THE COURTS
Title 237—JUVENILE RULES
PART I. RULES
[ 237 PA. CODE CH. 16 ]
Order Amending Rules 1601 and 1608 of the Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure; No. 768 Supreme Court Rules Doc.
[48 Pa.B. 3321]
[Saturday, June 2, 2018]
Order Per Curiam
And Now, this 17th day of May, 2018, upon the recommendation of the Juvenile Court Procedural Rules Committee, the proposal having been published for public comment at 47 Pa.B. 3970 (July 22, 2017):
It is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Pennsylvania Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure 1601 and 1608 are amended in the following form.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective on October 1, 2018.
Annex A
TITLE 237. JUVENILE RULES
PART I. RULES
Subpart B. DEPENDENCY MATTERS
CHAPTER 16. POST-DISPOSITIONAL PROCEDURES
PART A. SUMMONS, NOTICE, AND REPORTS Rule 1601. Permanency Hearing Notice.
A. At least fifteen days prior to the hearing, the court or its designee shall give notice of the permanency hearing to:
1) all parties;
2) the attorney for the county agency;
3) the child's attorney
4) the guardian's attorney;
5) the parents, child's foster parent, preadoptive parent, or relative providing care for the child;
6) the court appointed special advocate, if assigned;
7) the educational decision maker, if applicable; and
8) any other persons as directed by the court.
B. If a party intends to request a goal change from reunification, then either the notice shall state this purpose or the party shall give separate notice of the intended goal change in accordance with paragraph (A).
Comment Given the significance of discontinuing the goal of reunification, the requirement of paragraph (B) is to ensure that parties, counsel, and interested persons have notice of the purpose of the hearing and are able to prepare for and attend the hearing.
Official Note: Rule 1601 adopted August 21, 2006, effective February 1, 2007. Amended April 29, 2011, effective July 1, 2011. Amended May 17, 2018, effective October 1, 2018.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
Final Report explaining the provisions of Rule 1601 published with the Court's Order at 36 Pa.B. 5571 (September 2, 2006).
Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 1601 published with the Court's Order at 41 Pa.B. 2413 (May 14, 2011).
Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 1601 published with the Court's Order at 48 Pa.B. 3321 (June 2, 2018).
PART B(2). PERMANENCY HEARING Rule 1608. Permanency Hearing.
* * * * * D. Court's [finding] Finding.
1) Findings at all [six-month hearings] Six-Month Hearings. At each permanency hearing, the court shall enter its findings and conclusions of law into the record and enter an order pursuant to Rule 1609. On the record in open court, the court shall state:
a) the appropriateness of the placement;
b) the appropriateness, feasibility, and extent of compliance with the permanency plan developed for the child;
c) the appropriateness and feasibility of the current [placement goal for the child] permanency goal for the child provided that, at no time may a goal be changed from reunification unless notice has been provided in accordance with Rule 1601(B);
d) the likely date by which the [placement] permanency goal for the child might be achieved;
* * * * *
Comment * * * * * Every child should have a concurrent plan, which is a secondary plan to be pursued if the primary permanency plan for the child cannot be achieved. See Comment to Rule 1512. For example, the primary plan may be reunification with the guardian. If the guardian does not substantially comply with the requirements of the court-ordered services, subsidized legal guardianship may be utilized as the concurrent plan. Because of time requirements, the concurrent plan is to be in place so that permanency may be achieved in a timely manner.
Paragraph (D)(1)(c) is intended to provide adequate notice and the opportunity to be heard when a goal is being changed from reunification. If the court intends to change the child's goal from reunification without a prior notice provided by a party pursuant to Rule 1601(B), then the court shall direct the county agency to provide such notice in accordance with Rule 1601(B).
Pursuant to paragraph (D)(1)(h), the court is to determine whether the county agency has reasonably satisfied the requirements of Rule 1149 regarding family finding, including the location and engagement of relatives and kin at least every six months, prior to each permanency hearing. If the county agency has failed to meet the diligent family finding efforts requirements of Rule 1149, the court is to utilize its powers to enforce this legislative mandate. See 62 P.S. § 1301 et seq.; see also Rules 1210(D)(8), 1242(E)(3), 1409(C), 1609(D), and 1611(C) and Comments to Rules 1242, 1408, 1409, 1512, 1514, 1515, 1609, and 1611.
* * * * * Official Note: Rule 1608 adopted August 21, 2006, effective February 1, 2007. Amended December 18, 2009, effective immediately. Amended April 21, 2011, effective July 1, 2011. Amended April 29, 2011, effective July 1, 2011. Amended October 21, 2013, effective December 1, 2013. Amended July 13, 2015, effective October 1, 2015. Amended December 9, 2015, effective January 1, 2016. Amended June 14, 2016, effective August 1, 2016. Amended April 6, 2017, effective September 1, 2017. Amended May 17, 2018, effective October 1, 2018.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
* * * * * Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 1608 published with the Court's Order at 47 Pa.B. 2313 (April 22, 2017).
Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 1608 published with the Court's Order at 48 Pa.B. 3321 (June 2, 2018).
FINAL REPORT1
Amendment of Pa.R.J.C.P. 1601 and 1608 On May 17, 2018, the Supreme Court amended Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure 1601 and 1608 to require prior notice if a dependent child's permanency review hearing may result in a goal change away from reunification.
The Juvenile Court Procedural Rules Committee undertook rulemaking to address reported circumstances wherein permanency review hearings resulted in goal changes that discontinued reunification without prior notice that such a goal change would be decided at the hearing. This appeared inconsistent with the best practice of providing notice of an upcoming goal change hearing. See Pennsylvania Children's Roundtable Initiative. Pennsylvania Dependency Benchbook at p. 119. Harrisburg, PA: Office of Children and Families in the Courts, 2010.
After considering comments in response to a prior proposal, see 47 Pa.B. 947 (February 18, 2017), the Committee revised the proposal to extend Rule 1601(B) to include all parties (e.g., GAL) rather than solely the county agency. Moreover, the previously proposed provision for a discretionary rehearing was eliminated, believing that the effect of a goal change from reunification was so significant that due process required timely notice of the possibility of a goal change from reunification in all instances.
Given the gravity of a permanency review hearing that may result in a goal change from reunification, the Committee proposed to amend Rule 1608(d)(1)(c) to require that notice in accordance with proposed Rule 1601(B) be given before a court can order a goal change from reunification. As indicated in the revised Comment to Rule 1608, the court should direct the county agency to give notice to all other parties when the court seeks to change the goal in the absence of such notice.
Additionally, post-publication, the phrase ''placement goal'' was revised to ''permanency goal'' to more accurately describe the goal.
The amendments will become effective October 1, 2018.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 18-854. Filed for public inspection June 1, 2018, 9:00 a.m.] _______
1 The Committee's Final Report should not be confused with the official Committee Comments to the rules. Also note that the Supreme Court does not adopt the Committee's Comments or the contents of the Committee's explanatory Final Reports.
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