Reasonable Efforts - Preventing Placement - Documentation 447-10-25-10-15

(Revised 5/15/07 ML #3087)

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Whenever a child is removed from the home, federal regulations require a judicial determination whether reasonable efforts to prevent placement were made. This reasonable effort determination must appear in the court’s removal.

 

To support this judicial determination and to document reasonable efforts to prevent placement, the agency must organize and maintain its documentation of such reasonable efforts. This documentation includes:

1. Any case plan, treatment plan, or permanency plan, which describes efforts to prevent placement.
2. Any other evidence of Family Preservation Services planned and/or provided.
3. Authorizations or reports of other services provided to the parent or child.

The agency must provide this evidence of reasonable efforts to prevent placement to the court for the first placement hearing, and must seek to assure that the court record reflect the judicial finding with respect to such reasonable efforts.

 

Note that when the court makes a finding that reasonable efforts are not required, a permanency hearing in court must be held within 30 days of this determination, unless the requirements of the permanency hearing are fulfilled at the hearing in which the reasonable efforts determination was made.