May 2020Vol. 21, No. 4Guide for Legal Partners in the Child Welfare System
The Dave Thomas Foundation released a guide for legal professionals involved in the child welfare system. Unadoptable Is Unacceptable: Removing Legal Barriers to Permanency for Older Youth explores common barriers and legal challenges to permanency for older youth in care and offers the following strategies that legal professionals can employ:
- Requiring evidence-based recruitment efforts
- Believing all children are adoptable
- Prioritizing permanency over placement stability
- Supporting the biological family's role in permanency efforts
- Understanding children's reluctance to adoption
- Recognizing that youth are never too old for family
This guide dives into each of the six strategies and provides an explanation behind why some are more effective than others.