Library: Policy

340:75-8-7. Contracted therapeutic foster care services

Revised 9-15-17

(a) Contractor rules.Therapeutic foster care (TFC) contractors meet Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) rules as described in Parts 1, 3, and 5 of the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 317:30-3 and Part 83 of OAC 317:30-5.

(b) TFC services.Contracted TFC services are based on the child's assessed needs and are provided consistent with the goals and objectives of the child's treatment plan (TP) per OAC 317:30-5-241.2 and 317:30-5-742.2 and include:

(1) individual therapy;

(2) family therapy.The TFC contractor:

(A) works with the parent or parents or placement provider to whom a child in TFC will be discharged;

(B) seeks to support and enhance the child's relationship with family members, including siblings;

(C) arranges for and encourages regular contact and visitation between the child and parent or parents and other family members; and

(D) engages the child's parent or parents and siblings in visitation and family therapy with the child, when the case plan is reunification.The TFC contractor provides consultation, support, and technical assistance to the TFC parent in the implementation of the child's TP;

(3) group rehabilitative treatment.Group rehabilitative treatment services may be part of the child's TP to provide needed services, such as basic living skills, social skills redevelopment, independent living or services for successful adulthood, self-care, lifestyle change, recovery principles, and other similar services.Thirty minutes of individual therapy, family therapy, or both, may be provided in lieu of one hour of group rehabilitative treatment when group treatment services are part of the child's treatment plan but are temporarily unavailable;

(4) substance use or abuse or chemical dependency therapy, as needed, by a child with behavioral or emotional problems directly related to substance use or abuse.A minimum of two hours of education and prevention therapy per 90-calendar day period is recommended, based on individual needs, for a child who does not have behavioral or emotional problems directly related to substance use or abuse;

(5) basic living skills redevelopment provided by the TFC parent;

(6) social skills redevelopment provided by the TFC parent;

(7) crisis behavior management and redirection services to ensure therapeutic contract staff are available for response 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Response includes providing face-to-face or phone intervention during a crisis to stabilize the child's behavior and prevent placement disruption.Face-to-face intervention must be utilized prior to a child's placement in a higher level of care, unless there is an imminent safety risk.Crisis behavior management and redirection services are consistent with the goals and objectives of the child's TP;

(8) collaboration with Child Welfare Services (CWS) specialists in the completion of the youth's basic life skills assessment and the development of the youth's successful adulthood plan; and

(9) successful adulthood plan services in compliance with the Oklahoma Successful Adulthood program administered by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, per OAC 340:75-6-110.

(c) TFC contractor requirements.TFC contractors are required to provide services and meet requirements as identified in OAC 340:75, 317:30-5-740, 317:30-5-740.1 and the residential behavioral management services (RBMS).

(1) Specialized treatment services to augment the required services provided by the TFC contractor may be obtained when a child experiences severe functional impairment, exhibiting the need for additional treatment beyond the required TFC services.The specialized treatment services are provided by a Medicaid behavioral health contractor other than the TFC contractor and require prior OHCA authorization.

(2) The CWS specialist is required to participate in the coordination of all requests for additional treatment services for a child in a TFC placement with the TFC contractor.In requesting additional services from a licensed PhD psychologist in private practice, the CWS specialist considers the:

(A) duration, intensity, and frequency of the child's behaviors;

(B) child's specialized treatment needs including, but not limited to, sexual perpetration, long-term substance use or abuse, and highly-sexualized behaviors;

(D) child's progress on his or her TFC treatment plan.