Permanency Hearing

Practice Points

• Recommend scheduling at 11 Months following the child's removal, then Court Order will NEVER inadvertently expire

• Motion to Extend may then combined

• Promotes accountability for the permanent plan

15-11-58 (o)

(1) With respect to each child in the custody of the Department of Human Resources, a permanency hearing shall be held no later than 30 days after the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Resources has submitted a written report to the court which does not contain a plan for reunification services as provided in subsection (j) of this Code section, or no later than 12 months after the child is considered to have entered foster care, whichever comes first. Thereafter, a permanency hearing shall be held not less frequently than every 12 months during the time the child continues in the custody of the Department of Human Resources. A permanency hearing may be held by the court at the time of the hearing on a motion to extend custody permitted by subsection (n) of this Code section. The provisions of subsection (p) of this Code section concerning notice, opportunity to be heard, authority of the court, and content of the court's order are applicable to proceedings under this paragraph.

(2) At the time of the permanency hearing, the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Resources shall submit for the court's consideration a report recommending a permanency plan for the child which shall include whether and, if applicable, when the child shall be returned to the parent or parents; referred for termination of parental rights and adoption; referred for legal guardianship; placed permanently with a fit and willing relative; or, in the case where the division has provided a compelling reason that none of the foregoing options would be in the best interest of the child, placed in another planned permanent living arrangement. The report shall include documentation of the steps to be taken by the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Resources to finalize the permanent placement of the child. When the permanency plan recommended is referral for termination of parental rights and adoption, such report shall include child specific recruitment efforts such as the use of state, regional, and national adoption exchanges, including electronic exchange systems. The provisions of subsection (p) of this Code section concerning notice, opportunity to be heard, authority of the court, and content of the court's order are applicable to proceedings under this paragraph.

(3) The permanency hearing may be conducted as the court directs by the juvenile court judge or by an associate juvenile court judge or judge pro tempore. The court may also direct that the permanency hearing be conducted by a judicial citizen review panel established by the court in the manner provided in subsection (k) of this Code section, unless the permanency hearing is one required under subsection (j) of this Code section as a result of a recommendation that reunification services are not appropriate. The judicial citizen review panel may conduct its hearing in the same manner as it conducts a case review under subsection (k) of this Code section.

The provisions of subsection (p) of this Code section concerning notice, opportunity to be heard, authority of the court, and content of the court's order are applicable to proceedings under this paragraph.

(A) The panel shall transmit its report, including its findings and recommendations and those of the Division of Family and Children Services, to the court and the parties within five days after such hearing. The report of the judicial citizen review panel shall include all the elements required in paragraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection. Any party may request a hearing on the proposed permanency plan by submitting a request in writing within five days of receiving a copy of such plan. If a hearing is not requested, the court shall review the proposed permanency plan and enter a supplemental order incorporating all elements required by paragraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection that the court finds essential in the proposed permanency plan. In the event a hearing before the court is requested on the report transmitted by the judicial citizen review panel, the court shall, after hearing evidence, enter a supplemental order incorporating all the elements required in paragraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection.

(B) If a permanency hearing is held before the court, the court shall, after hearing evidence, enter a supplemental order incorporating all elements of the proposed permanency plan required by paragraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection that the court finds essential in the proposed permanency plan.

(4) The parents, the custodian of the child, the foster parents of the child, any pre-adoptive parent or relative providing care for the child, and other parties shall be given written notice of a permanency hearing at least five days in advance and shall be advised that the permanency plan recommended by the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Resources will be submitted to the court for consideration to become an order of the court. Procedural safeguards shall be applied with respect to parental rights pertaining to the removal of the child from the home of his or her parents, to a change in the child's placement, and to any determination affecting visitation privileges of parents. The provisions of subsection (p) of this Code section concerning notice, opportunity to be heard, authority of the court, and content of the court's order are applicable to proceedings under this paragraph.

(5) The permanency plan incorporated in the court's order shall include whether and, if applicable, when the child shall be returned to the parent or parents, referred for termination of parental rights and adoption, referred for legal guardianship, or placed permanently with a fit and willing relative. If the court finds that there is a compelling reason that it would not be in the child's best interests to be returned to the parent or parents, referred for termination of parental rights and adoption, referred for legal guardianship, or placed permanently with a fit and willing relative, then the court's order shall document the compelling reason and provide that the child should be placed in another planned permanent living arrangement as defined in the court's order. The provisions of subsection (p) of this Code section concerning notice, opportunity to be heard, authority of the court, and content of the court's order are applicable to proceedings under this paragraph.

(6) The court or judicial citizen review panel which conducts the permanency hearing shall determine, as a finding of fact, whether the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Resources has made reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan which is in effect at the time of the hearing. Further, the court or the judicial citizen review panel, if applicable, shall determine as a finding of fact whether, in the case of a child placed out of the state, the out-of-state placement continues to be appropriate and in the best interest of the child and, in the case of a child who has attained the age of 14, shall determine the services needed to assist the child to make a transition from foster care to independent living. Such findings of fact shall be made a part of the report of the judicial citizen review panel to the court and any supplemental order entered by the court. The provisions of subsection (p) of this Code section concerning notice, opportunity to be heard, authority of the court, and content of the court's order are applicable to proceedings under this paragraph.

(7) A supplemental order of the court adopting the permanency plan must be entered within 30 days after the court has determined that reunification efforts will not be made by the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Resources, if applicable, or within 12 months after the child is considered to have entered foster care, whichever is first, and at least every 12 months thereafter while the child is in foster care, unless the court finds good cause why such order cannot be entered by that time.

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GACC is an affiliate of the National Association of Counsel for Children	GACC Jane Okrasinski Executive Director Email: jane@gaccchildlaw.org