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Policy
Manual
ADOPTION
Permanency Placement Services Program (PPSP)
48-22-4.2
| Plan for Permanency | Pre-placement Planning Services.
This service is the provision of casework services to a child for whom the plan is
adoption. It involves making an assessment of the child's needs and determining an
appropriate plan for permanency. In especially complicated cases, it may necessitate a
thorough evaluation of whether a child should be: •reunited with birth parent(s) •placed with relatives with a plan of relative guardianship •adopted by the foster family, or •adopted by a new family. |
| Working with the Child and Foster Family | Once the goal for permanency is agreed upon, this service
involves working with the child and foster family or caretaker and may involve preparation
of them for the idea of an impending move. If a child is moving, this service is used to help a child understand why he/she will be moving. It is not used to prepare the child to move into a specific family, as this activity comes under the category of "Placement Planning". |
| Assessing a Child's Needs | Assessing a child's needs and determining an appropriate plan
involves many tasks including, but not limited to: •talking with foster parents and former foster parents so that there is good knowledge of
•talking with teachers, therapists, doctors, and other collateral contacts to acquire good knowledge of the child's educational, emotional, and medical needs •gathering information which has and will influence the child, such as his/her background and early history. This information will affect the child's placement and needs to be shared with potential families. •developing a clear idea of the type of family that will meet this child's needs (family composition, personality characteristics, family expectations, lifestyle, etc.) •developing a general time frame for placement. |
| Preparing for a Move | Preparing the child for a move involves many tasks, such as: •enlisting the aid of the foster family or caretaker in preparing the child for adoption by giving reinforcement about the positives their family has given to the child •asking about other children who have been adopted from their home and how they have handled these moves •engaging the foster parent in gathering pictures and information for the Life Book and working on the Life Book with the Social Worker and the child •helping the foster parent understand and tolerate the feelings children have about an impending move and the way these can get acted out by the child •helping the foster parent give the child the message that this move will be good for the child (permission to move on) •helping the child understand the need for permanent parents and deal with the feelings of loss. If a Life Book has not been done, this is a good time to do one or update it. If the child does not understand why the birth parents cannot care for him or her, sometimes a well planned "goodbye" visit, letter, tape-recorded message or telephone call can be helpful. |
Connecticut Department of Children and Families Effective Date: July 1, 2000 (Revised)
