441—202.17 (232) Area group care targets.
	 202.17(1) Area target. A group care budget target shall be established for each departmental service area, which shall be based on the annual statewide group care appropriation established by the general assembly.
	  a.   	 The department and the judicial branch shall jointly develop a formula for allocating the group care appropriation among the departmental service areas. The formula shall be based on:
	 (1) 	 Proportional child population.
	 (2) 	 Proportional group foster care usage in the previous five completed fiscal years.
	 (3) 	 Other indicators of need.
	  b.   	 Any portion of the group care appropriation allocated for 50 highly structured juvenile program beds and not used may be used for group care.
	  c.   	 Upon written agreement of the affected service area managers and chief juvenile court officers, service areas may transfer part of their group care budget from one service area to another. A service area may exceed its budget target figure up to 5 percent during the fiscal year, providing that the overall funding allocation by the department for all child welfare services in the service area is not exceeded.
	  d.   	 Notwithstanding the statewide appropriation established in this subrule, a budget established in a service area’s group care plan pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.143 may be exceeded, a group care placement may be ordered, and state payment may be made if the review organization finds that the placement is necessary to meet the child’s service needs and if the service area has additional funds transferred from another service area or if the service area is within 5 percent of its group care budget target figure pursuant to 441—paragraph 202.17(1)“c.”
The department and juvenile court services shall work together to ensure that a service area’s group care expenditures shall not exceed the funds allocated to the service area for group care in the fiscal year.
	  e.   	 If at any time after September 30, 1998, annualization of a service area’s current expenditures indicates a service area is at risk of exceeding its group foster care expenditure target under Iowa Code section 232.143 by more than 5 percent, the department and juvenile court services shall examine all group foster care placements in that service area in order to identify those which might be appropriate for termination. In addition, any aftercare services believed to be needed for the children whose placements may be terminated shall be identified.
The department and juvenile court services shall initiate action to set dispositional review hearings for the placements identified. In the dispositional review hearing, the juvenile court shall determine whether needed aftercare services are available and whether termination of the placement is in the best interest of the child and the community.
	 202.17(2) Plan for achieving target. For each of the departmental service areas, representatives appointed by the department and juvenile court services shall establish a plan for containing the expenditure for children placed in group care within the budget target allocated to that service area. The plan shall include monthly targets and strategies for developing alternatives to group care placements.
The plans shall also ensure potential group care referrals are reviewed by the review organization prior to submission of a recommendation for group care placement to the court.
Each area plan shall be established in advance of the fiscal year to which the plan applies. To the extent possible, the department and the juvenile court shall coordinate the planning required under this subrule with planning for services paid under Iowa Code section 232.141, subsection 4. The department’s service area manager shall communicate regularly, as specified in the area plan, with the juvenile courts within the service area concerning the current status of the plan’s implementation.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 232.143.