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6.2 Key Concepts

Illinois has defined "permanency" a lifetime commitment to a child in a setting where he or she is safe, can have a sense of belonging and well-being, and can live to adulthood. A child remaining at home or returning home best accomplishes permanency, when his or her safety can be assured. It is only after ruling out safe preservation of, or safe reunification with, the child's own family that other permanency options should be considered.

Many families in our society take permanency for granted. Most children grow up in safe, secure families, never subjected to the trauma of abuse or the subsequent separation and loss experienced by children in the child welfare system.

The trauma of abuse and neglect coupled with the loss and separation issues experienced in out-of-home placement can impede a child's social, intellectual and emotional growth. Children who move from place to place and who may not know where they will live today, tomorrow or next year cannot concentrate on the developmental tasks they need to master to be successful. The lack of consistency, predictability and stability in their lives takes a tremendous toll on their everyday functioning and adjustment.

The pursuit of permanency for children serviced by the child welfare system is not new. Social work research and attachment theory clearly describe the harm that multiple moves can have on children. The growing numbers of children in foster care and the increasing length of foster care stays require child welfare professionals to examine the reasons that children languish in the foster care system. In Illinois, this examination has resulted in major changes to child welfare service delivery. Court consent decrees, legislation, ongoing research and accreditation have helped shape these changes.

Permanency also has a legal component. Even in placements where children have achieved social and emotional permanency, it is important for legal closure to occur through returning home or finalizing adoption or guardianship. Transfer of legal authority from the child welfare system to the caregiver completes the permanency commitment. In many instances this represents the end of the intrusion of the state in the child and family's world.

When planning for permanency, the following principles apply:

• The health and safety of the child is paramount.
• Children should remain in their own homes whenever possible, provided their health and safety can be assured.
• Permanency planning begins at the time of first contact with a family; permanency, along with the child's safety, should remain a priority concern throughout DCFS involvement.
• Caseworkers effect positive change through use of self in the relationship with the client.
• Planning with families is most effective when a strengths-based approach is used.
• Selection of the permanency goal and decision-making must be based on thorough assessments of the child and family.

To be effective and timely, permanency planning requires that three key decisions be addressed throughout the life of the case:

• Has the family made sufficient change so that reunification can be safely accomplished? If required change has been shown, the decision is to proceed to reunification and the action is to accelerate all efforts and supports for reunification immediately.
• If progress toward change is being made and the required benchmarks met, when can the child be reunited and what post reunification services are needed?
• If sufficient progress toward reunification has not been made, how will the concurrent plan (alternative permanency goal and plan) be implemented?

There are several aspects to permanency planning which are unique to placement cases. This section will describe these in more detail. The worker should review Chapter 2, "Safety and Permanency for Every Child," as the information contained in that chapter and the information in this chapter should be taken as a whole.

When planning for permanency, a triage approach must be taken and the principles of concurrent planning applied. The case must first be examined to determine whether or not it fits the criteria for expedited termination. If so, a legal screening is scheduled immediately and the child is placed in a permanency home that meets the child's needs. If expedited termination is ruled out, the case must then be examined to determine if it meets the criteria for permanency risk. If so, certain procedures apply such as placement in a permanency home and shorter timeframes for achievement of tasks. There may be certain tasks toward the alternative goal that will be performed concurrently with the tasks toward the preferred goal. If both expedited termination and permanency risk are ruled out, the preferred permanency goal (and alternative goal and/or plan) is selected and tasks developed that will move the family toward a resolution of the risk and safety issues that necessitated removal of the child. This triage approach is applied to every case in which the Department has a legal relationship to the children.

The next sections describe expedited termination, permanency risk and other (the majority of) placement cases and how concurrent planning is applied to these cases.

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