SET UP PLACEMENT HOMES


howto: Add a New Placement Home
howto: Lookup Placement Home Number
howto: Maintain New Placement Home Rates

Menu option: (Maintain) Placement Homes

ONECase maintains data about each home or facility into which a child may be placed. The data are shared by all ONECase workers using the system. Changes made to data are immediately available to all workers. Any worker granted the authority may change the data or add new Placement Home records.

The Home Number

You assign the unique number to each home or facility known by the system. The system does not assign the number
automatically. You can access the data record for a by this Home Number as well as by the Last/First Name of the home parents.

Menu options to maintain home and rate data

You can use option 2 on menu 58 to set up the Placement Home and option 3 to maintain the payment rates for each home – if you do not use the state maximum for the home.

Maintain Home Rates

The first step in establishing the amount to pay to a Placement Home is to set up home rates in the Home Rates table. For most children the amount paid to a placement home is based upon the board or 'B' rate in the Home Rates table. 

Home 99999 is a special "default" home whose rates should be equal to the standard reimbursement rates permitted by the state. If you want to use those rates, do not set up separate rates for the placement home. If you want to pay a rate which is not equal to the standard "reimbursement" rates, you must set up a separate rate table for that particular home, or you may use the Special Rate feature described below. 

For some children the amount paid to the home is the 'B' rate plus a supplemental 'S' rate. Up to four supplemental rates may be established and added to the standard 'B' rate for a given home. 

For some children the amount paid to the home is a Special Rate defined for that particular placement. There is no Rate Table for this payment. You key the Special Rate directly for each affected placement. The amount keyed as the Special Rate will be the amount paid to the home. 'B' or 'S' rates set up for that particular home or home 99999 are ignored. Once the first Special Rate is paid to a given home, it can only be stopped by ending the placement. Another placement can be started if payments to the home are to continue. 

If you define a placement as being a paid placement, "Paid?=Y", you must pay using one of these three options: 'B', 'B' plus Supplement, or Special Rate. 

The Effective Dates for 'B' and 'S' are used in determining which rate shall apply. If you want to change a rate, you must add the new rate to the Rate Table with the appropriate Effective Date (all new rates are effective on the first day of the month). The system handles the change in rate amount automatically. The monthly rate amount may be zero. 

Once you have started paying a supplemental fee, you may stop it in one of two ways. The easiest and surest option is simply to terminate the old placement and start a new one in the same home. This is the preferred optionbecause it leaves a clear audit trail. The second option is to key an 'S' rate with the appropriate effective date and an amount of zero. Doing this option for home '99999' stops all supplemental payments using that rate table. Doing this option for a single home stops all supplemental payments for that home. In other words, be aware that changing the rate amount to zero will affect all children of the same age in the home. 

Rates in the Rate Table are further influenced by a flag for exact age on the Control File (Option 1 on Menu PSMN58, Placement Control). If the 'Find Rates for Exact Age' is set to 'Y' for YES, then you must enter a rate for each age year to be paid. If the 'Find Rates for Exact Age' is set to 'N' for NO, then you may enter rates in 'age groups' as follows: 

Pgm SU/Descr Age Eff Date Monthly 

CFC B Board 0 1/01/1997 315.00 
CFC B Board 6 1/01/1997 365.00 
CFC B Board 13 1/01/1997 415.00 
CFC B Board 19 1/01/1997 .00 

In this example, birth through age 5 will be paid a monthly rate of $315.00.
Ages 6 through 12 will be paid a monthly rate of $365.00. 
Ages 13 through 18 will be paid a monthly rate of $415.00. 
Ages 19 and up will not be paid.