5101:2-48-17 Prefinalization services.

Effective Date: September 1, 2003.

Most current prior effective date: 2/15/02

(A)      Within four days after a placement for adoption, an assessor from the Adoptive Family Serving Agency (AFSA) agency responsible for supervising the adoptive placement shall contact the adoptive family by telephone to determine how the placement is progressing. A home visit shall be made by the assessor no later than seven days following placement.


(B)      The assessor shall make monthly face-to-face contact with the adoptive parent and the child throughout the prefinalization period. At a minimum, two visits in every six-month period shall be in the adoptive home.


(C)      Prefinalization services shall be provided to the adoptive parent and the child from the date of adoptive placement of the child until the issuance of a final decree of adoption. The PCSA or PCPA assessor shall provide or arrange for, at a minimum, the following prefinalization services, as applicable:

(1)      Case management;


(2)      Counseling;


(3)      Crisis services;


(4)      Diagnostic; and


(5)      Therapeutic services.

(D)      Prefinalization services listed in paragraph (C) of this rule shall be provided or arranged for by the assessor for the child and the adoptive parent through one or more of the following:

(1)      Information and referral services to community resources;


(2)      Direct services from the PCSA, PCPA, or PNA; or


(3)      Services from community service providers.

(E)      The assessor shall complete the ODJFS JFS 01699, "ODJFS Prefinalization Adoption Assessment Report" prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption or finalization of an interlocutory order of adoption. The report shall include the following information:

(1)      Dates of contacts with the child or adoptive family pursuant to the requirements of this rule;


(2)      Information regarding the child and adoptive family's adjustment to the adoptive placement;


(3)      Present and anticipated needs of the child and the adoptive family for postfinalization adoptive services, Title IV-E adoption assistance, state adoption subsidy and medicaid;


(4)      Physical, mental and developmental condition of the child;


(5)      Biological family background of the child, including identifying information about the biological or other legal parents, if known;


(6)      Reasons for the child's placement with the adoptive family and the circumstances under which the child was placed in the home of the adoptive family;


(7)      Adoptive family members' attitudes toward the proposed adoption;


(8)      If the child is an Indian child as defined in 25 U.S.C.A. 1903 (4), how the placement complies with the "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978", 25 U.S.C.A. 1901, as amended.;


(9)      Prefinalization services which have been requested, provided or agreed upon; and


(10)      Prefinalization services planned, but not provided, and the reason the services were not provided; and,.


(11)      The child's psychological background, if known, including prior history of abuse of the child and prior history of behavioral problems of the child.

(F)      The assessor shall file the JFS 01699, "ODJFS Prefinalization Adoption Assessment Report" with the court where the adoption petition is pending no later than twenty days prior to the date scheduled for the final hearing on the adoption unless the court determines there is good cause for filing the report at a later date.


(G)      The JFS 01699, "ODJFS Prefinalization Adoption Assessment Report" is not required for foster caregivers who are utilizing the JFS 01692, "ODJFS Application to Adopt a Foster Child" pursuant to rule 5101:2-48-11.1 of the Administrative Code.


(G)      Unless a court determines that it is in the best interest of the child and orders that an assessor conduct a prefinalization assessment, the JFS 01699 "ODJFS Prefinalization Adoption Assessment Report" is not required if the prospective adoptive parent is the child's stepparent.


(H)      A copy of the JFS 01699 "ODJFS Prefinalization Adoption Assessment Report" shall be provided to the prospective adoptive parent no later than twenty days prior to the date scheduled for the final hearing on the adoption. All identifying information about the biological or other legal parent(s) shall be deleted prior to providing a copy of this report to the prospective adoptive parent.


(I)      The agency having custody of the child shall maintain in the child's case record a copy of the JFS 01699 provided to the prospective adoptive parent, including the date the information was provided, and the prospective adoptive parent's written acknowledgment of receipt. The agency shall provide a copy of the acknowledgment of receipt to the prospective adoptive parent.


(I)      The adoptive family case record shall contain a copy of the JFS 01699 provided to the adoptive family and written acknowledgment of the family's receipt of the information.

Effective: 09/01/2003

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 05/01/2003 and 09/01/2008

Certification

Date 07/08/2003

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 3107.12., 5153.16

Rule Amplifies: 5153.16, 3107.12.

Prior Effective Dates: 12/30/1966, 10/1/86, 7/01/90, 9/18/96, 2/13/98 (Emer.), 5/14/98, 2/15/02.