Chapter 5 : Section 15

Relative Adoptions

Procedures

Considering Relatives

Consider the following issues when assessing potential relative adoptive families:

• the relative’s willingness and ability to offers the child a positive connection to the child's heritage and to extended family members, specifically siblings not placed together;

• the relative’s relationship with the child’s parents and its impact upon the child’s needs for a safe and nurturing home;

• the relative family’s ability to meet the child’s identified physical, social and emotional needs;

• any background information about the relative family that would adversely affect the family’s ability to provide a safe and nurturing environment;

• the family’s understanding and acceptance of the dynamics of adoption, including the child's knowledge of his or her birth parents; and

• whether all family members - and the family unit collectively - appear stable enough to accept the changes that the addition of an adopted child will bring to the family.

Assessment of the Relative Family

View relevant birth certificates and/or marriage license/registration to confirm the interested relative is the spouse of the natural or legal parent of the child to be adopted or is the adult sibling, aunt, uncle, grandparent or great-grandparent of the child by the whole or half-blood or by marriage or adoption.

Provide to the relative who is not required to be certified and who intends to adopt a related child who is a court ward an application for adoption.

Provide to the relative who wants to adopt a related child who is a court ward the opportunity to attend all or part of Foster Parent College.

Ensure the relative and all adults permanently living in the household have:

• completed fingerprinting and have a state and federal criminal history records clearance within the last year; and

• a current DCS records clearance.

Please see Kinship Care for more information on assessing DCS and Criminal History for Kinship Caregivers.

If the fingerprint and criminal history records check are not current within the last year, provide information to the relative on arranging for the relative and all adults permanently living in the household to complete:

• Request for Licensing/Employment Information, J-709;

• FBI Fingerprint Card, FD-258; and

• Prospective Caregiver Central Registry Check, CSO-1058A.

Schedule a case conference if the fingerprinting has not been initiated within 30 days. The conference should include the child's DCS Specialist, Program Supervisor, and the relative. It should focus on resolving any barriers to completion of the fingerprinting and home approval process or, if necessary, on planning for selection of another family.

If the DCS records clearance was not previously completed or is not current, complete a search of the DCS Central Registry and Guardian database for current or prior child abuse and neglect reports and history. Confirm the outcome of any child abuse or neglect reports.

When the relative and all adults permanently living in the household have a criminal history records clearance and DCS records clearance, assess the relative’s ability to parent the child by:

• reviewing the results of the Kinship Home Study ;

• reviewing the child's assessed placement needs in Guardian or the child’s hard copy record; and

• reviewing any other relevant documentation in determining the relative’s ability to meet the child’s assessed needs.

If not already completed, initiate an assessment of the relative family by completing a service request for a Kinship Home Study in Guardian.

If the relative is assessed as capable of meeting the child’s placement needs and is determined to be the most appropriate placement, obtain supervisory approval of the relative as an adoptive home for the child.

If the relative is assessed as not capable of meeting the child’s placement needs, follow procedures in Selecting an Adoptive Family for other placement options.

Documentation

The DCS Specialist completes a service request in Guardian for the child’s placement into the prospective adoptive family’s home. Before sending the service request, the Specialist will confirm that a person record exists, or create a person record if one does not.

Placement Administration creates a Provider record, if necessary, and completes the service request.

Document supervisory approval of the relative as an approved relative adoptive family in Notes tab, using the Supervision Note type.

Effective Date: February 1, 2021

Revision History: November 30, 2012