Protections And Safeguards For Children And Families

01. Reasonable Efforts. Services offered or provided to a family intended to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the family, to reunify a child with their family, and to finalize a permanent plan. The following efforts must be made and specifically documented by the Department in reports to the court. The court will make the determination of whether or not the Department's efforts were reasonable. (3-15-22) a. Efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for a child to be removed from their home; (3-15-22) b. Efforts to return a child home are not required due to a judicial determination of aggravated circumstances; and (3-15-22) c. Efforts to finalize a permanent plan, so that each child in the Department's care will have a family with whom the child can have a safe and permanent home. (3-15-22) 02. Active Efforts. Efforts beyond reasonable efforts required under ICWA to provide remedial services and rehabilitative programs designed to prevent the breakup of an Indian family, or to reunify an Indian family. Active efforts must include contacts and work with an Indian child’s tribe. (7-1-25) 03. Compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. (7-1-25) 04. Legal Requirements for Indian Children. When there is reason to believe that a child is an Indian child, notice of the pending proceeding must be sent according to the notice provisions specified in Section 051 of these rules. Notice must also include notice of the tribe’s right to intervene; their right to twenty (20) days additional time to prepare for the proceeding; the right to appointment of counsel if the parent(s) or Indian custodian(s) is indigent; and the right to examine all documents filed with the court upon which placement may be based. (3-15-22) 05. Visitation for Child’s Parent(s) or Legal Guardian(s). The department should determine the scope, duration, and manner of visitation that best promotes the best interest of the child and ensures that visitation does not impair the physical or mental health of a child. In-person visitation arrangements between a child and a parent who has been substantiated at a Level One or Two by the department for one of the following: sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or physical abuse will not be granted unless it is in the best interest of the child and the child’s physical and/or mental health will not be impaired. If in-person visitation is granted, it will only occur under the following conditions: (7-1-25) a. Approved by a program manager, after consultation with the child’s guardian ad litem, where applicable, who concludes that in-person visitation is in the best interest of the child and that the child’s physical and/ or mental health will not be impaired; (7-1-25) b. Under conditions set forth by the program manager. Conditions of supervised visitation will include the following: (7-1-25) i. The parent will not be left alone with the child for any reason, including restroom breaks; (7-1-25) ii. For sexual abuse and exploitation cases, the parent will not allow the child to sit on his or her lap; (7-1-25) iii. The parent will not be allowed to engage in secret conversations or other communication that cannot be monitored in real time; (7-1-25) IDAHO ADMINISTRATIVE CODE IDAPA 16.06.01 Department of Health and Welfare Child and Family Services Section 050 Page 13 c. The best interest decision and visit conditions are documented and explained in writing. (7-1-25) 06. Notification of Change in Visitation. Notification to the child's parent(s) or legal guardian(s) if there is to be a change in their visitation schedule with their child or ward in foster care. (7-1-25) 07. Qualified Expert Witness-(QEW) under ICWA. The testimony of an expert witness is required at the hearing in which an Indian child is placed in state custody, typically the adjudicatory, and at the hearing for termination of parental rights. A QEW must be qualified to testify regarding whether the child’s continued custody by the parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child and should be qualified to testify as to the prevailing social and cultural standards of the Indian child’s Tribe. The department, the court, or any party may request the assistance of the Indian child’s Tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs office serving the Indian child’s Tribe in locating persons qualified to serve as expert witnesses. A QEW in order of preference is: (7-1-25) a. A member of the Indian child’s Tribe; (7-1-25) b. A member of the Tribe of the Indian child’s parent; (7-1-25) c. A descendant of the Indian child’s Tribe; (7-1-25) d. A member of a tribe recognized as sharing the same ethnicity, language, territory, traditions, or customs as the child’s tribe; (7-1-25) e. A member of any federally recognized tribe; (7-1-25) f. An individual not meeting the definitions in (a) through (e) who is designated by the child’s Tribe as qualified to testify to the prevailing social and cultural standards of the Indian child’s Tribe. (7-1-25) g. The family services worker regularly assigned to the Indian child may not serve as a QEW in proceedings concerning the child. (7-1-25) 08. Compliance with Requirements of the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA) as Amended by the Interethnic Placement (IEPA) of 1996. (7-1-25) a. Nothing in MEPA/IEP is to be construed to affect the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. (3-15-22) 09. Family Decision-Making and Plan Development. (3-15-22) a. A case plan will be completed within thirty (30) days of the date the case was opened. (7-1-25) b. Families will be given ample opportunity to participate in the identification of areas of concern, their strengths, and developing service goals and tasks. The family plan and any changes to it must be signed and dated by the family. If the family refuses to sign the plan, the reason for their refusal will be documented on the plan. (3-15-22) c. Plans are to be reviewed with the family no less frequently than once every three (3) months. When there are major changes to the plan including a change in the long term goal, the family plan must be renegotiated by the department and the family as well as signed by the family. A new plan must be negotiated at least annually. (7-1-25) 10. Compelling Reasons. Reasons why the parental rights of a parent of a child in the department's care and custody should not be terminated when the child has been in the custody of the department for fifteen (15) out of the most recent twenty-two (22) months. (7-1-25) a. These reasons must be documented in the Alternate Care Plan, in a report to the court, and the court must make a determination if the reasons are sufficiently compelling. (3-15-22) IDAHO ADMINISTRATIVE CODE IDAPA 16.06.01 Department of Health and Welfare Child and Family Services Section 051 Page 14 b. A compelling reason must be documented when a child's plan for permanency is not adoption, guardianship, or return home. (3-15-22) c. When compelling reasons are not appropriate, the petition for termination of parental rights must be filed by the end of the child's fifteenth month in foster care. (3-15-22) 11. Permanency Preferences. The following preferences will be considered in the order listed below when recommending and making permanency decisions: (7-1-25) a. Return home if safe to do so; (3-15-22) b. Adoption or legal guardianship by a relative or kin; (3-15-22) c. Adoption or legal guardianship by non-relative; (3-15-22) d. Another planned permanent living arrangement such as long-term foster care. (3-15-22)