There are six possible permanency goals: maintenance of the child at home, reintegration, permanent custodianship, adoption, SOUL (Support Opportunity Unity Legal Relationships) Family Legal Permanency, and Another Planned Permanency Living Arrangement (APPLA).
Each case plan shall contain a permanency goal for the child. Each child in the Secretary’s custody and in out of home placement shall have a concurrent permanency goal established, if appropriate, pursuant to Appendix 3F. Also, see Section 3232. The permanency goal shall be established at the first case planning conference. The case plan shall be monitored until the permanency goal is achieved. The permanency goal may be changed when it is apparent the original goal cannot be met within a reasonable time frame.
Permanency goals and progress toward meeting the goals are documented on the PPS 3050 Family Service/Preservation Plan or PPS 3051 Permanency Plan.
A. Maintenance of the Child at Home
1. Maintenance of the child at home is the preferred goal. The child's safety must be assured. Family services or family preservation services shall be considered as options to prevent out-of-home placement of the child.
2. The DCF CPS Specialist has the primary responsibility for the initial assessment of the family and for determining the safety of the child. Once the case is referred to a provider, the DCF CPS Specialist and the Child Welfare Case Management Provider (CWCMP) case manager are responsible for continuing to assess the safety of the child.
3. The tasks required to meet the goal of maintaining the child safely at home are recorded on the PPS 3050, Section 4, Maintenance Objectives.
B. Reintegration of a Child in Out-of-Home Placement
1. For children who cannot remain with their family and must be placed in out-of-home care for their safety and well-being, the preferred permanency goal is reintegration. Case planning is directed toward addressing concerns which led to the child being removed from their home. The CWCMP shall provide an array of services to allow the parents to safely resume responsibility for the child in the home in the shortest time possible.
2. The initial permanency goal for children in out-of-home placement shall be reintegration and efforts shall be made by the CWCMP to achieve that goal, unless the court has found that no reasonable efforts to reunify are required. (See Section 3371)
3. Activities needed to accomplish the permanency goal of reintegration are recorded on the PPS 3051, Section 3, Permanency Objectives.
4. Agency efforts and family progress toward meeting the goals in the case plan are documented in the case logs. This information is reported to the court at every hearing.
C. Adoption
1. When reintegration is not viable, adoption is the preferred permanency goal in most cases.
a. If a child has been placed out of home for 12 continuous months at the time of the most recent case planning conference, the permanency goal of adoption shall be considered.
2. Factors to consider when determining if adoption should be the permanency goal include:
a. The parent's lack of progress in completing the goals and objectives of the case plan successfully;
b. A youth's interest in adoption if age 14 or over;
c. The probability an adoptive family can be developed for the youth;
d. The youth is already placed with relative or non-related kin;
e. Age, disability, acute or chronic illness, behavioral issues, or any other single decision element shall not be the deciding factor when considering whether or not to pursue termination of parental rights and to select adoption as the permanency goal for a specific child. The best interests and well-being of the child are the goal for any plan for a child's permanency.
3. If adoption was considered but not established as the goal, the reasons shall be documented in the summary section of the PPS 3051, Section 6.
4. If adoption is established as the goal, the possibility of obtaining a relinquishment of parental rights from the parent(s) shall be considered during the case planning conference and by the 12th month of out-of-home placement.
5. Relinquishment, if deemed appropriate, shall be discussed with the parents and documented in the summary section of the PPS 3051, Section 6.
6. Activities needed in order to achieve the permanency goal of adoption are recorded on the PPS 3051, Section 3 Permanency Objectives.
7. Progress toward meeting the objectives associated with the permanency goal of adoption is recorded on the PPS 3051, Section 6.
D. Permanent Custodianship
1. Permanent custodianship allows the custodian to exercise all the rights and responsibilities of a parent without the on-going oversight of DCF, as determined by the Permanent Custodianship order. Custodianship may be an option for youth with or without the termination of parental rights.
2. The activities required to meet the goal of permanent custodianship are recorded on the PPS 3051, Section 3, Permanency Objectives
3. Refer to Appendix 6F for more extensive information on Adoption vs. Permanent Custodianship.
E. SOUL Family Legal Permanency
1. SOUL Family Legal Permanency is defined as "Support, opportunity, unity, legal relationships family legal permanency" or "SOUL Family Legal Permanency" means the appointment of one or more adults, approved by a youth who is 16 years of age or older and the subject of a child in need of care proceeding, pursuant to the child in need of care code and amendments thereto. SOUL Family Legal Permanency also recognizes additional relationships with a broad network of caring adults.
2. The CWCMP shall assess if appointment of a SOUL Family Legal Permanency custodian(s) best meets the youth's needs. The CWCMP shall also prepare all identified SOUL Family Legal Permanency Custodian(s) for the responsibility associated with becoming a SOUL Family Legal Permanency Custodian.
3. Factors to be considered in the case planning conference when determining if a youth might be appropriate for SOUL Family include: age, agreement and approval of the youth, sibling connections, consent of the youth’s parent’s if parental rights are still intact, connection to the identified SOUL Family, the agreement and suitability of the potential custodian(s) to care for the youth.
a. SOUL Family Legal Permanency may be considered as a permanency goal if the young person is above the age of 18 and the Child in Need of Care court case remains open as long as the requirements in E.4. have been met.
b. Siblings of eligible youth may not be appointed a SOUL Family Legal Permanency custodian unless all identified requirements are met per E.4.
4. The permanency goal of SOUL Family Legal Permanency may be appropriate when the requirement below has been met;
a. Agreement and approval of a youth aged 16 years of age or older.
5. If there is more than one SOUL Family Legal Permanency Custodian identified, one individual shall be designated as primary custodian by the court with the approval of the youth and the individual to serve in such role in the event a dispute arises.
6. Agreement and consent of the youth’s parent(s) is required for appointment unless there has been a finding of unfitness or termination of parental rights and consent is no longer required.
a. Should the youth’s parent(s) be unwilling to consent to the appointment of SOUL Family Legal Permanency, CWCMP must explore other permanency goals for the youth. If a parent has consented to appointment of SOUL Family Legal Permanency based upon a belief that the youth’s other parent would also consent or be found unfit, and such parent does not consent, the consent shall be null and void.
b. Should the youth’s parent(s) location be unknown, the CWCMP shall attempt to locate and engage the parent(s), at minimum, with 3 attempts, utilizing different methods of communication.
c. If the young adult is above the age of 18, agreement and consent of the young adult’s parent(s) is still required, if parental rights are intact.
7. Appointment of a youth with a SOUL Family Legal Permanency ends DCF custody and allows the SOUL Family Legal Permanency Custodian(s) to make decisions and be responsible for the day to day care of the youth.
8. SOUL Family Legal Permanency may recognize other individuals identified as supportive connections for the youth by the youth. These identified individuals shall testify to the courts they accept the role. These supportive connections are acknowledged by the court that they will provide support for the youth agreed to by the youth and the SOUL Family Legal Permanency Custodians. Such individuals shall have no legal obligations or rights related to the youth per the court’s recognition.
9. While DCF custody ends upon appointment of SOUL Family Legal Permanency, court jurisdiction continues until terminated pursuant to statute.
F. Another Planned Permanency Living Arrangement (APPLA)
1. The permanency goal of APPLA is appropriate only for youth age 16 or older, and when documentation shows compelling reasons exist which make all other permanency options unacceptable. The compelling reasons may include
:
a. An older teen requests emancipation;
b. A parent cannot care for their child regardless of supports due to limitations of their own disability, but a significant bond exists between them, while the placement resource is willing to sign a commitment agreement for the child to remain in their home, but is not willing to adopt or be a permanent custodian for the child;
c. A tribe has identified a planned permanency living arrangement for an Indian child.
2. Choosing this option is appropriate only when there is a specific, long-term placement for the child. Long-term out of home placement is not an acceptable permanency option and shall not be chosen as a planned permanency living arrangement.
3. A planned permanent living arrangement is subject to ongoing review at later permanency hearings. Other permanency options for the child shall continue to be explored throughout the time the child is placed out of the home. At no time shall the permanency option of APPLA rule out other more permanent options.