Statutes | Siletz Tribal Code ยง 8.032 | 2019
(a) When Permanency Planning Hearing Required - The Court shall hold a permanency planning hearing to determine the permanent plan for the child. The permanency planning hearing may be combined with the periodic review hearing. The permanency planning hearing shall be held within twelve (12) months from the date that a child enters foster care, or within thirty (30) days after the Court finds that reasonable efforts to reunite the family are no longer required. A child shall be considered to have entered foster care on the earlier of the following two (2) dates:
(1) The date of the adjudicatory hearing finding that the child is a child-inneed-of-care or
(2) The date that is sixty (60) days after the date the child was removed from the home.
(b) Notice and Opportunity to be Heard - Foster parents, relative caregivers, and preadoptive parents providing care to a child found to be a child-in-need-of-care pursuant to this Code shall be provided notice of and the opportunity to be heard in a permanency planning hearing concerning the child. The foster parents, relative caregivers, and pre-adoptive parents are not legal parties to the proceedings.
(c) Permanency Planning Reports
(1) The ICW Program shall submit a report to the Court no later than five (5) days before the permanency planning hearing. The report shall:
(A) Summarize the history of the case and the efforts made to offer services to the child and the family
(B) Describe the childs and the familys circumstances, including the case management and services provided by the ICW Program since the last Court hearing
(C) Describe the extent of compliance by all parties with the case plan
(D) Describe the parent(s), guardian, or custodians treatment progress and efforts toward reunification.
(E) Recommend a permanent plan for the child indicating whether, and if applicable when, the child will be returned to the childs parent(s), guardian or custodian or placed with a permanent placement. The report shall include specific reasons why the recommended permanent plan has been chosen, including why that plan meets the childs particular needs and best interests, and why other permanent plans have not been chosen
(F) Describe the efforts made to develop a concurrent plan for the permanent placement of the child to be put into place if the family cannot be reunited, and the steps taken to find a permanent placement for the child, if necessary and
(G) Explain the compelling reasons why termination of parental rights is not being recommended as the permanent plan for the child, including the specific reasons why the best interests of the child in question will not be served by termination of parental rights and what advantages and benefits will inure to the child by virtue of the child&rsquos parental rights not being terminated.
(2) Any party may submit a separate report to the Court, which shall include his or her own recommendations for consideration by the Court, at least five (5) days before the dispositional hearing.
(3) Copies of all reports shall be served on the ICW Program, the child or his or her legal representative, and the childs parent(s), guardian, or custodian at least five (5) days before the permanency planning hearing.
(d) Return of the Child - The Court shall return the child to the physical custody of the childs parent(s), guardian or custodian unless the Court finds, by a preponderance of evidence, that returning the child would cause a substantial risk to the physical or emotional well-being of the child. The burden is on the tribal representative to prove that the child&rsquos health or safety will be at risk if returned to his or her parent(s), guardian or custodian.
(e) Written Findings and Permanent Plan - The Court shall enter written findings, including:
(1) Whether the tribal ICW Program has made reasonable efforts to reunite the family, or whether reasonable efforts to reunite the family are no longer necessary or productive
(2) The permanent plan for the child, if the Court determines not to return the child to the childs parent(s), guardian or custodian. The permanent plan may include:
(A) Continuing reunification as the permanent goal for the family and maintaining the child in the current placement if the childs parent(s), guardian or custodian is making progress toward reunification and reunification is likely within a reasonable time based upon the child&rsquos needs
(B) Placing the child with long-term guardian, who shall be appointed by the Court
(C) Maintaining the child in foster care on a permanent or long-term basis, if the foster care is provided by a relative or compelling reasons for placement exist
(E) Filing a petition to certify the customary adoption of the child or
(F) The tribal ICW Program file a petition to terminate parental rights and secure an adoptive placement for the child.
(3) Why the permanent plan chosen is in the best interests of the child, and why other permanent plans were not selected
(4) The Tribal ICW Program&rsquos efforts to develop a concurrent plan for the child in the event that the return of the child is not possible, or if a concurrent plan has not been developed, the reasons why a concurrent plan is not necessary and
(5) If the permanent plan does not involve the filing of a petition to terminate parental rights, the compelling reasons why termination of parental rights would not be in the best interests of the child and why the alternative selected is in the best interests of the child.
(f) Permanent Plan Review Hearings
(1) Where a child remains under the jurisdiction of the Court and in the custody of a foster parent, temporary guardian or other non-permanent placement, the Court shall review the permanent plan for the child every six (6) months to determine:
(A) The appropriateness of the placement
(B) The appropriateness of and the extent of compliance with the permanent plan for the child
(C) The adequacy of services provided to the child and the childs parent(s), guardian or custodian to reunite the family within a reasonable period of time and to find a permanent home for the child in the event that reunification is not possible and
(D) Whether additional services are necessary to support the permanent plan.
(2) Subsequent permanent plan review hearings need not be held if:
(A) The child has been adopted
(B) The child is a ward of a permanent guardian, or,
(C) The child has been placed permanently with a relative.
(g) Continuing Jurisdiction of Court - For dispositional purposes, jurisdiction over a child under this Code shall continue until he or she reaches eighteen (18) years of age, unless jurisdiction is terminated earlier by order of the Court or extended beyond the child&rsquos eighteenth (18) birthday by order of the Court.