According to the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA), a motion for the termination of the parent and child relationship shall be filed if a child has been in court-ordered custody under the responsibility of Child and Family Services for 15 of the most recent 22 months. In addition, the Interim Implementation Plan requires that CFSA identify all children who are in pre-finalized adoptive homes with a goal of adoption. In most situations, the child’s foster care placement will also be the pre-finalized adoptive home. The following is the process by which the Adoption Program Area will be able to identify children in pre-finalized adoptive homes and, thereby be able to move children more quickly to a permanent home.

FTSD