2024 California Rules of Court
Rule 5.637. Family Finding (§§ 309(e), 628(d))
(a) Definition
(1) "Family finding" means conducting an investigation to identify kin and connect the child with those kin in an effort to provide family support and possible placement. For an Indian child, family finding also includes contacting the child's Indian tribe to identify kin.
(2) "Kin" means any relative as defined in rule 5.502(34), and any nonrelative extended family member of the child or the child's relatives.
(3) "Nonrelative extended family member" means an adult who has an established familial or mentoring relationship with a child or a familial relationship with a relative of the child. These adults may include but are not limited to the following people: godparents, teachers, clergy, neighbors, parents of a sibling, and family friends.
(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2024.)
(b) Juvenile dependency proceedings
(1) No later than 30 days after a child is removed from their parent or guardian and detained in a juvenile dependency proceeding, the social worker must use due diligence in conducting family finding, including an investigation to identify, locate, and provide notification and information as required in paragraph (2) to the child's parents or alleged parents, all the child's adult kin, parents with legal custody of the child's siblings, any adult siblings, and in the case of an Indian child, any extended family members of the child's tribe.
(2) After locating persons specified in paragraph (1), the social worker must provide to them, within 30 days of removal, the following:
(A) Written notification that the child has been removed from the parent, guardian, or Indian custodian's custody;
(B) An explanation in writing of the available options to participate in the child's care and placement, including the information set forth in section 309(e)(1)(B); and
(C) A copy of Relative Information (form JV-285) for providing information to the social worker and the court regarding the child's needs and to request permission to address the court, if desired.
Oral notification in person or by telephone of the information must also be provided to the child's kin, when appropriate.
(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2024.)
(c) Juvenile delinquency proceedings
(1) No later than 30 days after a child is detained in a juvenile delinquency proceeding, if the probation officer has reason to believe that the child may be at risk of entering a foster care placement or within 30 days of the court order placing the child into foster care, the probation officer must use due diligence to conduct family finding, including an investigation to identify, locate, and provide notification and information as required in paragraph (2) to the child's parents or alleged parents, all of the child's adult kin, parents with legal custody of the child's siblings, any adult siblings, and in the case of an Indian child, any extended family members of the child's tribe.
(2) After locating the child's kin and other persons specified in paragraph (1), the probation officer must provide within 30 days of the date on which the child is detained, to all kin who are located, the following:
(A) Written notification that the child has been removed from the parent, guardian, or Indian custodian's custody; and
(B) An explanation in writing of the available options to participate in the child's care and placement, including the information set forth in section 628(d)(2)(B).
Oral notification in person or by telephone of the information must also be provided to the child's kin, when appropriate.
(Subd (c) adopted effective January 1, 2024.)
(d) Due diligence (§§ 309, 628, Fam. Code, § 7950)
(1) During the time the child is removed from the child's parent, guardian, or Indian custodian, the social worker and probation officer have an ongoing responsibility to exercise due diligence to engage in family finding until the time the child is placed for adoption.
(2) The court must find whether the social worker or probation officer has exercised due diligence in family finding by:
(A) Asking the child, in an age-appropriate manner and consistent with the child's best interests, about the identity and location of kin;
(B) Using a computer-based search engine and internet-based search tools to locate kin identified as support for the child and their family; and
(C) If it is known or there is reason to know the child is an Indian child as defined by section 224.1, contacting the Indian child's tribe to identify kin.
(3) When making the finding of due diligence, the court may also consider other efforts, including whether the social worker or probation officer has done any of the following:
(A) Obtained information regarding the location of the child's kin;
(B) Reviewed the child's case file for any information regarding kin;
(C) Telephoned, emailed, or visited all identified kin;
(D) Asked located kin for the names and locations of other kin; or
(E) Developed tools-including a genogram, family tree, family map, or other diagram of family relationships-to help the child, parent, guardian, or Indian custodian to identify kin.
(4) In cases involving a dual-status child, the duty to exercise due diligence in family finding must be assigned in accordance with the written protocols required by section 241.1(b)(4).
(Subd (d) adopted effective January 1, 2024.)
(e) When notification of kin is inappropriate
The social worker or probation officer is not required to notify kin whose personal history of family or domestic violence would make notification inappropriate. A social worker or probation officer who determines that notification of kin is inappropriate under this subdivision must notify the court that kin has not been notified and explain the reasoning underlying that lack of notification.
(Subd (e) adopted effective January 1, 2024.)
Rule 5.637 amended effective January 1, 2024; adopted effective January 1, 2011.
Advisory Committee Comment
This rule restates the requirements of section 103 of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (Pub. L. No. 110-351, § 103 (Oct. 7, 2008) 122 Stat. 3949, 3956, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 671(a)(29)) as implemented by California Assembly Bill 938 (Com. on Judiciary; Stats. 2009, ch. 261, codified at Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 309(e) and 628(d)). These statutes enacted elements of the child welfare practice known as Family Finding and Engagement, which has been recommended to improve outcomes for children by the Judicial Council's California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care and the California Child Welfare Council. (See Cal. Blue Ribbon Com. on Children in Foster Care, Fostering a New Future for California's Children, pp. 30-31 (Admin. Off. of Cts., May 2009) (final report and action plan), www.courts.ca.gov; Permanency Committee Recommendations to the Child Welfare Council, pp. 1-4 (Sept. 10, 2009), www.chhs.ca.gov.)
The rule was amended to reflect Senate Bill 384 (Cortese; Stats. 2022, ch. 811), which revised Welfare and Institutions Code sections 309 and 628 regarding the obligation of the social worker and probation officer to engage in family finding in dependency and delinquency cases.