Child Welfare Information Gateway

Children’s Bureau/ACYF

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW

Eighth Floor

Washington, DC 20024

800.394.3366

Email: info@childwelfare.gov

https://www.childwelfare.gov

STATE 

STATUTES

Current Through 

October 2012

Reasonable Efforts 

to Preserve or 

Reunify Families and 

Achieve Permanency 

for Children

To find statute information for a 

particular State, go to

https://www.childwelfare.gov/

systemwide/laws_policies/state/

index.cfm

Reasonable efforts refer to activities of State social 

services agencies that aim to provide the assistance 

and services needed to preserve and reunify 

families.

Laws in all States, the District of Columbia, Guam, 

Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands require that 

child welfare agencies make reasonable efforts 

to provide services that will help families remedy 

the conditions that brought the child and family 

into the child welfare system. The statutes in most 

States use a broad definition of what constitutes 

reasonable efforts. Generally, these efforts consist 

of accessible, available, and culturally appropriate 

services that are designed to improve the capacity 

of families to provide safe and stable homes for their 
Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children https://www.childwelfare.gov

children. These services may include family therapy, parenting 

classes, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, respite care, parent 

support groups, and home visiting programs. Some commonly 

used terms associated with reasonable efforts include “family 

reunification,” “family preservation,” “family support,” and 

“preventive services.”1

When 

Reasonable 

Efforts Are 

Required

Federal law has long required State agencies to demonstrate 

that reasonable efforts have been made to provide assistance 

and services to prevent the removal of a child from his or her 

home and to make it possible for a child who has been placed in 

out-of-home care to be reunited with his or her family.2

In many States, the statutes also require that when a court 

determines that family reunification is not in the best interests 

of the child, efforts be made to finalize another permanent 

placement for the child. Under the Adoption and Safe Families 

Act of 1997 (ASFA), while reasonable efforts to preserve and 

reunify families are still required, the child’s health and safety 

constitute the paramount concern in determining the extent to 

which reasonable efforts should be made.3

When 

Reasonable 

Efforts Are NOT 

Required

Under the provisions of ASFA, reasonable efforts to preserve 

or reunify the family are not required when the court has 

determined any of the following:

• The parent subjected the child to aggravated circumstances 

as defined by State law. The definition of aggravated 

circumstances may include, but is not limited to, 

abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, and sexual abuse. 

• The parent committed murder of another child of the parent. 

• The parent committed voluntary manslaughter of another 

child of the parent. 

1	 Services to be provided to the child and family are specified in a case plan. For more

information on the case planning process, see Information Gateway’s Case Planning 

for Families Involved With Child Welfare Agencies at https://www.childwelfare.gov/

systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/caseplanning.cfm

2	 Beginning with the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272).

3	 States must comply with the requirements outlined in ASFA as a condition for receiving

certain Federal funds.

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Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/reunify.cfm 2
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3 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information 

Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/reunify.cfm

• The parent aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or 

solicited to commit such a murder or voluntary manslaughter. 

• The parent committed a felony assault that resulted in serious 

bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent. 

• The parental rights of the parent to a sibling of the child were 

terminated involuntarily. 

In all States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the 

Virgin Islands, reasonable efforts are not required under these 

circumstances. In addition, several States, the District of 

Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands provide one or 

more additional grounds for not making reasonable efforts. The 

following are examples of these additional grounds:

• The parent abandoned the child (33 States, Puerto Rico, and 

the Virgin Islands).4

• The parent abandoned an infant (10 States).5

• The parent was convicted of murder or voluntary 

manslaughter of the child’s other parent (12 States and the 

Virgin Islands).6

• The child was removed from the home previously due 

to abuse or neglect and was removed again due to a 

subsequent incident of abuse or neglect (nine States, Puerto 

Rico, and the Virgin Islands).7

• The parent was convicted of a sexual offense that resulted in 

the child’s conception (three States).8

4	 Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maine,

Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire,

New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode

Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West

Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

5	 Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Washington,

Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

6	 Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Mexico, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.

7	 Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, Nevada, South Dakota, and

Utah.

8	 California, Connecticut, and Washington.
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• The parent is a registered sex offender or required to register 

on sex offender registry (eight States and the District of 

Columbia).9

• The parent failed to comply with the terms of a reunification 

plan (seven States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).10

• The parent has been incarcerated for a substantial term in 

relation to the child’s age, and there is no suitable relative to 

care for the child (eight States).11

• The parent suffers from a mental illness of such duration or 

severity that there is little likelihood that the parent will be 

able to resume care for the child within a reasonable time 

(eight States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).12

• The parent suffers from chronic abuse of drugs or alcohol and 

has refused or failed treatment (nine States, Puerto Rico, and 

the Virgin Islands).13

• The parent has subjected the child to prenatal exposure to 

alcohol or a controlled substance (three States).14

• The parent indicated a lack of interest in reuniting with the 

child (two States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).15

Other grounds found in one or two States include:

• The parent repeatedly withheld medical treatment or food 

from the child (Ohio). 

• A putative father has failed to establish paternity of the child 

(Montana and Nevada). 

• The parent allowed the child to be present where a 

clandestine illegal laboratory is operated (North Dakota and 

Utah). 

9	 Arkansas, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and West

Virginia.

10 Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia.

11 Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, and South

Dakota.

12 Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Kentucky, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia.

13 Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South

Dakota, and West Virginia.

14 Florida, North Dakota, and Utah.

15 Alabama and California.
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• The parent is a convicted sexually violent predator 

(Washington). 

• The parent has abducted the child or a sibling from his or her 

placement (California).

This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series 

prepared by Child Welfare Information Gateway. While every 

attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, 

additional information on these topics may be in other 

sections of a State’s code as well as agency regulations, case 

law, and informal practices and procedures.

Suggested Citation:

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2012). Reasonable efforts 

to preserve or reunify families and achieve permanency for 

children. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Children’s Bureau.
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6 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information 

Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/reunify.cfm

Alabama

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ala. Code § 12-15-301(10)

‘Reasonable efforts’ are efforts made to preserve and reunify families prior to the placement of a child in foster care, 

to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child from his or her home, and to make it possible for a child to 

return safely to his or her home. ‘Reasonable efforts’ also refers to efforts made to place the child in a timely manner 

in accordance with the permanency plan and to complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize the permanency 

placement of the child.

In determining the reasonable efforts to be made with respect to a child, and in making these reasonable efforts, the 

health and safety of the child shall be the paramount concern. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ala. Code § 12-15-312(b)

As used in this chapter, reasonable efforts refers to efforts made to preserve and reunify families prior to the placement 

of a child in foster care, to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child from his or her home, and to make it 

possible for a child to return safely to his or her home. In determining the reasonable efforts to be made with respect 

to a child, and in making these reasonable efforts, the health and safety of the child shall be the paramount concern. If 

continuation of reasonable efforts is determined to be inconsistent with the permanency plan for the child, reasonable 

efforts shall be made to place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan including, if 

appropriate, through an interstate placement, and to complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize a permanent plan 

for the child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ala. Code § 12-15-312(c)

Reasonable efforts shall not be required to be made if the parental rights of the parent to a sibling have been 

involuntarily terminated or the parent has done any of the following:

• Subjected the child or a sibling to an aggravated circumstance that made the risk of abuse or neglect too high 

for the child to remain at home or return home. An aggravated circumstance includes, but is not limited to, rape, 

sodomy, incest, aggravated stalking, abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, or sexual abuse. An aggravated 

circumstance may also include any of the following:

» A child is allowed to use alcohol or illegal drugs to the point of abuse, neglect, or substantial risk of harm.

» Substance misuse or abuse, or both, by a parent interferes with the ability to keep the child safe, and the 

parent refuses to participate in or complete treatment or treatment has been unsuccessful.

» A parent demonstrates extreme disinterest in the child by either not complying with a case plan for more than 

6 months or repeatedly leaving the child with someone who is unwilling or incapable of providing care, and 

the parent does not return for the child as promised.

» An infant or young child has been abandoned, the identity of the child is unknown, and the parent is unknown 

or unable to be located after a diligent search.

» The parent has an emotional or mental condition, and there is clearly no treatment that can improve or 

strengthen the condition enough to allow the child to remain at home safely or to return home safely.

» The parent is incarcerated and the child is deprived of a safe, stable, and permanent parent-child relationship.

• Committed murder or manslaughter of another child or the child’s other parent

• Aided, abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit murder or manslaughter of another child or the 

child’s other parent

• Committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child, another child, or the child’s other 

parent
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Alaska

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Alaska Stat. § 47.10.086

The department’s responsibilities include the duty to:

• Identify family support services that will assist the parent or guardian in remedying the conduct or conditions in 

the home that made the child a child in need of aid

• Actively offer the parent or guardian, and refer the parent or guardian to, those services

• Document its actions

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Alaska Stat. § 47.10.086

The department shall make timely efforts to provide family support services to the child and parents that are designed 

to prevent out-of-home placement of the child or to enable the safe return of the child to the family home, when 

appropriate.

If the child cannot be returned home safely, the department shall make reasonable efforts to place the child in a timely 

manner in accordance with the permanency plan and complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize the permanent 

placement of the child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Alaska Stat. § 47.10.086

The court may determine that reasonable efforts are not required if the court has found by clear and convincing evidence 

that:

• The parent has subjected the child to circumstances that pose a substantial risk of harm, including abandonment, 

sexual abuse, torture, chronic mental injury, or chronic physical harm.

• The parent has committed or attempted to commit murder of the other parent of the child or has committed 

felony assault that results in serious physical injury.

• The parent has failed, during the preceding 12 months, to participate in family support services.

• The department cannot identify and locate the parent.

• The parent has a mental illness and will be unable to care for the child in the foreseeable future.

• The parent has a previous conviction for a crime involving a child and, after the conviction, the child was returned 

to the parent and later removed because of an additional substantiated report of physical or sexual abuse.

• A child has suffered substantial physical harm as the result of abuse or neglect by the parent or by a person known 

to the parent, and the parent knew or reasonably should have known that the person was abusing the child.

• Rights to another child have been previously terminated, and conditions in the home have not been remedied. 

• The parent is incarcerated for a substantial period of time during the child’s minority.

The department is not required to make reasonable efforts to return the child to his or her family home if the department 

took emergency custody of an infant under § 47.10.142 after the infant was abandoned safely within the meaning of § 

47.10.013(c). 

American Samoa

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed. 
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Arizona

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 8-801; 8-891

‘In-home intervention’ means a program of services provided pursuant to § 8-891 while the child is still in the custody of 

the parent, guardian, or custodian.

After a dependency petition is filed, the court may order in-home intervention if all of the following are true:

• The child has not been removed from the home.

• In-home intervention appears likely to resolve the risk issues described below.

• The parent, guardian, or custodian agrees to a case plan and participation in services.

• One of the following conditions exist:

» The child is at risk of harm due to the inability or unwillingness of the parent, guardian, or custodian to provide 

food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.

» The parent, guardian, or custodian is unable to provide proper care, control, and supervision of the child.

The in-home intervention order may include a training or treatment plan for the parent, guardian, or custodian and the 

child. The in-home intervention shall include a specific time for completion that shall not exceed 1 year without review 

and approval by the court. 

The term ‘protective services’ is defined as a specialized child welfare program that is administered by the department to 

investigate allegations and seek to prevent, intervene in, and treat abuse and neglect to promote the well-being of the 

child in a permanent home and to coordinate services to strengthen the family. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 8-846

If the child has been removed from the home, the court shall order the protective services department to make 

reasonable efforts to provide services to the child and the child’s family. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 8-846

Reunification services are not required if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that one of the following 

aggravated circumstances exist:

• The parent cannot be identified or located.

• The parent suffers from a mental illness that will likely prevent the parent from resuming care of the child within 12 

months.

• The child previously was removed and adjudicated dependent due to physical or sexual abuse. After the 

adjudication, the child was returned to the custody of the parent and then subsequently removed within 18 

months due to additional physical or sexual abuse.

• The child has suffered severe physical or emotional injury by the parent or a person known to the parent.

• A child was removed from the parent on at least two previous occasions, reunification services were offered or 

provided after the removal, and the parent is unable to discharge parental responsibilities.

• The parent’s rights to another child were terminated, and the conditions that led to the termination were not 

remedied. 

• The parent was convicted of murder, manslaughter, sexual abuse, sexual assault, molestation, or sexual 

exploitation of a child, or aiding or abetting any such crimes.

The court shall consider any criminal prosecution relating to the offenses that led to the child’s removal from the home 

and any orders of the criminal court. Information may be provided by law enforcement or the county attorney.

If a dependency petition was filed pursuant to § 8-874(J), the court may direct the division not to provide reunification 

services to the child’s parents unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that these services would be in the 

child’s best interests. 
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Arkansas

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 9-27-303

‘Reasonable efforts’ are measures taken to preserve the family and can include reasonable care and diligence on the part 

of the department or agency to utilize all available services related to meeting the needs of the juvenile and the family.

Reasonable efforts may include the provision of ‘family services,’ which are relevant services provided to a juvenile or his 

or her family, including, but not limited to:

• Child care 

• Homemaker services

• Crisis counseling

• Cash assistance

• Transportation

• Family therapy

• Physical, psychiatric, or psychological evaluation

• Counseling or treatment

Family services are provided in order to:

• Prevent a juvenile from being removed from a parent, guardian, or custodian

• Reunite the juvenile with the parent, guardian, or custodian from whom the juvenile has been removed

• Implement a permanent plan of adoption, guardianship, or rehabilitation of the juvenile

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 9-27-303

Reasonable efforts shall be made:

• Prior to the placement of a child in foster care to prevent the need for removing the child from the child’s home

• To reunify a family after a child has been placed out of the home to make it possible for the child to return home 

safely

• To obtain permanency for a child who has been in placement more than 12 months, or 15 of the previous 22 

months

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 9-27-303

Reasonable efforts to reunite a child with his or her parent or parents shall not be required in all cases. Reunification shall 

not be required if a court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has:

• Subjected the child to aggravated circumstances that may include: 

» A child has been abandoned, chronically abused, subjected to extreme or repeated cruelty, or sexually abused, 

or a determination has been made by a judge that there is little likelihood that services to the family will result 

in successful reunification.

» A child has been removed from the custody of the parent or guardian and placed in foster care or in the 

custody of another person three or more times in the past 15 months.

• Committed or attempted to commit murder or manslaughter of any child

• Committed felony battery to any child that results in serious bodily injury

• Had parental rights terminated to a sibling of the child

• Abandoned an infant 

• Registered with a sex offender registry under the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act
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California

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 361.5

The term ‘reunification services’ includes:

• Child welfare services

• Court-ordered counseling and other treatment services for the reunification of the child with the child’s family

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 361.5

Family reunification services are required when a child is removed from a parent’s or guardian’s custody and shall be 

provided as follows:

• For a child age 3 or older, services may not be offered for longer than a period of 12 months from the date the 

child entered foster care.

• For a child under age 3, services may not be offered for longer than period of 6 months from the date the child 

entered foster care.

For the purpose of placing and maintaining a sibling group together in a permanent home if reunification efforts fail, 

for a child in a sibling group that was removed from the physical custody of his or her parent or guardian and in which 

one member of that group was under age 3 on the date of initial removal, court-ordered services to some or all of the 

sibling group may be limited to a period of 6 months from the date the child entered foster care. For the purposes of this 

paragraph, a sibling group is two or more children who are related to each other as full or half siblings. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Welf. & Inst. Code § 361.5

Reunification services need not be provided when the court finds by clear and convincing evidence any of the following:

• The whereabouts of the parent are unknown.

• The parent has a mental disability that makes him or her incapable of utilizing services.

• There is a prior adjudication of physical or sexual abuse of a child, and after the child was returned home, the child 

has been removed due to additional physical or sexual abuse.

• The parent caused the death of another child through abuse or neglect.

• A child younger than age 5 has suffered severe physical abuse that was inflicted by the parent, as defined in § 

300(e).

• The parent has inflicted severe physical or sexual abuse on the child or a sibling, and the court finds that it would 

not benefit the child to pursue reunification with the offending parent.

• The parent is not receiving reunification services for a sibling of the child.

• The child was conceived as a result of a sexual offense.

• The parent has willfully abandoned the child.

• The court ordered termination of reunification services for any siblings of the child because the parent failed to 

reunify with the sibling, and that parent has not subsequently made a reasonable effort to treat the problems that 

led to removal of the sibling from the parent.

• The parent’s rights to another child have been terminated, and conditions that led to the termination have not 

been remedied.

• The parent has been convicted of a violent felony.

• The parent has a history of chronic use of drugs or alcohol and refused to comply with a treatment program.

• The parent has indicated a lack of interest in reunification services.

• The parent has on one or more occasions abducted the child or a sibling from his or her placement.
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Colorado

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 19-1-103(89)

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise of diligence and care for children who are in out-of-home placement 

or are at imminent risk of out-of-home placement. In determining whether it is appropriate to provide, purchase, or 

develop the supportive and rehabilitative services that are required to prevent unnecessary placement of a child outside 

of a child’s home or to foster the safe reunification of a child with a child’s family, or whether it is appropriate to find and 

finalize an alternative permanent plan for a child, and in making reasonable efforts, the child’s health and safety shall 

be the paramount concern. Services provided by a county or city agency in accordance with § 19-3-208 are deemed to 

meet the reasonable effort standard described in this subsection.

The term ‘appropriate treatment plan,’ as used in § 19-3-508(1)(e), means a treatment plan approved by the court that 

is reasonably calculated to render the particular respondent fit to provide adequate parenting to the child within a 

reasonable time and that relates to the child’s needs. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 19-1-115(6)

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the home

• To reunite the child and the family if legal custody has been awarded to the department

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 19-1-115(7)

Reasonable efforts are not required to prevent the child’s removal from the home or to reunify the child and the family in 

the following circumstances:

• The court finds that the parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances to such an extent that 

grounds exist for termination of the parent’s parental rights, as described in § 19-3-604(1).

• The parental rights of the parent with respect to a sibling of the child have been involuntarily terminated, unless 

the prior sibling termination resulted from a parent delivering a child to a firefighter or a hospital staff member 

pursuant to § 19-3-304.5.

• The court finds that the parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of the 

parent; aiding, abetting, or attempting to commit such crimes; or a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily 

injury to the child or to another child of the parent.

Connecticut

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Gen. Stat. § 46b-129

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ refers to the services to be provided to the parents and the steps the parents may take to 

address the problems that prevent the child from safely reuniting with the parents. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Gen. Stat. §§ 46B-129; 17a-115b

The department must make reasonable efforts to keep the child or youth with his or her parents prior to the issuance of 

an order to remove the child from the home. If the child is removed from the home, reasonable efforts must be made to 

achieve the goals of the permanency plan.

The Commissioner of Children and Families shall make reasonable efforts to reunify a parent with a child unless the 

court (1) determines that such efforts are not required pursuant to § 17a-111b(b) or § 17a-112(j), or (2) has approved a 

permanency plan other than reunification pursuant to § 46b-129(k).
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Gen. Stat. § 17a-111b

The court, upon clear and convincing evidence, may determine that reasonable efforts are not required if:

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances.

• The child has been abandoned.

• The parent has inflicted or knowingly allowed another person to inflict sexual molestation or exploitation or severe 

physical abuse or engaged in a pattern of abuse of the child.

• The parent has killed, through a deliberate, nonaccidental act, another child of the parent or a sibling of the 

child, or has requested, commanded, importuned, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit or knowingly 

allowed another person to commit the killing of the child, another child of the parent, or sibling of the child, or has 

committed or knowingly permitted another person to commit an assault, through a deliberate, nonaccidental act, 

that resulted in serious bodily injury of the child, another child of the parent, or a sibling of the child.

• The parent’s parental rights to a sibling have been involuntarily terminated within the past 3 years.

• The parent was convicted of sexual assault resulting in the conception of the child.

Delaware

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code Tit. 29, § 9003

The Division of Family Services will provide family preservation services. 

The division must prepare and maintain a written case plan for each child under its supervision or custody that shall 

include, but not be limited to, a description of the child’s problems, the care and treatment of the child, and any other 

services to be provided to the child and the child’s family. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code Tit. 29, § 9003

The division will provide family preservation services to those families whose children are at imminent risk of out-of-home 

placement when it is determined that out-of-home placement can be avoided. However, the division’s highest priority 

in cases of abuse and neglect where an investigation is required shall be the health and safety of the child, and nothing 

herein will prevent the division from removing a child from the child’s home when it has determined that the child’s safety 

and well-being may be jeopardized by remaining in the family home.

Each case plan must be designed to achieve any placement of the child outside of the child’s home in the least restrictive 

setting available and in close proximity to the child’s home, consistent with the best interests and special needs of the 

child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code Tit. 13, § 1103

The division is not required to perform, but is not prohibited from performing, reunification and related services, as 

outlined in Title 29, § 9003, when the grounds for termination of parental rights are those stated below: 

• The child has been abandoned.

• The parent has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have:

» Committed a felony-level offense against a child 

» Aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit an offense listed above 

» Committed or attempted to commit the offense of Dealing in Children

» Committed the felony-level offense of endangering the welfare of a child

• The parent’s parental rights over a sibling of the child have been involuntarily terminated in a prior proceeding.

• The parent has subjected the child to torture, chronic abuse, sexual abuse, and/or life-threatening abuse.

• A child has suffered unexplained serious physical injury, death, or near death under circumstances that would 

indicate that the injuries resulted from the intentional or reckless conduct or willful neglect of the parent.
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District of Columbia

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 4-1301.02

Family preservation services are services for children and families that are at risk of abuse or neglect, or are in crisis, and 

include: 

• Services designed to help children return to families from which they have been removed, or be placed for 

adoption, when safe and appropriate, or with a legal guardian, or, if adoption or legal guardianship is determined 

not to be safe and appropriate for the child, in another permanent living arrangement

• Replacement prevention services

• Services that provide follow-up care to families to whom a child has returned after commitment

• Respite care services 

• Services designed to improve parenting skills and abilities 

Family support services promote the safety and well-being of children and families, are community-based, and are 

designed to:

• Increase family strength and stability

• Increase parent confidence and competence 

• Afford children safe, stable, and supportive family environments 

• Enhance child development

Time-limited family reunification services are services and activities provided to a committed child and to the child’s 

parent, guardian, or custodian in order to facilitate the safe, appropriate, and timely reunification of the child during the 

15 months following the child’s entry into foster care. Time-limited family reunification services include:

• Individual, group, and family counseling

• Inpatient, residential, or outpatient substance abuse treatment services

• Mental health services

• Assistance to address domestic violence

• Services designed to provide temporary child care and therapeutic services for families

• Transportation to or from any of the services and activities described above

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 4-1301.09a

The agency shall make reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify the family:

• Prior to the removal of the child from the home to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child

• To make it possible for the child to return home safely

• To place the child in accordance with that plan in order to finalize a permanent placement if return home is 

inconsistent with the child’s permanency plan 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 4-1301.09a

Reasonable efforts to reunify are not required if the parent:

• Subjected the child, a sibling, or other child to cruelty, abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, or sexual abuse

• Committed, aided, abetted, solicited, or attempted to commit murder or voluntary manslaughter of a sibling or 

other child

• Committed a felony assault against the child, a sibling, or other child

• Had his or her parental rights terminated involuntarily with respect to a sibling

• Is required to register with a sex offender registry under 42 U.S.C. § 16913(a)
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Florida

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 39.521(1)(f)

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise of reasonable diligence and care by the department to provide the 

services ordered by the court or delineated in the case plan. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 39.521(1)(f)

If the court finds that the prevention or reunification efforts by the department will allow the child to remain safely at 

home or be returned to the home safely, the court shall allow the child to remain in or return to the home after making a 

specific finding of fact that the reasons for removal have been remedied to the extent that the child’s safety, well-being, 

and physical, mental, and emotional health will not be endangered.

If the court places the child in an out-of-home placement, the disposition order must include a written determination that 

the child cannot remain at home safely with reunification or family preservation services and that removal of the child 

is necessary to protect the child. If the child is removed before the disposition hearing, the order must also include a 

written determination as to whether, after removal, the department made a reasonable effort to reunify the parent and 

child. The department has the burden of demonstrating that it made reasonable efforts.

The court shall determine whether reasonable efforts have been made by reviewing:

• Whether or not prevention or reunification services were indicated

• A written description of what appropriate and available prevention and reunification efforts were made

• Why further efforts could or could not have prevented or shortened the separation of the parent and child

A reasonable effort has been made if the appraisal of the home situation indicates the severity of conditions is such that 

reunification efforts were inappropriate. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 39.521(1)(f); 39.806(1)

Reasonable efforts are not required if any of the events described below have occurred:

• The parent(s) have materially breached the case plan.

• The parent has abandoned the child.

• The parent is incarcerated, the term of incarceration will constitute a significant portion of the child’s minority, and 

continuing the parental relationship with the incarcerated parent would be harmful to the child.

• The parent(s) engaged in egregious conduct or had the opportunity to prevent and knowingly failed to prevent 

egregious conduct that threatened the life; safety; or physical, mental, or emotional health of the child or the 

child’s sibling.

• The parent(s) have subjected the child or another child to aggravated child abuse, sexual battery, sexual abuse, or 

chronic abuse.

• The parent(s) have committed the murder, manslaughter, aiding or abetting the murder, or conspiracy or 

solicitation to murder the other parent or another child, or a felony battery that resulted in serious bodily injury to 

the child or to another child.

• The parental rights of the parent to a sibling of the child have been terminated involuntarily.

• The parent(s) have a history of extensive, abusive, and chronic use of alcohol or a controlled substance that 

renders them incapable of caring for the child and have refused or failed to complete available treatment.

• A newborn child had a positive test that indicated the presence of alcohol or a controlled substance, the presence 

of which was not the result of medical treatment administered to the mother or the newborn infant, and the 

mother is the birth mother of at least one other child who was adjudicated dependent after a finding of exposure 

to a controlled substance or alcohol.

• On three or more occasions, the child or another child of the parent(s) has been placed in out-of-home care, and 

the conditions that led to the child’s out-of-home placement were caused by the parent(s).
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Georgia

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 15-11-58

Reasonable efforts are measures taken by the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human 

Services and other appropriate agencies to preserve and reunify families. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 15-11-58

Reasonable efforts shall be made to preserve and reunify families:

• Prior to placement of a child in the custody of the department to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the 

child from the child’s home

• To make it possible for a child to return safely to the child’s home

If continuation of reasonable efforts of the type described above is determined to be inconsistent with the permanency 

plan for the child, reasonable efforts shall be made to place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the 

permanency plan and to complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 15-11-58

Reasonable efforts are not required when a court determines that:

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances that may include abandonment, torture, chronic 

abuse, and sexual abuse.

• The parent has committed or attempted to commit murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of the 

parent.

• The parent has committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the 

parent.

• The parent’s parental rights to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily.

Guam

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code Tit. 19, § 13304

A service plan is a specific, written plan prepared by Child Protective Services and presented to members of the child’s 

family. The service plan should also include, but not necessarily be limited to, the specific services or treatment that the 

parties will be provided and the specific actions the parties must take or specific responsibilities that the parties must 

assume.

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code Tit. 19, § 13304

The service plan should set forth: 

• The steps that will be necessary to facilitate the return of the child to a safe family home if the proposed 

placement of the child is in foster care or in alternate placement outside of the child’s home

• The steps that will be necessary for the child to remain in a safe family home with the assistance of a service plan, 

if the proposed placement of the child is in a family home under Child Protective Services’ supervision

• The steps that will be necessary to make the family home a safe family home and to terminate intervention of 

Child Protective Services into the family and eliminate, if possible, the necessity for the filing of a petition with the 

court under this chapter

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed. 
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Hawaii

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 587A-2; 587A-27 

The service plan shall be carefully formulated with the family in a timely manner. Every reasonable opportunity should be 

provided to help the child’s legal custodian to succeed in remedying the problems that put the child at substantial risk of 

being harmed in the family home. Each appropriate resource, public and private, family and friend, should be considered 

and used to maximize the legal custodian’s potential for providing a safe family home for the child. Full and careful 

consideration shall be given to the religious, cultural, and ethnic values of the child’s legal custodian when service plans 

are being discussed and formulated. 

The service plan shall provide the specific steps necessary to facilitate the return of the child to a safe family home, if the 

proposed placement of the child is in foster care under foster custody. These specific steps shall include treatment and 

services that will be provided, actions completed, specific measurable and behavioral changes that must be achieved, 

and responsibilities assumed. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 587A-2

The service plan shall effectuate the child’s remaining in the family home, when the family home can be immediately 

made safe with services, or the child’s returning to a safe family home. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 587A-28; 587A-4 

The court need not order a service plan if the court finds that aggravated circumstances are present. The term 

‘aggravated circumstances’ means that:

• The parent has murdered or has solicited, aided, abetted, attempted, or conspired to commit the murder or 

voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent. 

• The parent has committed a felony assault that results in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the 

parent.

• The parent’s rights regarding a sibling of the child have been judicially terminated.

• The parent has tortured the child.

• The child is an abandoned infant.

• The parent has committed sexual abuse against another child of the parent.

• The parent is required to register with a sex offender registry under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety 

Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. § 16913(a)).

Idaho

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Idaho Code § 16-1621(1), (3)

The department shall prepare a written case plan in every case in which the child is determined to be within the 

jurisdiction of the court, including cases in which the parent(s) is incarcerated. 

The case plan shall set forth reasonable efforts that will be made to make it possible for the child to return to his or her 

home and shall concurrently include a plan setting forth reasonable efforts to place the child for adoption, with a legal 

guardian, or in another approved permanent placement. Whenever possible, the child’s connections to the community, 

including individuals with a significant relationship to the child, religious organizations, and community activities, will be 

maintained through the transition. The plan shall state with specificity the role of the department toward each parent. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Idaho Code § 16-1619(6)

If the court vests legal custody in the department or other authorized agency, the court shall make detailed written 

findings based on facts in the record as to whether the department made reasonable efforts to prevent the placement of 

the child in foster care, including findings, when appropriate, that:

• Reasonable efforts were made but were not successful in eliminating the need for foster care placement of the 

child.

• The department made reasonable efforts to prevent removal but was not able to safely provide preventive 

services.

• Reasonable efforts to temporarily place the child with related persons were made but were not successful.

• Reasonable efforts were not required as the parent had subjected the child to aggravated circumstances.

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Idaho Code § 1619(6)(d)

Reasonable efforts are not required if the parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances as determined by 

the court, including but not limited to: 

• The parent has subjected the child to abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, or sexual abuse.

• The parent has committed murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child or aided or abetted, attempted, 

conspired, or solicited to commit such a murder or voluntary manslaughter.

• The parent committed a battery that results in serious bodily injury to a child.

• The parental rights of the parent to a sibling of the child have been terminated involuntarily. 

Illinois

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Cons. Stat. Ch. 325, § 5/8.2

The term ‘family preservation services’ refers to all services to help families, including adoptive and extended families.

Appropriate family preservation services shall be included in the service plan if the Department of Children and Family 

Services has determined that those services will ensure the child’s health and safety, are in the child’s best interests, and 

will not place the child in imminent risk of harm. Such plans may include, but are not limited to:

• Case management services

• Homemakers, including emergency caretakers, homemakers, caretakers, housekeepers, and chore services 

• Counseling, including individual therapy, infant stimulation therapy, family therapy, group therapy, self-help 

groups, drug and alcohol abuse counseling, vocational counseling, and postadoption services

• Parent education

• Day care, including protective day care and day care to meet educational, prevocational, or vocational needs

• Emergency assistance and advocacy assessments, including coordinated services to secure emergency cash, food, 

and housing

• Respite care

• In-home health care

• Transportation to obtain any of the above services

• Medical assistance
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When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Cons. Stat. Ch. 20, § 505/5

The department shall offer family preservation services to help families, including adoptive and extended families. Such 

services shall be offered:

• To prevent the placement of children in substitute care when the children can be cared for at home or in the 

custody of the person responsible for the children’s welfare

• To reunite children with their families

• To maintain an adoptive placement

Family preservation services shall only be offered when doing so will not endanger the children’s health or safety. 

The child and his or her family shall be eligible for services as soon as the report of suspected child abuse or neglect 

is determined to be indicated. The department may also provide services to any child or family when the report 

of suspected abuse or neglect is determined to be unfounded if the conditions in the child’s or family’s home are 

reasonably likely to subject the child or family to future reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Acceptance of such 

services shall be voluntary.

When a child is placed in foster care, the department shall ensure and document that reasonable efforts were made to 

prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the child’s home. The department must make reasonable efforts 

to reunify the family when temporary placement of the child occurs unless otherwise required. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Cons. Stat. Ch. 20, § 505/5; Ch. 705, § 405/2-13.1

When the department believes that further reunification services would be ineffective, it may request a finding from the 

court that reasonable efforts are no longer appropriate. The court shall grant this motion with respect to a parent of the 

minor if the court finds after a hearing that the parent has:

• Had his or her parental rights to another child involuntarily terminated

• Been convicted of: 

» First degree or second degree murder of another child of the parent 

» Attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit first degree or second degree murder of another child of the 

parent

» Aggravated battery, aggravated battery of a child, or felony domestic battery, any of which has resulted in 

serious bodily injury to the minor or another child of the parent

» An offense in any other State substantially similar to any of the above offenses

The department is not required to provide further reunification services after such a finding. 

Indiana

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 31-34-21-5.5

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ refers to measures taken to provide services to preserve and reunify families. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 31-34-21-5.5

The department shall make reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families as follows:

• If the child has not been removed from the home, to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child

• If the child has been removed from the home, to make it possible for the child to return safely home as soon as 

possible
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 31-34-21-5.6

Reasonable efforts to reunite a child with his or her family or to preserve a family are not required when the court finds 

any of the following:

• A parent has been convicted of causing a suicide, involuntary manslaughter, rape, criminal deviate conduct, child 

molesting, or exploitation of a victim who is the parent’s child or the child’s other parent.

• A parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of a victim who is the parent’s child or the 

child’s other parent.

• A parent has been convicted of attempting, aiding, or conspiring to commit any of the above crimes.

• A parent has been convicted of battery, aggravated battery, criminal recklessness, or neglect against a child.

• The parental rights of a parent with respect to a sibling have been involuntarily terminated.

• The child is an abandoned infant.

Iowa

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 232.102

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ refers to efforts made to preserve and unify a family.

Reasonable efforts may include, but are not limited to, family-centered services if the child’s safety in the home can be 

maintained during the time the services are provided.

The term ‘family-centered services’ means services and other support intended to maintain a child safely with the child’s 

family or with a relative; to return a child, safely and in a timely manner, to the home of the child’s parent or relative; or to 

promote achievement of concurrent planning goals by identifying and helping the child secure placement for adoption, 

with a guardian, or with other alternative permanent family connections. Family-centered services are adapted to the 

individual needs of a family in regard to the specific services and other support provided to the child’s family and the 

intensity and duration of service delivery. Family-centered services are intended to preserve a child’s connections to the 

child’s neighborhood, community, and family and to improve the overall capacity of the child’s family to provide for the 

needs of the children in the family. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 232.102

Reasonable efforts are required:

• Prior to out-of-home placement of a child in foster care to eliminate the need for removal of the child

• To make it possible for the child to return safely to the family’s home

If returning the child to the family’s home is not appropriate or possible, reasonable efforts shall include the efforts made 

in a timely manner to finalize a permanency plan for the child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 232.102

If the court determines by clear and convincing evidence that aggravated circumstances exist, the court may waive the 

requirement for making reasonable efforts. Aggravated circumstances include: 

• The parent has abandoned the child.

• The court finds the child in need of assistance based on a finding of physical or sexual abuse or neglect.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated and there is clear and convincing evidence 

that services likely will not, within a reasonable time, correct the conditions that led to the child’s removal from the 

home.

• The parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child or the attempt to commit 

either crime.

• The parent has been convicted of a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or another child 

of the parent.
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Kansas

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2255

The court may place the child in the custody of either parent subject to terms and conditions that the court prescribes to 

assure the proper care and protection of the child that includes, but are not limited to:

• Supervision of the child and the parent by a court services officer

• Participation by the child and the parent in available programs operated by an appropriate individual or agency

• Any special treatment or care the child needs for his or her physical, mental, or emotional health and safety

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2255

The court shall not enter an order removing a child from the custody of a parent pursuant to this section unless the court 

first finds probable cause that:

• The child is likely to sustain harm if not immediately removed from the home.

• Allowing the child to remain in home is contrary to his or her welfare.

• Immediate placement of the child is in his or her best interests, and reasonable efforts have been made to 

maintain the family unit and prevent the unnecessary removal of the child from the child’s home.

• An emergency exists that threatens the safety of the child.

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2255

If custody of the child has been awarded to a person other than a parent, a permanency plan shall be prepared. If a 

permanency plan is provided at the dispositional hearing, the court may determine whether reintegration is a viable 

alternative. In determining whether reintegration is a viable alternative, the court shall consider whether:

• The parent has been found by a court to have committed one of the following crimes or to have aided and 

abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited the commission of one of these crimes:

» First- or second-degree murder

» Capital murder

» Voluntary manslaughter

» Felony battery that resulted in bodily injury

• The parent has subjected the child or another child to aggravated circumstances.

• The parent has previously been found to be an unfit parent.

• The child has been in extended out-of-home placement.

• The parents have failed to work diligently toward reintegration. 

• The secretary has provided the family with services necessary for the safe return of the child to the home.

• It is reasonable to expect reintegration to occur within a timeframe consistent with the child’s developmental 

needs.

Kentucky

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 620.020

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise of ordinary diligence and care by the department to utilize all 

preventive and reunification services that are available to the community and necessary to enable to child to live safely at 

home. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 620.020; 620.130

Reunification services are remedial services that are designed to: 

• Strengthen the family unit

• Secure reunification of the family and child, where appropriate, as quickly as practicable

• Prevent the future removal of the child from the family

When the court is petitioned to remove or continue the removal of a child from the custody of his parent or other person 

exercising custodial control or supervision, the court first shall consider whether the child may be reasonably protected 

against the alleged dependency, neglect, or abuse by alternatives less restrictive than removal. Such alternatives 

may include, but shall not be limited to, the provision of medical, educational, psychiatric, psychological, social work, 

counseling, day care, or homemaking services with monitoring wherever necessary by the cabinet or other appropriate 

agency. When the court specifically finds that such alternatives are adequate to reasonably protect the child against the 

alleged dependency, neglect, or abuse, the court shall not order the removal or continued removal of the child.

If the court orders the removal or continues the removal of the child, services provided to the parent and the child shall 

be designed to promote the protection of the child and the return of the child safely to the child’s home as soon as 

possible. The cabinet shall develop a treatment plan for each child designed to meet the needs of the child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 610.127; 600.020

Reasonable efforts shall not be required if a court determines that: 

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, including any of the following:

» The parent has not had contact with the child for more than 90 days.

» The parent is incarcerated for at least 1 year, will be unavailable to care for the child, and there is no 

appropriate relative to care for the child.

» The parent has sexually abused the child and refused available treatment.

» The parent has engaged in abuse of the child that required removal two or more times in the last 2 years.

» The parent has caused the child serious physical injury.

• The parent has been convicted of having caused the death of another child of the parent.

• The parent has committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the 

parent.

• The parent had his or her parental rights to another child terminated involuntarily.

• The parent has engaged in a pattern of conduct due to alcohol or drug abuse that has rendered the parent 

incapable of caring for the immediate and ongoing needs of the child, and has refused or failed to complete a 

treatment plan.

• The parent has a mental illness or retardation that places the child at substantial risk of harm even if services were 

provided to the parent for 12 months.

• Other circumstances make reasonable efforts inconsistent with the best interests of the child and the permanency 

plan for the child.

Louisiana

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ch. Code Art. 603(23)

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise of ordinary diligence and care by department caseworkers and 

supervisors and shall assume the availability of a reasonable program of services to children and their families. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ch. Code Art. 626; 684

The court shall determine whether the department has made reasonable efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for 

removal of the child from his or her home and, after removal, to make it possible for the child to return home safely. 

When the child is to be removed from his or her parents’ custody, the court shall determine whether reasonable efforts 

have been made to prevent removal and what preventive and reunification efforts, or both, were made, and why further 

efforts could or could not have prevented or shortened the separation of the family. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ch. Code art. 672.1

At any time in a child in need of care proceeding when a child is in the custody of the department, the department may 

file a motion for a judicial determination that efforts to reunify the parent and child are not required. The department 

shall have the burden of demonstrating by clear and convincing evidence that reunification efforts are not required, 

considering the health and safety of the child and the child’s need for permanency.

Efforts to reunify the parent and child are not required if a court has determined that:

• The parent has subjected the child to egregious conduct or conditions, including any of the grounds for 

termination of parental rights pursuant to Article 1015.

• The parent has committed or attempted to commit murder or manslaughter of another child of the parent or any 

other child or has aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit such a murder or manslaughter.

• The parent has committed a felony that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child, another child of the parent, or 

any other child.

• The parent’s parental rights to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily.

Maine

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 22, § 4041(1-A)

The department shall develop a written rehabilitation plan that includes:

• Services that must be provided to address the problems in the family that present a risk of harm to the child

• Provisions to ensure the safety of the child while the parent engages in those services

• A means to measure the extent to which progress has been made

• Visitation that protects the child’s physical and emotional well-being

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 22, § 4036-B

The department shall make reasonable efforts to:

• Prevent removal of the child from home, unless the court finds the presence of an aggravating factor 

• Rehabilitate and reunify the family, as provided in § 4041(1-A), unless the court has ordered that the department 

need not commence or may cease reunification 

• Finalize the permanency plan
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 22, §§ 4041(2)(A-2); 4002(1-B)

The court may order that reunification efforts are not required if it finds one of the following:

• The existence of an aggravating factor

• That continuation of reunification efforts is inconsistent with the permanency plan for the child

An aggravating factor includes any of the following circumstances with regard to the parent: 

• The parent has subjected a child for whom the parent was responsible to rape, gross sexual misconduct, gross 

sexual assault, sexual abuse, incest, aggravated assault, kidnapping, promotion of prostitution, abandonment, 

torture, chronic abuse, or any other treatment that is heinous or abhorrent to society. 

• The parent refused for 6 months to comply with treatment required in a reunification plan with regard to the child.

• The parent has been convicted of any of the following crimes and the victim of the crime was a child for whom the 

parent was responsible or was a child who was a member of a household lived in or frequented by the parent:

» Murder, felony murder, or manslaughter

» Aiding, conspiring, or soliciting murder or manslaughter

» Felony assault that results in serious bodily injury

» Any comparable crime in another jurisdiction

• The parental rights of the parent to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily.

• The parent has abandoned the child.

Maryland

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Family Law § 5-525(c)

The department shall provide time-limited family reunification services to a child placed in an out-of-home placement 

and to the parent or guardian of the child in order to facilitate the child’s safe and appropriate reunification in a timely 

manner. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Family Law § 5-525(e)

Reasonable efforts shall be provided to preserve or reunify a family:

• Prior to an out-of-home placement to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child from home

• To make it possible for a child to return home safely

• To finalize a permanent placement for the child if continuation of reasonable efforts is determined to be 

inconsistent with the permanency plan

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Courts & Jud. Proc. § 3-812(b)

A local department may ask the court to find that reasonable efforts to reunify a child with his or her parent or guardian 

are not required if the local department concludes that a parent or guardian has:

• Subjected the child to chronic abuse, chronic and life-threatening neglect, sexual abuse, or torture

• Been convicted, in any State or court of the United States, of a crime of violence against the child, a minor 

offspring, or another parent or guardian of the child

• Been convicted of aiding or abetting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit a crime described above 

• Involuntarily lost parental rights of a sibling of a child
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Massachusetts

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Laws Ch. 119, § 29C

The court shall determine the reasonable efforts to be made, consistent with the best interests of the child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Laws Ch. 119, § 29C

Reasonable efforts shall be made:

• Prior to placement to prevent or eliminate the need for removal from the home

• To make it possible for a child to return safely to his or her parent or guardian 

• To place the child, in a timely manner, in accordance with the permanency plan if reasonable efforts to reunify the 

child with his or her parent or guardian are inconsistent with the permanency plan

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Laws Ch. 119, § 29C

Reasonable efforts shall not be required if the court finds:

• The child has been abandoned.

• The parent’s rights to another child have been involuntarily terminated.

• The parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent or aiding or 

abetting in the commission of such crime.

• The parent has been convicted of a felony assault resulting in serious bodily injury of the child or another child of 

the parent.

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances that may include murder of another parent 

of the child in the presence of the child, subjecting the child or other children in the home to sexual abuse or 

exploitation, or severe or repetitive conduct of a physically or emotionally abusive nature. 

Michigan

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Comp. Laws § 712A.18f

Reasonable efforts are measures taken to preserve and reunify the family and may include:

• Efforts to be made by the parents

• Efforts to be made by the agency

• A schedule of services to be provided, including in-home services

• A schedule of parenting time between the child and the parent, if appropriate

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Comp. Laws § 712A.18f

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent the child’s removal from his or her home

• To rectify conditions that caused removal of the child from his or her home
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Comp. Laws §§ 712A.19a; 722.638

Reasonable efforts to reunify the child and family must be made in all cases, except when any of the following apply:

• There is a judicial determination that the parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, as provided 

in § 722.638, including:

» Abandonment of a young child

» Criminal sexual conduct involving penetration, attempted penetration, or assault with intent to penetrate 

» Battering, torture, or other severe physical abuse

» Loss or serious impairment of an organ or limb

» Life-threatening injury

• The parent has been convicted of one or more of the following:

» Murder of another child of the parent

» Voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent

» Aiding or abetting in the murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent, the attempted 

murder of the child or another child of the parent, or the conspiracy or solicitation to commit the murder of the 

child or another child of the parent

» A felony assault that results in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent

• The parent is required by court order to register under the sex offenders registration act.

• The parent has had rights to the child’s siblings involuntarily terminated.

Minnesota

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 260.012

Reasonable efforts are made upon the exercise of due diligence by the responsible social services agency to use 

culturally appropriate and available services to meet the needs of the child and the child’s family. Services may include 

those provided by the responsible social services agency and other culturally appropriate services available in the 

community.

When determining whether reasonable efforts have been made, the court shall consider whether services to the child 

and family were:

• Relevant to the safety and protection of the child

• Adequate to meet the needs of the child and family

• Culturally appropriate

• Available and accessible 

• Consistent and timely

• Realistic under the circumstances

In the case of an Indian child, the responsible social services agency must provide active efforts, as required by the Indian 

Child Welfare Act of 1978.

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 260.012

The social services agency has the burden of demonstrating that:

• It has made reasonable efforts to prevent placement of the child in foster care.

• It has made reasonable efforts to eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child’s home and to reunify 

the child with the child’s family at the earliest possible time.

• It has made reasonable efforts to finalize an alternative permanent home for the child, and it has considered 

permanent alternative homes for the child inside or outside of the State.

• Reasonable efforts to prevent placement and to reunify the child with the parent or guardian are not required.
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 260.012

Reasonable efforts always are required except when:

• A parent has subjected the child to egregious harm.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

• The child is an abandoned infant.

• The parent’s custodial rights have been involuntarily transferred to another relative.

• A determination has been made that additional reasonable efforts would be futile and unreasonable under the 

circumstances.

• The parent has been convicted of murder, manslaughter, assault, or assault with substantial bodily injury, or an 

attempt or conspiracy to commit any of these crimes, and the victim was another child of the parent.

• The parent has committed sexual abuse against the child or another child of the parent.

• The parent has committed an offense that requires registration as a predatory offender under § 243.166, subd. 1b.

• The parent has been convicted of assault or assault with substantial bodily injury, and the victim was the surviving 

child.

Mississippi

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 43-51-3

Family preservation services are services designed to help families alleviate risks or crises that might lead to out-ofhome placement of children. The services may include procedures to maintain the safety of children in their own homes, 

support to families preparing to reunify or adopt, and assistance to families in obtaining services and other sources of 

support necessary to address their multiple needs in a culturally sensitive environment.

Family support services are preventive community-based activities designed to alleviate stress and to promote parental 

competencies and behaviors that will increase the ability of families to successfully nurture their children and will enable 

families to use other resources and opportunities available in the community. These services may include supportive 

networks designed to enhance child-rearing abilities of parents and to help compensate for the increased social isolation 

and vulnerability of families. Examples of these services and activities include:

• Respite care for parents and other caregivers

• Early developmental screening of children to assess their needs and assistance in obtaining specific services to 

meet their needs

• Mentoring, tutoring, and health education for youth

• A range of center-based activities, such as informal interactions in drop-in centers and parent support groups and 

home visiting programs

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 43-21-609

If the child has not been taken into care previously, the court shall determine:

• Reasonable efforts have been made to maintain the child within his or her own home unless the circumstances 

warrant his or her removal, and there is no reasonable alternative to custody.

• The circumstances are of such an urgent nature that no reasonable efforts have been made to maintain the child 

within his or her own home, and there is no reasonable alternative to custody.

If the court finds that the child should be taken into care, the court shall order that reasonable efforts be made toward 

the reunification of the child with his or her family.

If the child has been taken into care before the disposition hearing, the court shall determine whether reasonable efforts 

were made by the Department of Human Services to finalize the child’s permanency plan that was in effect on the date of 

the disposition hearing. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 43-21-603(7)

Reasonable efforts to maintain the child within his or her home shall not be required if the court determines that:

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, including, but not limited to, abandonment, 

torture, chronic abuse, and sexual abuse.

• The parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of that parent; aiding, 

abetting, attempting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit that murder or voluntary manslaughter; or a felony assault 

that results in the serious bodily injury to the surviving child or another child of that parent.

• The parental rights of the parent to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily.

• Continuation of the child’s residence within his or her own home would be contrary to the welfare of the child, and 

placement of the child in foster care is in the best interests of the child.

Missouri

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 211.183

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise of reasonable diligence and care by the division to utilize all available 

services related to meeting the needs of the juvenile and the family. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 211.183

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent or eliminate the need for the removal of the child

• After removal, to make it possible for the child to return home

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 211.183

The division shall not be required to make reasonable efforts, but it has the discretion to make reasonable efforts if the 

court has determined that:

• The parent has subjected the child to severe or recurrent acts of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, including an 

act of incest.

• The parent has committed murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent, or aided, abetted, or 

attempted such act.

• The parent has committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or to another child of 

the parent.

• The parent’s parental rights to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily.

Montana

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 41-3-423

Reasonable efforts include, but are not limited to:

• Voluntary protective services agreements

• Development of individual written case plans specifying State efforts to reunify families 

• Placement in the least disruptive setting possible

• Provision of services pursuant to a case plan

• Periodic review to ensure timely progress
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When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 41-3-423

The department shall make reasonable efforts:

• To prevent the necessity of removal of a child from a child’s home

• To reunify families that have been separated

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 41-3-423

Reasonable efforts are not required if a court finds by clear and convincing evidence that a parent has:

• Subjected a child to aggravated circumstances, including abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, sexual abuse, or 

chronic and severe neglect

• Committed, aided, abetted, or attempted to commit homicide of a child

• Committed aggravated assault against a child

• Committed neglect of a child that resulted in serious bodily injury or death

• Had parental rights to a sibling terminated involuntarily, and circumstances of the termination are relevant to the 

parent’s ability to adequately care for the child at issue

Preservation or reunification services are not required for a putative father if the court finds that the putative father has 

failed to do any of the following:

• Contribute to the support of the child for an aggregate period of 1 year, although able to do so

• Establish a substantial relationship with the child, as demonstrated by:

» Visiting the child at least monthly when physically and financially able to do so

» Having regular contact with the child

» Manifesting an ability and willingness to assume legal and physical custody of the child if the child was not in 

the physical custody of the other parent

• Register with the putative father registry, been adjudicated to be the father of the child for the purposes of child 

support, or been recorded on the child’s birth certificate as the child’s father

Nebraska

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 43-532(2)

When children and families require assistance from a State department or agency, the health and safety of the child is 

the paramount concern, and reasonable efforts shall be made to provide such assistance in the least intrusive and least 

restrictive method consistent with the needs of the child and to deliver such assistance as close to the home community 

of the child or family requiring assistance as possible. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 43-283.01

Reasonable efforts shall be made:

• Prior to placement to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the juvenile from the home

• To make it possible for the juvenile to return home safely

• To place the juvenile in a timely manner and to finalize a permanent placement if continuation of reasonable 

efforts is determined to be inconsistent with the permanency plan
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 43-283.01

Reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify the family are not required if the court has determined that:

• The parent has subjected the juvenile or another minor child to aggravated circumstances, including 

abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, or sexual abuse.

• The parent has committed murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child, or aided, abetted, or attempted to 

commit such a crime. 

• The parent has committed felony assault resulting in serious bodily injury to the child or another child.

• The parent has been convicted of felony sexual assault of the other parent of the child.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

Nevada

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 432B.393

Reasonable efforts have been made if an agency has exercised diligence and care in arranging appropriate and available 

services for the child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 432B.393

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• Before placement of the child in foster care to prevent or eliminate the need for removal from the home

• To make it possible to return home safely

• If continuation of reasonable efforts is determined to be inconsistent with the permanency plan, to place the child 

in a timely manner, and to finalize a permanent placement

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 432B.393

Reasonable efforts are not required if the court finds:

• A parent has committed, aided, abetted, or attempted to commit murder or voluntary manslaughter.

• A parent caused the abuse or neglect of the child or another child that resulted in substantial bodily harm or was 

so extreme or repetitious as to result in an unacceptable risk to the health and welfare of the child.

• A parent has abandoned the child for 60 days or failed to make more than token contact for 6 months.

• The parent’s parental rights to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily.

• The child or a sibling was previously removed from the home and has been subsequently removed due to 

additional abuse or neglect.

• The child is younger than age 1; the father of the child is not married to the mother of the child; and he has failed 

to visit the child, commence proceedings to establish paternity, or provide support. 

• The child is younger than age 1 and was delivered to a provider of emergency services.

New Hampshire

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:24-a

Reasonable efforts are services to the family that are accessible, available, and appropriate. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:24-a

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent placement

• To reunify the family

• To make and finalize a new permanent home for the child

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 169-C:24-a

The State agency shall discontinue reasonable efforts and file a petition for termination of parental rights when one or 

more of the following circumstances exist:

• The child has been in an out-of-home placement due to a finding of child neglect or abuse for 12 of the most 

recent 22 months.

• The court has determined that the child has been abandoned.

• The parent has been convicted of murder of another child of the parent, a sibling or stepsibling of the child, the 

child’s other parent, or other persons related by consanguinity or affinity, including a minor child who resided with 

the defendant.

• The parent has been convicted of manslaughter of another child of the parent.

• The parent has been convicted of attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any of the offenses specified 

above.

• The parent has been convicted of a felony assault that resulted in injury to the child, a sibling or stepsibling of the 

child, the child’s other parent, or other persons related by consanguinity or affinity, including a minor child who 

resided with the defendant.

New Jersey

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 30:4C-15.1

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means attempts by an agency to assist parents in remedying the circumstances and 

conditions that led to placement of the child and to reinforce family structure, including:

• Consultation with the parent in developing a plan for appropriate services 

• Providing the services agreed upon

• Informing the parent of the child’s progress, development, and health

• Facilitating appropriate visitation

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 30:4C-11.1

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• Prior to placement, to preserve the family in order to prevent the need for removing the child from the home

• After placement, to make it possible for the child to return home safely

• In any case where reunification is not the permanency plan, to place the child in a timely manner and finalize the 

permanent placement of the child
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 30:4C-11.2; 30:4C-11.3

Reasonable efforts to reunify the child with the family are not required when:

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances of abuse, neglect, cruelty, or abandonment.

• The parent has been convicted of murder or manslaughter of a child; aiding, abetting, or attempting to commit 

such a crime; or committing or attempting to commit an assault resulting in serious bodily injury to a child.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

Reasonable efforts to prevent placement are not required when:

• Removal of the child was necessary due to imminent danger to the child’s life, safety, or health.

• Efforts to prevent placement were not reasonable due to risk of harm to the child’s health or safety.

New Mexico

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 32A-4-21 

Reasonable efforts may include:

• An intervention plan designed to achieve placement of the child in the least restrictive setting available, consistent 

with the best interests and special needs of the child, including a statement of the likely harm the child may suffer 

as a result of being removed from the parents’ home, including emotional harm that may result due to separation 

from the child’s parents, and a statement of how the intervention plan is designed to place the child in close 

proximity to the parents’ home without causing harm to the child due to separation from parents, siblings, or any 

other person who may significantly affect the child’s best interests 

• Services offered to the child, his or her family, and the foster care family

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 32A-4-22

Reasonable efforts shall be made:

• To prevent the removal of the child from the child’s family

• To reunite the child with the child’s family

• To place siblings in custody together, unless such joint placement would be contrary to the safety or well-being of 

any of the siblings in custody

• For siblings not jointly placed, to provide reasonable visitation or other ongoing interaction unless visitation or 

other ongoing interaction would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings

• To implement and finalize the permanency plan in a timely manner when reasonable efforts to reunify are not 

required

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 32A-4-2; 32A-4-22

Reasonable efforts are not required when:

• The efforts would be futile.

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances.

Aggravated circumstances are those in which the parent, guardian, or custodian has:

• Attempted, conspired to cause, or caused great bodily harm to the child or great bodily harm or death to the 

child’s sibling

• Attempted, conspired to cause, or caused great bodily harm or death to another parent, guardian, or custodian of 

the child

• Attempted, conspired to subject, or has subjected the child to torture, chronic abuse, or sexual abuse

• Had parental rights over a sibling of the child terminated involuntarily
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New York

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Soc. Serv. Law § 384-b(7)(f)

The term ‘diligent efforts’ means reasonable attempts by an agency to assist, develop, and encourage a meaningful 

relationship between the parent and child, which include but are not limited to: 

• Consulting and cooperating with the parents to develop a plan for appropriate services

• Making suitable arrangements for the parent to visit with the child

• Providing services and other assistance so that problems preventing the child’s discharge from care can be 

resolved

• Informing the parents of the child’s progress, development, and health

• Making suitable arrangements with a correctional facility for an incarcerated parent to visit with the child, if such 

visiting is in the best interests of the child

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Soc. Serv. Law § 358-a(3)(a)

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• Prior to placement to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the home

• To make it possible for the child to return home

• If the permanent plan for the child is other than reunification, to make and finalize the alternative permanent 

placement

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Soc. Serv. Law §§ 358-a(3)(b); 384-b(7)(e)

Reasonable efforts are not required when the court determines that:

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, where the child has been either severely or 

repeatedly abused.

• The parent has been convicted of murder or manslaughter, and the victim was another child of the parent. 

However, the parent must have acted voluntarily in committing such crime.

• The parent has been convicted of an attempt to commit any of the above crimes, and the victim or intended 

victim was the child or another child of the parent; or has been convicted of conspiring, soliciting, or facilitating 

any of the above crimes, and the victim or intended victim was the child or another child of the parent.

• The parent has been convicted of assault or aggravated assault upon a person younger than age 11, and the 

crime resulted in serious physical injury to the child or another child of the parent.

• The parental rights of the parent to a sibling of the child have been involuntarily terminated.

Evidence of diligent efforts by an agency to encourage and strengthen the parental relationship shall not be required 

when:

• The parent has failed for a period of 6 months to keep the agency apprised of his or her location.

• An incarcerated parent has failed on more than one occasion while incarcerated to cooperate with an authorized 

agency in its efforts to help the parent plan for the future of the child or in the agency’s efforts to plan and arrange 

visits with the child.

North Carolina

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Gen. Stat. §§ 7B-101; 7B-507

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the diligent use of abuse prevention or reunification services by the Department 

of Social Services when a juvenile remaining at home or returning home is consistent with achieving a safe, permanent 

home for the juvenile within a reasonable period of time. If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the juvenile 

is not to be returned home, then reasonable efforts are the diligent and timely use of permanency planning services by a 

department of social services to develop and implement a permanent plan for the juvenile. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Gen. Stat. §§ 7B-101; 7B-507

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent or eliminate the need for placement of the juvenile out of the home 

• To develop and implement a permanent plan for the child when a court determines that the juvenile is not to be 

returned home

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Gen. Stat. §§ 7B-101; 7B-507

The court may direct that reasonable efforts are not required when:

• The efforts clearly would be futile or inconsistent with the juvenile’s health, safety, and need for a safe, permanent 

home within a reasonable period of time.

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, including abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, 

or sexual abuse.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

• The parent has committed murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child or has aided, abetted, or attempted 

to commit murder or voluntary manslaughter of the child or another child of the parent.

• The parent has committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the 

parent.

North Dakota

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Cent. Code § 27-20-32.2

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise, by the agency granted authority over the child of due diligence in 

using appropriate and available services to meet the needs of the child and his or her family in order to prevent removal 

of the child from the child’s family or, after removal, to use appropriate and available services to eliminate the need for 

removal, to reunite the child and his or her family, and to maintain family connections. In determining reasonable efforts 

to be made with respect to a child under this section, and in making reasonable efforts, the child’s health and safety must 

be the paramount concern. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Cent. Code § 27-20-32.2

Reasonable efforts must be made to preserve families, reunify families, and maintain family connections:

• Prior to the placement of a child in foster care, to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child from his or 

her home

• To make it possible for a child to return safely to his or her home

• To place siblings in the same foster care, relative, guardianship, or adoptive placement, unless it is determined 

that such a joint placement would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings

• In the case of siblings removed from their home who are not jointly placed, to provide for frequent visitation or 

other ongoing visitation between the siblings, unless it is contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings

If the court determines that continuation of reasonable efforts is inconsistent with the permanency plan for the child, 

reasonable efforts must be made to place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan and to 

complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child.

For the purpose of § 27-20-30.1 [concerning continued foster care for older youth], reasonable efforts must be made to 

meet the child’s needs before a foster care placement for a child remaining in care for continued foster care purposes.
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Cent. Code §§ 27-20-02; 27-20-32.2

Reasonable efforts are not required if:

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, in which a parent:

» Abandons, tortures, chronically abuses, or sexually abuses a child

» Fails to make substantial efforts to secure treatment for an addiction, mental illness, or other condition for 1 

year or one-half a child’s lifetime, whichever time period is less

» Engages in deviant sexual acts, sexual abuse, etc., in which the victim is a child

» Commits murder, manslaughter, or negligently causing the death of another, or the attempt to commit such 

crimes, and the victim is another child of the parent

» Commits aggravated assault in which the victim is a child of the parent and suffers serious bodily injury

» Commits assault, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, or terrorizing in which a child is the victim or 

intended victim

» Has been incarcerated under a sentence for which the release date is:

à In the case of a child age 9 older, after the child’s majority 

à In the case of a child under age 9, after the child is twice the child’s current age

» Subjects the child to prenatal exposure to chronic or severe use of alcohol or any controlled substance in a 

manner not lawfully prescribed by a practitioner

» Allows the child to be present in an environment subjecting the child to exposure to a controlled substance, 

chemical substance, or drug paraphernalia

• The parent has had parental rights to another child terminated involuntarily.

Northern Mariana Islands

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed. 

Ohio

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Code § 2151.419

Reasonable efforts are relevant services provided by the agency to the family of the child. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Code § 2151.419

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent removal of the child from the home

• To eliminate the continued removal of the child from home

• To make it possible for the child to return safely home
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Code § 2151.419

The court shall determine that reasonable efforts are not required if any of the following apply:

• The parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child in the household.

• The parent has been convicted of assault, endangering children, rape, sexual battery, corruption of a minor, or 

sexual imposition of the child or another child in the household.

• The parent has been convicted of conspiracy or attempt to commit, or complicity in committing, an offense 

described above.

• The parent has repeatedly withheld medical treatment or food from the child.

• The parent has placed the child at substantial risk of harm two or more times due to drug or alcohol abuse and 

has rejected treatment two or more times.

• The parent has abandoned the child.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

Oklahoma

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 10A, § 1-4-808

The court shall determine whether the nature and extent of services being provided to the child and the child’s parent(s) 

are adequate to ensure the safety of the child and to protect the child from further physical, mental, or emotional harm, 

or to correct the conditions that led to the adjudication. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 10A, §1-4-202

Reasonable efforts are required:

• To prevent the removal of the child from the child’s home 

• To provide for the safe return of the child to the child’s own home

• To place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan when the court has determined that 

reasonable efforts to reunite the child with his or her family are not required

• To place siblings, when they have been removed from home, together in the same foster care, guardianship, or 

adoptive placement

• To provide for frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction in the case of siblings who have been removed and 

who are not placed together

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 10A, § 1-4-809

Reasonable efforts are not required if the court finds, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that:

• The parent or legal guardian of the child who is an infant age 12 months or younger has abandoned the child.

• The parent or legal guardian of the child has:

» Committed murder or manslaughter of any child

» Aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit the murder or manslaughter of any child 

» Committed a felony assault upon any child that resulted in serious bodily injury 

» Subjected any child to aggravated circumstances, including, but not limited to, heinous and shocking abuse or 

neglect

• The parental rights of a parent to the child’s sibling have been terminated involuntarily.

• The parent has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have committed sexual abuse against the child 

or another child of the parent.

• The parent is required to register with a sex offender registry pursuant to § 113(a) of the Adam Walsh Child 

Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. § 16913(a)).
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Oregon

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 419B.340

Reasonable efforts include preventive and reunification services. 

For an Indian child, the department must make active efforts to provide remedial services and rehabilitative programs 

designed to prevent the breakup of the Indian family. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 419B.340

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the home

• To make it possible for the child to return home safely

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 419B.340

The court may find that the department is not required to make reasonable efforts if one of the following circumstances 

exists: 

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances including, but not limited to, the following:

» The parent by abuse or neglect has caused the death of any child.

» The parent has attempted, solicited, or conspired to cause the death of any child.

» The parent by abuse or neglect has caused serious physical injury to any child.

» The parent has subjected any child to rape, sodomy, or sexual abuse.

» The parent has subjected any child to intentional starvation or torture.

» The parent has abandoned the child. 

» The parent has unlawfully caused the death of the other parent of the child.

• The parent has been convicted in any jurisdiction of one of the following crimes:

» Murder or manslaughter of another child of the parent

» Aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit any such crime

» Felony assault that results in serious physical injury to the child or another child of the parent

• The parent’s rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

Pennsylvania

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Cons. Stat. Tit. 23, § 6373; Tit. 42, § 6351

Reasonable efforts include:

• Efforts to assist the child and the child’s parent

• Preventive services

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Cons. Stat. Tit. 23, § 6373; Tit. 42, § 6351

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the home

• To make it possible for the child to return home

• To finalize the permanency plan in effect

• To place siblings together unless a joint placement is contrary to the safety or well-being of the child or sibling

If a sibling of a child has been removed from his home and is in a different placement setting than the child, the court 

shall enter an order that ensures visitation between the child and the child’s sibling no less than twice a month, unless a 

finding is made that visitation is contrary to the safety or well-being of the child or sibling. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Cons. Stat. Tit. 42, §§ 6351; 6302

Reasonable efforts are not required if the court has determined that aggravated circumstances exist and no new or 

additional efforts are required. Aggravated circumstances include any of the following:

• The child is in the custody of a county agency, the identity or location of the parents is unknown, and the parent 

does not claim the child within 3 months or has failed to maintain contact for a period of 6 months.

• The child or another child of the parent has been the victim of serious physical abuse, sexual violence, or 

aggravated physical neglect by the parent.

• The parent has been convicted of any of the following crimes in which the victim was a child: criminal homicide, 

aggravated assault, rape, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, or the attempt to commit any such crime.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

Puerto Rico

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Laws Tit. 8, § 447s

The department shall make use of resources for the support of individuals, families, and the community, as well as 

internal and external resources of the department and other public and nongovernmental agencies, to improve the living 

conditions of families that may endanger the life and safety of a minor. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Laws Tit. 8, § 447s

Reasonable efforts shall be made to ensure the well-being and full protection of the minor and to preserve the integrity 

of the family prior to the removal of a minor from his or her home. After removing a minor from his or her home, 

reasonable efforts shall be made for a period not to exceed 6 months to reunite the minor with his or her family. 

Moreover, support services shall continue once the minor is permanently placed. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Laws Tit. 8, § 447s

No reasonable efforts shall be undertaken under the following circumstances:

• The parent suffers from a mental disability of such a magnitude that it prevents the parent from caring properly for 

the child.

• The child has been previously removed from the home, and after being returned home, he or she is again made a 

victim of abuse, sexual abuse, and/or neglect.

• The parent has been deprived of patria potestas of another child and has been unable to resolve the problems 

that led to the loss of patria potestas.

• The parent has caused severe physical harm, abuse, and/or neglect of the child, putting the child’s health and 

physical, mental, and emotional integrity at grave risk.

• The parent has committed:

» Murder, assault, or mutilation

» Rape, incest, or lewd or obscene acts

» Trafficking of individuals for sexual purposes

» Remittance, transportation, sale, distribution, publication, exhibition, or possession of obscene materials or 

obscene shows, and exposing minors to those crimes

» Kidnapping or aggravated kidnapping

» Abandonment of minors

» Abduction or perversion of minors

» Inciting a minor to commit a crime

• The parent covers up or conspires to commit one or more of the crimes above.

• Efforts to change the behavior of the parent have not succeeded 6 months after the service plan was initiated. 

• The parent has stated that he or she has no interest in being reunited with the minor.

• A health-care professional certifies that the parent suffers from a chronic controlled substance abuse problem 

that prevents the return of the minor to the custody of the parent within a period of 6 months of initiating the 

procedures.

Rhode Island

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Gen. Laws § 40-11-12.2

Reasonable efforts are measures taken to preserve and reunify families. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Gen. Laws § 40-11-12.2

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• Prior to placement of a child in foster care to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child from the home 

that may include placement of the child with a relative 

• To make it possible for the child to return home safely

• If continuation of efforts is determined to be inconsistent with the permanency plan for the child, to place the 

child in a timely manner and finalize a permanent placement
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Gen. Laws § 40-11-12.2

Reasonable efforts are not required if a court determines that: 

• The parent has subjected any child to conduct of a cruel and abusive nature.

• The parent has:

» Committed murder of another child of the parent

» Subjected the child to aggravating circumstances, including abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, or sexual 

abuse

» Committed voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent or attempted to commit such crime

» Committed a felony assault that results in serious bodily injury of the child or another child of the parent

• The parent’s parental rights to a sibling of the child have been terminated involuntarily.

South Carolina

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 63-7-1680

Reasonable efforts include services that are reasonably available and timely, reasonably adequate to address the needs 

of the family, reasonably adequate to protect the child, and realistic under the circumstances. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 63-7-720; 63-7-1640

Reasonable efforts must be made by the department to prevent removal of the child unless the court finds that 

continuation of the child in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child. 

The family court may rule on whether reasonable efforts to preserve or reunify a family should be required in hearings 

regarding removal of custody, review of amendments to a placement plan, review of the status of a child in foster care, 

permanency planning, or in a separate proceeding for this purpose. 
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 63-7-1640

The department may terminate or forego reasonable efforts to preserve or reunify a family when the family court 

determines that one or more of the following conditions exist:

• The parent has subjected the child or another child while residing in the parent’s domicile to one or more of the 

following aggravated circumstances:

» Severe or repeated abuse or neglect

» Sexual abuse 

» Torture

» Abandonment

• The parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child.

• The parent has been convicted of aiding, abetting, attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit murder or 

voluntary manslaughter of the child or another child while residing in the parent’s domicile.

• Physical abuse of a child resulted in the death or admission to the hospital for in-patient care of that child, and the 

abuse was committed by the parent.

• The parent has been convicted of committing, aiding, abetting, conspiring to commit, or soliciting:

» An offense against the person 

» Criminal domestic violence

» Criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature

» Assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature

• The parental rights of the parent to another child of the parent have been terminated involuntarily.

• The parent has a diagnosable condition unlikely to change within a reasonable time including, but not limited 

to, alcohol or drug addiction, mental deficiency, mental illness, or extreme physical incapacity, and the condition 

makes the parent unable or unlikely to provide minimally acceptable care of the child.

• Other circumstances exist that the court finds make continuation or implementation of reasonable efforts to 

preserve or reunify the family inconsistent with the permanent plan for the child.

South Dakota

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Laws § 26-8A-21

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the provision by the department of any services or assistance that:

• Are appropriate for the child’s parents, including instruction on parenting

• Are available or could be made available without undue financial burden on the department

• Would have a significant likelihood of protecting the child from substantial danger to his or her physical health or 

from severe emotional damage while enabling the child to remain in the home or to be returned to the home

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Laws § 26-8A-21

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• Prior to removal of an alleged or adjudicated abused or neglected child to prevent or eliminate the need for 

removal from the home

• To make it possible for the child to return home if he or she has been removed from the home
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Laws § 26-8A-21.1

Reasonable efforts to reunify are not required when the parent: 

• Has committed murder, manslaughter, rape, incest, sexual exploitation of a minor, or abuse or cruelty to a minor

• Committed aggravated assault against the child or another child of the parent

• Has subjected the child or another child to torture or sexual abuse; abandonment for at least 6 months; chronic 

physical, mental, or emotional injury; or chronic neglect

• Is incarcerated and unavailable to care for the child during a significant period of the child’s minority 

• Has had parental rights to another child terminated involuntarily 

• Has a documented history of abuse or neglect associated with chronic alcohol or drug abuse

• Has exposed the child to or demonstrated an inability to protect the child from substantial harm or the risk of 

substantial harm, and the child or another child has been removed from the parent’s custody because he or she 

was adjudicated abused and neglected by a court on at least one previous occasion

• Has exposed the child to or demonstrated an inability to protect the child from substantial harm or the risk of 

substantial harm, the child has been removed from the parent’s custody on two separate occasions, and the 

department offered or provided family services on each of the two separate occasions the child was removed

• Has exposed the child to or demonstrated an inability to protect the child from substantial harm or risk of harm 

resulting from a crime, act, or omission listed above

• Is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Chapter 22-24B

Tennessee

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 37-1-166

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise of reasonable care and diligence by the department to provide services 

related to meeting the needs of the child and the family. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 37-1-166

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent the need for removal of the child from the child’s family

• To make it possible for the child to return home

• To place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan and to complete whatever steps are 

necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child if continuation of reasonable efforts is determined to 

be inconsistent with the permanency plan for the child
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 36-1-102(9); 37-1-166

Reasonable efforts shall not be required if a court has determined that:

• The parent has subjected the child or any child in the household to aggravated circumstances, including: 

» Abandonment or abandonment of an infant 

» Aggravated assault

» Aggravated kidnapping or especially aggravated kidnapping

» Aggravated child abuse and neglect

» Aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor or especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor 

» Aggravated rape, rape, rape of a child, or incest

» Severe child abuse, as defined in § 37-1-102

• The parent has committed murder or manslaughter of any sibling or other child residing in the household, or 

aided, abetted, or attempted such crime.

• The parent has committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to any child residing in the 

household.

• The parental rights of the parent to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

Texas

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Family Code § 262.001

In determining the reasonable efforts that are required to be made with respect to preventing or eliminating the need to 

remove a child from the child’s home or to make it possible to return a child to the child’s home, the child’s health and 

safety are the paramount concerns. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Family Code §§ 262.001; 262.2015

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent or eliminate the need to remove a child from the child’s home

• To make it possible for the child to return home

• To finalize the permanent placement of a child for whom the court has made a finding that reasonable efforts to 

return the child home are not required
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Family Code § 262.2015

The court may waive the requirement to make reasonable efforts if the court finds that the parent has subjected the child 

to aggravated circumstances such as the following:

• The parent abandoned the child without a means of identifying the child.

• The child is a victim of serious bodily injury or sexual abuse inflicted by the parent or another person with the 

parent’s consent.

• The parent has committed murder or manslaughter of a child, indecency with a child, sexual assault, aggravated 

assault, injury to a child, abandoning or endangering a child, prohibited sexual conduct, sexual performance by a 

child, possession or promotion of child pornography, continuous sexual abuse of a child, compelling prostitution, 

or trafficking of persons. 

• The parent voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of another person for at least 6 months without 

expressing the intent to return and without providing adequate support for the child.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily based on a finding that the 

parent knowingly placed or allowed the child to remain in conditions or surroundings, or with persons engaged in 

conduct, that endangered the child’s physical or emotional well-being.

• The parent has been convicted for the murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child, or aiding, abetting, or 

attempting such crime.

• The parent has been convicted of a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury of the child or another child 

of the parent.

• The parent’s parental rights with regard to two other children have been involuntarily terminated.

Utah

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 78A-6-312

The division shall make reasonable efforts to provide services to the child and the child’s parent for the purpose of 

facilitating reunification of the family for a specified period of time. In determining reasonable efforts to be made with 

respect to a minor, and in making reasonable efforts, the minor’s health, safety, and welfare shall be the paramount 

concern. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 62A-4a-203; 78A-6-312

Because the removal of a child from his or her home affects protected, constitutional rights of the parent and has a 

dramatic, long-term impact on a child, the division shall:

• When possible and appropriate, and without danger to the child’s welfare, make reasonable efforts to prevent or 

eliminate the need for removal of a child from the child’s home prior to placement in substitute care

• Determine whether there is substantial cause to believe that a child has been abused or neglected or is in danger 

of abuse or neglect prior to removing the child from his or her home

• When it is possible and appropriate, make reasonable efforts to make it possible for a child in substitute care to 

return to his or her home

• Take measures in a timely manner to place the child in accordance with the permanency plan and complete 

whatever steps are necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child if continuation of reasonable efforts 

to reunify a minor is determined to be inconsistent with the final permanency plan for the child
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 78A-6-312

Reasonable efforts are not required if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that any of the following 

circumstances exist:

• The parent(s)’ whereabouts are unknown.

• The parent suffers from a mental illness of such a magnitude that it renders the parent incapable of using 

reunification services.

• The child previously was adjudicated as an abused child, was removed from the home, was returned home, and is 

being removed due to additional abuse.

• The parent:

» Caused the death of another minor through abuse or neglect

» Committed, attempted, or conspired to commit murder or manslaughter of a child or child abuse homicide

» Committed sexual abuse against the child

» Is a registered sex offender or required to register as a sex offender

• The child suffered severe abuse by the parent or by any person known by the parent, and the parent knew or 

reasonably should have known that the person was abusing the child.

• The child was adjudicated an abused child as a result of severe abuse by the parent, and the court finds that it 

would not benefit the child to pursue reunification services with the offending parent.

• The parent’s rights were terminated with regard to any other child.

• The child was removed from his or her home on at least two previous occasions, and reunification services were 

offered or provided to the family at those times.

• The parent abandoned the child for 6 months or longer.

• The parent permitted the child to reside, permanently or temporarily, where the parent knew or should have 

known that a clandestine laboratory operation was located.

• With respect to the child’s birth mother, the child has fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or 

was exposed prenatally to an illegal or prescription drug, unless the mother completes an approved substance 

abuse treatment program.

• Other circumstances preclude reunification efforts or services.

Vermont

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 33, § 5102

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise of due diligence by the department to use appropriate and available 

services to prevent unnecessary removal of the child from his or her home or to finalize a permanency plan. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 33, §§ 5102; 5321

Reasonable efforts must be made to prevent unnecessary removal of the child from the home. In cases involving a child 

who has been removed from the home, reasonable efforts must be made to finalize the permanency plan for the child. 

Reasonable efforts to finalize a permanency plan and may consist of:

• When the permanency plan for the child is reunification, efforts to reunify the child and family following the child’s 

removal from the home

• When the permanency plan for the child does not include reunification, efforts to arrange and finalize an alternate 

permanent living arrangement for the child
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. Tit. 33, § 5102

When making the reasonable efforts determination, the court may find that no services were appropriate or reasonable 

considering the circumstances. If the court makes written findings that aggravated circumstances are present, the court 

may make but is not required to make written findings as to whether reasonable efforts were made to prevent removal of 

the child from the home. Aggravated circumstances include:

• The parent has subjected a child to abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, or sexual abuse.

• The parent has been convicted of murder or manslaughter of a child.

• The parent has been convicted of a felony crime that results in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of 

the parent.

• The parental rights of the parent with respect to a sibling have been terminated. 

Virgin Islands

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code Tit. 5, § 2550

The term ‘reasonable efforts’ means the exercise of due diligence and care by the Department of Human Services 

to utilize all available services related to meeting the needs of the child and the family and to assist the parents in 

remedying the circumstances and conditions that led to the placement of the child and in reinforcing the family structure, 

including:

• Consultation and cooperation with the parent in developing a plan for appropriate services

• Providing services to the family that have been agreed upon in order to further the goal of family reunification

• Informing the parent at appropriate intervals of the child’s progress, development, and health

• Facilitating appropriate visitation

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.
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When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code Tit. 5, § 2550

Reasonable efforts are not required if the court finds that any of the following grounds for termination of parental rights 

exists:

• The parent has abandoned the child.

• The parent has not complied with the department’s reasonable efforts to achieve reunification.

• The child has been removed from the home for more than 6 months, and:

» The conditions that led to the child’s removal still persist.

» There is little likelihood that the conditions that led to the child’s removal will be remedied within the next 18 

months.

• The parent has been convicted of aggravated child abuse or neglect, as defined in tit. 14, § 506, against the child, 

a sibling, half-sibling, or any other child residing temporarily or permanently in the home of the parent.

• The parent has been convicted of the intentional death of the child’s other parent.

• The parent is unable to discharge parental duties due to:

» Emotional illness, mental illness, or mental deficiency

» Habitual abuse or addiction to intoxicating liquors, narcotics, or other dangerous drugs

• The parent has failed to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody of the child.

• Placing the child in the parent’s custody would pose a risk of substantial harm to the physical or psychological 

welfare of the child.

• The parent has relinquished the parent’s rights or consented to the child’s adoption.

• The parent has:

» Committed murder or manslaughter of any sibling or half-sibling of the child

» Aided, abetted, attempted, or conspired to commit such murder or a voluntary manslaughter

» Committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or any sibling or half-sibling

• The parent has on two or more occasions abused or neglected any child.

• Within 18 months after a child’s return from an out-of-home placement, the child is removed from the parent’s 

custody and placed in care outside the home a second time.

Virginia

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code § 16.1-281

Reasonable efforts include programs, care, services, and other support that will be offered to the child and his or her 

parents that will lead to the return of the child to his or her parents within the shortest practicable time. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 16.1-278.4; 16.1-282.1(C)

Reasonable efforts must be made to prevent removal of the child from his or her home, unless continued placement in 

the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child.

If the child has been removed from the home, reasonable efforts must be made:

• To reunite the child with the child’s family, if returning home is the permanent goal for the child

• To achieve the permanent goal identified in the case plan, if the goal is other than returning the child home
Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children https://www.childwelfare.gov

47 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information 

Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/reunify.cfm

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 16.1-281

Reasonable efforts to reunite the child with a parent are not required if the court finds that:

• The parental rights of the parent regarding a sibling of the child have previously been involuntarily terminated.

• The parent has been convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter, or a felony attempt, conspiracy, or 

solicitation to commit any such offense, and the victim of the offense was a child of the parent, a child with whom 

the parent resided at the time the offense occurred, or the other parent of the child.

• The parent has been convicted of felony assault resulting in serious bodily injury, felony bodily wounding resulting 

in serious bodily injury, or felony sexual assault, and the victim of the offense was a child of the parent or a child 

with whom the parent resided at the time of such offense.

• Based on clear and convincing evidence, the parent has subjected any child to aggravated circumstances.

• The parent has abandoned a child.

Aggravated circumstances include torture, chronic or severe abuse, or chronic or severe sexual abuse, if the victim 

of such conduct was a child of the parent or child with whom the parent resided at the time such conduct occurred. 

Aggravated circumstances also include failure to protect the child from such conduct, if the conduct or failure to protect 

demonstrates a wanton or depraved indifference to human life, or has resulted in the death of the child or in serious 

bodily injury to the child. 

Washington

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Rev. Code §§ 13.34.025; 13.34.130

The Department of Social and Health Services shall coordinate within the administrations of the department and with 

contracted service providers, including supervising agencies, to ensure that parents in dependency proceedings receive 

priority access to remedial services recommended by the department or supervising agency in its social study or ordered 

by the court for the purpose of correcting any parental deficiencies identified in the dependency proceeding that are 

capable of being corrected in the foreseeable future. Services also may be provided to caregivers other than the parents 

as identified in § 13.34.138.

For purposes of this chapter, remedial services are those services defined in the Federal Adoption and Safe Families Act 

as time-limited family reunification services. Remedial services include:

• Individual, group, and family counseling

• Substance abuse treatment services

• Mental health services

• Assistance to address domestic violence

• Services designed to provide temporary child care and therapeutic services for families

• Transportation to or from any of the above services and activities

Reasonable efforts include specific services, such as housing assistance, that are provided to the child and the child’s 

parent, guardian, or legal custodian, and preventive services that are offered or provided to prevent the need for out-ofhome placement. 
Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children https://www.childwelfare.gov

48 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information 

Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/reunify.cfm

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Rev. Code §§ 13.34.110; 13.34.130

Reasonable efforts are required to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child’s home and to 

make it possible for the child to return home.

An order for out-of-home placement may be made only if the court finds that reasonable efforts have been made to 

prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child’s home and to make it possible for the child to 

return home, specifying the services (including housing assistance) that have been provided to the child and the child’s 

parent, guardian, or legal custodian, and that preventive services have been offered or provided to the child and the 

child’s parent, guardian, or custodian, and the services have failed to prevent the need for out-of-home placement, 

unless the health, safety, and welfare of the child cannot be protected adequately in the home. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Rev. Code § 13.34.132

Reasonable efforts are not required when there are aggravated circumstances. In determining whether aggravated 

circumstances exist by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, the court shall consider one or more of the following: 

• Conviction of the parent of rape, criminal mistreatment, or assault of the child

• Conviction of the parent of murder, manslaughter, or homicide by abuse of the child’s other parent, sibling, or 

another child

• Conviction of the parent of attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit any of the above crimes

• A finding by a court that a parent is a sexually violent predator

• Failure of the parent to complete a treatment plan where such failure has resulted in a prior termination of 

parental rights to another child and the parent has failed to effect significant change in the interim

• Abandonment of an infant younger than age 3

• Conviction of the parent of a sex offense or incest when the child is born of the offense

West Virginia

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 49-1-3; 49-6-5

The term ‘time-limited reunification services’ means individual, group, and family counseling; inpatient, residential, 

or outpatient substance abuse treatment services; mental health services; assistance to address domestic violence; 

services designed to provide temporary child care and therapeutic services for families, including crisis nurseries and 

transportation to or from any such services, provided during 15 of the most recent 22 months a child has been in foster 

care, as determined by the earlier date of the first judicial finding that the child is subjected to abuse or neglect or the 

date that is 60 days after the child is removed from home.

Reasonable efforts are measures taken by the department to provide remedial and reunification services. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 49-6-5

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To preserve the family and to prevent placement

• To eliminate the need for removing the child from the child’s home

• To make it possible for the child to return home safely 
Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children https://www.childwelfare.gov

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Code § 49-6-5

The department is not required to make reasonable efforts to preserve the family if the court determines:

• The parent has subjected the child, another child of the parent, or any other child residing in the same household 

to aggravated circumstances, including abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, and sexual abuse.

• The parent has:

» Committed murder or voluntary manslaughter of the child’s other parent, another child of the parent, or any 

other child residing in the same household 

» Attempted or conspired to commit such a murder or voluntary manslaughter 

» Committed a felonious assault that results in serious bodily injury to the child, the child’s other parent, to 

another child of the parent, or any other child residing in the same household 

» Committed sexual assault or sexual abuse of the child, the child’s other parent, another child of the parent, or 

any other child residing in the same household 

» Has been required by State or Federal law to register with a sex offender registry

• The parental rights of the parent to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

• The parent has habitually abused or is addicted to alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs, to the extent that 

proper parenting skills have been seriously impaired.

• The parent has refused to cooperate in the development of a reasonable family case plan.

• The abusing parent or parents have not responded to rehabilitative efforts designed to reduce or prevent the 

abuse or neglect of the child.

• The parent has abandoned the child.

• The parent has an emotional illness, mental illness, or mental deficiency of such duration or nature as to render 

such parent incapable of exercising proper parenting skills or sufficiently improving the adequacy of such skills.

Wisconsin

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.355

Reasonable efforts shall include, but not be limited to:

• A comprehensive assessment of the family’s situation 

• Financial assistance to the family, if applicable

• Provision of services, including in-home support and intensive treatment services, community support services, or 

specialized services for family members with special needs

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.355

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• To prevent the removal of the child from the home

• To return the child safely to the child’s home

• To achieve the goal of the child’s permanency plan
Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children https://www.childwelfare.gov

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.355

Reasonable efforts are not required if the court finds any of the following:

• The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances, including abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, 

and sexual abuse.

• The parent has committed, has aided or abetted the commission of, or has solicited, conspired, or attempted to 

commit, intentional homicide, reckless homicide, or felony murder, and the victim is a child of the parent.

• The parent has committed battery, sexual assault, sexual assault of a child, or physical child abuse that resulted in 

great or substantial bodily harm to the child or another child of the parent.

• The parental rights of the parent to another child have been involuntarily terminated. 

• The parent has relinquished custody of the child when the child was 72 hours old or younger. 

Wyoming

What Are Reasonable Efforts?

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 14-3-440

Reasonable efforts require services to the family that are accessible, available, and appropriate. 

When Reasonable Efforts Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 14-3-440

Reasonable efforts must be made:

• Prior to placement of the child outside the home to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child from the 

child’s home

• To make it possible for the child to return home safely

• If continuation of reasonable efforts is determined to be inconsistent with the permanency plan for the child, to 

complete the steps necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child

When Reasonable Efforts Are NOT Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 14-2-309(c)

Evidence that reasonable efforts have been made to preserve and reunify the family is not required in any case in which 

the court determines by clear and convincing evidence that:

• The child who is younger than age 1 has been abandoned for at least 6 months.

• The parent has committed murder or voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent or has been convicted 

of aiding and abetting, attempting, or conspiring to commit or soliciting such a crime.

• The parent has committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to a child of the parent.

• The parent’s parental rights to another child have been terminated involuntarily.

• The parent abandoned, chronically abused, tortured, or sexually abused the child.

• Other aggravating circumstances exist indicating that there is little likelihood that services to the family will result 

in successful reunification.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau