{"report_id":332,"form_id":"22","user_id":71,"organization_id":13,"question_id":"319","question_type":"Free_Text","text_answer":"The decision to place a child in a shelter care home that was nearing capacity was influenced by no relatives being identified as immediate placement options.  While an extensive relative search was completed, many licensing barriers existed in licensing any of the relatives who were identified.  It is common in relative placement cases that the time it can take and the bureaucratic system created by both the local agency and DHS standards can influence placing children in an already licensed shelter care home versus one of a relative.  While a few of them may have been a viable options, the Judge ordered that the subject child be placed immediately into shelter care.  \r\nFurthermore, at this time, the placing process within the agency was for children to be immediately placed in shelter and that the shelter center locates the placement for the child\/children based upon needs to the child and who can care for the child.  Normative practice is to defer to shelter for these decisions. Staff also noted that in placement cases they are often balancing multiple competing goals.  Such as the location and placement with a relative often takes more time, which can be difficult when operating under tight permanency timelines.  While working to accomplish concurrent planning, staff also need to make reasonable and active efforts to reunify whenever possible.  Further impacting this pressure is the best practice of placement stability.  Best practice is to ensure children are placed in stable placement as soon as possible and such practices are also measured through state and federal placement stability performance measures creating additional pressure on staff to ensure placements are stable.","created_by":71,"updated_by":71,"updated_at":"6\/1\/2021 2:05:54 pm","created_at":"6\/1\/2021 2:05:54 pm","id":42920}