4260. Placement Moves

Original Date: September 27, 1995

Revised Date: July 1, 2024

Sunset Review: July 31, 2024

Approved by: Natalie Green, Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare Division

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance on:

Identifying when it is necessary for children and youth placed in out-of-home care to move to a different out-of-home placement.
Notifying current relatives, suitable persons, licensed caregivers, and licensed group care and child placing agencies (CPAs), as applicable about children’s and youth’s prospective moves.

Scope

This policy applies to Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) employees.

Laws

RCW 13.34.050 Court order to take child into custody, when-Hearing

RCW 13.34.130 Order of disposition for a dependent child, alternatives-Petition seeking termination of parent-child relationship-Placement with relatives, foster family home, group care facility, or other suitable persons-Placement of an Indian child in out-of-home care-Contact with siblings

RCW 13.34.150 Modification of orders

RCW 26.44.056 Protective detention or custody of abused child-Reasonable cause-Notice-Time limits-Monitoring plan-Liability

RCW 74.13.300 Notification of proposed placement changes

RCW 74.15.030 Powers and duties of secretary

42 U.S.C. 671 State plan for foster care and adoption assistance

Policy

Caseworkers must:
1. Attempt to minimize placement moves for children or youth in out-of-home care.
2. Consider the children’s and youth’s safety, best interest, and stability when determining if they should be moved.
3. Notify the following when unlicensed caregiver’s home studies are not approved and children or youth are placed in their home or are planning to be placed in their home, per the Placing with and Supporting Unlicensed Relatives or Suitable Person policy:
  1. Assistant attorney general (AAG)
  2. Court
4. Not move children or youth placed with relatives or suitable persons, unless:
  1. Their health, safety, and well-being cannot be protected adequately in their current placement or they are hindering the child’s or youth’s return home, per RCW 13.34.130.
  2. The court orders the placement change.
LD workers may make placement recommendations for removing children and youth.

Procedures

Placement Move Determination
1. Caseworkers must complete the following when there are safety concerns in an out-of-home placement:
  1. Follow the Safety Threshold document.
  2. Consult with their supervisor to determine if one or more of the following is needed:
    1. Safe Child Consultation.
    2. Placement Support Plan DCYF 10-025 form.
  3. Seek the removal from an out-of-home placement if they determine the children’s or youth’s placement:
    1. Can’t meet the child’s or youth’s safety or special needs.
    2. Will hinder the efforts to reunite the parents or guardians and the children or youth.
2. LD CPS investigators must notify their supervisor when any of the following occur, children or youth are in present danger, there is a safety threat, or their safety is in jeopardy, per RCW 26.44.
3. LD CPS supervisors must immediately contact the caseworker’s supervisor once they receive notification of the safety concern and are recommending the children or youth to be removed.
4. Caseworkers and LD workers must follow the Decision Making Matrix document when they disagree about:
  1. Removing children or youth from their current placement.
  2. Leaving victim children or youth in foster homes after a Founded Finding of CA/N.
  3. Children or youth remaining in foster homes with a pending revocation or denial.
Prior to Moving Children or Youth
Caseworkers must complete the following for all children and youth:
1. Assess placement concerns in collaboration with the parents, guardians, relatives, and suitable persons.
2. Offer or provide services to parents, guardians, relatives, and suitable persons, e.g., respite, Family Preservation Services (FPS), evidence based practices (EBP), or Wraparound with Intensive Services (WISe), to support the children or youth remaining in the home if the placement does not pose a present danger or a safety threat and:
  1. DCYF is considering moving a child or youth.
  2. The caregiver is asking for the children or youth to be moved.
3. Consult with supervisor and determine if a Safe Child Consultation is needed.
4. Take an immediate protective action, per the Present Danger policy, if at any time present danger is identified to support child safety.
5. When allegations of child abuse or neglect are identified in an out-of-home placement make an intake. If the intake does not screen in, caseworkers must work with the caregivers to address any concerns identified.
6. Conduct a Family Team Decision Making (FTDM) meeting.
7. Notify the AAG and court if relatives or suitable persons have placement of children or youth and either they are:
  1. Not capable of protecting the health, safety and well-being of the children or youth.
  2. Hindering efforts to return them home.
8. Request a court hearing seeking court authorization of the placement change.
9. Obtain a court order for the placement change.
Moving Children or Youth
Caseworkers must:
1. Verify a court order provides authority to move children or youth placed with relatives or suitable persons.
2. Follow these policies:
  1. Indian Child Welfare (ICW) Placement Preferences when there is reason to know children are or may be Indian children.
  2. Placement Out-of-Home and reconsider placing children and youth with siblings, if applicable.
  3. Relative Search and Notification and review the relative search results.
  4. Notification of Court Hearings, Providing Reports to Court, and Information Sharing with Out-of-Home Caregivers for information that needs to be shared with placements.
  5. Placing with and Supporting Unlicensed Relatives and Suitable Persons if children or youth move from a:
    1. Foster home or group care facility to a relative or suitable person placement.
    2. Relative or suitable person to another relative or suitable person.
  6. Placement and Support for Licensed Relatives, Licensed Suitable Persons, and Foster Parents if children or youth move to a new licensed placement.
  7. Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) and Placement-Intensive Resources if children or youth are moving out of state.
  8. Behavior Rehabilitation Services (BRS) if children or youth are receiving BRS and coordinate moving them with the intensive resource program manager.
3. Notify LD worker if the home study is in process for the caregiver.
Notification to Caregivers
Caseworkers must:
1. Provide relatives, suitable, persons, and foster parents the Five Day Notification to Move DCYF 09-082 form, unless:
  1. A court order requires an immediate change in placement.
  2. The children or youth are:
    1. Being returned home.
    2. Residing in receiving or group care.
  3. The children’s or youths’ safety is in jeopardy.
  4. LD recommends moving the children or youth from a placement. If so, LD must inform the foster parents of the move as soon as possible.
2. Notify CPAs and group care facilities of placement changes following their contracts, if applicable.
Documentation
Caseworkers must document:
1. The children’s or youth’s moves by following the Timely & Accurate Placement Entry User Guide document.
2. The following information in a FamLink case note:
  1. Efforts to prevent placement moves and the reasons why the children or youth were moved.
  2. Children’s or youth’s routine and special needs related to their:
    1. Safety
    2. Physical, behavioral, and mental health
    3. Well-being
    4. Culture
    5. Education
    6. Religious affiliation
  3. Efforts to place siblings together.
3. ICW case notes, describing efforts taken to find placement consistent with placement preferences when there is reason to know children are or may be Indian children, per ICW Placement Preferences policy.