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As Maryland sends and receives children across state lines for foster care and adoption,
the State is actively involved in promoting the best interests of these children through
our participation in the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC).
The ICPC is a uniform law that has been enacted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia,
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It establishes orderly procedures for the placement of children
over state lines for foster care or adoption, and outlines the responsibilities of all those
involved in placing a child. The information below, excerpted from the American Public Human
Services Association’s Guide to the ICPC, 2002, further details the compact.
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*Above files are in PDf format
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WHY A COMPACT IS NEEDED
Children placed out of state need to be assured of the same protections and services that would be
provided if they remained in their home states. They must also be assured of a return to their original
jurisdictions should placements prove not to be in their best interests or should the need for
out-of-state services cease.
Both the great variety of circumstances that makes interstate placement of children necessary and
the types of protections needed offer compelling reasons for a mechanism that regulates those placements.
An interstate compact—a contract among the states that enact it—is one such mechanism. Under a compact,
the jurisdictional, administrative, and human rights obligations of all the parties involved in
an interstate placement can be protected.
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HOW THE COMPACT CAME ABOUT
The need for a compact to regulate the interstate movement of children was recognized in the 1950s.
At that time, a group of East Coast social service administrators joined informally to study the problems
of children moved out of state for foster care or adoption. Among the problems they identified was the
failure of importation and exportation statutes enacted by individual states to provide protection for
children. They recognized that a state’s jurisdiction ends at its borders and that a state can only compel
an out-of-state agency or individual to discharge its obligations toward a child through a compact.
The administrators were also concerned that a state to which a child was sent did not have to provide
supportive services even though it might agree to do so on a courtesy basis.
In response to these and other problems, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children was drafted,
and in 1960 New York was the first state to enact it.
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WHAT THE COMPACT DOES
The Compact law contains 10 articles. They define the types of placements and placers subject to the law;
the procedures to be followed in making an interstate placement; and the specific protections,
services, and requirements brought by enactment of the law.
The major provisions of the law are highlighted below, and the complete text of the law appears at
the end of this booklet.
Types of Placements Covered
The Compact applies to four types of situations in which children may be sent to other states:
- Placement preliminary to an adoption
- Placements into foster care, including foster homes, group homes, residential treatment facilities, and institutions
- Placements with parents and relatives when a parent or relative is not making the placement
- Placements of adjudicated delinquents in institutions in other states
Who Must Use the Compact?
The Compact clearly spells out who must use the Compact when they “send, bring, or cause a child to
be brought or sent” to another party state. These persons and agencies, called “sending agencies,” are
the following:
- A state party to the Compact, or any officer or employee of a party state
- A subdivision, such as a county or a city, or any officer or employee, of the subdivision
- A court of a party state
- Any person (including parents and relatives in some instances), corporation, association, or charitable agency of a party state
Not all placements of children in other states are subject to the Compact, or are all persons who
place children out of state. The Compact does not include placements made in medical and mental
health facilities or in boarding schools, or “any institution primarily educational in character”
(see Article 11(d) on page 9; see also Regulation No. 4 on page 18). Article VIII (a) also
specifically excludes from Compact coverage the placement of a child made by a parent, stepparent,
grandparent, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, or the child’s guardian.
Therefore Article VIII (a) of ICPC excludes from coverage placements made from certain individuals
to certain enumerated individuals. The wording of the provision, however, is specific in that
exclusion from ICPC occurs only when both the placer and the placement recipient belong to the
enumerated classes of individuals. In other words, a placement made by a parent, for example,
to an “adult uncle or aunt” of the child or from one of the enumerated individuals to a parent,
is exempt from ICPC.
Safeguards Offered by the Compact
In order to safeguard both the child and the parties involved in the child’s placement,
the Interstate Compact:
- Provides the sending agency the opportunity to obtain home studies and an evaluation of the proposed placement
- Allows the prospective receiving state to ensure that the placement is not “contrary to the interests of the child” and that its applicable laws and policies have been followed before it approves the placement
- Guarantees the child legal and financial protection by fixing these responsibilities with the sending agency or individual
- Ensures that the sending agency does not lose jurisdiction over the child once the child moves to the receiving state
- Provides the sending agency the opportunity to obtain supervision and regular reports on the child’s adjustment and progress in the placement
These safeguards are routinely available when the child, the person, or responsible agency and the
placement are all in a single state or jurisdiction. When the placement involves two states or
jurisdictions, however, these safeguards are available only through the Compact.
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HOW THE COMPACT CAME ABOUT
When a state enacts the Compact, it becomes law, just as any other legislation passed by a state
legislature. Under the terms of the law, the state agrees to follow uniform procedures when it
makes or accepts interstate placements of children. Since the Compact is also a contract among the
party states as well as a statute in each of them, it must be interpreted and implemented uniformly
by all of them.
Administering the Compact
Each state appoints a Compact Administrator and one or more Deputy Administrators who oversee or
perform the day-to-day tasks associated with the administration of the Compact. In every state, the
Compact office and personnel are located in an office that is part of the department of public
welfare or the state’s equivalent agency.
The Compact Administrator is designated to serve as the central clearing point for all referrals for
interstate placements. The Administrator and his/her deputies are authorized to conduct the necessary
investigation of the proposed placement and to determine whether or not the placement is contrary to
the child’s interests.
After the placement is approved and the child is moved into the state, the Compact Administrator is
responsible for overseeing the placement as long as it continues.
NOTE: Throughout this booklet, the term “Compact Administrator” is used to designate both the person
appointed pursuant to Article VII and those persons to whom the responsibility for day-to-day operation
of the Compact has been administratively designated.
Recognizing a Placement Covered by the Compact
Although the Compact law is short, it may be confusing to persons unfamiliar with it.
If you are considering placing a child into another state, the placement may be subject to the Compact
in the following general circumstances:
- If the state in which you (or your agency) reside and the state to which the child is to be sent (or from which the child is to be brought) are both party to the Compact; and
- If you are not related to the child (or not the child’s guardian) or, if you are related, and you are sending the child to live with someone other than a close relative or non-agency guardian named in Article VIII (a) of the Compact; and
- If you are sending, bringing, or causing the child to be brought or sent into a party state, whether or not you have custody of the child, and without regard to the present location of the child (the child could even be in a foreign country); and
- If you are placing the child with someone or some agency other than a medical facility, a boarding school, or a mental health or mental retardation facility.
If the circumstances of the proposed placement fit into those described above, you should contact your state’s Compact office for further information.
Processing Referrals for Interstate Placements
When an interstate placement is being considered, the Compact requires that the prospective sending
agency submit a written notice of the proposed placement to the Compact Administrator in the receiving
state. All party states further require that this notice be submitted to the sending state Compact
Administrator, first, who then forwards it to the prospective receiving state.
This written notice is made on form ICPC-100A, “Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Request”
(see Appendix A, page 29), available from all party states. A social history of the child and a case
plan must also be prepared, and both the completed 1CPC-100A and the child’s social history are
forwarded to the prospective receiving state’s Compact Administrator by the sending state Compact
Administrator.
Upon receiving notice of the proposed placement, the receiving state Compact Administrator will forward
the documents to an appropriate party in the receiving state for further action. The “appropriate party”
will usually be a local public or private child welfare agency or the residential facility that is being
asked to accept the child. The “action” needed on any particular request will vary depending upon the
nature of the proposed placement, and may include a study of a prospective adoptive or foster family,
or relative home, or a review by the facility to determine whether or not its program will meet the
child’s needs.
After the local agency has completed the necessary work, it prepares a report that includes a
recommendation on whether the placement should be made. This information is returned to the Compact
Administrator in the receiving state for review. If the local agency’s recommendation is favorable and
the Compact Administrator determines that all requirements of the receiving state’s laws have been met,
the placement will be approved. If, however, the local agency recommends against the placement or the
Compact Administrator determines that the placement cannot lawfully be completed, the placement will be
denied unless the problems can be remedied. In either case, the Compact Administrator notifies the
sending state’s Compact office and forwards copies for the sending agency.
Recommended Time Needed to Process Requests
Six weeks—30 working days—is the recommended processing time from the date the receiving state Compact
office receives the notice of the placement until the date that the placement is approved or denied.
At times, referrals may take longer to process because of other work demands placed upon the local
agency in the receiving state or upon the Compact office. Whenever emergencies arise, however, Compact
Administrators will give consideration to requests and respond by the fastest means of communication.
Experience, especially in recent years, has shown that delays in the completion of home studies by the
receiving states’ local agencies are a significant problem. Sometimes the receiving state does not
complete the home studies for many months. As a result, Regulation No. 7, Priority Placement, was enacted
in 1996 with the aim of achieving parity of treatment in fact for interstate and intrastate cases.
It is also the objective to assure priority handling for hardship cases and for cases that have already
suffered delay. (See Regulation No. 7 on page 22.)
Making Arrangements for Child Placement
When the request to place a child has been approved by the receiving state, the sending agency and
receiving parties work together to arrange the details of the actual placement. Final agreements
(discussed at the time of referral) are entered into regarding payment for the child’s care, the type
of monitoring of the placement, and the frequency of supervisory reports to be provided to the sending
agency.
After all plans and agreements have been completed, the child is moved to the receiving state.
The sending agency notifies the receiving state of the placement by using form ICPC-100B, “Interstate
Compact on the Placement of Children Report on Child’s Placement Status” (see Appendix A, page 30).
The Sending Agency’s Responsibilities
While the child remains in the out-of-state placement, the sending agency retains legal and financial
responsibility for the child. This means that the sending agency has both the authority and the
responsibility to determine all matters in relation to the “custody, supervision, care, treatment, and
disposition of the child,” just as the sending agency would have “if the child had remained in the
sending agency state.” (See Article V (a) on page 10.)
The sending agency’s responsibilities for the child continue until it legally terminates the interstate
placement. It may terminate the placement by returning the child to the home state, or the placement may
be terminated with the child left in the receiving state when the child is legally adopted, becomes
self-supporting or reaches majority, or for other reasons with the prior concurrence of the receiving
state. (See Article V (a) on page 10.)
The sending agency must notify the receiving state Compact Administrator of any change in the child’s
status, again using form ICPC-100B. Changes of status may include a termination of the interstate
placement or such things as a new placement of the child in the receiving state or a transfer of legal
custody.
PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL PLACEMENTS
Interstate placements made in violation of the law constitute a violation of the “laws respecting the
placement of children of both the state in which the sending agency is located or, from which it sends
or brings the child and of the receiving state” (Article IV). Violators are subject to punishment or
penalties in both jurisdictions in accordance with their laws. Imposition of penalties has been rare,
but since 1980 there have been several cases in which a child placed illegally was ordered returned to
the sending state.
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RELATED COMPACTS
Three other compacts regulate certain types of interstate placements of children.
The Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance ensures that adoptive parents of children
with special needs receive the services and benefits provided for in their adoption assistance agreement,
particularly medical assistance in interstate cases. It facilitates the delivery of benefits and
services when families move during the continuance of the adoption assistance agreement or in cases
when the child is initially placed for adoption across state lines. The Compact was developed in response
to the mandate of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 that directs states to protect
the interstate interests of adopted children with special needs. The Interstate Compact on Adoption and
Medical Assistance has been enacted by most states.
The Interstate Compact on Juveniles permits interstate supervision of adjudicated delinquents on
probation or parole and provides for the placement of certain juvenile delinquents in out-of-state
public institutions. This Compact also authorizes the return of juvenile escapees and absconders to their
home states, and is used to arrange the return of no delinquent runaways to their homes. All 50 states
and other jurisdictions, except for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, have enacted this Compact.
The Interstate Compact on Mental Health permits the transfer of mentally ill and mentally retarded
children and adults from a public institution in one state to a public institution in another state.
It may also be used to secure publicly provided aftercare services in another state. A patient
transferred through this Compact becomes the responsibility of the receiving state. The Interstate
Compact on Mental Health has been enacted by most states and jurisdictions.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Information about Maryland’s procedures, requirements, and application of the Interstate Compact on
the Placement of Children may be obtained from:
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Office
Maryland Department of Human Resources
311 W. Saratoga St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
Telephone: (410) 767-7608 or (410) 767-7345.
Fax: (410) 333-0922
ICPC Secretariat
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
American Public Human Services Association
810 First Street, NE, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20002
Telephone: (202) 682-0100 Fax: (202) 289-6555
http://icpc.aphsa.org
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