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 family maintenance 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 CFTs 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 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 Child and Family Team meetings and in developing Family Maintenance case plans before the need for placement arises.
• Start planning for and initiating procedures, such as criminal records clearance and Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) check and walk through the home of prospective caregivers to discuss with them how to meet resource family approval standards in the event placement is needed.

Voluntary Placement Agreements (VPAs) can be an excellent short-term option to provide immediate support to families while more information and options can be finalized explored with the family. VPAs are formal agreements between parents the agency and a caregiver to stabilize the family while other options are explored. These agreements can be approved for 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. While the actual VPA contractual agreement, the SOC 155, is between the parent and County, the relative caregiver should also be directly involved 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.

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”, “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.

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.
• 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 or visited all identified relatives.
• Asked located relatives for the names and locations of other relatives, including phone numbers, addresses, e-mails and all other contact information.
• Used internet search tools to locate relatives identified as supports.

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

• Parents (mother’s side and father’s side).
• Brothers and sisters.
• Relatives of your mother.
• Relatives of your father.
• People who are like family.
• Who is important to you?
• Who can you turn to for help?
• Who would you like to live/stay with?
• Where do they live, how do you get in touch with them?
• Tribal connections?
• Relatives of a Tribe?

Asking the parent(s), for information, including name, location and contact information, about:

• Other parent(s), including alleged parent(s).
• Relatives and nonrelative extended family members:
  • Extended family members of an Indian child.
• Other individuals who may be able to provide support for the child and the family:
  • Who do you turn to for help or support?
• 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.
• 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, nonrelative extended family members 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, non-relative family members 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.
• 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 non-relative extended family members, 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 foster family home or approved relative or non-relative extended family member.

Additional services and supports that are available in out-of-home placements. Charts containing details and comparisons of permanency options are available at the California Social Work EducationLink to the CalSWEC website.

• Options for contact with the child, including, but not limited to, visitation.
• Any options that may be lost by failing to respond.
• Written notice includes the CDSS brochure CDSS Important Information for Relatives and Judicial Form JV-285 Relative Information.

For more information on family finding, see Appendix III.