If your agency assigns adoption tasks and the case plans to different workers, be sure you communicate regularly with the other workers concerning the case plan(s).
An adoption case can be created for a child when the agency receives permanent custody and the agency legal status of "Permanent Custody" has been recorded in the child’s court record.
Once the adoption case has been created, each child in the adoption case is deactivated from the original family case and moved into the adoption case. For a sibling group of two or more children, you can create one or multiple adoption cases:
One adoption case with all sibling members
One adoption case for each sibling
Any combination of adoption cases
The adoption case includes only the adoptive child(ren). It allows you to track the activities related to finalizing a child’s adoptive placement, such as recruitment efforts to find a permanent home, case plans, pre-adoptive staffing and matching conferences, the updated Child Study Inventory (CSI) Facesheet, and the Pre-Finalization Report. (The whole CSI is maintained outside of SACWIS.)
Once you have determined that an adoption case will be created for a child, you create a proposed case plan in the original case. No adult is a participant in this case plan. If a sibling group is being adopted, be sure to determine how many adoption cases will be created. A case may be created for each child, or a one case may be created for all the siblings, with the oldest sibling identified as the case reference person (CRP). You will need to create a proposed case plan for each adoption case. (See About case plans or Record a case plan.)
If your agency assigns adoption tasks and the case plans to different workers,
be sure you communicate regularly with the other workers concerning the
case plan(s).
When the adoption case is created, the system copies the case plan to the new adoption case if the case plan meets this criteria:
The child(ren) selected for the adoption case are the only participants in the case plan
The case plan type is "Proposed."
The case plan status is "Approved."
The permanency planning goal for each child in the case is ”Adoption."
No adults are attached or linked to the case plan.
Services attached to the case plan are not linked to anyone other than the children with the goal of adoption.
If more than one case plan meets these criteria, the system copies the most recent case plan. After it is copied into the adoption case, the system changes the case plan type to "Initial" and the status to "Pending." Each child’s permanency planning goal remains ”Adoption."
The system maintains links to the new adoption case for that child:
Person profile, including the child's current legal status, legal status history, legal actions, and legal actions history
Child demographics, address, additional, background, characteristics, safety hazards, and SACWIS history
Medical profile
Education profile
Visitation Plans
Independent living plans
Delinquency information and history
Eligibility record
Services
Placement history and current placement record
Removal information
The adoption case can be sealed when the following has taken place:
The child has been finalized in an adoption placement.
All required AFCARS information has been recorded.
All open services and services authorization (except AA subsidy) have been completed or closed.
All required tasks has been completed and/or closed
When the child’s record is sealed the system does the following:
Creates a new person profile record for the adopted child with a new person ID number, with a link to the original person profile and person ID.
The Previously Adopted field on the person record is set to Yes, and the Age at Adoption field reflects the child's age when the adoption was finalized.
The child is added to the adoptive family provider as a new child household member, with member type "Permanent." The effective date is the journalized date for adoption finalization. The member role on the provider record for the child is set to ”r;Child Household Member.”
A new Title IV-E number is assigned to the child. This number is stored with the new person record.
The AFCARS identifier is linked to the new person ID.
The adoption case can be closed after the following has taken place:
The child’s record has been sealed.
All required tasks have been completed or closed.
The child’s record has been approved and sealed by the worker's supervisor.
Case service records and service authorizations are in place for adoption assistance, SAMS, or nonrecurring adoption expenses for children who are determined eligible.
When the child’s record is closed the system does the following:
Restricts access to the original person record for the child. Only workers with the appropriate security profile may access the child's original case, person profile, and the closed adoption case information.
Includes the case in the AFCARS report for the time period in which the adoption was finalized.
Changes the case status to ”r;Closed,” end dates all assignments to the case, and removes the adoption case from all workers' workloads.
Restricts access to view the closed adoption case only to persons with the appropriate security profile.
Case activity notes can be recorded on the closed adoption case.