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0300-503.20 | Revision Date: 03/23/18
Overview
This policy guide specifies the requirements and procedures for preparing and submitting the WIC Section 366.26A hearing will be held no later than 120 days from the date of the Permanency Review Hearing. The purpose of a WIC Section 366.26 hearing is to identify and implement a permanent plan for a dependent child of the court. The court will then make findings and orders in the following order of preference: permanently terminate the rights of the parent or parents and order that the child be placed for adoption; or, without permanently terminating parental rights, identify adoption as the goal and order that efforts be made to locate an appropriate adoptive family for the child within a period not to exceed 180 days; or, appoint a legal guardian and issue letters of guardianship; or, order that the child be placed in long-term foster care, subject to the periodic review of the court under WIC 366.3. hearing report.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Legal Guardianship Recommendations
Caregiver Requests to be Designated as a Prospective Adoptive Parent
Preparing for a Hearing Regarding a Request to Designate a Prospective Adoptive Parent
Case-Carrying CSW Responsibilities
Creating the 366.26 Hearing Report
Dependency Investigator (DI) Responsibilities
CSW Preparing the Report Responsibilities
Completing the WIC 366.26 Hearing Report
Version Summary
This policy guide was updated from the 12/07/16 version to reflect changes in upper Management approval requirements for certain permanent plan recommendations per FYI 17-39, and include new legislation regarding the assessment of a successor guardian.
The WIC Section 366.26 hearing report identifies and implements a permanent plan for a dependent child of the juvenile court and a nonminor dependent. It should incorporate input and recommendations as discussed through the Child and Family Team process.
The WIC section 366.26 hearing is ordered by the court to:
The WIC 366.26 hearing is calendared within one hundred and twenty (120) days of:
The exception is that a WIC 366.26 must not be ordered for a Nonminor Dependent (NMD)A current dependent child or ward of the juvenile court, or a nonminor under the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court, who: has attained 18 years of age while under an order of foster care placement by the juvenile court; is in foster care under the placement and care responsibility of the county welfare department, county probation department, Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization; is participating in a transitional independent living case. Defined by WIC 11400(v). unless:
For information on Tribal Customary Adoption (TCA) refer to Adopting and Serving Children Under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).sample
Legal guardianship is one of the permanent plans available for children when family reunification is not achieved. A legal guardian is assessed as to their ability to, among other things, exercise proper care and control of the child, accept legal and financial responsibility for the child; and provide the commitment, willingness, and ability to raise the child. While the Court has the option to keep jurisdiction open after granting legal guardianship, however, the general expectation consistent with this assessment, is that a family will exit the court and child welfare systems when legal guardianship is granted.
For families whose cases remain open with continued court jurisdiction, the Court and the Department continue to remain involved in their lives. Terminating jurisdiction and closing the cases, when it would otherwise be safe and appropriate to do so, will allow the children/families to have a better sense of normalcy.
Staff should refer to Procedural Guides Concurrent Planning and the Concurrent Planning AssessmentAn assessment document as prescribed in Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 366.21(I), 366.22(b) and 361.5(g). The CPA is initiated by the case carrying Children's Social Worker and completed by the APRD CSW when adoption home study for attached children or matching/recruitment activities for unattached children are initiated. (0080-507.20) and Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (0100-520.35) and form DCFS 5620, Comparison of Legal and Financial Benefits, Adoption, Legal Guardianship, Fit & Willing RelativeFor the purpose of placement and foster care payments: An adult who is related to the child by blood, adoption or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship, including stepparents, stepsiblings, and all relatives whose status is preceded by the words, "great," "great-great" or "grand" or the spouse of any of these persons even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution. and Another Planned Permanent Living, to provide families with accurate and comprehensive information regarding the different permanency options. This allows families to make informed decisions that result in the most appropriate recommendations to the court.
If a prospective legal guardian expresses a desire to keep their case open, staff should inquire regarding their reasons and explore solutions to address their concerns.
In other situations, a prospective legal guardian may need more time before assuming the responsibilities of a legal guardian, thus staff must evaluate if it is appropriate to postpone a legal guardianship recommendation. Court reports must specifically document reasonable efforts already completed and those planned by the Child and Family Team to address the barriers to permanency and a projected timeline for the caregiver to assume guardianship and the family to exit the court and child welfare systems when safe and appropriate to do so.
Recent legislation authorizes the assessment of a legal guardian to also include the naming of a prospective successor guardian if one is identified. In the event of the incapacity or death of an appointed guardian, it would authorize the named successor guardian to be assessed and appointed pursuant to the existing procedures that govern the appointment of a legal guardian.
Responsibilities for writing the WIC 366.26 hearing report depend upon the recommended permanent plan.
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Recommended Plan |
Individual Completing the Report |
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Adoption |
Dependency Investigator (DI) & Resource Family Support and Permanency Division (RFSPD) CSW |
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Legal Guardianship (including Kin-GAP) |
Dependency Investigator |
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Fit and Willing Relative |
Case-Carrying CSW |
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Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA) |
Case-Carrying CSW |
For vertical case management sections that do not have DIs, the DI’s responsibilities are carried out by the case-carrying CSW.
A .26 DI may be assigned up to thirty (30) days following the setting of the WIC 366.26 hearing.
The permanent plan may change after the DI’s receipt of the case packet. In those cases:
If an RFSPD CSW is not yet assigned and the permanent plan is Adoption, the CPA should be submitted in order to request activation of an RFSPD CSW.
For any WIC 366.26 report not written by the case-carrying CSW, he/she is to be consulted either on the readiness to proceed with termination of parental rights or on any change of recommendation.
Time frames for submitting the WIC 366.26 hearing report are as follows:
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Submit to |
Time Frame |
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SCSW |
No later than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the hearing date. |
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Court Processing Unit (CPU) |
No later than twenty (20) calendar days prior to the court hearing. |
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Juvenile Court Services JCS |
No later than twelve (12) judicial days prior to the hearing. |
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Court Room |
No later than noon, ten (10) judicial days prior to the hearing. |
Cases that meet all of the following criteria may be eligible to request that a prospective adoptive parent be designated:
The court may make a designation on its own motion or upon a request by a caregiver, a child, or an attorney for any of these parties.
A request for designation as a prospective adoptive parent may be made at or after a hearing where parental rights are terminated, whether or not the child’s removal from the home is an issue.
The following actions are required under case-specific situations:
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Situation |
Required Actions |
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All parties, including DCFS, agree to request designation of a caregiver as a prospective adoptive parent. |
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The court has ordered a hearing on a request for designation of a prospective adoptive parent. |
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The child’s attorney makes the request. |
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A caregiver makes the request for designation at the same time an objection to the removal of a dependent child from his/her home is made. |
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The request for designation is made before a request for removal is filed or before an emergency removal has occurred. |
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Case-Carrying CSW Responsibilities
Dependency Investigator (DI) Responsibilities
CSW Preparing the Report Responsibilities
Refer to Completing the WIC 366.26 Hearing Report for guidance on completing the WIC 366.26 Report.
RA/Division Chief Responsibilities
Completing the WIC 366.26 Hearing Report
Approval Required for Legal Permanent Plans for Children
JV 290, Caregiver Information Form
JV 505, Statement Regarding Paternity (Juvenile Dependency)
DCFS 203, Interested Parties Mailing List & Photocopy Request
DCFS 4141, Request for Assignment of 26 DI
DCFS 5520, An Introduction to the Post Adoption Contact Agreement
DCFS 5620, Comparison of Legal and Financial Benefits Adoption, Legal Guardianship, and Planned Permanent Living Arrangement
JV-350, Guardianship Pamphlet (in, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese)
0080-505.20, Health and Education Passport (HEP)A document that is generated on CWS/CMS that contains a summary of a child's health and education information. The caregiver keeps a current copy of the Passport, along with the health and education forms in a binder provided by DCFS. This binder shall follow the child to all placements. The Passport shall accompany the child to all medical, dental and educational appointments. The Passport binder in its entirety is given to the child upon emancipation.
0080-505.10, Youth Development: Transitional Independent Living Planning
0100-520.35, Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) Program
0080-507.20, Concurrent Planning and the Concurrent Planning Assessment
0200-510.00, Postadoption Services
0300-303.07, Non-Disclosure Orders
0300-306.05, Noticing Process for Juvenile Court Proceedings
0300-306.75, Due Diligence
0300-508.30, Identifying and Notifying the Court of Recurring Efforts to Locate Relatives and Nonrelative Extended Family Members (NREFMs)
0900-523.10, Social Security (SS)/Supplemental Security Income (SSISupplemental Security Income. This program pays monthly benefits to blind or disabled children/youth who have limited income and resources. It is administered by Social Security.) Benefits for Children in Care
1200-500.05, Adopting and Serving Children under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
1200-500.50, Photographic Identification of Children
All County Letter (ACL) 16-28 – Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA)
California Rules of Court (CROC) Section 5.725 – States that the court may not terminate the rights of only one parent under section 366.26 unless that parent is the only surviving parent, the rights of the other parent have already been terminated, or the other parent has relinquished custody of the child to the welfare department.
Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 224 – Sets forth legislative findings and declarations on the importance of maintaining Indian families together by providing active efforts to prevent the out-of-home placement of the child or to return an Indian child home.
WIC Sections 360(a) – State Kin-GAP eligibility requirements.
WIC Section 366.21(I)(6) – States that whenever a court orders that a Section 366.26 hearing be held, the agency supervising the child and the licensed county adoption agency are to prepare an assessment which shall include a description of efforts to be made to identify a prospective adoptive parent or legal guardian, including, but not limited to, child specific recruitment and listing on an adoption exchange.
WIC Section 366.24(b) – States that whenever an assessment is ordered pursuant to Section 361.5, 366.21, 366.22, 366.25, or 366.26 for Indian children, the assessment shall address the option of tribal customary adoption.
WIC Section 366.26 – Sets forth the requirements and guidelines for the hearing terminating parental rights or establishing guardianship of children adjudged dependent of the court. States that if, following the establishment of a legal guardianship, the county welfare department becomes aware of changed circumstances that indicate adoption or, for an Indian child, tribal customary adoption, may be an appropriate plan for the child, the department must notify the court. The court may vacate its previous order dismissing dependency jurisdiction over the child and order that a hearing be held pursuant to WIC Section 366.26 to determine whether adoption or continued legal guardianship is the most appropriate plan for the child.
WIC Section 11363 – State Kin-GAP eligibility requirements.
WIC Section 16002(e) – States that if parental rights are terminated and the court orders a dependent child to be placed for adoption, the licensed county adoption agency or the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) will take steps to facilitate ongoing sibling contact, except in those cases where the court determines by clear and convincing evidence that sibling interaction is contrary to the safety or well-being of the child.
