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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Care of unaccompanied and trafficked children: Statutory guidance for local authorities on the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking and trafficked children

Department for Education, UK , 01 Jul 2014

This guidance sets out the steps local authorities should take to plan for the provision of support for looked after children who are unaccompanied asylum seeking children and child victims of trafficking.

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

Doncel, FLACSO, UNICEF Argentina, 07 May 2014

La investigación es un trabajo en conjunto entre DONCEL, GUÍA EGRESO y&

Literature Review: Best Practices in Transitioning Youth Out of Care –Successful Transitions, Success as Adults

LeeAnne Dewar, Deborah Goodman - Child Welfare Institute, Children’s Aid Society of Toronto , 30 Mar 2014

This literature review examines literature on the best practices for youth aging out of care that indicate successful outcomes for them as adults.

Understanding Care Leavers in Russia: Young People's Experiences of Institutionalisation

Evgenia Stepanova & Simon Hackett , 13 Mar 2014

This paper presents the findings of a survey of Russian care leavers. The emphasis is on care leavers' experiences of the Russian institutional care system, and the issues that impacted on their postcare transition to adulthood.

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Life after Growing Up in Care: Informing Policy and Practice through Research

Suellen Murray & Jim Goddard, Australian Social Work, 2014 Vol. 67, No. 1, 102–117, 12 Mar 2014

In this review, the authors highlight evidence drawn from research in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and the United States, on the impact of growing up in care beyond the early twenties.

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Residential Care for Abandoned Children and their Integration into a Family-Based Setting in Uganda: Lessons for Policy and Programming

Eddy J. Walakira, Eric A. Ochen, Paul Bukuluki and Sue Alllan, 11 Mar 2014

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article describes a model of care for abandoned and neglected infants in need of urgent physical, social, and medical support as implemented by the Child's i Foundation, an international, nongovernmental organization operating in Uganda.

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Kinship Care for the Safety, Permanency, and Well-being of Children Removed from the Home for Maltreatment: A Systematic Review

Marc Winokur, Amy Holtan, Keri E. Batchelder, 02 Mar 2014

This systematic review published by the Campbell Collaboration reviewed controlled experimental and quasi experimental studies in which children removed from the home for maltreatment and subsequently placed in kinship care were compared with children placed in non-kinship foster care for child welfare outcomes in the domains of well-being, permanency, or safety.

Children's Reintegration: Longitudinal study of children's reintegration in Moldova

Dr Helen Baños Smith, 28 Feb 2014

This important report documents a 22-month longitudinal study of the reintegration of children in residential care in Moldova.

Drumming Together for Change: A Child’s Right to Quality Care in Sub-Saharan Africa

SOS Children’s Villages, Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland, University of Malawi, 2014

This report is based on a synthesis of eight assessments of the implementation of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (“the Guidelines”) in Benin, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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Overview of out of home care in the USA and Canada

Mark Courtney, Robert J. Flynn, Joël Beaupré, 30 Dec 2013

This paper provides overview of the US and Canada in-care system, noting certain differences and similarities between the two systems. Estimates of the number of children in care in Canada and data on children in the US foster care systems is also provided.

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