Placement Change Requirements
All County Letter 19-26 (ACL 19-26) informs on the legislative intent and implementation of AB2247 (2018). This bill was led by California Youth Connection as part of their #FosterStability campaign to address the trauma that children and youth in foster care experience when their placements are disrupted and they must move to a new home.
This bill created a process to bring all necessary resources immediately to the child/youth and family to stabilize the placement and to avoid moving the child/youth to a new family. If a Resource Parent is not able to safely or effectively maintain the care of a child/youth, we hope that appropriate services and supports can be accessed. In practice, the Child and Family Team should not let a family get to the point when they are requesting a placement change. However, when a family reaches the point of requesting a move for the child/youth, there is now a path to try “whatever it takes” to keep a child/youth safely with their current placement. There are exceptions when any child is at risk and a move must proceed for safety.
AdvoKids has a great resource for Resource Families to use when faced with a notice of a placement change from the agency – see 14 Day Notice of Placement Change. When the agency initiates the move of a young child, these requirements must be met as well.
You can find a recorded training on Placement Stability/Placement Change Requirements HERE.
