(Revision. 10/1/16)
AS 47.10 Children in Need of Aid
42 U.S.C. 675 Definitions (Title IV-E)
25 U.S.C. 1901-1923 Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) (P. L. 95-608)
45 CFR 1356.21(g) Case Plan Requirements
To provide a structured approach for the development of the child’s case plan and for engaging and involving children in their case planning process.
A case plan must be developed within 60 days of when a child is removed from home.
The case plan must be developed jointly with the parent(s) or guardian of the child in foster care.
The required elements of case plans are addressed in the Background Information subsection of section 2.9.1 A Framework for Essential Case Planning.
The agency will develop a case plan for each child who is subject to Family Services case, regardless of custody or placement.
Case plan development will begin when the case has been transferred from an Initial Assessment worker to a Family Services worker, or when the assigned Protective Services Specialist (PSS) remains the same, but the focus of the work changes from the initial assessment phase to the case planning and service provision phase.
The agency will gather information to help create the child’s case plan:
from each child, using developmentally appropriate strategies;
from each parent;
from alternate caregivers, where applicable; and
from the child’s Tribe, when appropriate.
Each case plan will focus on child safety, permanency, and well-being issues, and facilitate the permanency plan for the child. The plan will address all the applicable case plan elements outlined in section 2.7.1 A Framework for Essentials In Case Planning.
When appropriate, alternative permanency planning will be used to ensure timely permanency for the child, as outlined in section 3.1.1 Permanency Goals and Permanency Planning.
Case plans will be created and distributed to all appropriate parties within 60 days of assuming custody. For Family Services cases without custody, case plans will be created and distributed to all appropriate parties within 30 days of opening the case for services or no later than 30 days from the case transfer date.