DISPOSITION HEARING Sample Clauses
DISPOSITION HEARING. May be conducted immediately after Adjudication but shall be conducted within 30 days of Adjudication. 🗏 La. Ch. C. arts. 678-686 Court shall make its post-Adjudication ruling regarding the Disposition (i.e., custody to parent, custody to relative/suitable person, guardianship to nonparent, custody to DCFS, etc.), address case plan and goal if required, and make reasonable efforts findings. ESSENTIAL JUDICIAL FUNCTION | Assistance and Accommodations: Court responsible for providing interpretation, translation, language assistance services, and/or reasonable accommodations for parties. PRACTICE TIP | ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Caregivers (▇▇▇▇▇▇ Parents, Pre-Adoptive Parents, and Relatives): Are not parties but have legal right to notice and opportunity to be heard at any hearing involving a child in their care. If they do not appear, DCFS shall report whether notice given/diligent efforts made to locate and notify caregiver; hearing may be held in their absence even if notice not given by DCFS. (Articles 623 and 679; 42 U.S.C. § 675(5)(G); 45 C.F.R. § 1356.21(o)). PRACTICE TIP | Coordinating Services: Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ), Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), and other agencies may be helpful to have at hearing. Especially critical for youth who may have mental health concerns, delinquency matters, and/or disabilities and may benefit from coordinated services and supports.
DISPOSITION HEARING. May be conducted immediately after Adjudication and shall be conducted within 30 days after PRACTICE TIP | Alternative to Removal/Adjudication: IAA may be used whether child is in DCFS custody or not. It is a viable alternative to keeping child out of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ care. For example, child could be returned to parents and IAA used similarly to a safety plan. Or IAA could be entered into while child in DCFS custody to obviate need for Adjudication. See Informal Adjustment Agreement (IAA) Benchbook Section 1. PRACTICE TIP | Holding Hearings on Same Day: While law does not prohibit court from holding Adjudication and/or Disposition Hearings (if child adjudicated) on same day as Answer Hearing, court should consider whether time is needed to ensure due process for children and parents. For example, there may be paternity/maternity issues that need to be resolved, medical, sensory, psychological, or psychiatric examinations that need to be conducted, evidence that needs to be obtained, witnesses that need to be secured, placement possibilities to further investigate, case planning to complete, etc.