Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
(A) Each public children services agency
(PCSA) or private child placing agency (PCPA) shall determine the necessity for
continued substitute care placement of each child, whether the child's custody
is by agreement or court commitment or whether the child's custody status is
temporary or permanent. The agency shall conduct a case review and assess the
need for continued substitute care placement no later than every three months
after whichever activities occur first as outlined in rule
5101:2-38-09 of the
Administrative Code.
(B) In the case of
any child maintained in excess of thirty days in an emergency shelter care
facility, the PCSA or PCPA shall determine and document in the child's case
record the specific efforts undertaken to achieve a more appropriate placement
for the child and the anticipated time frame for achieving such a placement.
Documentation shall be completed promptly after each succeeding thirty day
period as long as the child remains in an emergency shelter care
facility.
(C) For children in
temporary custody, the PCSA or PCPA shall
determine whether the:
(1) Continued
substitute care placement is not needed because:
(a) The child's vulnerability, if returned to
his or her own home, to the conditions of abuse, neglect or dependency has
diminished, and
(b) The child's
parent, guardian or custodian is able to show a protective capacity to the
child and the child's needs.
(2) Continued substitute care placement is
needed because:
(a) The child remains
vulnerable to conditions of abuse, neglect, or dependency, if returned to his
or her own home, and
(b) The
child's parent, guardian or custodian does not show protective capacities to
the child or the child's needs, and
(c) Provision of supportive services could
not reduce the child's vulnerability to the contributing factors requiring
substitute care.
(D) Upon determining the need for continued
temporary custody of a child, the PCSA or PCPA shall file a motion with the
court that issued the order of disposition requesting a permanency review
hearing for the court to grant any of the following:
(1) An order for the extension of temporary
custody for six months. The PCSA or PCPA shall not petition the court for more
than two six-month extensions of temporary custody.
(2) An order that the child be placed in the
legal custody of a relative or nonrelative.
(3) An order that the child, sixteen or
older, be placed in a planned permanent living arrangement and the following is
completed at both the initial planned permanent living arrangement (PPLA)
hearing and any subsequent hearings regarding permanency outcomes:
(a) The PCSA shall document at each
permanency hearing the efforts to place a child permanently with a parent,
relative or in a guardianship or adoptive placement.
(b) The PCSA should ensure the child's
presence at the permanency hearing and the child is asked about his or her
desired permanency outcome.
(i) If there is
any significant safety concerns deterring the youth from participating in the
hearing, the PCSA must document the reason for the youth's absence in the
child's case record.
(ii) In the
youth's absence, the PCSA must ensure a representative is present in court to
address the youth's desire regarding the permanency outcome.
(c) The PCSA must document a
judical determination was made at each hearing that PPLA is the best permanency
plan for the child and the compelling reasons why it is not in the best
interest of the child to be placed permanently with a parent, relative, or in a
guardianship or adoptive placement.
(d) The PCSA shall document the steps the
agency is taking to ensure the foster family follows the reasonable and prudent
parent standard engaging the child with regular opportunities to participate in
age or developmentally appropriate activities. The documentation of the
activities shall be placed in the case record as outlined in rule
5101:2-33-23 of the
Administrative Code.
(4)
An order permanently terminating the parental rights of the child's
parents.
(E) The PCSA or
PCPA shall file the motion prescribed by paragraph (D) of this rule no later
than thirty days prior to the earlier of the following:
(1) One year from the date on which the
complaint in the case was filed.
(2) One year from the date on which the child
was first placed into shelter care.
(3) The date set at the last dispositional
hearing for the review hearing of the child's custody.
(F) The PCSA or PCPA must request that a
permanency hearing be held within thirty days of a judicial determination that
reasonable efforts are not required pursuant to rule
5101:2-39-01 of the
Administrative Code. This permanency hearing is not mandatory if the
requirements of the permanency hearing are fulfilled at the hearing in which
the court determines that reasonable efforts are not required.
(G) The provisions of this rule do not apply
to a PCPA which is providing services to a child who is the subject of a
voluntary permanent custody surrender agreement. All reviews of these cases
shall comply with the provisions found in section
5103.153 of the Revised Code and
rules 5101:2-42-09 and
5101:2-53-05 of the Administrative Code.
