Achieving permanency
Services and Support
Achieving permanency
Family Reunification
Our goal is to ensure that every child and youth is safely at home with their family, in their community, surrounded by a strong circle of support. We hope that every child can be reunited with his/her family, but in some cases children find homes with relatives or adoptive families, or independent living programs. When helping children and families achieve permanency, we must balance an array of issues, including the needs of the child and the family, as well as legal requirements. We implement a number of strategies with the goal of reuniting families as quickly and as safely as possible, including family engagement, connecting families to community supports and services, and parent education.
Permanency also includes maintaining meaningful connections with other caring adults in children's lives — with family, friends and the community. It is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are safe and families are strong, and we partner with our entire community to help children and families on the path to reaching their unique potential.
Adoption
Adoption is the process that transfers the legal rights, responsibilities and privileges of parenting to adoptive parents, terminating the rights of the biological parents. (If you are interested in adoption, you must first become an approved resource parent, and then you must successfully complete an adoption home study. You can ask for an application online or call 299-KIDS.)
Permanency also includes maintaining meaningful connections with other caring adults in children's lives — with family, friends and the community. It is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are safe and families are strong, and we partner with our entire community to help children and families on the path to reaching their unique potential.
Relative/Permanent Guardianship
When children cannot be safely returned home, we first look to relatives to provide a safe and familiar environment to support their exit from DFCS custody. This can be legally accomplished through guardianship, where biological parental rights are not terminated, or adoption.
Permanency also includes maintaining meaningful connections with other caring adults in children's lives — with family, friends and the community. It is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are safe and families are strong, and we partner with our entire community to help children and families on the path to reaching their unique potential.
Independent Living
For youth between the ages of 16 and 21, another option for successfully exiting the foster care system is through the Independent Living Program (ILP), which assists current and former foster youth achieve self-sufficiency.
Permanency also includes maintaining meaningful connections with other caring adults in children's lives — with family, friends and the community. It is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are safe and families are strong, and we partner with our entire community to help children and families on the path to reaching their unique potential.
Quick Links
Child Abuse Prevention CouncilContact The Department of Family and Children's ServicesSanta Clara County Foster and Adoptive Parent Association The Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County First 5 - Santa Clara County CDSS - Resource Family Approval Santa Clara County Juvenile Dependency Court Catholic Charities – Kinship Resource Center California Department of Social Services - Office of Child Abuse Prevention 2-1-1 United Way Bay Area Enrichment Activities for ChildrenTransitioned Age Youth (TAY) ServicesChoose to be a Resource Family