Wash. Admin. Code § 388-27-0035 - What adoption services does the department provide for children in the department's care and custody?

(1) The department's adoption services for children include:

(a) Social work services with birth parents focused on locating a permanent home for the children.

(b) Social work services with children focusing on the child's educational, medical, psychological, and developmental needs;

(c) Petitioning the court for termination of parental rights;

(d) Facilitating voluntary relinquishments when a voluntary adoption is in the child's best interests;

(e) Assessment of children to determine their medical and social needs including, as needed:

(i) Psychiatric evaluations;

(ii) Psychological evaluations;

(iii) Educational evaluations; and

(iv) Medical evaluations;

(f) Evaluating prospective adoptive families through the use of the adoptive home study, also known as the preplacement report, to determine appropriateness for adoption generally and to determine What specific child characteristics or needs that the family will best be able to meet.

(g) Making adoptive placements that are best able to meet a child's needs, from available resources;

(h) Social work services and/or referral of children and families to services after placement;

(i) The department social worker assigned to finalizing the adoption will assist families complete the adoption support program application for children who may be eligible for the adoption support program;

(j) Provision of post-placement reports and other documents required for finalization to the court for a child when the department:

(i) Conducts the post-placement reports and other documents required for finalization to the court for a child when the department:

(ii) Has custody of the child;

(k) Provision of the consent to the adoption of a child in the department's custody.

(2) Every six months, the department must review and adjust the case plan for children continuing in foster care under department care and supervision. The CA social worker must develop the case plan in accordance with chapter 13.34 RCW to achieve the permanency planning goals for the child.

(3) The department may utilize the following methods to locate an adoptive resource for a child until the child has been placed with an adoptive family:

(a) Ask birth parents to identify a potential adoptive family;

(b) The department prefers to place a child for adoption with a fit and willing relative who is known to the child and with whom the child is comfortable:

(i) Conduct searches for relatives who are fit and willing to adopt the child, who are known to the child and with whom the child is comfortable;

(ii) Ask the relatives to be considered as a potential adoptive family;

(c) Ask current and past foster parents if they wish to be considered as a potential adoptive family;

(d) Consider families that have an approved adoptive home study; and/or

(e) Conduct individualized child specific family recruitment.

Notes

Wash. Admin. Code § 388-27-0035

Statutory Authority: RCW 74.13.031. 01-08-047, § 388-27-0035, filed 3/30/01, effective 4/30/01.