Permanency Planning

Permanency planning is the process of assessing and preparing a child for long term care when in out-of-home placements such as kinship, foster care or institutions. A care plan must centre on what is in the child’s best interests, and therefore requires an ongoing assessment of the child and her needs. A guardian may be appointed as a further protection of a child’s rights.

The ultimate goal of permanency planning is to ensure a secure environment with lifelong bonds that will support the child into adulthood. For most children this will be provided by their birth parents and relatives, and therefore family reunification should be the primary goal. Where reunification is not possible or suitable for the child, adoption or Islamic kafalah is usually the next best option since it offers more stability and enables the child to develop a lasting attachment to carers.

Each child is an individual and brings a unique set of requirements. The choice of placement must therefore consider the child’s cultural and religious background, abilities and any special needs, attachments to significant people and how such relationships can be maintained, their education, health and overall development. Ideally, children should be kept close to their original communities in order help maintain their identity and to reduce disruption to their everyday lives.

While short term care such as fostering can provide a safe place for a child and time to assess their needs, it is often an unsuitable long term option since it is a temporary arrangement that is prone to breakdown. Social workers or other child protection paraprofessionals in the community must determine the use of short term care and the development of longer term plans with the full participation of the child, birth family, and prospective caretakers, providing opportunities for contact with each other, and preparing all for moves.

All placements should be monitored regularly to ensure the child is safe and his/her physical, emotional, and educational needs are met. This includes children who have been recently returned to their birth family or who are newly placed with adoptive parents. Monitoring enables the provision of family support services, and helps to reduce placement breakdown and incidences of abuse.

The resources in this section focus on the factors that should be considered when planning a child’s care, and the advantages and disadvantages of placement options.

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Data-Driven Decision Making: Video Series

James Bell Associates, 2016

This three-part video series shows how a fictional organization, Greene County Department of Human Services, set out to improve permanency for children and youth by increasing the number of available foster and adoptive homes using data-driven decision making (DDDM).

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Systematic Review of Kinship Care Effects on Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being Outcomes

Marc A. Winokur, Amy Holtan, Keri E. Batchelder - Research on Social Work Practice, 31 Dec 2015

This systematic review evaluated the effect of kinship care placement compared to foster care placement on the safety, permanency, and well-being of children removed from the home for maltreatment.

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TedX: Without a Seat at the Table, Youth are on the Menu

Greta Munns, 25 Nov 2015

This TedX presentation features Greta Munns, a youth empowerment advocate who was placed in foster care at age fifteen. Her “story” is what prompted her exploration of the foster care system.

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Situación de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes sin cuidados parentales en la República Argentina. Relevamiento nacional - actualización 2014

UNICEF y Ministerio de Desarrollo Social de la Nación, 01 Nov 2015

Este nuevo relevamiento muestra y analiza datos actualizados relativos a la cantidad de niñas, niños y adolescentes (NNyA) sin cuidados parentales en la República Argentina, los lugares de cuidado donde están alojados, las condiciones en las que viven, el organismo que decidió que fueran separados o separadas de su mamá, papá o familia ampliada, los motivos de esta separación, los tiempos de permanencia en las instituciones, los motivos de ingreso y egreso.

Construyendo Autonomía: Un estudio entre pares sobre la transición a la vida adulta de jóvenes sin cuidados parentales

DONCEL, FLASCO Argentina, & UNICEF, 01 Nov 2015

Las evidencias presentadas en este documento fueron elaboradas a partir de una investigación que se propuso realizar una primera aproximación a la situación de los jóvenes sin cuidados parentales frente al egreso.

Looked-after children and young people: Public Health Guideline

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) , 01 May 2015

This guideline covers how organisations, professionals and carers can work together to deliver high quality care, stable placements and nurturing relationships for looked-after children and young people in England.

Therapeutic Foster Care: Child Welfare

Jennifer Teska - Cinahl Information Systems, a division of EBSCO Information Services , 03 Apr 2015

In this “Quick Lesson About Therapeutic Foster Care,” the author provides a description of, and background information on, therapeutic foster care in the United States, an overview of national statistics regarding therapeutic foster care, and an overview of the risk factors and symptoms associated with children in need of therapeutic foster care.

Permanence for Disabled Children and Young People through Foster Care and Adoption: A Selective Review of International Literature

Vicki Welch, Christine Jones, Kirsten Stalker, Alasdair Stewart - Children and Youth Services Review, 25 Mar 2015

This review of literature covers international material related to stability and permanence for disabled children, in particular permanence achieved through fostering and adoption.

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Social work and families in child welfare in Malawi: Social workers considerations when placing a child outside the home

Memory Jayne Tembo and Siv Oltedal - Journal of Comparative Social Work, 2015

This article discusses professional discretion in relation to placing a child outside the family, as understood by Malawian social workers.

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Fact Sheet for Tribal Child Welfare Officials

Children’s Bureau , 2015

This factsheet looks at whether States in the US are following best practices in regards to the Indian Child Welfare Act, such as notification of Tribes and placement preferences. Findings from the Reviews are presented.