When placement decisions are made, it is important for the child’s safety to be at the forefront. Beyond safety, professionals should consider factors such as family preference, cultural backgrounds, strengths and needs of the child, caretaker’s ability to meet their needs, location of their school, continued connection to their community, and other issues as appropriate. Considering these factors, and completing preplacement visits whenever possible, are important to long-term placement stability. The resources on this page provide information for child welfare professionals about how to make  placement decisions, how to promote stability, and how to minimize the number of placements a child lives in while in out-of-home care.

30 Days to Family®
Foster & Adopt Care Coalition 
Explores children’s relatives and kin placement options and supports. 

Achieving Placement Stability [Learning Experience]
Capacity Building Center for States (2016)
Helps States and territories build their capacity to provide a child or youth in foster care with a stable, secure, and long-term family environment in which to live. This learning experience includes seven interactive modules. Free registration is required to access this resource.

Beyond the Search: Supporting Potential Families After Family-Finding Efforts
AdoptUSKids (2021)
Offers key considerations to be mindful of when child welfare systems use a family finding approach to identify a safe, stable, and permanent placement for a child or youth. 

The Child Welfare Placement Continuum: What's Best for Children?
National Conference of State Legislatures (2019)
Discusses the importance of keeping children with their families when possible and placing them in the least restrictive, family-like environment when that is not possible. The webpage explores kinship care, foster care, and residential or group homes.

Court Hearings for the Permanent Placement of Children

Series Title
State Statutes
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 345KB)
Year Published
2020
Summarizes State laws that mandate the type and frequency of court hearings that must be held to review the status of children placed in out-of-home care. At these hearings, the court reviews the efforts that have been made to address the family issues that necessitated the out-of-home placement as well as efforts to achieve permanency for the child. This document also lists the persons who may attend the hearings and describes permanency options.

Determining the Best Interests of the Child

Series Title
State Statutes
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 393KB)
Year Published
2020
Discusses State laws that present the factors that courts need to consider when making decisions about a child's appropriate custody and care. Factors to be considered include parental capacity to provide adequate care, sibling and other family relationships, and the child's wishes. The publication also addresses the definition of best interests and guiding principles of best interests determinations.

Kinnect to Family
Identifies strategies for children and families engaging in the child welfare system to connect and engage with family. 

Placement of Children With Relatives

Series Title
State Statutes
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 377KB)
Year Published
2023
Presents an overview of State laws that give priority or preference to a child's relatives when they need to be placed in out-of-home care. The issues addressed include locating relatives, determining the fitness of a relative to provide care, and requirements for licensure. Requirements for placing siblings together whenever possible and adoption by relatives also are addressed.

Placement Process Resource Guide (PDF - 708 KB)
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (2020)
Provides child welfare professionals with guidance, recommendations, and procedures regarding placing children in out-of-home care in Texas.

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