“Relative” is defined in WIC 319 as an adult who is related to the child by blood, adoption or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship, including stepparents, stepsiblings and all relatives whose status is preceded by the words “great,” “great-great” or “grand,” or the spouse of any of these persons, even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution.
“Extended family member” is defined by WIC 224.1 and Section 1903 of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.), or custom of the Indian child’s tribe or, in the absence of such law or custom, shall be a person who has reached the age of eighteen and who is the Indian child’s grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin or stepparent.
“Non-relative extended family member” or “NFREFM” is defined in WIC 362.7, as an adult caregiver who has an established familial relationship with a relative of the child as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 361.3, or a familial or mentoring relationship with the child. The county welfare department shall verify the existence of a relationship through interviews with the parent and child or with one or more third parties. The parties may include relatives of the child, teachers, medical professionals, clergy, neighbors and family friend.
“Tribally approved home” means a home that has been licensed or approved by an Indian child’s tribe, or a tribe or tribal organization designated by the Indian child’s tribe, for foster care or adoptive placement of an Indian child using standards established by the child’s tribe pursuant to Section 1915 of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.). A tribally approved home is not required to be licensed or approved by the state or county and is equivalent to a state-licensed or county-licensed or approved home, including an approved resource family home. Background check requirements for foster care or adoptive placement as required by Sections 1522 and 1522.1 of the Health and Safety Code shall apply to a tribally approved home.
Best Practices in Promoting Kin-first Implementation
In county agencies that have achieved and maintained a high percentage of kin-first placements, it is apparent that implementation can be as much a mindset as a checklist of things to do. Working collaboratively with the non-custodial parent and relatives takes a commitment to building strong relationships with families and ongoing communication that goes beyond family finding for the purpose of placement. It is a system’s move away from thinking of “foster placements’’ and “beds” towards thinking about who will support and be there for the child over the course of their life – who will take them to soccer practice, help them with homework, call to congratulate them when they get their first job. All children have people they know and are connected to maintaining and strengthening those connections through both placement, teaming and engagement is critical.
Some jurisdictions think of kin-first family engagement, post removal, for children involved in the foster care or juvenile justice system in three ways:
- If the child cannot safely go home to parents, are there relatives or extended family members who they can safely live with?
- If the relatives or extended family members cannot provide a home, are they willing to participate in Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings to help identify other roles, services and options?
- If the relatives or extended family members cannot participate in the CFT, are they willing to play other roles and, if so, which? For example, taking a child to dance rehearsal, helping them with their math homework, hosting them for dinner once a week/month.
The engagement of the family extends beyond finding a placement. By following the above, family members can be engaged to support the child.
Engaging roles can strengthen family connections and better support the child. Roles may change over time due to circumstances or, more importantly, because the child desires and needs change.
Overview of Legal and Policy Issues
Below are recommendations and guides on how to support kin in these roles. They include tips on how to mitigate barriers (e.g., how to place a child immediately with a relatives and extended family members, how to navigate delays in Resource Family Approval processes) and how to better support relatives at the front end of the system or even before.
Federal and State Law recognize the importance of identifying relatives and extended family members, to make kinship placements and supporting the child’s connection with them. These laws require social workers to identify, locate and notify the child’s relatives and consider placement with relatives when the child requires out of home care. In California children in foster care have the right to be placed with a relative or nonrelative extended family member or in the case of an Indian child, an extended family member as defined by the Tribe, if an appropriate and willing individual is available.
To be successful in cultivating a kin-first culture, placing agencies– and especially every point of contact with the child and the family – must exercise due diligence to identify, locate and notify the child’s maternal and paternal relatives. Further, the placing agency should ensure the information is used to benefit the child by implementing policies and procedures that include relatives at every stage of the process. Specifically, when the child is at risk of removal and out of home placement. This includes engaging relatives in problem solving, assessing as possible placement and formalizing roles and responsibilities to help support the child and family.
Recent changes in state law regarding background checks and emergency funding, described in more detail below, make it easier to place children with relatives quickly on an emergency basis, including upon initial removal or when the sudden unavailability of a foster caregiver or resource parent requires a change in placement, making early and ongoing family finding even more important. In addition, the placing agency can make a temporary relative placement pending court authorization and the placement does not pose a risk to the health and safety of the child. By easing previous restrictions, providing additional resources and prioritizing emergency placements with relatives, non-related family members or extended family members, including in the case of an Indian child, caseworkers can avoid placement delays and reduce further trauma to the child.
Gathering information and engaging a child’s relatives is important because family finding and engagement and kinship placement are ongoing concerns throughout the child’s case.
- Before the Detention Hearing
- The social worker should immediately begin engaging the child and ask who they feel safe and connect with. The social worker should also immediately engage the non-custodial parent, followed by relatives, if the non-custodian parent is not available to care for the child. The social worker must do an emergency placement with a relative – including a non-related extended family member – if they are available and able to take the child pending the detention hearing or jurisdictional hearing and satisfy the emergency placement assessment requirements pursuant to WIC 361.4, which includes a home assessment to assess the safety of the home, a criminal records check through the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) and a background check for prior allegations of child abuse or neglect.
- At the Detention Hearing
- The social worker must report to the court whether the non-custodial parent is available and if there are any relatives who are able and willing to take temporary physical custody of the child. For Indian children, pursuant to WIC 361.31 if the child is not returned home, the court will determine if there is a relative who is able and willing to care for the child and has already been assessed. The court will also order the parent to disclose to the social worker the names, residences and identifying information of any maternal or paternal relatives of the child.
- At the Disposition Hearing
- The juvenile court will determine whether the social worker has exercised due diligence in conducting the investigation to identify, locate and notify the child’s relatives, including both maternal and paternal relatives.
- At Every Status Review Hearing
- The court will assess the department’s efforts to maintain the child’s relationships with individuals who are important to the child at every age. For children who remain in care past the age of 15, the social worker must help the child develop a Transitional Independent Living Plan that includes assistance in obtaining the names, phone numbers and addresses of relatives.
Effective family finding and engagement goes beyond identifying a relative caregiver for a child. It includes building a network of permanent connections that can support the child throughout their life. Social workers can use family finding and engagement strategies to identify individuals who are not related to the child but who are a part of the child’s life and can provide love, support and a safe home. The family finding and engagement process should begin right away and continue throughout the child’s case. It should start when opening a case to identify the best possible placement for the child, which will avoid placement delays, reduce placement changes and reduce trauma to the child. Even if family members are not able to take the child into their home immediately, continued engagement is key to strengthening the network and relationships supporting the child and family. The family member may become a viable placement option with the appropriate services and supports to contribute to the overall health and well-being of the child. Family finding and engagement helps to identify the best caregiver for the child but also helps the child to develop and maintain life-long supports and connections.
Effective family finding and engagement is an important component of California’s Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) initiative to reduce the reliance of congregate care. It can help to identify and support potential relative or non-relative extended family member placements for children that can avoid the need to use non-home-based care settings, nonfamily settings or allow children to return to family settings more quickly.