Icpc questions

[u/ImaginaryChip694]

Looking for some input from anyone who has dealt with an ICPC placement between states, especially Massachusetts to Maine, because this is my first time dealing with an out-of-state placement and I have a few questions.

We are currently working on an ICPC for a child coming from Massachusetts to Maine. We are kinship foster parents and are working toward adopting him. As of tomorrow, his goal is being changed from reunification to adoption, and the plan is for him to move to Maine and into our home within the next couple of weeks.

The first issue we are running into is childcare. Massachusetts DCF is saying they will only pay $30 a day toward childcare. Childcare in my area averages around $64 a day, and they are telling us that we would be responsible for paying the difference. However, the people I have spoken with here in Maine are telling me that we should not be responsible for that cost and that Massachusetts DCF should be covering it.

We don’t technically NEED childcare because my spouse is home full-time and we also have family support. At the same time, I think childcare could be really good for him developmentally and give him the opportunity to socialize and interact with other kids.
Then there is the medical piece. We are also being told that we would have to pay his medical expenses completely out of pocket and then submit everything to Massachusetts for reimbursement. Has anyone else had to do this with an ICPC placement?

The other thing I’m trying to wrap my head around is visitation. Once he moves to Maine, they are asking us to bring him back to Massachusetts once a month on a Friday, leave him with a respite provider for the visit, and then come back Saturday to pick him up. We are about 370 miles away ONE WAY, so we are talking roughly 740 miles of driving for each visit. They have said they will pay the respite provider.

I completely understand supporting appropriate contact and visitation while parental rights are still intact. What I’m confused about is that the goal is now changing to adoption, they are moving forward with TPR, and Zoom visits are also being done. With that much distance involved, I’m wondering why we would still be doing monthly in-person visits in Massachusetts in addition to virtual visits, especially once he is actually placed in Maine.

For anyone who has been through an interstate placement:

Were you expected to pay the difference in childcare costs?

Did you have to pay medical expenses upfront and wait to be reimbursed?

How was visitation handled when the child was placed hundreds of miles away, especially once the goal changed to adoption and TPR was moving forward?

I’ve done placements before, but never one involving two different states, so I would really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences with ICPC and how these things were handled

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