Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 413 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, CHILD WELFARE PROGRAMS › Division 40 - CASE MANAGEMENT - SERVICE PLANS › Section 413-040-0140 - Permanency Hearings by the Court

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
A Permanency Hearing must be held no later than 12 months after
				a child was found within the jurisdiction of the court under ORS
				419B.100 or 14 months after the
				child was placed in substitute care, whichever is the earlier, and thereafter
				no less frequently than 12 months for as long as the child remains in
				substitute care. The Permanency Hearing will:
(1) Be held for all children in the legal or
			 physical custody of the Department and placed in paid or unpaid substitute care
			 including, but not limited to, children in foster or relative placements, group
			 homes, permanent foster care, emergency shelters, residential facilities,
			 non-finalized adoptive placements, subsidized independent living, accredited
			 psychiatric facilities, SAIP, and SCIP. Children's permanency hearings continue
			 regardless of whether the placement is licensed or certified or, the child is
			 on runaway status, or the child is returned to a parental home on the basis of
			 a trial home visit.
(2) Be
			 conducted by a juvenile court, another court of competent jurisdiction, or by
			 an authorized tribal court; and
(3)
			 Determine the permanency plan for the child that includes whether, and if
			 applicable, when the child will:
(a) Be
			 returned to the parent;
(b) Be
			 placed for adoption and the Department shall file a petition to terminate the
			 parental rights of the parent(s) to a child in Department custody;
(c) Be referred to legal guardianship;
			 or
(d) Be placed in another planned
			 permanent living arrangement. If the Department has determined that is not in
			 the best interest of the child to file a petition for termination of parental
			 rights, the case plan must also contain documentation for review by the court
			 that:
(A) The child is being cared for by a
			 relative and that placement is intended to be permanent; or
(B) There is a compelling reason that filing
			 such a petition would not be in the best interests of the child. Such
			 compelling reasons include, but are not limited to:
(i) The parent is successfully participating
			 in services that will make it possible for the child to safely return home
			 within a reasonable time;
(ii)
			 Another permanent plan is better suited to meet the health and safety needs of
			 the child;
(iii) The court or local
			 CRB in a prior hearing or review determined that while the case plan was to
			 reunify the family the Department did not make reasonable efforts or, if the
			 Indian Child Welfare Act applies, active effort to make it possible for the
			 child to safely return home; or
(iv) The Department has not provided to the
			 family of the child, consistent with the time period in the case plan, such
			 services as the Department deems necessary for the child to safely return home,
			 if reasonable efforts to make it possible for the child to safely return home
			 are required to be made with respect to the child.