§4 ch2: Court Related Activities for Placement of Children
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2.2 Placement Activities
The Children’s Service Worker shall request that form CS-33 be completed if protective custody is taken by law enforcement, physician, or the juvenile officer and no court order has been obtained.
All activities surrounding the placement of the child must be entered into FACES as soon as possible but no later than 24 hours after the change occurs.
If placement is made and custody was given to the Division, it will be necessary to complete a long-range permanency treatment plan within 30 days of the Division’s receipt of custody.
NOTE: The child must be placed in the custody of the Division for the child to receive out-of-home care services. If payment will need to be made, the resource used must have a contract with the Division.
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2.2.1 Emergency Placements
Emergency placements require a determination to be made that serious danger exists for a child if the child remains in the care of his/her parent(s) and that the delivery of treatment services will not provide immediate protection for a child.
The report to the court will likely be made after the placement has occurred and should indicate the emergency conditions necessitating out-of-home placement.
The report shall include a request that the court, in its dispositional order, make a determination that such conditions exist and that reasonable efforts to prevent placement would not secure, for the present, a safe environment for a child.
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2.2.2 Planned Placements
The decision to recommend placement of a child may be very difficult for the Children’s Service Worker and family. Placements that are not considered emergency placements provide the worker with a better opportunity to prepare the family for disruption. In these instances, the worker should:
- Involve the parent(s) in the decision to place the child(ren) and the worker’s reason for making this recommendation, to the extent possible;
- Give the parent(s) written notice (two (2) weeks in advance when possible) of the agency’s intent to petition the court to remove a child from the parent’s custody;
- Write the notice in a clear, understandable manner and include the following information:
- Specific reasons why the Division is recommending the removal of the child(ren);
- A brief description of the type of hearing the court may conduct; and
- The right to counsel and how counsel may be obtained;
Orally present the letter to the family in a face-to-face contact if parent(s) cannot read.
- Write the notice in a clear, understandable manner and include the following information:
- Maintain support services and supervision to assist the parent(s) in providing safe, nurturing environment for the child(ren) until the court responds;
- Conduct, prior to recommending the court take jurisdiction, if time and circumstances permit, an evaluation of the child(ren)’s service and educational needs and develop an out-of-home treatment plan with appropriate members of the Family Support Team (FST):
- Complete appropriate sections of the CS-1; and
- If the child’s service needs and treatment plan are not known at this time, request in writing temporary custody for the purpose of a 30-day evaluation.
NOTE: If the decision is made for the child to remain in care, whether in an emergency or planned placement, the Children’s Service Worker and his/her supervisor should seek consultation from a second level supervisor or an IIS supervisor to obtain a second opinion. The IIS supervisor, acting in a consulting role, may be from either a contracted agency or CD.
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