Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The Division
placement review shall be convened and conducted by a Division representative, as
defined in
N.J.A.C. 3A:11-1.3, who
has no responsibility for case management or delivery of service to the child who is
the subject of the placement review or to the child's parent.
(b) Division representatives who participate in
the Division placement review shall include the designated Division representative
who conducts the placement review, the Division representative having direct service
responsibility for the child, and that Division representative's supervisor. The
Division representative for the parent of the child being reviewed and for each of
the child's siblings shall also be present at the placement review or submit
information about the parent's or sibling's situation or circumstances to the
Division representative conducting the placement review.
(c) The Division representative conducting the
placement review shall ensure that the following are assessed or determined at the
placement review:
1. The safety of the
child;
2. The circumstances that
necessitated the out-of-home placement or care provided by a relative and the
efforts made by the Division to prevent out-of-home placement or care provided by a
relative unless the circumstances in
N.J.A.C. 3A:13-3.3(a)3
apply;
3. The continuing need for out-of-home placement
or care provided by a relative;
4. The
appropriateness of the out-of-home placement or care provided by a
relative;
5. The proximity of the
child's out-of-home placement or care provided by a relative to his or her own home
and the efforts made by the Division to provide continued contact between the child,
parent, siblings not residing with the child and each relative identified in the
case plan, as one with whom the child shall visit;
6. Whether the child is making an adequate
adjustment to the out-of-home placement or care provided by a relative, as indicated
by the child's behavior;
7. Whether
returning the child to his or her own home is contrary to the child's
welfare;
8. The current objectives of
the case plan, the extent of compliance with the case plan, and whether the
objectives are being implemented and are likely to lead to achieving the case
goal;
9. Whether the child's case goal
is the most likely to meet his or her needs and whether progress is being made
toward its achievement;
10. Whether the
services the Division is providing to the child, his or her parent, and the
out-of-home placement provider or relative providing care for the child meet the
identified service needs and whether there are obstacles to meeting the identified
service needs;
11. Whether the Division,
parent and out-of-home placement provider or relative providing care for the child
are fulfilling their respective responsibilities in accordance with the case
plan;
12. Whether the child is
fulfilling any responsibilities in accordance with the case plan;
13. The extent of progress made toward alleviating
or mitigating the causes of out-of-home placement or care provided by a relative
unless the circumstances in
N.J.A.C. 3A:13-3.3(a)3
apply;
14. Whether the parent and the Division are
maintaining the visitation schedule;
15.
Whether obstacles exist that are preventing achievement of the case goal and the
efforts being made by the Division to alleviate the obstacles;
16. Whether the services needed to assist the
child, age 16 or over, to make the transition from living in an out-of-home
placement or care provided by a relative to living independently are being
provided;
17. Whether progress is being
made to identify, search for, and assess relatives of the child in order to
determine their appropriateness and willingness to care for the child;
18. Whether the child has siblings in out-of-home
placement or care provided by a relative, what the case plan and case goal are for
each of them, whether the case plan includes placing any of the siblings together,
and what efforts the Division is making to place the siblings together until they
can be reunited with their parent;
19.
Whether recommendations by the Child Placement Review Board or court orders are
being followed;
20. The time frame and
conditions required for return of the child to his or her own home or an alternate
permanent living arrangement;
21.
Whether the Division shall initiate a petition to terminate parental rights or shall
determine that one of the exceptions listed in
N.J.S.A.
30:4C-15.3 exists; and
22. Whether to identify an adoptive parent and
conduct a home study as necessary.
(d) The Division shall inform the parent, in
accordance with
N.J.A.C.
3A:12-1.8(b), the child, if
appropriate, and the Child Placement Review Board of the outcome of the Division's
placement review, except that those persons cited in
N.J.A.C.
3A:13-3.6(a)2 and 6 and (b) may
receive only that information from the placement review, which has a direct effect
on the care or services being provided by that person or professional. The Division
shall inform legal counsel for the child, the parent or the Division of the outcome
of the placement review upon the request of each legal counsel.
(e) The Division representative who conducts the
placement review shall share the outcomes of the placement review and other critical
case information learned at the placement review with each Division representative
who has a responsibility to have the information, following the placement
review.
