Reunification

Children in out-of-home care and agency custody will most often have a goal of reunification with parents, for the first six months to a year, unless the Court approves a plan that eliminates the need for involvement with the parents.

The agency offers several types of reunification services in order to assist families to achieve the objectives outlined in their plan so that they and their child/ren can be reunited. The agency caseworker will make the family aware of community resources. In addition, Dauphin County has one in-agency intensive reunification program and three contracted reunification programs that can steer families toward those same resources and actively engage them on an intensive basis while focusing on utilizing family strengths to meet their needs. Families are offered both concrete and supportive services such as food, clothing, and housing referrals, as well as in-home parenting classes, assistance in establishing appropriate household rules, supervision of visitation, and individual and family counseling.

If the child cannot return home to his/her parents, because the parent is unable or unwilling to complete the plan within the established timeframe, termination of parental rights is initiated unless a special exception is agreed to by the court.

Adoption

This is the most permanent alternative when a child is unable to return home. It is preferred for the child to be in placement with kin or a potentially permanent family from the beginning of placement to avoid multiple placements and additional trauma to the child. When foster parents will not adopt, families are located through the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange, through Child Specific Recruitment, or through pre-planned activities. Child Specific Recruitment includes the development of a specific plan to locate a family without respect to locality.

Once a match is made, the child is placed with the family for a period of six months until the adoption is finalized. For children meeting the criteria, a board payment is available to assist in meeting the child's special needs.

Subsidized Permanent Legal Custodianship (SPLC)

In some instances adoption is not possible. For example, a youth age 12 or older may refuse to be adopted, despite counseling about adoption issues, due to his/her loyalty to their family of origin, or due to a special bond with foster parents who will not adopt. SPLC is a potential alternative. Such placements permit the custodian special rights such as the right to sign for educational purposes, medical care, marriage, and the military. It also permits the youth to exit foster care. However, these placements do not have the level of permanency achieved by adoption. In addition, there are no inheritance rights and the birth parent has the ability to request visitation or custody via the court system.