What is the foster care court process?

When a child is placed in foster care, there is a series of steps that must occur. According to state resources, there are five main parts to the judicial process in foster care cases:

• Probable cause: This is the initial hearing once removal has occurred. At this hearing, the court determines is the Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS, had sufficient reason to place a child in foster care.

• Adjudication hearing: This hearing is typically held within 30 days of the probably cause hearing and seeks to determine whether the allegations in a petition are substantiated by a qualitative majority of the evidence.

• Review hearing: The court will review foster care cases no less than every six months. At any time during the life of a foster care case, any party may request the court review the case.

• Permanency planning hearing: Each child in foster care will have one of these hearings no later than one year from the date the child is considered to have entered foster care and not less frequently than every year thereafter while in foster care.

• Termination of parental rights: The court may consider a petition to terminate parental rights if the court finds that returning the child to the family home is contrary to the child’s health, safety or wellness, and that returning the child home cannot be accomplished in a reasonable period of time. This ends all of a parent’s legal rights to their child. The CALL strives to ultimately reunify foster children with their biological families, as long as it is in the best interest of the child. The organization tries to minister to the biological families as well, to ensure a smooth transition if reunification is possible.