Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and ...

1 STATE. STATUTES. Current Through March 2016. WHAT'S INSIDE. Reasonable Efforts to When Reasonable Efforts are required Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve When Reasonable Efforts are not required Permanency for Children Summaries of State laws Reasonable Efforts refers to activities of State social services agencies that aim to provide the assistance and services needed to Preserve and Reunify Families . To find statute information for a Laws in all States, the District of Columbia, Guam, particular State, go to Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands require that child welfare agencies make Reasonable Efforts to gov/topics/systemwide/.

2 Provide services that will help Families remedy the laws-policies/state/. conditions that brought the child and family into the child welfare system. The statutes in most States use a broad definition of what constitutes Reasonable Efforts . Generally, these Efforts consist of accessible, available, and culturally appropriate services that are designed to improve the capacity of Families to provide safe and stable homes for their children. These services may include family therapy, parenting classes, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, respite care, parent support groups, and home visiting programs.

3 Some commonly used terms associated with Reasonable Efforts include family reunification, family preservation, family support, and preventive services. 1. 1. Services to be provided to the child and family are specified in a case plan. For more information on the case planning process, see Information Gateway's Case Planning for Families Involved With Child Welfare Agencies at systemwide/laws-policies/statutes/casepl anning/. Children's Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS. | Email: | Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children When Reasonable Efforts Are When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT.

4 Required Required Federal law has long required State agencies to Under the provisions of ASFA, Reasonable Efforts to demonstrate that Reasonable Efforts have been made to Preserve or Reunify the family are not required when the provide assistance and services to prevent the removal of court has determined any of the following: a child from his or her home and to make it possible for The parent subjected the child to aggravated a child who has been placed in out-of-home care to be circumstances as defined by State law. The definition reunited with his or her Reasonable Efforts are of aggravated circumstances may include, but is not made when the child and his or her family are provided limited to, abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, and with services that are relevant to their situation, which may sexual abuse.

5 Include: The parent committed murder of another child of the Child care parent. Homemaker services The parent committed voluntary manslaughter of Individual, group, and family counseling another child of the parent. Health-care services The parent aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, Behavioral health evaluation and treatment or solicited to commit such a murder or voluntary manslaughter. Drug and alcohol abuse counseling The parent committed a felony assault that resulted in Parent education serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the Vocational counseling parent.

6 Community-based family support services that promote The parental rights of the parent to a sibling of the the safety and well-being of children and Families also may child were terminated involuntarily. be offered. These services are designed to: In all States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Increase family strength and stability the Virgin Islands, Reasonable Efforts are not required Increase parent confidence and competence under these circumstances. In addition, several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands Afford children safe, stable, and supportive family provide one or more additional grounds for not making environments Reasonable Efforts .

7 The following are examples of these Enhance child development additional grounds: In many States, the statutes also require that when a court The parent abandoned the child (36 States, Puerto determines that family reunification is not in the best Rico, and the Virgin Islands).4. interests of the child Efforts should be made to finalize The parent abandoned an infant (11 States).5. another permanent placement for the child. Under the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA), while Reasonable Efforts to Preserve and Reunify Families are still required, the child's health and safety constitute the 4.

8 Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, paramount concern in determining the extent to which Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Reasonable Efforts should be North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, 2. Beginning with the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 ( Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 96-272). 5. Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, 3.

9 States must comply with the requirements outlined in ASFA as a condition Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin. for receiving certain Federal funds. This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. This publication is available online at 2. Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children The parent was convicted of murder or voluntary The parent indicated a lack of interest in reuniting manslaughter of the child's other parent (13 States and with the child (three States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin the Virgin Islands).)

10 6 Islands).16. The parent was convicted of the crime of trafficking in Other grounds found in one or two States include: persons (four States).7. The child was removed from the home previously due The parent repeatedly withheld medical treatment or to abuse or neglect and was removed again due to a food from the child (Ohio). subsequent incident of abuse or neglect (eight States, A putative father has failed to establish paternity of the Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).8 child (Montana and Nevada). The parent was convicted of a sexual offense that The parent allowed the child to be present where resulted in the child's conception (four States).