Ariz. Admin. Code § R21-5-414 - Placement Determination

A. An adoption entity shall have and follow a written policy for making placement recommendations and decisions in both direct placement and adoption placement adoptions.

B. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (C), in an agency placement adoption a team shall make the placement decision. The team shall at a minimum, include:

1. The case manager or person who assessed the adoptable child, and

2. The case manager or person who is knowledgeable about the potential adoptive parents for the adoptable child.

C. In international adoptions, where the case manager or person who assessed the child is out of the country and unavailable, the adoption team shall include the person who is most familiar with the adoptable child's needs.

D. In an agency placement adoption, an adoption entity shall place an adoptable child in the adoptive setting that best meets the child's safety, social, emotional, physical and mental health needs. In determining who can best meet the needs, the adoption entity shall consider ICWA placement preferences if applicable and the following relevant factors in no order of preference:

1. The marital status, length and stability of the marital relationship of the adoptive parent;

2. The family's ability to meet the child's emotional, physical, mental, and social needs;

3. The family's ability to financially provide for the child;

4. The wishes of a child who is 12 years of age or more;

5. Family relationships between the child and the adoptive parent's family members;

6. The placement of the child's siblings;

7. The availability of relatives, the adoptable child's former foster parents, or other significant persons to provide support to the adoptive parent and child;

8. The wishes of the child's birth parent; and

9. All information in the case files of the child and the adoptive parent.

E. The adoption entity shall document the placement decision.

1. For adoptions conducted pursuant to the ICPC, the documentation shall comply with the requirements of the ICPC under A.R.S. § 8-548 et seq.

2. For all other adoptions, the documentation shall include the following:

a. The adoptive child's critical needs and characteristics that weigh most heavily in the placement determination,

b. The names and general characteristics of those adoptive parents who most closely match the child's needs and who are seriously considered for placement, and

c. The reasons why a particular adoptive parent chosen for placement best meets the child's needs.

F. For adoptions not covered by the ICPC, the adoption entity may document the placement decision in a file or placement log that is separate from the clients' case files.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R21-5-414

New section made by exempt rulemaking at 21 A.A.R. 3256, effective 1/24/2016.