4254. Family Time and Sibling and Relative Visits

Applies To:  This policy applies to child welfare employees.

Policy Number & Title:  4254. Family Time and Sibling and Relative Visits

Effective Date:  May 9, 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance when children or youth in the placement, care, and authority (PCA) of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) are visiting with parents or guardians or visiting with family members.

  • Early, consistent, and frequent visitation is crucial for maintaining parent-child relationships and making it possible for parents or guardians and children and youth to safely reunify.
  • Visitation is the right of the family, including the child and youth and the parent or guardian, in cases in which visitation is in the best interest of the child or youth.
  • Family time and visits must have the proper level of supervision to ensure child or youth safety and to move toward permanency.
  • Family time and relative visitation plans should be developed timely and occur in the least restrictive setting based on risk factors, existing danger, safety threats, and protective factors.

Authority

RCW 13.34.025  Child dependency cases, Coordination of services and Remedial services

RCW 13.34.030  Definitions

RCW 13.34.065  Shelter Care Hearing

RCW 13.34.130  Order of Disposition for a Dependent Child, Alternatives

RCW 13.34.136  Permanency Plan of Care

RCW 13.34.138  Review hearings-Findings-Duties of parties involved-In-home placement requirements-Housing assistance.

RCW 13.34.200  Order Terminating Parent and Child Relationship

RCW 13.38.040  Definitions

Policy

  1. Family Time
    1. Family time provides parents or guardians and children and youth time to interact. Family time must meet the visit requirements in chapter 13.34 RCW.
    2. Family time must be face-to-face, which includes parents or guardians who are incarcerated:
      1. If extenuating circumstances exist, which include but not limited to threats to child safety, inclement weather affecting safe travel, illness, and distance.
      2. Other forms of approved family time when extenuating circumstances exist or to supplement face-to-face family time includes, but not limited to:
        1. Telephone contact.
        2. Electronic contact through video chat or email.
    3. Family time must be in the least restrictive setting and unsupervised unless the presence of threats and danger to the child or youth requires the constant presence of an adult to ensure the safety of the child or youth.
    4. For VPAs for children who are not members of or are not eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe from Washington state, efforts must be made to hold an initial family time within 72 hours and no later than five calendar days from the VPA being signed.
    5. Emergent 72-Hour Initial Visits for Family Time
      1. Emergent 72-hour initial visits must be:
        1. Conducted within 72 hours of the child’s or youth’s PCA with DCYF, including weekends and holidays, unless the court finds there are extraordinary circumstances that require a delay.
        2. Supervised, unless determined that supervision is unnecessary.
      2. Emergent 72-hour initial visits may be conducted using a contracted provider.
        1. This includes creating a one-time emergent referral in FamLink when a contracted provider is being used.
        2. Visits must not exceed two hours when conducted by a contracted provider.
    6. Ongoing Family Time
      1. Develop a family time plan at the first Family Team Decision Making meeting (FTDM), when placement is being considered or a child or youth is in a court-ordered placement (licensed or unlicensed). The family time plan is effective for up to 60 calendar days from the child’s or youth’s initial placement.
      2. Ongoing family time visit plans must be generated in FamLink separately from the emergent 72-hour initial visit.
      3. Family times need to be determined as unsupervised, monitored, or supervised prior to each court hearing.
    7. Family time cannot be:
      1. Limited due to the parent’s or guardians’ lack of compliance with dependency court orders or failure to participate in services.
      2. Denied based on the parent’s or guardian’s incarceration.
      3. Limited or denied, unless the court determines that limitations or denial is necessary to protect the child’s or youth’s health, safety and welfare.
    8. Family time visit plans will be developed in consultation with all the following:
      1. Parent or guardian
      2. Youth 14 years and older
      3. Out-of-home caregiver
      4. Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) or Guardian Ad Litem (GAL)
      5. The child’s or youth’s attorney, if appointed
      6. Tribal worker, as applicable
      7. Any other people identified by the parent or guardian
    9. Ongoing assessments of risk and safety and review of family time plans will occur until the child or youth returns home or permanency is achieved.
      1. Family time plans will be reviewed at all shared planning meetings and monthly supervisory case reviews.
      2. If the court orders a psychosexual evaluation for a parent and the family time plan is reassessed because of the evaluation, the court must approve the plan as it relates to duration, level of supervision, and location of family time.
      3. Concerted efforts must be made to consult with law enforcement before recommending changes to family time or sibling visits when a parent or caregiver or sibling has been identified as a suspect in an active criminal investigation for a violent crime that may impact child safety in relation to family time or sibling visits.
      4. Consult with the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) before sharing any information received from law enforcement about the parent or sibling suspect or investigation.
      5. The caseworker will observe at least one family time per quarter which will meet that month’s health and safety requirement, as long as the other requirements of a health and safety visit are met. Individual conversations between the caseworker and child or youth, or parent or guardian may occur before or after the family time.
      6. If family time needs to be rescheduled, all participants must be notified.
    10. Family time will be discontinued if parental rights are terminated or relinquished.
  2. Sibling visits
    1. Children or youth placed apart from their siblings will have two or more face-to-face visits or contacts per month, unless there is an approved exception, as listed in Procedures Section 4.
    2. Additional approved forms of sibling contact are encouraged to support and maintain sibling relationships. Approved forms of contact include, but not limited to:
      1. Telephone contact.
      2. Electronic contact through video chat or email.
    3. Ongoing visitation is encouraged to promote and maintain the continuity of sibling relationships that existed prior to placement. This includes siblings who:
      1. Remained in the home at the time of removal.
      2. Aged out of foster care.
      3. Returned home.
      4. Are placed with a non-custodial parent.
      5. Lived part-time in the home at the time of the sibling’s removal.
    4. Sibling contact during family time meets the requirement for a sibling visit.
    5. Shared planning meetings or court events do not meet the requirement for a sibling visit.
    6. The first sibling visit must occur as soon as possible after placement.
    7. Sibling visits will continue after a parent’s or guardian’s rights are terminated or relinquished unless an approved exception applies.
    8. Sibling visits cannot be limited or used as a sanction for a child’s or youth’s behavior or as an incentive to change a child’s or youth’s behavior.
    9. Sibling visit plans will be developed within 14 calendar days and in consultation with the out-of-home caregiver and child or youth, when developmentally appropriate, unless an approved exception applies.
  3. Other Relative Visits
    1. Determine if any relative is awarded court-ordered visitation with a child or youth in the PCA of DCYF.
    2. If a relative is awarded court-ordered visitation, the caseworker must:  
      1. Obtain a copy of the visitation orders by either:
        1. Asking the parent or guardian for a copy.
        2. Asking the relative for a copy.
        3. Contacting the county where the court orders were established.
      2. Identify the court ordered visitation participants, frequency, duration, and location of visits.
      3. Consult with the AAG regarding DCYF’s responsibility to comply with the court order.
      4. Confirm that visitation participants meet the requirements of the DCYF Background Check policy. Consult with the AAG to determine options when the participant does not meet Background Check policy.
    3. If a relative seeks court-ordered visitation after the child or youth is placed in the PCA of DCYF, the caseworker must:
      1. Consult with the AAG to determine options when a relative petitions the court for visitation during out-of-home placement.
      2. Verify the relative meets background check requirements and consult with the AAG when a relative does not pass a background check.
  4. Contracted Family Time
    1. Family time visits may be conducted by a contracted provider. This includes when the request is only to provide transportation.
    2. All contracted family time service referrals are created in Famlink and managed through Sprout.

Forms

Child Specific Caregiver Notification DCYF 15-450

Comprehensive Family Evaluation DCYF 10-480

Family Time/Sibling Visit Report DCYF 15-448

Family Time and Sibling and Relative Visits procedures (Located in the DCYF Policies & Rules Office SharePoint)

Missed and No Show Report Family Time/Sibling Visit DCYF 15-451

Monitoring Review Report – On-Site Visit DCYF 15-462

Provider Notification of Family Time/Sibling Visit Transport Schedule Initial Intake Screening Report DCYF 15-363B

Safety Assessment/Safety Plan DCYF 15-258 form

Sibling Visit Report DCYF 15-452

Supervision Level Family Time Resource Guide DCYF 10-031 form (Located on the DCYF Forms Repository on the DCYF intranet)

Unusual Incident Report DCYF 15-454

Visit Plan DCYF 15-209C

Visit Referral DCYF 15-363 (Located on the DCYF Forms Repository on the DCYF intranet)

Voluntary Placement Agreement (VPA) DCYF 09-004B

Resources

Caregiver Tip Sheet DCYF 22-1714

Caseworker Tip Sheet DCYF 22-1716

Child Safety Framework (located on the Child Safety Framework DCYF intranet page)

Emergent 72-Hour Initial Visit Plan/Referral Quick Help Guide (located on the DCYF CA intranet)

Parent Tip Sheet DCYF 22-1715

Present Danger Guide (located on the Child Safety Framework DCYF intranet page)

Protective Action Guide (located on the Child Safety Framework DCYF intranet page)

Safety Assessment policy

Safety Plan Analysis Guide (located on the Child Safety Framework DCYF intranet page)

Safety Threats Guide (located on the Child Safety Framework DCYF intranet page)

Safety Threshold Guide (located on the Child Safety Framework DCYF intranet page)

Visit Plan/Referral Training Material (located on the DCYF CA intranet)

Original Date:  July 26, 2008

Revised Date:  May 9, 2022

Review Date:  May 9, 2026

Approved by:  Frank Ordway, Chief of Staff