Haw. Code R. § 17-1610-26 - Case plan

(a) For all children and families assessed as needing ongoing child welfare casework services and under the jurisdiction of the department either voluntarily or by court order, the department shall develop with the family a case plan. The case plan shall be written and approved no later than sixty days subsequent to the date of the receipt of the report of abuse or neglect or for any out-of-home placement, no later than sixty days from the date the child was removed from the home, whichever is earlier.

(b) The case plan shall be a written document, which is a discrete part of the case record, prepared in accordance with departmental procedures that, at a minimum, contains the following:

(1) A written current assessment of the safety and/or risk of the child based on criteria pursuant to section 587A-7, HRS, and a service or permanent plan prepared by the department that at a minimum contains goals, objectives, services, the responsibilities of parties to the case plan, timeframes, consequences, and a likely date for successful completion of the plan.

(2) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (1), for each child in out-of-home care the case plan shall include at a minimum:

(A) A statement indicating whether prevention of the out-of-home placement was possible;

(B) A description of the services offered and provided to the child and family and the reasonable efforts made by the department to prevent removal of the child from the home and reunify the child with the family;

(C) The type of out-of-home placement in which a child is placed or is to be placed;

(D) The services provided to the child and resource caregivers in order to address the needs of the child while in out-of-home care;

(E) Efforts to ensure that the child's placement is the least restrictive, most family like setting in close proximity to the family home and an explanation of how the placement is consistent with the best interests and special needs of the child provided that:

(i) If the child has been placed a substantial distance from the home of the parents, or in a different state, sets forth the reasons why such a placement is in the best interests of the child;

(F) The safety and appropriateness of the placement;

(G) The plan for ensuring the child receives safe and proper care and a description of how the needs of the child while in out-of-home care will be addressed;

(H) The services that shall be provided to the parents and child to improve conditions in the home, facilitate the return of the child to the home, or to establish a permanent placement;

(I) The health and education records of the child, including:

(i) The names and addresses of the child's health and educational providers;

(ii) The child's grade level performance;

(iii) The child's school record;

(iv) Assurances that the placement of the child in foster care takes into account the appropriateness of the current educational setting and the proximity to the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement; and

(v) Assurance that the department has coordinated with appropriate local educational agencies to ensure that the child remains in the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement; or

(vi) If remaining in such school is not in the best interests of the child, assurances by the department and the local educational agencies to provide immediate and appropriate enrollment in a new school, with all of the educational records of the child provided to the school;

(vii) A record of the child's immunizations;

(viii) The child's known medical problems;

(ix) The child's medications; and

(x) Any other relevant health and education information concerning the child determined to be appropriate by the department;

(J) Where appropriate, for a child twelve years or over, a plan to help the child prepare for the transition from foster care to independent living;

(K) The appropriateness of the services that have been offered to the child;

(L) For a child whose permanency plan is adoption or placement into another permanent home, the steps the department is taking to find a permanent home and finalize the placement of the child into a permanent home, including but not limited to documentation that includes child-specific recruitment efforts such as the use of state, regional and national adoption exchanges, including electronic exchange systems to facilitate orderly and timely in-state and out-of-state placements; and

(M) If the child has been placed in out-of-home care in a state outside the state in which the child's legal custodian is located, provisions to ensure that an agency caseworker, of either state, visits the child no less frequently than monthly and submits a report on the visit to the department, to be provided to appropriate parties.

(c) The case plan shall be reviewed and updated at least every six months or earlier unless there is a family court order specifying an earlier date.

(d) The department shall provide a copy of the case plan to each of the parties in the case plan and to the court, for cases under the jurisdiction of the family court, in accordance with departmental procedures.

(e) The department shall provide a copy of the safe family home report and service plan and agreement to the child's resource caregivers.

(f) The department shall offer and provide available services according to the case plan and shall monitor and assess the family's compliance with the plan and progress in making the home safe.

(g) Where the department has filed a motion for or has been awarded permanent custody of a child pursuant to chapter 587A, HRS, the department shall have a case plan for the child, in accordance with departmental procedures, that:

(1) Includes goals, objectives, services, timeframes, consequences, and a likely date for successful completion of the plan;

(2) Is reviewed at least once every six months with the child, if developmentally able, with the family, if appropriate, and with the caregiver to assess the progress being made under the plan and, if appropriate, to modify the plan; and

(3) Where appropriate and in accordance with departmental procedures, includes an independent living transition plan (ILTP) which identifies goals, services, and activities that may assist the child to prepare for transition to independent living.

(h) For a child with respect to whom the permanency plan is placement with a relative and receipt of kinship guardian assistance payments, the. case plan shall include a description of:

(1) The steps that the department has taken to determine that it is not appropriate for the child to be returned home or adopted;

(2) The reasons for any separation of siblings during placement;

(3) The reasons why a permanent placement with a fit and willing relative through a kinship guardianship assistance arrangement is in the child's best interests;

(4) The ways in which the child meets the eligibility requirements for a kinship guardianship assistance payment;

(5) The efforts the department has made to discuss adoption by the child's relative resource caregiver as a more permanent alternative to legal guardianship and, in the case of a relative resource caregiver who has chosen not to pursue adoption, documentation of the reasons; and

(6) The efforts made by the department to discuss with the child's parent or parents the kinship guardianship assistance arrangement, or the reasons why the efforts were not made.

(i) During the 90-day period immediately prior to the date on which the child will attain 18 years of age, whether during that period foster care maintenance payments are being made on the child's behalf or the child is receiving benefits or services under section 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 677), the department shall provide the child with assistance and support in developing a transition plan that is personalized at the direction of the child, includes specific options on housing, health insurance, education, local opportunities for mentors and continuing support services, and work force supports and employment services, and is as detailed as the child may elect.

Notes

Haw. Code R. § 17-1610-26

[Eff DEC 09 2010] (Auth: HRS § 346-14) (Imp: HRS §§ 346-14, 587A-27, 587A-32; 42 U.S.C. §§671(a)(28), 673(d), 674(a)(5), 675; 45 C.F.R. §§1340.14, 1356.21)