University of Maine System
A.PurposeSome of the parents with whom Department of Family Services (DFS) works are incarcerated in jails or prisons. Unless parental rights have been terminated or otherwise ordered by the court, DFS must make reasonable efforts to reunify child(ren)/youth with their parents; engage parents in the planning for their child(ren)/youth; help child(ren)/youth maintain contact with their parents; and provide services to parents - regardless of their incarceration. Child(ren)/youth have a right to a lifelong relationship with their parents. Wyoming Statute §14-3-204(a)(vi) states DFS shall, …“Make reasonable efforts to contact the noncustodial parent of the child and inform the parent of substantiated abuse or neglect in high risk or moderate risk cases as determined pursuant to rules and regulations of the state agency and inform the parent of any proposed action to be taken;”… Wyoming Statute §14-3-208(a)(ii) states DFS shall, “Make reasonable efforts to inform the parent, noncustodial parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare that the child has been taken into temporary protective custody, unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction;”… These statutes include parents who are incarcerated or have not had contact with the child(ren)/youth for extended periods of time. Unless otherwise court ordered, every parent, incarcerated or not, shall have the opportunity to develop a family services plan and be involved in planning for the child(ren)/youth. B.Procedure1.When a parent is arrested, it does not mean the child(ren)/youth need to go into foster care. The situation must be assessed and relatives /kinship options shall be explored as sometimes there is a relative, neighbor, or friend willing to care for the child(ren)/youth and keep them safe. If the child(ren)/youth does go into placement the DFS caseworker shall maintain contact with the incarcerated parent. 2.DFS caseworker shall attempt to make contact with both parents of each child/youth regardless of whether or not they are incarcerated (Diligent Search for Absent Parent Policy 5.6).a.Many states have inmate locator database systems which make it very easy to search for and locate prison inmates. Use sites such as to search prisons in many state systems or to search for inmates in the federal prison system.b.DFS caseworker may contact the state office for assistance searching for an inmate in Wyoming prisons. The DFS caseworker may contact the prisons or jails independently.3.DFS caseworker shall complete a diligent search for relatives of the incarcerated parent (Diligent Search for Relatives Policy 5.7). (The best results for permanency when there is an incarcerated parent involved, is seeking guardianship with a relative.)4.Talk to the child(ren)/youth and consider the child(ren)/youth’s feelings about being in contact with incarcerated parent(s). The child(ren)/youth may be able to provide valuable information about the incarcerated parent that may be used to help guide the case planning and reasonable efforts.5.Once the DFS caseworker is able to locate the incarcerated parent it is essential to visit the parent, send a letter, and/or make a call to the incarcerated parent informing them of the situation and asking for his/her involvement. DFS caseworker shall contact the prison/jail case manager where the incarcerated parent is located and talk with his/her case manager or director of the prison/jail (most prisons/jails have a case manager assigned to each inmate). The DFS caseworker shall: a.Determine, with the prison/jail case manager and the incarcerated parent, the best way to communicate (phone calls, visits, etc.);b.Determine the types of programs, services, and/or classes are available at the prison/jail;c.Obtain available information on the offense/crime and length of sentence and possible amount of time to be served. This may help in the case planning and permanency planning process.6.DFS caseworker shall set up a meeting or conference call with the incarcerated parent. a.DFS caseworker shall discuss the presenting problem with the parent and determine his/her interest in the child(ren)/youth’s life and whether or not he/she is willing to be involved in the case. Gather what information he/she can contribute regarding the family history. b.As long as parental rights are intact, DFS caseworker shall still be responsible for keeping the parent informed of meetings, hearings, how their child is doing, and any important events, even if the parent is not interested in being involved.c.DFS caseworker shall work with the parent in identifying his/her relatives (Diligent Search for Relatives Policy 5.7).7.DFS caseworker shall work with the incarcerated parent to develop a Family Service Plan which meets the needs of his/her child(ren)/youth as well as meets the incarcerated parent’s goals related to the case.a.If the goal of the incarcerated parent is to reunify with the child(ren)/youth, the DFS caseworker shall include goals and tasks in the family service plan which will address the needs of the incarcerated parent, child(ren)/youth, and family.b.DFS caseworker shall discuss permanency options, which include concurrent planning options, with the incarcerated parent in order to ensure that the best plan for the child(ren)/youth and family is put in place.c.Since the incarcerated parent is in an environment which does not enable him/her to be involved with some of the community and family activities, it is important to be creative in making the Family Service Plan meaningful. Some examples might include:1)Write letters to his/her child(ren)/youth twice a week.2)Weekly phone calls with his /her child(ren)/youth.3)Read a book about some of the family issues or child/youth issues and write a report on it.4)Take some of the psycho-educational classes offered at the jail/prison and write about what they learned or how it applies to his/her family.5)Hold a job at the jail/prison and, if possible, use their income to pay child support.6)Stay out of trouble at the jail/prison.7)Attend drug treatment programs in the jail/prison.8)Any other creative ideas that target the needs identified for the family. d.Ongoing visitation and contact between the incarcerated parent and his/her child(ren)/youth through phone calls, e-mails, and/or letters depends on the family service plan goal and is coordinated with the jail/prison case manager. The DFS caseworker shall determine whether visitation with the incarcerated parent occurred prior to the child(ren)/youth's placement, the frequency of visitation, and the preference of the child(ren)/youth in order to establish an appropriate visitation schedule. Even if visitation did not occur previously, it may be appropriate to facilitate contact. This determination may be made by the DFS caseworker in partnership with the family and the MDT. The DFS caseworker is encouraged to use a relative to assist in facilitating visitation between the child(ren)/youth and the incarcerated parent.Note: The court may order the incarcerated parent have no contact with the child(ren)/youth. However, this does not relieve DFS of working with the incarcerated parent and keeping the incarcerated parent informed about his/her child(ren)/youth. e.The DFS caseworker shall send the developed Family Service Plan to the incarcerated parent for agreement and request the incarcerated parent sign and return it.8.The incarcerated parent shall be notified of court hearings, MDT meetings, and family meetings. If the incarnated parent is able to attend by phone, the DFS caseworker will likely need to work with the prison/jail case manager and the court in order to facilitate the phone court hearings, MDT and family meetings. 9.DFS caseworker shall maintain monthly contact with the incarcerated parent as long as parental rights are in place. This contact should include updates on how the child(ren)/youth is doing, reviews of the Family Service Plan, providing support, transition planning for the incarcerated parent when he /s he is looking at discharge, and involvement in meetings. If the incarcerated parent is out of the county in which the DFS caseworker is located, necessary meetings, contacts, and visits, may be made by phone rather than in person. However, it is optimal to make face-to-face contact if at all possible. 10.The DFS caseworker shall make arrangements for a method of receiving periodic progress reports from the prison/jail case manager in order to keep DFS caseworker up-to-date and include notes in the case record.11.The DFS caseworker shall consult with his/her supervisor and the district or county attorney on each case in order to determine the best plan. Working with incarcerated parents can be challenging. 12.DFS caseworker shall document all contacts and reasonable efforts made with the incarcerated parent in WYCAPS narrative. 13.The Reasonable Efforts Checklist for Incarcerated Parents (F-SS74) is available and may be used. Please note, this checklist was created externally, is not exhaustive, and other steps may be necessary. ................
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