When Reunification Fails: Finding Permanence in the Real World - October 2007
| Publication year | 2007 |
| Pages | 91 |
| Citation | Vol. 36 No. 10 Pg. 91 |
2007, October, Pg. 91. When Reunification Fails: Finding Permanence in the Real World - October 2007
October 2007
Vol. 36, No. 10 [Page 91]
When Reunification Fails: Finding Permanence in the Real World
by Julie S. Thomerson, Deborah A. Kershner
About the Authors:
Julie S. Thomerson is an Assistant County Attorney in Adams County, specializing primarily in dependency and neglect matters. Prior to working for Adams County, she was a Policy Specialist with the National Counsel of State Legislatures, specializing in youth violence prevention and relevant Colorado and Federal legislation. Thomerson earned her JD and MSW from the University of Denver.
Deborah A. Kershner has been an Assistant County Attorney in Adams County since 1997. She received her JD from the University of Colorado. She began her specialization in Juvenile Law in 1986, and practiced as a guardian ad litem until 1993.
When children enter the child welfare system through a Petition in Dependency and Neglect, the primary goal is reunification with a biological parent or legal guardian. Secondary goals - when reunification is unlikely within a reasonable period of time - include termination of parental rights and adoption or permanent placement with a relative. State and federal law requires that a permanent home be identified for every child within a reasonable period of time, sometimes within one year. When the desired outcomes of reunification, adoption, or permanent custody are improbable within the statutory time frame, courts, attorneys, and other child welfare professionals must consider alternatives, such as long-term foster care, residential treatment, or emancipation. This article discusses the history of permanency, relevant federal and Colorado law, and placement options for children who cannot be reunified with their families.
History of Permanency
Congress first identified child welfare as a national policy issue in 1935, when it provided funding to states through the Child Welfare Services Program, Part 1 of the Social Security Act.(fn1) Through this legislation, states were provided limited funding for broadly defined child welfare services "for the protection and care of homeless, dependent, and neglected children, and children in danger of becoming delinquent."(fn2)
In 1961, a revolutionary system of foster care was established through a new federal program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).(fn3) AFDC provided funding for out-of-home placements for children whose parents were receiving financial assistance. This program was expanded by the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act (AACWA) of 1980,(fn4) which established funding for programs to prevent out-of-home placement of children, promote reunification of families, provide Medicaid to foster children, and recruit adoptive families for "special needs" children.(fn5)
The mandates of AACWA, as amended by subsequent legislation, continue to guide the efforts of child welfare professionals in many important ways. Along with more focused efforts to promote reunification, AACWA required states to make "reasonable efforts" to maintain children in their homes prior to placement, as well as to reunify after removal. AACWA also mandated that any foster care placement be the "least restrictive" setting in relation to the child's needs.
As children started to "age-out" of the system created by AACWA, policymakers soon identified a new issue on the horizon. Services for young people on their way to emancipating from the system were virtually nonexistent, and many such young people were facing significant problems living on their own. In 1986, the Independent Living Program(fn6) was created, providing funding to states to assist children aged 16 years and older transition out of foster care and into adult life.
The Family Preservation and Support Services Program of 1994(fn7) provided funds for services to support children in foster care and those transitioning to adoptive families. This legislation also required communities to engage in collaborative planning to provide appropriate services and prevent foster care placements. To emphasize permanence, this program was renamed the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program through the enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA).(fn8) ASFA further streamlined established policies regarding permanence and, for the first time, required that a child's safety be the paramount consideration in any decision made by the state regarding placement.(fn9)
Additionally, this legislation amended AACWA by adding detailed provisions designed to shorten the journey toward permanence for children in out-of-home placements, and to improve outcomes for children in the system through enhanced planning and oversight. Although AACWA was the first federal law to require reasonable efforts toward reunification, ASFA further defined reasonable efforts and required the establishment of an alternate permanent home when reunification could not be achieved.
ASFA requires reasonable efforts to reunify children with their biological parents or legal guardians(fn10) or otherwise place children "in a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan."(fn11) Where there are "aggravated circumstances," such as chronic abuse, the death of a child, or a previous termination of parental rights, ASFA specifically states that reasonable efforts to reunify are not required.(fn12) In other cases, reasonable efforts may be found to be unsuccessful due to a child's special needs or continuing parental unfitness.
One of the most important aspects of ASFA was the mandate that a "permanent plan" - a definitive statement of the goal of the case - be determined for each child in a dependency and neglect (D&N) action.(fn13) ASFA presumes that in most cases, the permanent plan will be for the child to return home, because the primary purpose of child welfare cases is to reunify. When reunification is not a viable option, due to parental unfitness or unavailability, other options include adoption, legal guardianship, or granting permanent custody to a relative.(fn14) Children 12 years of age and older must agree to the alternate placement or adoption.(fn15)
When these...
To continue reading
Request your trial