Virginia Law

A. The licensee shall include in the child-placing agency's caseload and capacity count all children to whom supervision is provided. The supervised children may be placed directly by the licensee or through arrangement or negotiation with another licensed child-placing agency in one of the following settings:

1. A resource home;

2. A foster home;

3. An adoptive home prior to the final order of adoption;

4. A treatment foster home;

5. A short-term foster home;

6. An independent living arrangement; or

7. A licensed children's residential facility.

B. The total approved caseload numbers served by the licensee at any given time shall not exceed the following:

1. Except for licensees that provide treatment foster care, the maximum caseload restrictions shall apply:

a. A full-time caseworker shall serve no more than 25 children at any one time.

b. Trainees:

(1) A beginning trainee shall serve no more than 10 children at any one time until such time that he has reached his first year anniversary with the licensee; and

(2) A one year experienced trainee shall serve no more than 15 children at any one time until such time that he has reached his second year anniversary with the licensee.

c. The caseload of a less than full-time caseworker shall be proportional to the time spent providing casework services to the licensee.

2. For treatment foster care, the total caseload shall be the sum of the following:

a. A full-time caseworker shall have a maximum caseload of 12 children. However, the caseload shall be adjusted downward if:

(1) The caseworker's job responsibilities exceed those listed in caseworker's job description; or

(2) The difficulty of the children served requires more intensive supervision and training of the treatment foster parents.

b. The caseload of a less than full-time caseworker shall be proportional to the time spent providing casework services to the licensee.

c. Trainees:

(1) A beginning trainee shall serve no more than six children at any one time until such time that he has reached his first year anniversary with the licensee.

(2) A one year experienced trainee shall serve no more than nine children at any one time until such time that he has reached his second year anniversary with the licensee.

3. Student interns: There shall be a maximum of three children in a caseload for a student intern, if any student intern works with the licensee.

C. For licensees that serve both foster care and treatment foster care populations, the licensee shall first consider caseload downward adjustment criteria as specified in subdivisions B 2 a (1) and (2) of this section, and if the criteria does not apply to the caseworker's caseload under consideration, then the licensee shall ensure that the caseworker serving the mixed populations provide services to a maximum of 15 total children, and no more than 10 of those 15 children are served in treatment foster care.

D. The licensee shall include the following children in the capacity count:

1. A child in the custody of the licensee;

2. A child for whom an interlocutory order has been entered and still awaits a final order of adoption to be entered; and

3. A child not in the licensee's custody whose placement is supervised by the licensee.

E. Caseloads shall be reviewed and updated, as appropriate, annually to reflect the time and work necessary to effectively manage each foster or treatment foster care case.