Reasonable efforts determinations are a valuable tool judges can use to assess a child welfare agency’s efforts:
- to support a family without separating them, or
- to reunify the family or achieve another form of permanency when separation is required for the child’s safety.
Though “reasonable efforts” requirements have existed in federal law for over 40 years, the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 (Family First Act) provides opportunities to reexamine and enhance judicial decision making on the topic.
How do reasonable efforts findings support children and families in the child welfare system?
More than simply a link between the child welfare agency and federal funding, findings of reasonable efforts or no reasonable efforts are recognized as “the most powerful tools given to the courts.” These determinations, when individualized and fact-specific, serve as checks on whether families in contact with state authorities are being provided appropriate support to avoid separation or achieve permanency.
Reasonable efforts to preserve families Federal law requires that reasonable efforts be made to preserve families, “prior to the placement of a child in foster care, to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child from the child’s home.” Any actions the agency takes after removing the child but before the first court hearing, including service referrals or other efforts, cannot be considered as reasonable efforts to prevent removal. If this judicial determination regarding reasonable efforts is not made within 60 days of the child’s removal, the child welfare agency will not be able to access federal Title IV-E funding throughout the child’s stay in foster care.