Upfront Family Finding and Engagement

When immediate removal is not necessary to protect the health and safety of the child, family finding, and engagement strategies can support maintaining the child in the home of the parent and help to develop a support network for placement in the event removal should be necessary in the future. Social work with the child and the family, including CFT meetings, should include ongoing efforts to identify and engage family members, extended family members of an Indian child, non-relative extended family members, and other individuals who can provide support to the child, including support related to the child’s SOGIE in the case of an LGBTQ+ child, and the family, regardless of whether they are able to assume custody of the child.

Early engagement that begins with first contact with the child welfare system should include:

• Family finding and engagement strategies starts at the hotline and continues throughout the investigation. Identification and engagement of kin can help to preserve and support the family while providing safety for the child.
• Involving kin in the development of safety plans and start to build a support network that will stay with the child and family whether the child remains at home or is subsequently removed, the case proceeds to placement.¹
• Including kin in (CFT) meetings and in developing Family Maintenance case plans before the need for placement arises.
• Planning for and initiating procedures, such as criminal records clearance and Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) checks and walk through the home of prospective caregivers to discuss with them how to meet resource family approval standards, including their ability and willingness to care for a child regardless of the child’s SOGIE in the event placement is needed.

Voluntary Placement Agreements (VPAs) can be an effective short-term option to provide immediate support to families while more information and options are explored. VPAs are formal agreements between parents and the county to stabilize the family while other options are explored. These agreements can be approved for up to 180 days and pursuant to WIC 16507.3, may be extended for an additional 180 days under certain circumstances, including if the parent is in a residential substance use treatment facility or the child is in a residential facility. To effectuate a VPA, the parent and county sign a SOC 155, but best practice would include the relative caregiver direct involvement in the process to ensure that they understand the expectations, duration, and level of support that will result from the arrangement. If the kin home is a longer-term solution, it’s possible to move directly from a VPA to a subsidized guardianship pursuant to WIC 360(a)(5)² – an option that is generally not available without formal entry into the foster care system. This makes it easier for stable kinship placements to become permanent without putting the child through dependency court if it’s not otherwise needed.

The VPAs also allow for continued communication with the child and family to be sure they have the supports they need. Note: All the same criminal background checks and requirements, exemptions, and simplified exemptions apply for the VPA per WIC 16507.5.

To implement a VPA, and complete SOC 155. Once the VPA is signed, foster care funding may begin in the same way as if the child was formally in care for up to 180 days. At the end of the 180-day period, the child may return home, continue out of home support, the court may extend the benefits, a petition may be filed to formally place the child into foster care, a petition may be filed for consideration of a Kin-GAP guardianship under WIC 360(a)(5), or the VPA may be allowed to expire if the supports are no longer needed.

Identification of Kin

Starting with the initial contact with the child and the child’s family and continuing throughout the child’s case, social workers can employ, either directly or working with dedicated staff or organizations, effective family finding strategies to identify, locate, and engage identified relatives, extended family members of Indian children, non-relative extended family members, and other individuals. When a child who is at risk of foster care first makes contact the child welfare agency should begin to identify the names, locations, and contact information for:

• All parents and alleged parents of the child.
• All grandparents of the child, including both paternal and maternal grandparents.
  • All siblings of the child including:
    • Adult siblings
    • Minor siblings
      • “Sibling” means a person related to the identified child by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.
      • Investigate to determine, including review of child welfare records, whether any siblings of the child are in foster care and whether they have been placed in a home with a child specific Resource Family Approval.
• All related adults:
  • Related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship, including stepparents, step siblings, 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 members of an Indian child:
  • If it is known or there is reason to know the child is an Indian child, any extended family members as defined by state and federal ICWA provisions.
  • Contact the Tribe of which the child is or may be a member to determine how the Tribe defines “extended family member” and for assistance in identifying relatives and extended family members of children who remain the responsibility of the county.
• All individuals disclosed by the parents pursuant to a Juvenile Court detention order.
• Any other relatives and extended family members, including those identified by the child or suggested by the parents.
• Other individuals the child identifies as important or who can provide support to the child, including anyone the child would like to live with.
• Other individuals identified by the parents as someone who can provide support for the child or the family or who could care for the child on a temporary basis.
• In the case of an LGBTQ+ child, conversations with the child around their SOGIE need to take place to identify adults the child is either already “out to” or would be comfortable divulging their SOGIE.
  • The social worker can work with the child on whether the child would like to talk about their SOGIE with the identified adults on their own, needs assistance of the social worker or someone else. The social worker must use caution to not divulge the child’s SOGIE without their permission.

Identifying and engaging family at this stage can help to prevent children from unnecessarily entering foster care and bolster the chances that a child can immediately go to a relative’s home if formal removal is necessary.

Effective Family Finding and Engagement

Once a child is detained, effective family finding and engagement must incorporate legally required due diligence, including:

Whether the Agency has³:

• Asked the child, in an age-appropriate manner and consistent with the child’s best interest, about their relatives.
• Asked the child about their SOGIE and who they feel supported and safe with.
• Obtained information regarding the location of the child’s relatives.
• Reviewed the child’s case file for any information regarding the child’s relatives.
• Telephoned, emailed, visited, or otherwise contacted all identified relatives.
• Asked located relatives for the names and locations of other relatives, including phone numbers, addresses, e-mails and any other contact information.
• Used internet search tools to locate relatives identified as supports.

When asking the child questions, it should be in an age-appropriate and trauma-informed manner and consistent with the child’s best interest, about individuals who are:

• Who are your grandparents (maternal and paternal)?
• Who are your siblings?
• Who are your maternal relatives of your mother?
• Who are your paternal relatives of your father?
• Do you have any Tribal connections/Tribal relatives?
• Who is important in your life and/or like family to you?
• Who can you turn to for help?
• In the case of an LGBTQIA+ child, who can you be your real self with?
• Who would you like to live/stay with?
• Do you know where they live; how do you get in touch with them?

When asking the parent(s), for information, include name, location, and contact information, about the following potential relatives, NREFMs and extended family members:

• Do you have other parent(s), including alleged parent(s)?
• Do you have any relatives and nonrelative extended family members?
• Do you have any extended family members of an Indian child?
• Do you have any other individuals who may be able to provide support for the child and the family:
• Who do you turn to for help or support?
• Do you have any individuals who may be able to provide care for the child if it is/becomes necessary?
• Who would you like your child to live with?
• Who would you turn to if your child needed to stay somewhere else for a while?

All individuals identified pursuant to the court detention order:

• At the detention hearing the court will order the parent(s) to disclose to the social worker the names, residences, and any known identifying information of any maternal or paternal relatives of the child, NREFMs and extended family members in the case of an Indian child.
• The social worker shall record any information provided and action taken to locate, notify, and engage identified individuals.

Asking each contact whether the individual knows of other relatives, extended family members, NREFM or other individuals who are important to the child and may be able to provide support to the child and the family:

• Asking for any information about the location of and contact information for these individuals.
• Asking located relatives, NREFM, and other individuals for the names, locations and contact information of other relatives or individuals who can provide support to the child and the family.
• If it is known that the child is an Indian child, contacting the Tribe or Tribes of which the child is or may be a member to identify relatives and kin.
• If it is known that the child identities as LGBTQ+, asking the child who supports them for who they are, and whom they would feel comfortable telling about their SOGIE.
• Reviewing the child’s case file for any information regarding the child’s relatives, extended family members, or non-relative extended family members.
• Using a computer-based search engine and internet research tools to identify relatives and kin.
• Obtaining names, location, and contact information for identified relatives and other individuals through additional strategies such as internet searches, phone books, and/or specialized family finding technological platforms.

Contacting all identified relatives, extended family members of an Indian child, and NREFM, which shall include:

• Written and oral notice to all identified relatives or extended family members unless notification is inappropriate due to the individuals’ history of family or domestic violence.
• Notice includes:
  • That the child has been removed from the custody of his or her parent(s) or guardian(s).
  • Information about providing care for the child while the family receives reunification services with the goal of returning the child to the parent or guardian.
  • How to become a resource family home.

Additional Services and Supports Available for Out-of-Home Placements

Judicial Council of California – Bench Card on Permanency Plan Options

• This resource outlines various permanency plan options for children in foster care, detailing conditions under which the court may terminate reunification services or establish a permanent plan, such as adoption, legal guardianship, or
  placement with a relative or nonrelative caretaker.

Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services – Permanency Guide

• This guide includes charts comparing financial, legal, and psychological aspects of different permanency options, such as adoption and guardianship.

For more information on family finding, see Appendix III.