Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 12, March 26, 2025
(a) The purpose of family assessments and
service plans is to record information gathered about family members in receipt
of child welfare services, including preventive services, child protective
services, foster care and/or adoption services; assist with evaluations and
assessments of the family; assist with determining the family's need for
services necessary to achieve the child(ren)'s permanency planning goal; assist
with ascertaining family progress in meeting desired outcomes and assist with
on-going planning with the family.
(1) Each
family assessment and service plan must include but is not limited to the
following:
(i) a program choice or choices
for each child receiving services;
(ii) a goal and plan for child
permanency;
(iii) a description of
legal activities and their impact on the case;
(iv) a thorough and comprehensive assessment
or reassessment and analysis of the family members' strengths, needs and
problems;
(v) immediate actions or
controlling interventions, as defined in section
428.2(j) of this
Part, which must be taken or have been provided;
(vi) the family's view of its needs and
concerns;
(vii) a plan of services
and assistance made in consultation with the family and each child over 10
years old, whenever possible, which utilizes the family's strengths and
addresses the family members' needs and concerns;
(viii) the status of the service plan
including service availability and a description of the manner of service
provision;
(ix) the family's
progress toward plan achievement;
(x) essential data relating to the
identification and history of the child and family members and a summary which
documents the involvement of the parent(s) or guardian, child(ren) and any
others in the development of the service plan including their input into the
service plan;
(xi) safety
assessments in all cases, as defined in section
428.2(i) and
section 428.3(g) of this
Part;
(xii) risk assessments in
child protective services cases, as defined in section
428.2(h) of this
Part; and
(xiii) assessments of
family functioning.
(2)
Family assessment and service plans prepared at the time a child enters foster
care or is moved from one foster care placement to another, as applicable, must
also include but are not limited to the following:
(i) a description of the reasonable efforts
made to prevent or eliminate the need for placement or the justification for
the determination that reasonable efforts were not necessary;
(ii) identification of all available
placement alternatives and the specific reasons why they were
rejected;
(iii) the efforts made to
locate any absent parents;
(iv) the
type and level of placement; documentation that the placement has been assessed
to be one that can safely provide for the individual needs of the foster child;
and the reasons for selecting the placement if it is not the least restrictive
environment;
(v) documentation that
continuity in the child's environment has been maintained in accordance with
the standards in section
430.11(c) of this
Title, or the reasons why this is not practicable or in the best interests of
the child;
(vi) information about
whether the child will be placed with the child's siblings and half-siblings
and, if not, the reasons which preclude the placement and the arrangements made
for contact between the siblings and half-siblings;
(vii) an estimate of the anticipated duration
of the placement and the circumstances and conditions that must be met to
safely discharge the child from placement;
(viii) a visiting plan for the child with his
or her parent(s), guardian, siblings, half- siblings and other significant
family members, potential permanency resources and/or any other persons of
significance to the child;
(ix) a
description of the compelling or other reasons identified for not filing a
petition to terminate parental rights for any child in foster care for at least
15 of the most recent 22 months, if such petition has not been filed or the
child is not already free for adoption;
(x) where concurrent planning is determined
through assessment to be warranted in the case, a description of the alternate
plan to achieve permanency for the child if the child cannot be safely returned
home.
(3) For a child in
foster care, in a manner consistent with article 27-F of the Public Health Law
regarding HIV confidentiality, within ten days of the preparation of the
complete initial family assessment and service plan, a copy of the following
components of that document must be given to the child's parent(s) or guardian,
counsel for such parent(s) or guardian, and the child's law guardian: the
family and children's service plan as described in subparagraphs (1)(vii) and
(viii) of this subdivision, the visiting plan and those parts of the uniform
case record where the information described in paragraph (2) of this
subdivision are contained.
(4)
Family assessment and service plans prepared at the time a child is placed by
the court in the direct custody of a relative or other suitable person pursuant
to article 10 of the Family Court Act or is moved from one such placement to
another, as applicable, must also include but are not limited to the following:
(i) a description of the appropriateness of
the living arrangement, including documentation that the placement has been
assessed to be one that can safely provide for the individual needs of the
child, and the caretaker's name and relationship to the child;
(ii) a description of the child's
functioning, including the child's adjustment to the placement, and how the
setting meets the child's needs;
(iii) a visiting plan for the child with his
or her parent(s), guardian, siblings, half-siblings and other significant
family members, potential permanency resources and/or any other persons of
significance to the child;
(iv) a
description of the permanency plan for the child; and
(v) where concurrent planning is determined
through assessment to be warranted in the case, a description of the alternate
plan to achieve permanency for the child if the child cannot be safely returned
home.
(5) In addition to
the requirements set forth in paragraph (1) of this subdivision, each family
reassessment and service plan must also include but is not limited to:
(i) a review of the prior assessments and
analysis including necessary revisions to the prior assessment and analysis;
and
(ii) an evaluation of the
efficacy of the service plan and necessary modifications, additions or other
revisions needed to the service plan.
(6) In addition to the requirements set forth
in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subdivision, family reassessment and service
plans where a child is in foster care must also include but are not limited to
the following:
(i) a description of the
progress toward achievement of the permanency goal, including the compelling or
other reasons identified for not filing a petition to terminate parental rights
for any child in foster care for at least 15 of the most recent 22 months, if
such petition has not been filed or the child is not already free for
adoption;
(ii) where concurrent
planning is determined through assessment to be warranted in the case, a
description of the alternate plan to achieve permanency for the child,
including identification of appropriate in-State and out-of-state placements,
if the child cannot be safely returned home; and
(iii) an evaluation of the visiting
plan.
(7) In addition to
the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subdivision,
family reassessment and service plans where a child is placed by a court in the
direct custody of a relative or other suitable person pursuant to article 10 of
the Family Court Act must also include but are not limited to the following:
(i) a description of the progress toward
achievement of the permanency goal;
(ii) where concurrent planning is determined
through assessment to be warranted in the case, a description of the alternate
plan to achieve permanency for the child if the child cannot be safely returned
home; and
(iii) an evaluation of
the visiting plan.
(8)
In addition to the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1), (2) and (5) of
this subdivision, for children freed for adoption, individual reassessments and
service plans must be maintained in a child case record and such record must
also include but is not limited to:
(i) a
description of activities related to the exploration of alternative permanency
resources, including the child's foster parent(s), if any;
(ii) a description of activities undertaken
to prepare the child for adoption or other permanency plan;
(iii) actions taken to place the child in an
adoptive home or other permanent living arrangement, including barriers to such
placement and activities undertaken to overcome the barriers;
(iv) for children placed in an adoptive home
or in an other permanent living arrangement, a description of efforts to
finalize the adoption or other permanency living arrangement; and
(v) except that the requirements of
paragraphs (1), (2) and (5) of this subdivision do not apply where they relate
to the child's parents(s) or to a foster child who is not free for
adoption.
(b)
All family assessment and service plans, including the initial and
comprehensive family assessment and service plans, and all family reassessments
and services plans, must include the signature(s) or electronic equivalent(s)
of the case planner, the case planner's supervisor and the case manager, and,
where required pursuant to section
432.2(b)(5) of
this Title, the signature of the child protective services monitor.
(c) The family assessment and service plan
for a child in foster care who has attained 14 years of age must include a
document, as prescribed by the Office of Children and Family Services, that
describes the rights of the child with respect to education, health, visitation
and court participation, the right to be provided with consumer reports in
accordance with section
430.12(k) of this
Title and the right to stay safe and avoid exploitation. The child's uniform
case record must contain the signed acknowledgement by the child that the child
has been provided with a copy of the document described in this subdivision and
that the rights described in such document have been explained to the child in
an age-appropriate manner. The family assessment and services plan for a child
in foster care who has attained 14 years of age must also include a written
description of the programs and services which will help such child prepare for
transition from foster care to successful adulthood.
(d) With respect to a child in foster care
who has attained the age of 14 years, the family assessment and service plan
and any amendments thereto must be developed in consultation with the child,
and, at the option of the child, up to two members of the child's case planning
team who are chosen by the child and who are neither the child's foster
parent(s) nor the child's case manager, case planner or case worker. The agency
with case management responsibility may reject an individual selected by the
child to be a member of the child's case planning team if the agency has good
cause to believe that the individual would not act in the child's best
interests. One individual selected by the child to be a member of the child's
case planning team may be designated to be the child's advisor and, as
necessary, advocate with respect to the application of the reasonable and
prudent parent standard for the child.
