Service Planning for the Parents

The caseworker must continue service planning with the parents in all cases for a minimum of six months after CPS is named as permanent managing conservator when parental rights have not been terminated.

The caseworker must conduct a review of the case within 30 days of the court naming CPS as permanent managing conservator, and before the development of the new Family Plan of Service. The review must include the caseworker, supervisor, and program director. During the review, staff must discuss:

  •  the appropriateness of the permanency goals;

  •  the caregiver’s interest or willingness to accept permanent managing conservatorship (PMC);

  •  services needed to address current dangers and the parents’ ability to provide safety over time;

  •  efforts to identify, locate, and notify relatives and kinship; and

  •  efforts to incorporate relatives and kinship into the child’s service planning.

The caseworker must update the Family Plan of Service within 45 days of the court naming CPS as the permanent managing conservator.

After the initial six months, the caseworker must review and update the Family Plan of Service every six months, when:

  •  family reunification continues to be a permanency goal;

  •  CPS is likely to pursue termination of parental rights in the future;

  •  the parent requires services that are not child-specific (for example, the parent will attend therapy to learn how to appropriately manage his or her depression); or

  •  siblings remain in the home and the parents request CPS to provide services to those children.

When none of the above situations exists, staff may determine that a Family Plan of Service is no longer required. See 6365 [sic, wrong link] Determining Whether to Discontinue the Family Plan of Service.

Content of the Family Plan of Service

See 6242.5 Content of the Family Plan of Service.