§ 409-E — Family service plan

§ 409-e. Family service plan. 1. With respect to each child who is\nidentified by a local social services district as being considered for\nplacement in foster care as defined in section one thousand eighty-seven\nof the family court act by a social services district, such district,\nwithin thirty days from the date of such identification, shall perform\nan assessment of the child and his or her family circumstances. Where a\nchild has been removed from his or her home, within thirty days of such\nremoval the local social services district shall perform an assessment\nof the child and his or her family circumstances, or update any\nassessment performed when the child was considered for placement. Any\nassessment shall be in accordance with such uniform procedures and\ncriteria as the office of children and family services shall by\nregulation prescribe. Such assessment shall include the following:\n (a) a statement of the specific immediate problems which appear to\nrequire some intervention by the social services officials;\n (b) a description of the long term family relationships, an assessment\nof trends in the stability of the family unit, and of the likelihood\nthat specific preventive services will increase family stabilization\nsufficiently to prevent placement or to reduce the duration of a\nnecessary placement;\n (c) an estimate of the time period necessary to ameliorate the\nconditions leading to a need for placement, and a description of any\nimmediate actions that have been taken or must be taken during or\nimmediately after the conclusion of the assessment; and\n (d) where placement in foster care is determined necessary, the\nreasonable efforts made to prevent or eliminate the need for placement\nor the reason such efforts were not made, the kind and level of\nplacement and the reasons therefor, whether the child will be placed\nwith the child's siblings and half-siblings and, if not, the reasons\ntherefor and the arrangements made for contact between the siblings and\nhalf-siblings, identification of all available placement alternatives\nand the specific reasons why they were rejected, an estimate of the\nanticipated duration of placement, and plan for termination of services\nunder appropriate circumstances, with specific explanation of the\nreasons for such termination plan.\n 2. Upon completion of any assessment provided for in subdivision one\nof this section, and not later than thirty days after placement of a\nchild in foster care pursuant to article three or seven of the family\ncourt act or not later than thirty days after a child is removed from\nhis or her home, the local social services district shall establish or\nupdate and maintain a family service plan based on the assessment\nrequired by subdivision one of this section. The plan shall be prepared\nin consultation with the child's parent or guardian, unless such person\nis unavailable or unwilling to participate, or such participation would\nbe harmful to the child, and with the child if the child is ten years of\nage or older, and, where appropriate, with the child's siblings. Such\nconsultation shall be done in person, unless such a meeting is\nimpracticable or would be harmful to the child. If it is impracticable\nto hold such consultation in person, such consultation may be done\nthrough the use of technology, including but not limited to,\nvideoconferencing and teleconference technology. If the parent is\nincarcerated or residing in a residential drug treatment facility, the\nplan shall reflect the special circumstances and needs of the child and\nthe family. The plan shall include at least the following:\n (a) time frames for periodic reassessment of the care and maintenance\nneeds of each child and the manner in which such reassessments are to be\naccomplished;\n (b) short term, intermediate and long range goals for the child and\nfamily and actions planned to meet the need of the child and family and\neach goal;\n (c) identification of necessary and appropriate services and\nassistance to the child and members of the child's family. The services\nso identified shall, before being included in the family service plan,\nbe assessed to determine the projected effectiveness of such plan\nincluding but not limited to the following considerations:\n (i) the family's concurrence with the plan;\n (ii) the ability and motivation of the family to access services,\nincluding geographic accessibility;\n (iii) the relatedness of the services to the family's needs and its\nsocio-economic and cultural circumstances; and\n (iv) other factors which may impact upon the effectiveness of such\nplan. The service plan shall also describe the availability of such\nservices and the manner in which they are to be provided;\n (d) any alternative plans for services where specific services are not\navailable, and any viable options for services considered during the\nplanning process;\n (e) where placement in foster care is determined necessary,\nspecification of the reasons for such determination, the kind and level\nof placement, any available placement alternatives, an estimate of the\nanticipated duration of placement, and plan for termination of services\nunder appropriate circumstances.\n 3. The plan shall be reviewed and revised, in accordance with the\nprocedures and standards in subdivision two of this section, at least\nwithin the first ninety days following the date the child was first\nconsidered for placement in foster care, and, if the child has been\nplaced in foster care pursuant to article three or seven of the family\ncourt act or removed from his or her home, within the first ninety days\nfollowing the date of placement or removal. The plan shall be further\nreviewed and revised not later than one hundred twenty days from this\ninitial review and at least every six months thereafter; provided,\nhowever, that if a sibling or half-sibling of the child has previously\nbeen considered for placement or removed from the home, the plan shall\nbe further reviewed and revised on the schedule established for the\nfamily based on the earliest of those events. Such revisions shall\nindicate the types, dates and sources of services that have actually\nbeen provided and an evaluation of the efficacy of such services, and\nany necessary or desirable revisions in goals or planned services. The\nreview and revision of the plan shall be prepared in consultation with\nthe child's parent or guardian, unless such person is unavailable or\nunwilling to participate, or such participation would be harmful to the\nchild, and with the child if the child is ten years of age or older,\nand, where appropriate, with the child's siblings. Such consultation\nshall be done in person, unless such a meeting is impracticable or would\nbe harmful to the child. If it is impracticable to hold such\nconsultation in person, such consultation may be done through the use of\ntechnology, including but not limited to, videoconferencing and\nteleconference technology.\n 4. In accordance with regulations of the department, relevant portions\nof the assessment of the child and family circumstances, including but\nnot limited to the material described in paragraph (d) of subdivision\none of this section, and a complete copy of the family service plan,\nestablished pursuant to subdivisions one and two, respectively, of this\nsection shall be given to the child's parent or guardian, counsel for\nsuch parent or guardian, and the child's attorney, if any, within ten\ndays of preparation of any such plan.\n 5. The family service plan developed in regard to a child in foster\ncare pursuant to this section shall include the permanency plan provided\nto the court in accordance with the family court act and this chapter.\n 6. Nothing in this section shall require a social services district to\ncomplete an assessment or service plan for a child who is in the custody\nof the office of children and family services, unless the child is also\nin the care and custody or custody and guardianship of the commissioner\nof the social services district.\n