| (a) Case closure. If the court has dismissed the Department
of Family and Protective Services as conservator, Child Protective
Services (CPS) Division will close the legal case. However, CPS may
continue to provide services to the family on a voluntary basis or
by initiating court ordered services if the family has not been able
to reduce the risk to the child so that the child is safe from abuse
and neglect.
(b) Transfer from family reunification to substitute
care. When possible, CPS staff, together with the family, make the
decision to remove the child from the home. CPS staff, together with
the family, explore every reasonable alternative for keeping the child
safe from abuse and neglect in the home to eliminate the need to remove.
When the family is still unable to protect a child from abuse or neglect
in the immediate future, CPS staff initiate a removal of the child
from the home. This may or may not require new legal intervention
depending on the legal status at the time. Substitute care services
are then provided to the child and family.
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