Or. Admin. Code § 413-070-0668 - Establishing a Relative Guardianship for a Child who will Remain Placed with a Substitute Caregiver who is not the Relative Guardian
(1) A Central Office Guardianship
Committee must be scheduled when a caseworker recommends a change in
the permanency plan to guardianship and the Department has
identified a relative as a potential guardian to exercise the
duties and responsibilities of a guardian while the child continues to reside
with the current substitute caregiver.
(2) For a child in the care
and custody of the Department, who is placed in a substitute
care, the Child Welfare Permanency Program Manager may approve a waiver of the
requirements in 413-070-0665 and (3) under the
following circumstances:
(a) The
substitute caregiver has demonstrated their commitment to the
care and well-being of the child and desires to continue the
placement of the child in their home but is unable to serve as
a potential guardian,
(b) The Department has identified a
relative as a potential guardian who is
committed to accepting the duties and responsibilities of a guardian for the
child while the child continues to reside
with the substitute caregiver,
(c)
The Department, the potential guardian and the
substitute caregiver agree that the child,
the potential guardian and the substitute
caregiver can maintain a stable relationship with one another and work
together without Department supervision to ensure the child's
safety, well-being and permanency,
(d) The potential guardian
and the substitute caregiver agree that if approved by the
Department and established by the court as guardian, the potential
guardian will exercise the authority, duties and responsibilities of
guardian for the child and the child will
continue to reside with the substitute caregiver; and
(e) The substitute caregiver
and potential guardian understand and agree that the
child will not be eligible to receive guardianship assistance
at any time.
(3) In
order to be considered as a potential guardian under this
rule, the potential guardian must:
(a) Meet the definition of a relative under
OAR 413-070-0000(79);
(b) Demonstrate a strong commitment to
maintaining a lifelong connection with the child;
(c) Demonstrate a commitment to accepting the
duties and responsibilities of a guardian for the child while
the child continues to reside with the substitute
caregiver;
(d) Be willing
to participate in all activities required to maintain the
child's placement with the substitute
caregiver;
(e) Have been,
pursuant to OAR 413-120-0440 to
413-120-0475, approved through a
Department approved, fingerprint-based criminal records check of the National
Crime Information Databases (NCID) and a Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) registry
check;
(f) Agree that the
child, the potential guardian and the
substitute caregiver can maintain a stable relationship with
one another and work together without Department supervision to ensure the
child's safety, well-being and permanency; and
(g) Have a Relative Study as a Potential
Guardian form completed documenting how the potential
guardian's skills and abilities meet the best interests and needs for
safety and permanency for the child.
(4) In order to be considered as a
substitute caregiver under this rule, the
substitute caregiver must:
(a) Be currently caring for the
child for the last 12 consecutive months and have a current
Certificate of Approval from one of the following entities:
(B) Office of Developmental Disabilities
Services under OAR Chapter 411-Division 346.
(D) A participating tribe
when the potential guardian is currently certified as a foster
home by the participating tribe as meeting the tribe's
certification and licensing standards.
(E) Another state when the potential
guardian is currently certified or otherwise approved by the state in
which the potential guardian resides and approved as a
placement for the child under the Interstate Compact on
Placement of Children (ICPC).
(b) Demonstrate a commitment to the care and
well-being of the child and a desire to continue the placement
of the child in their home.
(c) Have been included on the Relative Study
as a Potential Guardian form documenting the substitute caregiver's skills and
abilities to meet the best interests and needs for safety and permanency for
the child; and
(d) Agree that the
child, the potential guardian and the
substitute caregiver can maintain a stable relationship with
one another and work together without Department supervision to ensure the
child's safety, well-being and permanency.
(5) For consideration of a
guardianship plan under this rule, the caseworker must complete all of the
following requirements and present to the Central Office Guardianship
Committee when scheduled:
(a) Assess
the commitment of the potential guardian to the
child, including maintaining lifelong contact with the
child, participating in service planning, and assisting with
raising the child by assuring the child's
physical, emotional, developmental, cultural and educational needs are
met;
(b) Assess the ability of the
potential guardian to communicate effectively with the
substitute caregiver;
(c) Assess the ability of the
potential guardian to make decisions in the best interest of
the child considering the safety, permanency and well-being
needs of the child;
(d) Assess the ability of the
potential guardian to protect the child from
contact with those who may harm the child and the ability to
protect the child from further victimization;
(e) Assess with the certifier of the
substitute caregiver the ability and commitment of the
substitute caregiver to provide safety, permanency, and
well-being for the child pursuant to OAR
413-070-0640;
(f) Assess with the certifier of the
substitute caregiver the extent to which the
substitute caregiver has the specific skills to meet the
unique physical, emotional, developmental, cultural, educational and
supervisory needs for the child;
(g) Assess the ability of the
potential guardian and substitute caregiver
being considered to maintain safe, long-term contact with siblings, relatives
and caregivers known to the child or ward and others with whom the child or
ward has developed an emotional attachment;
(h) Explain and provide the potential
guardian and substitute caregiver written information
regarding the duties and responsibilities of a caregiver and guardian;
and
(i) The substitute
caregiver and potential guardian were advised and
have signed the Responsibilities of a Legal Guardian and Caregiver form
acknowledging their understanding that the child will not be
eligible to receive guardianship assistance at any
time.
(6) The
Central Office Guardianship Committee must review all the
information presented to the committee and make written recommendations to the
Child Welfare Program Manager or designee regarding:
(a) Whether guardianship is, or if a
permanency committee under OAR
413-070-0518 has already
occurred, whether guardianship continues to be, an appropriate
permanency plan for the child;
(b) Whether the potential
guardian can meet the child's needs as described in subsection (7)(c)
of this rule and should be considered as a potential guardian;
and
(c) Whether the
substitute caregiver can meet the child's needs as described
in subsection (7)(c) of this rule.
(7) After reviewing the recommendations of
the Central Office Guardianship Committee, the Child Welfare
Program Manager or designee must decide whether guardianship
with the identified relative is the appropriate permanency
plan for the child based upon:
(a) How a permanency plan of
guardianship meets the child's needs, and the requirements of OAR
413-070-0660 and OAR
413-070-0668(2)-(5);
(b) Whether the Department has provided the
child and the child's parents an opportunity to identify
available permanency; and
(c)
Whether the substitute caregiver and the potential
guardian are able to meet the child's needs pursuant to OAR
413-070-0640.
(8) If the Child Welfare Program
Manager or designee has approved the permanency plan of
guardianship for the child and the relative as the potential
guardian, the Child Welfare Program Manager must submit a written
recommendation to the Child Permanency Program Manager outlining why it is in
the best interest of the child to pursue a plan of
guardianship pursuant to section (1) of this rule, including waiver of the
requirements in OAR 413-070-0665 (2) and
(3) pursuant to section (2) of this
rule.
(9) When a written
recommendation described in section (8) of this rule is received, the Central
Office Child Permanency Program Manager must review and approve or deny the
waiver of the requirements in
413-070-0665 (2) and
(3).
(10) If the Child Permanency Program Manager
decides to approve guardianship as a permanency plan for the
child, the caseworker must -
(a) Request a permanency hearing before the
court within 30 days of the decision unless the court has already changed the
permanency plan for the child to guardianship
pursuant OAR 413-070-0518(1).
(b) Prior to the court hearing, provide the
court with supporting written documentation regarding the Department's position
that:
(A) Guardianship under this rule is in
the child's best interest; and
(B) Neither placement with parents nor
adoption is an appropriate plan.
(c) At the court hearing, recommend that the
court approve changing the child's permanency plan to
guardianship under this rule;
(11) Prior to the court hearing to request
the final order of guardianship, the Department must document in the case
record that the caseworker, supervising worker, if any, and the certifier for
the substitute caregiver recommends the finalization of the
guardianship.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 418.005, ORS 419B.369 & ORS 409.050
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 418.005, ORS 419B.369 & ORS 419B.192
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