A. What is the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children?
The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (“ICPC”) is a federal law which establishes uniform legal and administrative procedures governing the interstate placement of children. The ICPC is premised on the belief that children requiring out-of-state placement will receive the same protections and services that would be provided if they remained in their home states, and further that all legal requirements are observed. In furtherance of this goal, the ICPC gives the sending state the opportunity to conduct home studies and evaluate the proposed placement. It allows the prospective receiving state the opportunity to determine that the placement is in the child’s best interests and it guarantees both legal and financial protection.
All fifty (50) states, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands are members of the Compact. Each state has codified the ICPC into state law and has a designated Compact Administrator which oversees the process of interstate placements. In Massachusetts, the ICPC is administered by the Department of Children and Families (“DCF”) and regulations governing the ICPC can be found at 110 CMR 7.500 through 7.523, a copy of which is attached.
