(a) The Mayor of the District of Columbia (hereinafter referred to as the “Mayor”) may:
(1) Make temporary provision for the care of children pending investigation of their status;
(2) Have the care and legal guardianship, including the power to consent to or arrange for adoption in appropriate cases, of:
(A) Children who may be committed to the Mayor as wards of the District of Columbia by courts of competent jurisdiction; and
(B) Children who are relinquished by their parents to the Mayor or whose relinquishment is transferred to the Mayor by a licensed child-placing agency under § 4-1406;
(3) Make such provisions for the care and maintenance of such children in private homes, under contract, including adoption subsidy pursuant to § 4-301, or in public or private institutions, as the welfare of such children may require; and
(4) Provide care and maintenance for children with substantial intellectual disabilities who may be received upon application or upon court commitment, in institutions or homes or other facilities equipped to receive them, within or without the District of Columbia.
(b) The Mayor shall cause the wards of the District of Columbia placed out under temporary care to be visited as often as may be required to safeguard their welfare.
(c) The Mayor may, where appropriate, secure an assignment of rights from a parent whose child is in the custody of a person or agency receiving foster care maintenance payments under Part E in Subchapter IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 670 et seq.).
