9 CAR § 40-505. Family team meetings

(a)(1) A family team meeting is a consultation of all involved parties for the purpose of assessing the current status of the child and family strengths and needs and developing or updating the family case plan and other associated plans (for example, family time plans or transitional plans) accordingly. (2) Family team meetings will address the questions central to all family planning: (A) What are we worried about? (B) What is working well? (C) What needs to happen next? (b) A family team meeting may be held for various reasons based on the needs of the child and family. (c) Situations which require a family team meeting include but are not limited to: (1) Developing the initial family case plan which must be completed within thirty (30) days of opening a services case or child entering an out of home placement, whichever comes first; (2)(A) Reviewing the family case plan at least every three (3) months at subsequent family team meetings for the duration of an in-home services or permanency services case and making updates and other changes as applicable. (B) Reviews during subsequent family team meetings will include discussion regarding the family’s progress made on the family case plan goals, behavioral change demonstrated by the parents, to include acts of protection, the need for ongoing services or supports, and any new factual circumstances. (C) These subsequent family team meetings will also include discussing progress or making changes to the transitional plan for a youth fourteen (14) years of age or older experiencing foster care; (3) Reviewing situations where a child has been in three (3) or more out-of-home placements within a twelve-month period, excluding if any of those placement moves have been the result of the child being placed with a relative or fictive kin after being placed in a traditional resource home or congregate care provider or placement moves that have otherwise resulted in a child moving to a less restrictive environment; (4) Addressing challenges that bring a child or family into a state of crisis; (5) Conducting a permanency planning family team meeting no later than the eleventh month of case opening, if applicable, to which the Adoption Specialist will be invited if the Adoption Specialist has not already been participating in the family team meetings; and (6) Reviewing the need for case closure before a case is closed.