[austinangel90210]

So after 3 "fall-through's", we were finally placed with Little Princess and of course, we fell in love instantly. Her caseworker called me yesterday to let me know she's turning the case over to a permanency worker. She said she'd send us a letter in the mail letting us know who they would be and then they (of course) will have to come out and meet us as well. My question is, what exactly is a permanency worker? I always have questions AFTER the conversations are over! Could anyone tell me what the difference between a caseworker and a permanency worker is?

[RandomReality]

Hmmm. I wonder if the department has new job titles again. My son had foster care workers and adoption workers. I think maybe the person you talked to initially was the PLACEMENT worker and the permanency worker is the regular caseworker who you will deal with all the time. I think.

[austinangel90210]

Well, when I met her last week she did introduce herself as caseworker, that's why when she said she was "turning it over to a permanency worker" I was just wondering if that meant something.

[irelady10]

I have no idea what a permanency worker is!

When my son was placed, he had a regular caseworker, until his case was officially transferred to an adoption worker, which happened quickly because his official goal was always adoption. I think it has to be noted in court, though, that this is the goal before an adoption worker is assigned. Maybe they changed the terminology since 08/09?

When did you get your placement? How old is she? Details, please

[wcurry66]

a permanency worker is a case worker assigned to working through the finalization.

think of it this way

Every case worker has a "case" or focus. licensing worker's case is to get foster homes licensed and (sometimes) assigned kiddos

A regular case worker usually has the BPs "case" - gives them a case plan, monitors their progress, gets visitation plans set up, etc

There are foster case workers who check in on the kiddo and make sure they are getting what they need, and aren't being abused (they coordinate with the other "regular" caseworker)

Once adoption becomes the goal, someone is assigned the task of making this happen. They are called adoption workers or permanency workers. If no adoptive home is identified, they'll need ot identify one.

they may be the ones involved in the tpr process (mine was). They also do the adoption paperwork checklist (make sure all the paperwork is filled out properly prior to your court date), do a home study to make sure the fit is good, etc.

[vernellinnj]

To be safe, always ask what is the "DOCUMENTED" case goal?

• Reunification - pursuing reu with biological parent/family
• Concurrrent planning - pursuing reunification and adoption concurrently (IMO, it's the same as reunification)
• Adoption

This is a specific question and requires a specific answer. As a general rule, believe nothing that's not in writing with a judge's signature.

Good luck!

[austinangel90210]

Irelady...she was placed with us last Wednesday night (Feb. 1st), 2 weeks old and absolutely gorgeous! We fell in love instantly

Wcurry...thanks for the information! The first night we only met her caseworker and then I just had a call from the nurse and I thought "this isn't so bad"...then we started getting a TON of mail concerning her and I barely got to know her caseworker when she said she was transferring the case to a permanency worker.

By the way, has anyone gone to the hearings? Do you think it's a good idea?

[NJMama]

Congrats on your placement, and enjoy her!! But do not be misled nor falsely inspired by the fact that the case is being assigned to a "permanency" worker. Permanency does not mean Adoption. All workers are caseworkers, whether they are permanency workers, resource workers, adoption workers, etc. Thats the generic title. The worker who had your childs case initialy and made the placement was the investigating worker. They are the ones who are assigned the new referral when a new case is referred to the child abuse hotline to go out and assess if there is a need to open a file and/or to remove and place children. They keep cases short term. If no case is opened and no services are needed, they close the case at intake. If they need to open a case to provide services, but not remove the children from the home, the case will get passed on to an ongoing caseworker. If, like in your case, they need to open the case AND place the baby the case gets passed on to a permanency worker. DYFS is under an ever present obligation from moment one to work towards establishing permanency for children as no child should be left in foster care which by design is meant to be temporary. So - - - - the permanent plan could be reunification back to the parent (and in most instances at least for a certain period of time it will always be that); at the same time DYFS will probably begin exploring and trying to identify if there are any relative resources available for the baby too. Thats part of permanency planning as well. So it doesnt simply mean because the baby is in foster care and the case is going to a permanency worker that they case is heading to a goal of adoption. It is a long long journey before it would ever reach that point in the process. Dont get caught up in the legalities of it though. Sit back and enjoy the baby and enjoy being her parent for the moment. . . Every moment is precious. . Good luck!!