Rule 10-360. Discharge hearing.

A. Discharge hearing. The last review or permanency hearing held before the child’s eighteenth birthday shall be a discharge hearing. B. Notice. The department shall be responsible for obtaining a setting for the discharge hearing and shall give notice of the discharge hearing to all other parties and any other persons as required by law. C. Conduct of hearing and required findings. At the discharge hearing, the court shall (1) review the transition plan; (2) determine whether the department has made reasonable efforts to (a) provide written information concerning the child’s family history and the whereabouts of any sibling, if appropriate; (b) provide education and health records to the child; (c) provide the child’s social security card, certified birth certificate, state- issued identification card, death certificate of a parent, proof of citizenship or residence, and official documentation that the child was in foster care to the child; (d) assist the child in obtaining Medicaid if the child is eligible; and (e) refer the child for a guardianship or limited guardianship if the child is incapacitated; and (3) make a finding of whether the child has decided to participate in the fostering connections program and whether the child has been provided an opportunity to develop a voluntary services and support agreement. D. Continued jurisdiction past the child’s eighteenth birthday. If the court finds that the department has not made reasonable efforts to meet all the requirements of Paragraph (C)(2) of this rule and that termination of jurisdiction would be harmful to the child, the court may continue to exercise its jurisdiction in the abuse or neglect case for a period not to exceed one (1) year from the child’s eighteenth birthday, as long as the child consents to the court’s continued jurisdiction. The court may dismiss the case at any time after the child’s eighteenth birthday for good cause. [Provisionally adopted by Supreme Court Order No. 21-8300-007, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after November 12, 2021; provisionally adopted rule approved by Supreme Court Order No. 22-8300-017, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after December 31, 2022.]