Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children - Wisconsin

What Are Reasonable Efforts

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.355

Reasonable efforts shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

• 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 do the following:

• 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

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 parent has been convicted of committing the crime of trafficking of a child in this State or another State, and the victim of that crime is a 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.