27.1 Mandate and Rationale
Section 453.014, RSMo, provides that "the Children’s Division (CD) may place a minor for adoption." For the purposes of adoption, a minor is defined as any person who has not attained the age of 18 years or any person in the custody of the Children’s Division between the ages of birth and 21 years.
In keeping with the philosophical base that every child is entitled to a safe, secure, and permanent home, the Children’s Division is obligated to make a diligent search for appropriate adoptive placements for those children for whom adoption has become the permanent plan.