N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:15-1.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 3A:15-1.1 - Purpose

(a) The purpose of this subchapter is to ensure that each child placed by the Division in out-of-home placement shall have the opportunity to visit with parents, siblings and interested relatives. Visits with parents, siblings and other relatives may serve to:

1. Reinforce the child's identity;

2. Promote the child's need for stability, consistency, and permanency;

3. Maintain or establish family relationships;

4. Assess the parent's and other relative's motivation and ability to care for the child;

5. Provide an opportunity to model appropriate parenting behavior and skills; and

6. Facilitate the case goal of return home.

(b) The frequency and duration of visits are dependent on the purpose of the visits, the case goal and case plan and practical considerations of all parties. Visits that are frequent and of long duration are beneficial for most children placed in out-of-home placement and facilitate movement toward achieving a case goal that establishes permanency. The frequency and duration specified in each child's visitation schedule is a professional social work decision, which shall be made by the Division representatives, with full input from all those affected by the visitation plan. Unless otherwise limited by conditions set forth in N.J.A.C. 3A:14-1.4 and 3A:15-1.15, for most children in out-of-home placement, the goal is to hold a visit every week for a period as long in duration as possible.

N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:15-1.1

Amended by R.1998 d.63, effective 1/20/1998.
See: 29 N.J.R. 4273(a), 30 N.J.R. 492(a).
Amended by R.2003 d.255, effective 7/7/2003.
See: 35 N.J.R. 530(a), 35 N.J.R. 2930(a).
In (a), substituted "placed by the Division in a licensed foster home" for "placed in a foster home approved by the Division" in the introductory paragraph, added "and permanency" in 2, added 6; in (b), inserted "representatives" following "Division" and amended the first N.J.A.C. reference.
Amended by R.2009 d.5, effective 1/5/2009.
See: 40 N.J.R. 3930(a), 41 N.J.R. 250(a).
In the introductory paragraph of (a), substituted "out-of-home placement" for "a licensed foster home"; in (a)1 and (a)2, deleted "foster" preceding "child's"; in (a)4, deleted "foster" preceding "child"; and in (b), substituted "that" for "which" following "Visits", "out-of-home placement" for "foster care" twice, "a" for "the" preceding the second occurrence of "case goal" and "that establishes permanency" for "of return home or permanency with a relative or family friend" and inserted a comma following "decision" and "representatives".