The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children is a law in all 50 states (including South Dakota), Washinton, D.C. and the Virgin Islands. It applies to the placement of minor children made from one state to another by public and private agencies, the courts, independent placers (i.e., physicians and attorneys), and individuals.
Excluded from the Compact requirements are close relatives, such as parents, step-parents, grandparents, adult brothers and sisters, adult uncles and aunts, and unrelated legal guardians who both send and receive the child. Also excluded are placements into educational and medical facilities.