[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR1357.10]

[Page 370-372]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
CHAPTER XIII--OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 
                           AND HUMAN SERVICES
 
PART 1357--REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO TITLE IV-B--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1357.10  Scope and definitions.

    (a) Scope. This part applies to State and Indian Tribal programs for 
child welfare services under subpart 1, and family preservation and 
family support services under subpart 2 of title IV-B of the Act.
    (b) Eligibility. Child and family services under title IV-B, 
subparts 1 and 2, must be available on the basis of need for services 
and must not be denied on the basis of income or length of residence in 
the State or within the Indian Tribe's jurisdiction.
    (c) Definitions.
    Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) means the document, developed 
through joint planning, which describes the publicly-funded State child 
and family services continuum (family support and family preservation 
services; child welfare services, including child abuse and neglect 
prevention, intervention, and treatment services; services to support 
reunification, adoption, kinship care, foster care, independent living, 
or other permanent living arrangements). For Indian Tribes, the document 
describes the child welfare and/or family preservation and support 
services to be provided by the Indian Tribe; includes goals and 
objectives both for improved outcomes for the safety, permanency and 
well-being of children and families and for service delivery system 
reform; specifies the services and other implementation activities that 
will be undertaken to carry out the goals and objectives; and includes 
plans for program improvement and allocation of resources.
    Child welfare services means public social services directed to 
accomplish the following purposes:
    (1) Protecting and promoting the welfare and safety of all children, 
including individuals with disabilities; homeless, dependent, or 
neglected children;
    (2) Preventing or remedying, or assisting in the solution of 
problems which may result in the neglect, abuse, exploitation, or 
delinquency of children;
    (3) Preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their 
families by identifying family problems and assisting families in 
resolving their problems and preventing the breakup of the family where 
the prevention of child removal is desirable and possible;
    (4) Restoring to their families children who have been removed and 
may be safely returned, by the provision of services to the child and 
the family;
    (5) Assuring adequate care of children away from their homes, in 
cases where the child cannot be returned home or cannot be placed for 
adoption; and

[[Page 371]]

    (6) Placing children in suitable adoptive homes, in cases where 
restoration to the biological family is not possible or appropriate.
    Children refers to individuals from birth to the age of 21 (or such 
age of majority as provided under State law) including infants, 
children, youth, adolescents, and young adults.
    Community-based services refers to programs delivered in accessible 
settings in the community and responsive to the needs of the community 
and the individuals and families residing therein. These services may be 
provided under public or private nonprofit auspices.
    Families includes, but is not limited to, biological, adoptive, 
foster, and extended families.
    Family preservation services refers to services for children and 
families designed to protect children from harm and help families 
(including foster, adoptive, and extended families) at risk or in 
crisis, including--
    (1) Preplacement preventive services programs, such as intensive 
family preservation programs, designed to help children at risk of 
foster care placement remain with their families, where possible;
    (2) Service programs designed to help children, where appropriate, 
return to families from which they have been removed; or be placed for 
adoption, with a legal guardian, or, if adoption or legal guardianship 
is determined not to be appropriate for a child, in some other planned, 
permanent living arrangement;
    (3) Service programs designed to provide follow-up care to families 
to whom a child has been returned after a foster care placement;
    (4) Respite care of children to provide temporary relief for parents 
and other caregivers (including foster parents);
    (5) Services designed to improve parenting skills (by reinforcing 
parents' confidence in their strengths, and helping them to identify 
where improvement is needed and to obtain assistance in improving those 
skills) with respect to matters such as child development, family 
budgeting, coping with stress, health, and nutrition; and
    (6) Case management services designed to stabilize families in 
crisis such as transportation, assistance with housing and utility 
payments, and access to adequate health care.
    Family support services means community-based services to promote 
the well-being of children and families designed to increase the 
strength and stability of families (including adoptive, foster, and 
extended families), to increase parents' confidence and competence in 
their parenting abilities, to afford children a stable and supportive 
family environment, and otherwise to enhance child development. Family 
support services may include:
    (1) Services, including in-home visits, parent support groups, and 
other programs designed to improve parenting skills (by reinforcing 
parents' confidence in their strengths, and helping them to identify 
where improvement is needed and to obtain assistance in improving those 
skills) with respect to matters such as child development, family 
budgeting, coping with stress, health, and nutrition;
    (2) Respite care of children to provide temporary relief for parents 
and other caregivers;
    (3) Structured activities involving parents and children to 
strengthen the parent-child relationship;
    (4) Drop-in centers to afford families opportunities for informal 
interaction with other families and with program staff;
    (5) Transportation, information and referral services to afford 
families access to other community services, including child care, 
health care, nutrition programs, adult education literacy programs, 
legal services, and counseling and mentoring services; and
    (6) Early developmental screening of children to assess the needs of 
such children, and assistance to families in securing specific services 
to meet these needs.
    Joint planning means an ongoing partnership process between ACF and 
the State and between ACF and an Indian Tribe in the development, 
review, analysis, and refinement and/or revision of the State's and the 
Indian Tribe's child and family services plan. Joint planning involves 
discussions, consultation, and negotiation between ACF and the State or 
Indian Tribe in all areas of CFSP creation such as, but

[[Page 372]]

not limited to, identifying the service needs of children, youth, and 
families; selecting the unmet service needs that will be addressed; 
developing goals and objectives that will result in improving outcomes 
for children and families; developing a plan to meet the matching 
requirements; and establishing a more comprehensive, coordinated and 
effective child and family services delivery system. The expectation of 
joint planning is that both ACF and the State or Indian Tribe will reach 
agreement on substantive and procedural matters related to the CFSP.

[61 FR 58655, Nov. 18, 1996]