Requirement for Notice to Relatives to Child's Removal 624-05-15-50-23

(Revised 1/15/10 ML #3206)

View Archives

PI 15-15

PI 15-15 Attachment

 

Agencies are required to exercise due diligence to identify and notify all parents, grandparents, and any other adult relative suggested by the parents and grandparents, subject to exceptions due to family or domestic violence, within 30 days of child’s removal.

 

The relatives’ must also be advised of all available options to become a placement resource for the child. The notice shall:

  1. Specify that the child has been or is being removed from the custody of the parent, or parents of the child;
  2. Explains the options the relative has under federal, state, and local law to participate in the care and placement of the child, including any options that may be lost by failing to respond to the notice;
  3. Describes the requirements and standards to become a foster family home and the additional services and supports that are available for children placed in that home; and
  4. Describes how the relative of the child may enter into an agreement with the department to receive a subsidized guardianship payment.

The agency must provide this notice in a manner that reasonably ensures the relative has understood the notice. This could mean providing notice in a language the relative is fluent in. Or, the family’s case manager may have to go over the written notice in person with the relative. If an individual has a visual impairment, the notice may need to be written using large print or Braille.

 

It is not required to provide notice to relatives that are identified beyond 30 days of the child’s removal. However, agencies can consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether notification would be appropriate.

 

It a relative fails to respond to the initial notice, the relative may not have the opportunity to participate in the care and placement of the child.

 

A notification template, which outlines the relatives’ options to become a placement resource for the child, is available for case managers to use.