EEC RESIDENTIAL AND
PLACEMENT UNIT OVERVIEW
Board of Early Education and Care
May 12, 2009
Foundation
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102 CMR 3.00 is adopted in accordance with M.G.L. c.
28A, particularly §§ 9 through 13, which states the
policy of state government to assure every child "a
fair and full opportunity to reach his/her full
potential." In order to fulfill its mandate as the agency
responsible for licensing residential programs, the
Office has developed specific standards for residential
programs to provide this opportunity to the residents
they serve.
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The nature and scope of 102 CMR 3.00 are based on
the belief that every aspect of a program's operation
affects the residents in its care. The philosophy,
administrative policies, staff, physical facility and
clinical, recreational, and educational services all
contribute to a resident's everyday living environment,
and should maintain a level of quality that promotes
healthy development.
Rationale for Licensure
3.02(1): Definitions:
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Child. Any person under the age of 18 for part or all
of a calendar year or under 22 with special needs.
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Child with special needs. A child who, because of a
disability consisting of a developmental delay or an
intellectual, sensory, neurological, emotional,
communication, physical, specific learning or health
impairment or combination thereof, is or would be
unable to progress effectively in a regular school
program. This may include, but not be limited to, a
school age child with special needs as determined by
an evaluation conducted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 71B, §
3, and as defined by the Department of Education in
603 CMR 28.00.
Residential and Placement Unit
Organizational Chart
Commissioner
Sherri Killins
Dave McGrath,
Deputy
Commissioner of
Field Operations
Kelly Buckley,
Residential and
Placement
Supervisor
Tim Keane,
Residential and
Placement
Supervisor
Western Region
Licensors
Central Region
Licensors
Northeast Region
Licensor
Southeast Region
Licensors
Metro Boston Region
Licensors
Christine Burnett
David Micka
Michael Ginetti
Richard Mucci
Michael Curran
Miguel Ortega
Kathy Perry
Kerry Murphy McCall
Kara Adams
406 Group Care Licenses
Group Care Program: A program or facility that provides care and custody for
one or more children by anyone other than a relative by blood, marriage or
adoption on a regular 24-hour a day, residential basis.
65 Temporary Shelter Licenses
Temporary Shelter: Care and services (as appropriate to the needs of the child)
provided to a child on a regular 24 hour a day basis for a period not to exceed
45 days or in the case of placement in a secure detention facility, not to exceed
90 days.
51 Adoption Licenses
Adoption: The establishment of the legal relationship of parent and child in
accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 210 et seq.
83 Foster Care Licenses
Foster Parent: An individual who provides temporary substitute parental care for a
child or children under an agreement with a licensed or approved placement
agency.
Licensor Caseloads/Responsibilities
2008 Calendar Year Unit Statistics
Averages Per Licensor:
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Responsible for 70 providers/programs each
Conducted over 31 licensing renewals each
Opened 3 new and closed 4 licensed programs each
Conducted over 80 complaint investigations each
46 investigations per licensor required follow up activity due
to regulatory violations
Reviewed quarterly restraint data and assured reporting
compliance for 46 programs each
Reviewed quarterly foster care suspected abuse/neglect data
and assured reporting compliance for 9 programs each
R and P Unit Licensing Functions
1. Licensure of New Programs
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In person/phone consultation with perspective applicant
Application submitted with 40 policies and procedures
Licensor reviews 40 documents assuring compliance with regulations
Written response/in person meeting relaying outstanding
policy/procedure issues
Schedule physical plant inspection
Issue 6 month Provisional license
Conduct 3 month monitoring visit
Issue 2nd six month Provisional license
2. Licensure of Current Programs
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3 months prior to expiration, licensor sets up renewal visit and
requests application
Receive/Review application inclusive of updated policies, procedures
and inspections
Conduct visit to the facility (one to six days depending on the
size/scope of services)
Conduct Exit review/meeting
Write and send review
Review corrective action from program
License renewal or other action taken
Licensing Functions
Continued
3. Investigations
 Mandatory incidents and complaints
(837 in 2008)
 Intake, collaborate, investigate and assure compliance
(411 investigations resulted in citations)
4. Enforcement
 Follow-up on all complaint citations
 Monitoring visits
 Legal referrals
 Enforcement meetings
5. Technical Assistance
 Developing policy and TA papers
 Provide training and assistance to programs
Examples of Technical Assistance
Licensors provide consultation and
training on:
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The creation of behavior management
policy and procedure
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Background Record Check policy and
procedure
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Home Study development
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Internal investigations
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Program development
Other Responsibilities Include
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Conduct trainings for programs
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Attend and present to provider organizations
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Evaluate and produce feedback for the need for
policy, procedure and regulation change
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Interagency meetings
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Internal meetings
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Internal/external committee involvement
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Regional duties and operations meetings
Collateral Work
DCF
Out of
State
DYS
EEC
DPH
DMR
ESE
DMH
DPPC
Residential Care
Population Served
Includes but is not limited to:
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Learning disabled
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Autism and pervasive developmental disorders
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Behavioral disorders
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Eating disorders
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Sex offender/sexually reactive
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Criminal offender/adjudicated youth
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Severely physically disabled with limited life expectancy
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Schools for the deaf/hard of hearing, blind, etc.
Spectrum of Services
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Range from educational services for
learning disabled children, through
independent living skills for teen
parents, to acute clinical and behavioral
treatment for severely troubled children.
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Most of the children in residential
facilities are there for treatment of
emotional and behavioral issues that
may include sexual and physical abuse
and self-injurious behavior.
Challenge
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To build regulations in a meaningful way
that support changes in:
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Spectrum of care
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Length of placement
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Diversity of program model
Melmark School
Hillcrest Educational
Centers
Adoption
Population Served
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Children birth to 18
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Domestic Infant
International
Special Needs/Waiting Child
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Adoptive parents
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Birth parents
Spectrum of Services
Domestic Infant:
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potential expectant parents make an adoption plan and choose a
prospective adoptive family for their child
International:
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prospective adoptive families are approved via a home study process and
then enter an agency program where they are matched with a child
Special Needs/Waiting Child:
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prospective adoptive families are matched with a child currently in foster
care within a state system such as DCF
Hague Adoption Convention
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Multilateral international treaty designed to protect children, birth families
and adoptive families from unscrupulous practices, including hidden fees,
bribery and child abduction
Central authority is the US Department of State
All US agencies working in international adoption must now be accredited
through the Council on Accreditation
14 Massachusetts agencies have accreditation, 4 have full accreditation
status.
Challenges
Challenges
 Implementation of Hague has resulted in fewer infant
adoptions and an increase in adoption of older, special needs
children
 Adoption has become much more complicated, more
expensive and a longer process for families and children
 Adoption practice and law is complex and largely unregulated
in other states. Many Massachusetts adoptions are multistate in process
Impact and Change
 EEC has recently revised their home study policy to be more
congruent with the time frames required by Hague and BCIS
 Adoption Advisory Group has met quarterly for over 5 years
and consists of two supervisors, two licensors, two attorneys
and 15 adoption agency directors
 Focus of the group is to identify tangible areas that need
revision in the regulations, discuss trends in adoption and
best practice concerns in Massachusetts
Foster Care
Population Served
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Foster care agencies serve kids from
birth up until the age of 22
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Kids can have similar issues as those
placed in residential program, but they
require a less restrictive setting
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Many kids in foster care have been
removed from their homes due to
abuse/neglect issues
Foster Care
Spectrum of Services
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The agencies hold EEC licensure not individual
homes
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Homes are directly overseen and supervised
by foster care agencies such as DCF, Mentor
and Dare
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Ensures that agencies are in compliance with
regulations regarding the supervision and
oversight of their homes
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Oversight of the administrative operations of
foster care agencies
Challenges
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Regulations need to be updated to reflect
current practice
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Lack of potential foster homes/parents
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Although there is one set of regulations for
both foster care and adoption, they could be
broken into sections for easier understanding
DARE Family Services
Current Challenges
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Economy
Professional development of work force in
facilities and foster homes
Restraint reduction
Technological advances
 great for time management and supervision
 In the wrong hands can be used neglectfully
Staying current with ever changing adoption
law/practice
Impact of vacant/ positions
Detecting areas of overlap with other agencies
Regulation revision
Regulation Revision for Residential
and Placement Services
Residential
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Current regulations lack the flexibility to
withstand changes is program design
Assessment of restraint regulations with eye
toward early detection training to avoid restraint
Cross walk with other agencies to assure
alignment and minimize duplication
Placement
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Address regulatory inconsistency with Federal
Hague Adoption Convention
Improve regulatory language relative to adoption
related expenses/fees
Questions?
Thank You