Adoption 624-05-15-115-15

(Revised 4/3/2023 ML #3716)

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This refers to the situation where the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent to a child are terminated and assumed by another individual who becomes the child's legal parent.

When to Select this Goal:

Adoption is the permanent goal offering the most stability to the child who cannot return home to his parents. It is also the most traumatic to the family since it generally involves permanent separation of child and family. All reasonable efforts should be made to reunite the family before moving to adoption. A singular permanency goal of adoption is allowable before a Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) is in place. The rationale as to why the permanency goal of adoption was made before a TPR was in place should be clearly documented in the case record. Many times, adoption is a concurrent permanency goal until a TPR is in place.

The goal of adoption should be considered under the following circumstances:

The goal of return home has been ruled out.
The parents through words or action have shown an inability or unwillingness to care for the child. The biological parents will not be able to provide for the child's safety and well being within a reasonable period of time.
The parents want the child to be adopted, or parental rights have been terminated.
An adoptive home is available or can be found within a reasonable period of time.
The child wants to be adopted.

How to Implement this Goal:

The goal of adoption involves permanent separation of child and family, and this will require considerable work by the agency. There are two basic steps in the adoptive process:

Developing a plan for placement including the referral to AASK for adoptive placement. A referral must be made to AASK no later than when the petition for termination of parental rights has been filed. A referral to AASK should be made when a goal (or concurrent goal) for adoption has been established.
Freeing the child for adoption.
The release of a child for adoption is a legal procedure. Before continuing with adoption plans, consult with your agency attorney, court or another attorney familiar with adoption laws in your state and get the following information:
1. What statutes pertain to adoption?
2. What procedures must be followed if a parent wants to voluntarily relinquish their parental rights?
3. What are the grounds necessary to terminate a parent's rights when they will not release the child voluntarily?
4. Many statutes permit termination of parental rights based upon:
  - Absence - Abandonment of the child for a long time or a series of shorter periods of abandonment.
  - Condition- A parental condition which can be diagnosed as precluding parental ability to care for the child adequately.
  - Conduct- Parental behavior which has demonstrated the parents unwillingness or inability to provide adequately for the child's well being.
  - Best interest of the child - The child has formed strong ties with another family and/or will be damaged by a return to the biological parents.

ASFA requirements and timelines have expanded the reasons for termination of parental rights. Refer to the 1999 amendments to N.D.C.C. 27-20-20.1. Petition to terminate parental rights – When brought – Definitions, for complete information.

What factual evidence is necessary and admissible in court if parental rights are to be terminated?
What if one parent will release the child and the other won't, or you cannot locate one parent?
What is the appeal process?

A plan should be developed using the Custodial Team Meeting Process to initiate general and/or specialized recruitment for an adoptive family at the first Foster Care Child & Family Team meeting following a termination of parental rights. General recruitment is not necessary if the child’s current placement resource has committed to adopting the child. Current caregivers should be given sufficient support to make their decision to adopt the child which will transition a child to permanence within a timely manner. It is not appropriate to delay a child’s adoption while waiting indefinitely for a placement resource’s decision. Timelines for a decision should be established with the resource family.

Development of the Goal:

A clear and specific goal should be developed with all parties involved which includes the following:

Preparation of the child for adoption, including explaining reasons for termination of parental rights, development of a life history books, counseling around loss of parents.
Visitation plan designed to build the adoptive parent-child relationship.
Collaboration with the AASK worker to allow the prospective adoptive family to visit with treatment providers, school personnel, etc. regarding the needs of the child.
Target date for placement.
Procedures for handling disagreements in the planning process.
Specific plans for follow-up services to child and family following placement.
Procedures necessary to finalize adoption.

Prepare the Adoption Case:

Review your case record, case plan, your notes, all letters and correspondence concerning the child. Develop a chronology of your information for termination of parental rights.

For example, list in chronological order the following information about both parents:

Reason, date and plan for placement. Note court orders, etc. that document these items.
Visits between child and parent, including dates, who made the arrangements, where the visit occurred, how the child and parent behaved and failure to show for visitation by parents.
Gifts given to the child - include cards and letters. Note appropriateness, whether one child in a family was left out, dates gifts were given and who gave them.
Financial support for child. Who paid what and when, was their court order requiring payment.
Parental involvement in case work plan for child's return. Document plans developed, note success and failures at goal achievement, note referrals made to other treatment providers.
Document parental conditions which necessitate termination of parental rights.
Review all documentation kept by the foster parents throughout the course of the placement.
Agency service provision to the family to help in rehabilitation. Include dates of contacts, document services provided. List failed scheduled treatment appointments.
Periods of abandonment and agency attempts to locate missing parents.
Child's reaction and preference.
Parents reaction to situations regarding their child while in placement.

Review your chronological record with regard to state statutes for termination of parental rights.

If you believe you have a strong case, meet with your attorney to plan to take your case to court.
If your case is weak, begin NOW to collect the information you need. If the agency has failed to provide adequate services, you may need to plan for return home with a clear casework plan. Should that plan fail you will then have a clear documentation for termination at a future time.

When you have determined that you are ready to go to court, prepare the parents for what is to happen. This applies to voluntary as well as involuntary terminations.

Explain clearly to parents the nature of the court proceedings which will occur.
Explain clearly to parents their rights to counsel.
Explain to the child, if they are to be involved in this process, what is going to happen in the court proceedings.
Explain, when appropriate, to the foster parents the process and what is going to happen in the court proceedings.
Explain that foster caregivers must be provided timely written notice and the "right" to be heard in any proceeding held with respect to the child.

When Not to Select This Goal:

This goal of adoption should not be selected under the following circumstances:

The child's own family wants the child and can provide adequately for their safety and well being.
The child wants to return to the parents.
The child strongly objects to being adopted.
The child cannot be freed for adoption.
No adoptive home can be found following an exhaustive search for such a home, including use of national resource exchanges.