To prepare a petition, the attorney representing DFPS must have basic information about a case.

Local procedures and forms for conveying this information vary, but the caseworker must be prepared to provide:

  •   detailed information about the children, parents, and other members of the household;

  •   the reasons for removal;

  •   the efforts made to locate missing persons;

  •   the response of parents and extended family regarding any Native American family history; and

  •   any specific information requested by the attorney handling the case.

To provide accurate names and identifying information for the petition, the caseworker must ask the eligibility specialist to provide a screen print of the birth record that the specialist has obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics. See 1520 Obtaining Certified Birth Certificates and Screen-Printing Birth Records.

The caseworker must pay specific attention to gathering and sharing information related to the child’s Native American status and if there has been a custody lawsuit in the family’s past.

The caseworker must also gather and provide all of the information necessary to help process-servers locate individuals who are entitled to be served with the relevant citation. See 5230 Service of a Citation to determine who is entitled to be served with a citation for an original suit affecting the parent-child relationship.