case manager. A child-placing agency may: 14 1. Distribute information regarding adoption services provided for a child, the child's birth parent, and pros…

1. The child-placing agency shall: a. Inform a birth parent of the birth parent's rights, obligations, and responsibilities under state law, or as specified by court order; b. Inform a birth parent of the continuum of openness in adoption and the options available to the birth pa…

1. The child-placing agency shall make every effort to place siblings together in an adoptive home. If it is not possible to place siblings together, the child-placing agency shall add written documentation in the child's file identifying the reasons the siblings could not be pla…

The child-placing agency shall select prospective adoptive parents who have the capacity to assist in the achievement of the permanency goal. For all private adoptions, the child-placing agency shall: 1. Make efforts to involve the birth parents in the selection of the prospectiv…

Repealed effective April 1, 2024.

1. A child-placing agency may not place a child into an adoptive home without a full adoption assessment being completed on the prospective adoptive parents, including required fingerprint-based criminal background check and child abuse and neglect index check. 2. The child-placi…

1. The child-placing agency shall adopt written policies for the placement of a child legally free for adoption. The policies must detail: a. Placement contract procedures as specified in North Dakota Century Code section 50-12-06; b. Collaboration with the custodial case manager…

1. Post-adoptive placement, until adoption finalization. The child-placing agency shall have policy and procedure detailing: a. Supportive services offered and available for the child and adoptive family following adoptive placement; b. Monthly visitation with the adoptive parent…

1. A child-placing agency serving minority race children shall have a recruitment plan that actively recruits homes of the same race as the adoptive children to preserve the adoptive child's culture. 2. The child-placing agency shall provide information to a prospective adoptive …

1. The child-placing agency shall develop a written case plan for each client. The case plan must include a description of specific services to be provided to meet the needs of the birth parents, the child, and the prospective adoptive parents. The case plan must include goals sp…

1. The child-placing agency shall maintain a case record on each client served. The child-placing agency shall maintain a master list detailing all case records managed by the child-placing agency. The child-placing agency shall adopt a policy regarding the retention of the perma…

The child-placing agency shall: 1. Report immediately to the department any adoption placement disruptions; 2. Provide services to assist the child with managing the loss after a placement disruption; 3. Assess the needs of the child when considering replacement options; 4. Provi…

1. The child-placing agency shall adopt a written program description, which includes the following: a. A description of the services provided by the child-placing agency, clearly stating which services are provided directly by the child-placing agency and which services are to b…

1. The child-placing agency shall maintain a file for each child. This file must include: a. The child's full name, date of birth, and other identifying information; b. The name and contact information of a custodian, parent, or guardian, and other pertinent individuals; c. Signe…

The child-placing agency shall adopt a written policy that ensures the child-placing agency will develop a case plan for each child and family. The policy must detail: 1. The development of a case plan, within thirty days of placement, in conjunction with the child and family tea…

The child-placing agency shall adopt a written policy that describes how the child-placing agency will: 1. Recruit foster care providers and evaluate the homes' suitability to meet the individual and specialized needs of children in foster care, including identifying providers wh…

The child-placing agency shall create and maintain written policy outlining how the child-placing agency will evaluate placement decisions. The evaluation must consider initial and ongoing assessment of the appropriateness of the placement. The evaluation must include: 1. The ide…

Repealed effective April 1, 2024.

Repealed effective April 1, 2024.

Upon written application and good cause shown to the satisfaction of the department, the department may grant a variance regarding a specific provision of this chapter upon such terms as the department may prescribe, except no variance may permit or authorize a danger to the heal…

As used in this chapter: 1. "Department" means the department of human services. 2. "Independent living skills" includes self-advocacy; the sufficiency to economically meet one's daily needs and to have a safe and stable place to live; ability to attain academic, vocational, or e…

1. The executive director of the department shall designate an individual from within the department to oversee the program for transition-aged youth at risk. Transition-aged youth at risk ages fourteen through twenty-four are eligible for participation in the program. 1 2. Servi…

- Regional subcommittees. 1. The statewide interagency advisory council consists of representatives of the various system partners, such as education, juvenile justice, child welfare, tribes, case management, vocational rehabilitation, legislative assembly, parents, and youth. Me…

1. "Department" means the department of health and human services. 2. "Division" means the medical services division of the department. 3. "Qualified professional" means a primary care provider or licensed medical care provider qualified to diagnose autism spectrum disorder. Hist…

through twenty waiver. 1. A child is eligible for autism services under the department's Medicaid autism spectrum disorder birth through twenty waiver if the following conditions are met: a. The age of the child is birth through twenty years of age; b. The child has an autism spe…

As used in this chapter: 1. "Accredited" means to be accredited and in good standing by an independent, not-for-profit organization approved by the department. Accreditation organizations preapproved include the commission on accreditation of rehabilitation facilities, the joint …

1. A facility license shall state the effective date. A license is effective for a maximum period of two years. A facility license is nontransferable and is valid only on the premises and for the number of residents indicated on the license. 2. For a licensed facility that change…

1. Applicants must be accredited and in good standing with one of the department-approved national accreditation bodies. 2. A person may not apply for a license to operate a facility under this chapter until the department has reviewed the need for the additional residential plac…

1. The following time periods are allowed for correction of violations of North Dakota Century Code chapter 50-11 or this chapter: a. For a violation that requires an inspection by a state fire marshal or local fire department, five days; b. For a violation that requires substant…

1. The department may assess a fiscal sanction of twenty-five dollars per day for each day the facility remains out of compliance with a correction order. 2. The issuance of a fiscal sanction does not preclude the department's pursuit of other actions, including provisional licen…

1. A provisional license must state: a. The facility has failed to comply with applicable standards and regulations of the department; b. The areas of noncompliance noted by the department in a written document; and c. An expiration date not to exceed one year from the date of is…

1. A facility license may be denied or revoked under the terms and conditions of North Dakota Century Code chapter 50-11 or if the applicant or facility has violated any provision of North Dakota Century Code chapter 50-11 or fails to meet the minimum requirements of this chapter…

1. A facility may not receive a licensing amendment to increase or decrease facility bed capacity without approval of the department. 2. To qualify for an increase or decrease, a facility shall: a. Submit a written request; b. Provide a rationale for bed capacity change; and c. B…

The facility shall have a policy to ensure proper and efficient procedure in the event a facility would close. Prior to closing, the facility administrator shall provide at least a sixty-day written notice to the department: 7 1. Detailing a plan for closure, including: a. Date o…

1. Each facility shall have a governing body responsible for the operation, policies, activities, practice, and overall operations of the facility. The governing body shall: a. Be composed of at least five members. A list of the names and contact information of members of the gov…

A facility shall have a written disaster plan to accommodate emergencies. The disaster plan must allow the department or custodial agency to identify, locate, and ensure continuity of services to residents who are displaced or adversely affected by a disaster. The disaster plan m…