Authority for Placement

The Authority for Placement is an eligibility requirement for Foster Care and without it there is no eligibility to FC. Authority for Placement is the legal basis (e.g. a court order, voluntary placement agreement, legal guardianship, etc) under which a child is residing in a foster care placement. In order to qualify for benefits the child in placement must have been:

  • Declared a Dependent child of the court under Welfare & Institution Code section 300, or
  • Declared a Ward of the court under W&I Code section 600, or
  • Put into placement as a result of a Voluntary Placement Agreement between the parent and DFCS, or
  • Be living with a non-related Legal Guardian (temporary or permanent guardianship), or
  • Relinquished for adoption, or a petition to terminate parental rights has been granted.

A foster care application must be submitted in order for the child’s eligibility to be determined. The person/agency responsible for submitting the application varies depending upon the placement authority. The following chapter gives a general overview of the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS), Juvenile Probation Department (JPD), and the Voluntary Placement processes.

 

DFCS Process

The following information contains a general work flow of the DFCS initiated process for determining the authority for placement of a potential dependent of the court.

 

This is an overview of the removal process.

  1. SW or PO
    1. Petitions the court to make a preliminary investigation of the allegations of the situation the child was in at the point of the petition.
  2. The Court
    1. Makes a decision permitting physical custody of a child pending a jurisdictional hearing (detention hearing) and 
    2. Determines jurisdiction/disposition which declare the child a dependent or ward of the court, and designates where the child is to be placed. 

DFCS and JPD

When children are placed in out-of-home care by the DFCS or by the JPD the following applies:

  1. If the child is placed by DFCS, then the child is a "dependent" of the court (W&I Code 300)
  2. If the child is placed by JPD, then the child is a "ward" of the court (W&I Code 602)

Note: There are situations where a child may have been a dependent and, upon breaking the law, the court will change the child's status from a dependent (W&I 300) to a ward (W&I 602). The 602 status takes precedence to the 300 status.

Related Topics

Overview