State laws build on Federal laws and provide further guidance for the work of State and local child welfare agencies in achieving permanency for children in out-of-home care. The following resources highlight States' efforts to address the issue of permanency planning in child welfare.
Case Planning for Families Involved With Child Welfare Agencies
| Series Title | State Statutes |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 803KB) |
| Year Published | 2018 |
Presents a review of statutes and administrative codes related to how States address the issue of case planning for children and families that are receiving child welfare services. States generally require a case plan when a child is placed in out-of-home care or when a child and his or her family are receiving any kind of in-home services to prevent placement. Topics covered include requirements for when a case plan is needed, participants in the case-planning process, and the types of information that must be included in a plan. Laws for all States and territories are included.
Court Hearings for the Permanent Placement of Children
| Series Title | State Statutes |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 777KB) |
| 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.
Kinship Guardianship as a Permanency Option
| Series Title | State Statutes |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 1,710KB) |
| Year Published | 2019 |
Reviews State laws and policies that allow a family member or other person with close ties to a child who has been placed in out-of-home care to become that's child's permanent guardian. Guardianship has emerged as a permanency option for a child who has been placed in out-of-home care as it creates a legal relationship between a child and caregiver that is intended to be permanent and self-sustaining and can provide a permanent family for the child without the necessity of terminating the parents' parental rights. A guardian's rights and duties, approving a guardianship home, modifying or revoking a guardianship, and kinship guardianship assistance are among the issues addressed. Summaries of relevant laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.
Placement of Children With Relatives
| Series Title | State Statutes |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 755KB) |
| Year Published | 2018 |
Presents an overview of State laws that give priority or preference to relatives when children are in need of 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. Summaries of laws for all 50 States are included.
Promoting Permanency for Teens: A 50 State Review of Law and Policy
Johnson, Speiglman, Mauldon, Grimm, & Perry (2018)
National Center for Youth Law
Explores State laws and policies for teens in foster care and their need for permanent connections to family, including birth family, adoptive family, relative caregivers, and more.
Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children
| Series Title | State Statutes |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 583KB) |
| Year Published | 2020 |
This factsheet discusses laws that require child welfare agencies to 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 issues examined include what constitutes reasonable efforts, when reasonable efforts are required to be made, and the circumstances under which reasonable efforts to reunify the family are not required. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.
What's New in Child Welfare?
National Conference of State Legislatures (2014)
Provides summaries of enacted child welfare legislation in States, as well as other State-level child welfare information related to issues such as foster care, adoption, child abuse and neglect, kinship care, the child welfare system, prevention, minority children, and Federal issues. This site requires a login.