CWEL Permanency Planning and Adoption 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to federal law, within how many months must a permanency hearing be held for a child in foster care?
- 6 months
- 12 months (Correct answer)
- 18 months
- 24 months
Correct answer: 12 months
ASFA (Adoption and Safe Families Act) requires a permanency hearing within 12 months of a child entering foster care.
Question 2: Which permanency goal is considered the preferred outcome under ASFA for children who cannot safely return home?
- Long-term foster care
- Guardianship
- Adoption (Correct answer)
- Emancipation
Correct answer: Adoption
ASFA established adoption as the preferred permanency goal for children who cannot safely return home, to ensure stable, legally permanent families.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of a concurrent planning approach in child welfare?
- To prioritize reunification above all other goals
- To simultaneously pursue reunification while preparing an alternative permanency plan (Correct answer)
- To expedite termination of parental rights
- To place children with relatives rather than foster families
Correct answer: To simultaneously pursue reunification while preparing an alternative permanency plan
Concurrent planning involves working toward reunification while simultaneously developing an alternative permanency plan, reducing time children spend in foster care.
Question 4: Under ASFA, a state must file a petition for termination of parental rights (TPR) when a child has been in foster care for how long within the most recent 22 months?
- 9 months
- 12 months
- 15 months (Correct answer)
- 18 months
Correct answer: 15 months
ASFA requires states to file for TPR when a child has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months, with limited exceptions.
Question 5: Which of the following is an exception under ASFA that allows a state to avoid filing for termination of parental rights despite the 15/22-month rule?
- The child is placed with a non-relative foster family
- The child has been diagnosed with a developmental disability
- The child is placed with a relative and the state documents compelling reasons (Correct answer)
- The child's parent has completed a substance abuse program
Correct answer: The child is placed with a relative and the state documents compelling reasons
ASFA allows exceptions to the TPR filing requirement when a child is in relative placement and the state documents compelling reasons why filing is not in the child's best interest.
Question 6: What does the term 'legal risk placement' mean in the context of adoption?
- Placing a child with a family that has a prior criminal record
- Placing a child with prospective adoptive parents before parental rights are terminated (Correct answer)
- Placing a child with a family outside the state
- Placing a child in a therapeutic foster home
Correct answer: Placing a child with prospective adoptive parents before parental rights are terminated
A legal risk placement occurs when a child is placed with prospective adoptive parents before parental rights are legally terminated, carrying the risk that the adoption may not proceed.
Question 7: The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) requires that before placing a Native American child for adoption, preference must be given in what order?
- Foster family, relative, tribal member
- Extended family, other tribal members, other Native American families (Correct answer)
- Tribal member, non-tribal Native American, general public
- Biological sibling, relative, foster parent
Correct answer: Extended family, other tribal members, other Native American families
ICWA establishes a placement preference order of extended family members, other members of the child's tribe, then other Native American families before non-Native placements.
CWEL Permanency Planning and Adoption 1
According to federal law, within how many months must a permanency hearing be held for a child in foster care?