CASE PLAN DEVELOPMENT

(a) Case Planning Conference. The case plan must be developed in a face-to-face conference with the parents, the guardian ad litem, attorney ad litem and, if appropriate, the child and the temporary custodian of the child.

(b) Contents. The case plan must be written simply and clearly in English and the principal language of the parents, if possible. Each case plan must contain:

(1) a description of the problem being addressed, including the parent’s behavior or acts resulting in risk to the child and the reason for the intervention by the department;

(2) a permanency goal;

(3) if it is a concurrent plan, a description of the permanency goal of reunification with the parent or legal custodian and one of the remaining permanency goals;

(4) the date the compliance period expires;

(5) a written notice to the parent that it is the parent’s responsibility to take action to comply with the case plan so permanency with the child may occur within the shortest period of time possible, but no later than 1 year after removal or adjudication of the child; the parent must notify the parties and the court of barriers to completing case plan tasks within a reasonable time after discovering such barriers if the parties are not actively working to overcome them; failure of the parent to substantially comply with the case plan may result in the termination of parental rights, and that a material breach of the case plan by the parent’s action or inaction may result in the filing of a petition for termination of parental rights sooner than the expiration of the compliance period;

(6) a written notice to the parents and caregivers that it is their responsibility to take action to work together where it is safe to do so towards the success of the case plan; and

(7) if the parent is incarcerated, the list of services available at the facility.

(c) Expiration of Case Plan. The case plan compliance period expires no later than 12 months after the date the child was initially removed from the home or the date the case plan was accepted by the court, whichever occurs first.

(d) Department Responsibility.

(1) The department shall prepare a draft of a case plan for each child receiving services under Chapter 39, Florida Statutes.

(2) The department shall document, in writing, a parent’s unwillingness or inability to participate in the development of the case plan, provide the written documentation to the parent when available for the court record, and prepare a case plan.

(3) Before signing the case plan, the department must explain the provisions of the plan to all persons involved in its implementation, including, when appropriate, the child. The department shall ensure that the parent has contact information for all entities necessary to complete the tasks in the plan. The department must explain the strategies included in the plan which the parent can use to overcome barriers to case plan compliance and shall explain that if a barrier is discovered and the parties are not actively working to overcome such barrier, the parent must notify the parties and the court within a reasonable time after discovering such barrier.

(4) After the case plan has been developed, and before acceptance by the court, the department shall make the appropriate referrals for services that will allow the parents to begin the agreed-upon tasks and services immediately if the parents agree to begin compliance.

(5) The department must immediately give the parties, including the child if appropriate, a signed copy of the agreed-upon case plan.

(6) The department must prepare, but need not submit to the court, a case plan for a child who will be in care no longer than 30 days unless that child is placed in out of home care a second time within a 12-month period.

(7) The department must prepare a case plan for a child in out of home care within 60 days after the department removes the child from the home and shall submit the plan to the court before the disposition hearing for the court to review and approve.

(8) Not less than 3 business days before the disposition or case plan review hearing, the department must file a case plan with the court.

(9) After jurisdiction attaches, the department shall file with the court all case plans, including all case plans prepared before jurisdiction of the court attached. The department shall provide a copy of the case plans filed to all the parties whose whereabouts are known, not less than 3 business days before the disposition or case plan review hearing.

(10) The department must attach a copy of the child’s transition plan, if applicable, to the case plan.

(e) Signature. The case plan must be signed by all parties except the child, if the child is not of an age or capacity to participate in the case planning process.

(f) Service. Each party, including the child, if appropriate, must be provided with a copy of the case plan not less than 3 business days before the disposition or case plan review hearing. If the location of a parent is unknown, this fact must be documented in writing and included in the plan.