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21 Child L. Prac. 1 (2002-2003)

handle is hein.journals/chilawpt21 and id is 1 raw text is: GhrildL La-%w Practice Vol. 21 No. 1 March 2002 Helping Lawyers Help Kids This article is the sixth in a series to help judges determine whether the child welfare agency has provided reasonable efforts to arrange and finalize a permanency plan, as required by the Adoption and Safe Families Act. Earlier articles outlined the permanency options and what to consider to make permanency a reality. This article assumes more permanent placements have been considered and ruled out and the permanency plan is relative placement. Reasonable Efforts to Finalize a Permanency Plan for Relative Placement by Cecelia Fiermonte R elative placements have advan- tages for children. They pre- serve family bonds, reduce the trauma of removal, and preserve the child's cultural identity and heritage. But there are also drawbacks. Sometimes the relative can't care for the child long-term, but feels pres- sured to take the child anyway. Or, the relative may be unable to shield the child from a neglectful or abusive parent. Pemiiie PlningUie ASFA ' Determining the Plan (Covered in April 2001 issue) Finalizing the Plan: 0 Reunification (Covered in May 2001 issue) * Termination of Parental Rights (Covered in June 2001 issue) Adoption (Covered in August 2001 issue) * Guardianship (Covered in November 2001 issue) Relative Placement Planned Permanent Living Arrangement Interstate Placements The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) reflects the widely held belief that relative placements are positive for children. ASFA specifi- cally lists placement with a fit and willing relative as one of the per- manency options.1 ASFA does not define the terms relative or fit and willing, or create separate legal authority for relative placements.2 ASFA also provides that relative placement is an exception to the re- quirement to file a termination of pa- rental rights action when the child has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months.3 And states must consider giving preference to a relative when they meet all the safety standards.' The agency's obligation to final- ize the permanency plan means more than just putting the child in a relative's home to meet ASFA's re- quirements at a permanency hear- ing. Your reasonable efforts inquiry helps ensure the agency has made a well thought-out choice and ad- dressed any barriers to permanency. The relative home should be a means to achieve permanency, not merely a stopgap solution. The agency must make reasonable ef- forts not only to place the child, but to make the placement as permanent as possible. E-mail: childlawpractice@staff.abanet.org How do you decide from the bench whether relatives are a good resource for the child? How do you balance the need for permanency with the desire to maintain family ties? How do you determine which legal arrangement is best? What ef- forts to finalize the plan on the agency's part are reasonable? This article helps you identify complex issues raised by permanent relative placements. Asking the fol- lowing questions will help you de- cide if the agency has made reason- (Continued on page 2) What's Inside: 3 CASE LAW UPDATE 10 IN PRACTICE The Capacity of a Mentally Retarded Parent to Consent to Adoption 12 RESEARCH IN BRIEF Many Fathers Caught in a Juggling Act 13 POLICY UPDATE ABA Policies Protect Children in New Ways 14 SIGNIFICANT DECISIONS New York City Ordered to Protect Nonabusive Battered Mothers and Children 16 SUPREME COURT NEWS * Internet: http://www.abanet.org/child

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