Library: Policy
340:75-15-103. Pre-adoption placement services
Revised 9-15-22
(a) Pre-adoption services. ■ 1 Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) pre-adoption services assist the prospective adoptive family to incorporate the child into the adoptive family during the trial-adoption (TA) placement period, prior to the legal finalization of the adoption.
(1) Disclosure of identifying or non-identifying background information. OKDHS provides medical, psychological, educational, and social history including the child profile, to the adoptive parent authorized to adopt the specific child. ■ 8
(2) Counseling services. The adoptive family is fully informed of the child's history of psychological counseling and referred for services at the time of TA placement, when needed. Under Medicaid, all outpatient psychological services except for the first hour of psychological evaluation must have prior authorization. ■ 2
(3) Medical services. ■ 4 Children in a TA may be eligible to receive Medicaid (SoonerCare) services.
(4) Pre-finalization adoption assistance. Adoption assistance may be provided to the adoptive family at the time the child enters the adoptive home as a legal-risk or legally-free adoptive placement, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:75-15-128 through 340:75-15-128.6. Adoption assistance may include a monthly payment, Medicaid (SoonerCare), or both.
(5) Child care. Employment-related child care is available for children in trial- adoptive placement, per OAC 340:75-7-65.
(6) Comprehensive Home-Based Services (CHBS). CHBS are available to assist trial-adoptive and post-adoptive families who are experiencing difficulty and are at risk of a placement disruption, per OAC 340:75-1-151.
(7) Family assessment and service plan. ■ 4 A written service plan is completed for Quadrant 1 children in TA placement more than 30-calendar days; or Quadrant 2 children prior to TA placement.
(8) Adoptive parent support groups. Adoptive parent support groups provide social and emotional support to the adopted child and his or her parent. The resource specialist informs the adoptive parent of support group benefits.
(9) Notice to pre-adoptive parent of deprived court hearing. The adoption or resource specialist provides the pre-adoptive parent, who is providing care for the child, with notice of reviews or deprived court hearings that are held regarding the child, and the court provides an opportunity for the pre-adoptive parent to be heard. ■ 3
(b) TA period. When the child has no prior relationship with the adoptive family, the TA period is usually six months. When the child is being adopted by a relative or foster family with whom the child has resided for the preceding six months, the TA period may be reduced when the child and family have successfully adjusted to the placement. The adoptive parent is advised to retain the services of an attorney or those of an OKDHS Legal Services attorney when the child is placed in the adoptive home to complete the legal finalization of the adoption by the court.
(c) Pre-finalization disruption. The TA placement may disrupt prior to finalization when the adoptive parent requests the child be moved from the adoptive home or OKDHS determines the placement poses a risk to the child. ■ 7
INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:75-15-103
Revised 9-15-22
1. Pre-adoption placement services. The adoption specialist:
(1) assists the adoptive parent with developing his or her strengths and decision-making skills regarding parenting the child;
(2) helps the family understand adoption-related issues during the pre-adoption placement period and after finalization of the adoption. The adoptive parent is encouraged to access services:
(A) during the pre-adoption placement period to aid in the child's and family's adjustment; and
(B) after the adoption's legal finalization, when needed; and
(3) refers the adoptive family to a support group during the adoptive family preparation and assessment process. When the family is not involved with a support group prior to placement, the family is referred when the child is placed in the home.
2. Adoptive family record. When the child is placed in the adoptive home, a KIDS case is opened with the case type of Adoption. The case name is the adoptive family's last name.
(1) Each member of the adoptive home is added to the case including the child to be adopted using the child's new adoptive name.
(2) Each field on the Adoption General Information screen, except the date of the adoption's finalization, is completed for each child in trial adoption when the case is opened.
(3) The KIDS adoptive family record contains:
(A) Client General Information;
(B) Client Demographics;
(C) Client Employment/Education;
(D) Client Finances;
(E) Client Medical;
(F) Case Plan/Family Assessment;
(G) Case Plan/Treatment/Individualized Service Plan;
(H) Adoption Disclosure Affidavit;
(I) Adoption General Information; and
(J) Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS).
3. Medical and psychological assistance.
(1) When the adoptive family requests medical assistance, the adoption specialist sends Form 04AN001E, Adoption Assistance Application, and Form 04AN038E, Post-Adoption Services Health Benefits Application, to the Adoption Assistance Section.
(2) To receive approval for psychological services provision, the provider submits to Oklahoma Health Care Authority:
(A) Form HCA-12A, Prior Authorization Request, with effective date, projected frequency, and time span;
(B) a description of the necessity for psychological treatment; and
(C) any evaluation information the psychologist may have.
4. Notification of court hearing. The adoption specialist provides the pre-adoptive family with notification of the court hearing, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:75-6-85, and documents the notification in the adoptive family's KIDS Contacts screen.
5. Family assessment and service plan.
(1) Form 04KI015E, Adoption Post Placement Service Plan (APPSP), is completed with the family and the child placed for adoption, within 30-calendar days of the child's pre-adoption placement.
(2) Form 04KI015E is not sent to the court.
(3) The adoption specialist updates Form 04KI015E every six months.
(4) Forms 04KI028E, Family Functional Assessment, and 04KI015E for the child and adoptive family are completed within 30-calendar days of the child's placement in the adoptive home.
(5) The adoption specialist and the adoptive family develop and sign Form 04KI015E. The resource supervisor reviews and signs Form 04KI015E.
(6) One copy of Form 04KI015E is provided to the adoptive parent and one copy is retained in the adoptive family case record and entered in the Adoption case document management system (DMS).
6. Child's permanency planning case.
(1) Primary assignment of the child's permanency planning case remains with the county of jurisdiction and secondary assignment is made to the resource specialist, per OAC 340:75-1-26. The resource specialist for the adoptive family assumes case responsibility for the child at the time of placement in the adoptive home. The confidentiality of the placement is maintained.
(2) When no services are provided to other children or family members in the child's permanency planning case, the adoption specialist maintains the original paper case. A copy is retained in the county of jurisdiction for use in completing court reports. Both the adoption specialist and the child welfare (CW) specialist assigned to the child are responsible for maintaining electronic and paper case records for the child.
(3) When services are provided to other children or family members in the child's permanency planning case, the CW specialist assigned to the child retains the original paper case and the adoption specialist receives a duplicate.
(4) The adoption specialist provides information to the CW specialist with deprived court responsibility as needed.
(A) The reports to the court in the deprived case do not include the name of the adoptive family or the county of adoptive placement to maintain the adoptive caregiver's confidentiality.
(B) Upon adoption finalization, the adoption specialist assigned to the family notifies the court with jurisdiction of the deprived case that the adoption has been finalized and a request is made that the deprived court case be dismissed.
7. Contact with the child in the pre-adoptive placement. The adoption specialist contacts the child in the adoptive placement a minimum of once every calendar month, with no more than 31-calendar days between contacts. The adoption specialist documents visits as face-to-face/own home in KIDS Contacts screen prior to the end of the month of the contact.
(1) Adoption by non-relative. The adoption specialist contacts the child in the adoptive placement within 14-calendar days of the date of signing Form 04AN015E, Adoptive Placement Agreement, and at least once every calendar month thereafter, with no more than 31-calendar days between contacts.
(2) Adoption by relative or foster parent. When there is no physical change in placement, the adoption specialist is not required to contact the child within the first 14-calendar days of trial adoption. A contact is required prior to the end of the calendar month of placement and at least once every calendar month thereafter, with no more than 31-calendar days between contacts.
8. Adoption disruption.
(1) Request for child removal. When the adoptive family requests removal of the child, the adoption specialist provides Form 04AN017E, Affidavit of Adoption Disruption, to the family for signature documenting the request. Form 04AN017E is routed according to form instructions.
(A) Prior to the child's removal from the home, the resource specialist attempts to schedule a Family Team Meeting that includes the child's assigned CW specialist, to avert the disruption and help to identify any needed services for the child and the family.
(B) As soon as possible thereafter, the adoption specialist consults with Adoption regarding the child's plan. No attempt is made at this time to assess with the adoptive family the adoption failure or why it happened.
(C) The adoption specialist and adoption supervisor staff the disruption with the designated Adoption Section staff.
(D) The child's assigned CW specialist, per OAC 340:75-6-86, notifies the court, child's attorney, district attorney, Post Adjudication Review Board, and court appointed special advocate, when applicable, of the disruption.
(2) Assessment of disruption. Once the family and child are resettled and the grief process is underway, the adoptive home reassessment may begin. The reassessment focuses on why the adoption did not work and whether the adoptive family will continue to be recommended as an adoptive placement for another child.
(A) Common reasons adoptions do not succeed include the:
(i) adoptive parent and child were unable to form an attachment to each other;
(ii) child or adoptive parent was not ready for the adoptive experience;
(iii) adoptive parent lacks the capacity to be an adoptive parent to any child; and
(iv) child lacks the capacity to function in any adoptive family.
(B) The decision to attempt another adoptive placement with the family allows for the resolution of the earlier failure. The resolution includes acknowledging and understanding the reasons for the failure and mourning the loss.
(C) The adoptive home assessment is updated and a recommendation is made regarding continued approval of the adoptive home.
(D) Following the adoption's disruption, the family is requested to return the disclosure documents to the resource specialist.
9. Disclosure affidavit.Form 04AN006E, Affidavit of Information Disclosure for Adoption, and all subsequent disclosures are documented and provided to the adoptive parent.When additional information is obtained regarding the child after the adoptive placement is made, an additional Form 04AN006E, is completed and copies of the additional information are provided to the adoptive parent.
10. Adoption finalization procedure.
(1) Adoption attorney. The adoptive parent is advised to provide the attorney with the name and phone number of the adoption specialist. The adoption specialist:
(A) does not give legal advice to the adoptive parent;
(B) provides information about the length of the pre-adoption placement period prior to legal finalization of the adoption process; and
(C) contacts the private attorney and advises him or her that necessary documents are provided upon request or when the documents become available, as applicable.
(2) Questions regarding child's legal status. Questions regarding the child's legal status, such as whether the child is legally free for adoption and the legal procedures to finalize the adoption, are directed to the private attorney the adoptive parent selected.
(3) Documents provided to the adoption attorney. The documents provided to the adoptive parent's attorney upon request, but no later than the finalization hearing on the Petition for Adoption include:
(A) a certified copy of the child's birth certificate;
(B) a copy of Form 04MP347E, Medical and Social History Report for Adoption;
(C) a copy of the adoptive home assessment up to, and including, the contractor page that the adoptive applicant and the home assessment contractor signed, and the Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) approval page. The verification section that is not released:
(i) contains confidential information that is not provided to the attorney or the court absent a specific court order; and
(ii) includes responses from references, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint-based criminal records history reports wherein all arrests, charges, and convictions are listed;
(D) an addendum of fingerprint results that provides only summary information about the adoptive parent's criminal convictions that are public record;
(E) a copy of the adoptive home report providing information about the child's adjustment to the home during the post-placement period, including the adoption specialist's observations and details of circumstances that may have an influence on the entry of the Final Decree of Adoption.
(i) The report includes the adoption specialist's recommendation for or against the proposed adoption and reasons for the recommendation. This report is in addition to the adoptive family assessment and any other home studies listed above.
(ii) The report may contain the adoption specialist's recommendation that an Interlocutory Decree of Adoption be entered or waived. An Interlocutory Decree of Adoption awards the temporary care and custody of the child to the pre-adoptive parent for a trial adoption period prior to the Final Decree of Adoption being entered by the court that results in the adoption being finalized. When an Interlocutory Decree of Adoption is entered, the adoption specialist provides supervision with at least monthly visits in the home and a second report is provided to the court at the time of adoption finalization.
(I) The adoptive home report contains the adoption specialist's certification that the final examination of the child in the adoptive home was made since the Interlocutory Decree of Adoption was granted. The adoption specialist makes a final recommendation regarding the adoption.
(II) The adoptive home report contains a determination of the legal availability or status of the child for adoption. The adoption specialist obtains information concerning the status of each parent's parental rights from the attorney for the adoptive parent and states in the report that the information was obtained from the attorney. When in question, the adoption specialist also seeks assistance from OKDHS Legal Services;
(F) a Directive Authorizing Consent to the Adoption OKDHS signed. The attorney is responsible for preparing the consent to the adoption document for the adoption specialist's signature;
(G) a copy of Form 04AN002E, Adoption Assistance Agreement, when applicable;
(H) Form 04AN006E, Affidavit of Information Disclosure for Adoption, reflecting that the adoptive parent was provided a copy of Form 04MP347E, and all other medical, psychological, dental, and educational information; and
(I) verification of the child's Indian tribal membership that is not available in the deprived court file.
(i) The adoption attorney obtains a determination of whether the child is a member of an Indian tribe or eligible for tribal membership from the deprived court file.
(ii) When the adoption specialist obtains information regarding membership or eligibility for membership not known during the deprived proceeding, the adoption specialist immediately reports this information to the attorney for the adoptive parent and includes the information in the adoptive home report.
(4) Directive Authorizing Consent to the Adoption. When the adoptive parent is ready to proceed with adoption finalization, the adoption specialist completes and sends Form 04AN013E, Directive Authorizing Consent to Adoption, as an attachment by email to the Adoption Services Section. The OKDHS Director's designee signs the form and returns it by mail to the adoption specialist.
(5) Hearing on Adoption Petition for the Final Decree of Adoption. The adoption specialist appears at the hearing on the Adoption Petition for the Final Decree of Adoption to sign the consent for adoption provided by the adoption attorney. Any documents not already provided to the attorney for the adoptive parent for filing in the adoption case are provided at this hearing.
11. Case transmittal for finalized adoption cases. Form 04AN010E, Finalized Adoption Case Transmittal, is submitted with records to the Post-Adoption Services for storage. The records submitted are the:
(1) resource family record. The KIDS resource file is scanned into the KIDS DMS of the adoptive resource and the adoption specialist closes the resource. When the family chooses to re-apply to adopt another child, the KIDS resource is reopened and the adoption specialist obtains the previous resource record from the KIDS DMS;
(2) permanency planning case. The paper case record is sent to the Post-Adoption Services. The primary CW specialist closes the electronic KIDS case when there are no other children in the case receiving services;
(3) adoptive family case record. Within 30-calendar days of the adoption finalization, the paper case record is scanned into the KIDS DMS and the electronic file is submitted to Post-Adoption Services; and
(4) legal documents. One complete set of legal documents related to the adoption finalization is scanned into the KIDS DMS of the Adoption KK case, including:
(A) Petition for Adoption and any amended petitions;
(B) Statement of Attorney Fees;
(C) Original and Amended Deprived Petition, and when applicable, post-adjudication Deprived Petition;
(D) Emergency/Temporary/Adjudication/Disposition/Termination orders;
(E) Consent to the Adoption;
(F) Interlocutory Decree of Adoption, if any; and
(G) Final Decree of Adoption; and
(5) AFCARS. All required Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) fields are completed and the KIDS adoptive family case record is electronically transferred to the Adoption Assistance Section through the AFCARS screen assign button.
