NCJ Number
158370
Editor(s)
L Lange
Date Published
Unknown
Length
120 pages
Annotation
These guidelines for preventing the unnecessary removal of children from their families are intended for use by judges, social services personnel, and attorneys who represent children and parents.
Abstract
One of the major provisions of the Federal Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 is the requirement that judges determine whether reasonable efforts have been made to enable children to remain safely at home before they are placed in foster care. The act also requires that reasonable efforts be made to reunite foster children with their biological parents. A notable omission from the act is a definition of "reasonable efforts." This book provides guidelines for what constitutes "reasonable efforts." The guidelines are designed to assist professionals in defining, providing, and enforcing reasonable efforts toward enabling children to remain safely at home before they are placed in foster care or to rejoin their biological families if possible. The guidelines are divided into three sections. The first two focus on the legal system and the third on the social services system. Each section provides two kinds of information. First, they provide basic "black letter" guidelines for attorneys, judges, and agency personnel to use in meeting their respective obligations in determining whether reasonable efforts have been made. Second, they provide explanatory information on each guideline, including citations of applicable case law, national standards, secondary reference materials, and policy considerations. Following the guidelines is a list of supplementary materials and resources, as well as an appendix that contains a sample court order, sample findings of fact and conclusions of law, and a reasonable-efforts checklist. A resource list of organizations and publications is provided.