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Effective: 01/08/2026

C12.7 Permanency Goals Unique to Transition Age Youth

Legal Authority

Introduction

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In addition to the four (4) primary permanency goals applicable to all youth, the goals of planned permanent living arrangement (PPLA) or transition to adulthood may be considered for some transition-age youth in specific circumstances.   ​​​​​

Practice Guidance

​

  • ​The primary permanency goals are: 
    • ​​Return to parent;
    • Subsidized permanent custody (SPC); 
    • Permanent relative placement; and
    • Adoption.
  • The following permanency goals may be explored for older youth in out-of-home care (OOHC) only after exhausting all four (4) primary permanency goals:
    • ​Planned permanent living arrangement (PPLA); and 
    • Transition to adulthood. 
  • PPLA is also referred to as another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA) in federal language and some other states.
  • The SSW may not choose a goal of PPLA for a child less than sixteen (16) years of age (Section 475 (5)(C)(i) of the Social Security Act).
  • Youth with a goal of PPLA should continue to receive concurrent planning services. Ongoing efforts to return the child to the home or secure placement with a fit and willing relative, legal guardian, fictive kin, or adoptive parent, including efforts that utilize search technology to find the birth family, should continue and be documented in both the case plan and service recordings. 
  • Careful consideration should be given when requesting the goal of PPLA for youth placed in private child-caring (PCC) residential and other non-foster home placements, as these are inherently temporary living arrangements. It is important for youth to maintain familial and non-familial connections with caregivers. The goal of PPLA is appropriate for youth placed in residential settings when they have established familial and/or non-familial connections with individuals, and those individuals, as well as the youth, are actively working towards placement with the individuals once treatment goals are met. A goal of PPLA must include a plan for permanent connections for youth, as described in SOP C12.25, Ensuring Positive Permanent Connections and Relationship Skills.
  • The service region administrator (SRA) approves the goal of PPLA for youth placed in Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) foster homes, private child-placing (PCP) foster homes, or other placements, such as supports for community living (SCL) family home providers, where the placement has the same family structure as a foster home. 
  • The permanency goal of PPLA for any youth placed in a PCC residential placement or other placement, such as SCL, group homes, must be approved by the DCBS commissioner or designee. The Division of Protection and Permanency (DPP) director is the designated approval authority for these requests. 
  • The purpose of the transition to adulthood permanency goal is to support young adults who extend commitment at age eighteen (18) or older. In addition, this goal may be explored for youth aged seventeen (17) and older after all other permanency goal options have been exhausted and are no longer appropriate due to the child's specific circumstances. 
  • Changing the goal to transition to adulthood is essential to ensuring accurate data is being tracked for young adults who extend foster care at age eighteen (18). Accurate data will provide program staff with the necessary information to drive policy and practice for transition-age youth. 

Procedure

​The SSW:

  1. ​​Follows all procedures in SOP C7.17 Ongoing Case Planning;
  2. May determine that the goal of PPLA is appropriate when:
    1. The child is a minimum of sixteen (16) years of age (per Federal Law P.L. 113-183); 
    2. Efforts have been made and documented in the case record to place the child for adoption or with a suitable and willing relative;
    3. If the youth’s goal is adoption, the youth has been referred to the Kentucky Adoption Profile Exchange (KAPE) to exhaust recruitment efforts; 
    4. Other permanency goal options have been exhausted and are no longer appropriate due to the specific circumstances of the child;
    5. The child has formed psychological ties with those with whom the child lives, adoption has been discussed with the foster parent, and there are no viable alternatives; and 
    6. SPC is also not a possibility.
  3. Seeks approval through supervisory channels from the SRA, as well as designated staff in DPP, if the youth is not placed in a foster home or family-type setting, before changing the goal to PPLA by submitting:
    1. ​A memo to the appropriate DCBS staff asserting that the child meets criteria for a goal change to PPLA as outlined above;
    2. Placement log; 
    3. Level of care (LOC) assignment; 
    4. Documentation of caregivers’ long-term commitment to the youth;
    5. Documentation of efforts to secure other permanency goals; and
    6. Written recommendation from the child’s therapist for a goal change to PPLA; 
  4. ​Requests a goal change with the court only after receiving all necessary approvals from the SRA and designated staff in DPP (when applicable);
  5. Establishes PPLA as the goal in the case plan for youth placed in DCBS or PCP foster homes only after the SRA or designee and the court have approved this goal for the youth; 
  6. Establishes PPLA as the goal in the case plan for youth placed in PCC, residential, or other non-foster home placements only after the SRA or designee, the Transitional Services branch manager, the DPP director, as the DCBS commissioner’s designee, and the court have approved this goal for the youth; 
  7. Develops with the youth and caregiver a permanency pact, following procedure in SOP C12.25 Ensuring Positive Permanent Connections and Relationship Skills​, and ensures a copy is filed in the case record; 
  8. Must provide documentation when approving the plan for youth age sixteen (16) and above, at each permanency hearing, of intensive, ongoing, unsuccessful efforts made to return the child home or secure a placement for the child with a fit and willing relative (including adult siblings), a legal guardian or an adoptive parent, including thorough efforts that utilize search technology (including social media) to find biological family members for the children (Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, 2015); 
  9. Encourages continued participation by family members in case conferences, reviews, and ongoing services even when the permanency goal is changed to PPLA; 
  10. Sends notification of case conferences and reviews to family members, keeping such documentation in the case record even when the family refuses to participate; 
  11. Continues to provide concurrent planning services for a youth with a goal of PPLA. Ongoing efforts to reunify the family or secure placement with an appropriate relative, legal guardian, fictive kin, or adoptive parent should continue. Any requests for an exception or modification to offering ongoing services to family members must be approved by a written memorandum to the SRA or designee, outlining the worker’s continued efforts to maintain monthly ongoing visits with the family, even though the permanency goal has been changed to PPLA; and 
  12. May request an exception or modification from the SRA in those cases where: 
    1. ​The parent(s) refuse services; and 
    2. There are no other children in the home that require ongoing or protective services.
  13. ​Selects the goal of transition to adulthood for youth aged eighteen (18) and older who have an extended commitment to DCBS;
  14. May consider a goal change to transition to adulthood for youth who are age seventeen (17) by submitting a request for commissioner or designee approval, through the SRA, when other permanency goal options have been exhausted or are no longer appropriate, and changing the goal is in the youth’s best interest.  Specific criteria include the following:
    1. ​The permanency goal of adoption is not in the youth’s best interest;
    2. If the goal is being changed from adoption, the youth has expressed they are not interested in pursuing an adoptive placement, and efforts to secure an adoptive placement have been exhausted; 
    3. Relative and fictive kin placements have been exhausted, and none have been identified as appropriate placement options; and 
    4. The youth desires the permanency goal of transition to adulthood;
  15. ​Seeks approval through supervisory channels from the SRA, as well as designated staff in DPP, to change the goal to transition to adulthood for a youth aged seventeen (17) but not yet eighteen (18), by submitting a request memo with the following information and supporting documentation:
    1. ​Written recommendation from the youth’s mental health provider; 
    2. Placement log;
    3. Documentation that relative and fictive kin placements have been exhausted;
    4. Documentation that other permanency goals have been exhausted;
    5. Summary that the youth is demonstrating appropriate independent living skills;
    6. Current education level and projected high school graduation date;
    7. Resources and programs the youth has been referred to and/or is utilizing to support independent readiness, educational, and mental health goals; and 
    8. A letter from the youth explaining why they would like their permanency goal changed to transition to adulthood.  
  16. Requests a goal change with the court only after receiving any necessary approvals from the SRA and designated staff in DPP (when applicable); and
  17. Establishes transition to adulthood as the goal in the case plan and TWIST only after the court has approved this goal for any youth under age eighteen (18) and ensures this goal is reflected at the annual permanency review with the court for any young adult age eighteen (18) or over.  
The SRA:
  1. Reviews requests for goal change to PPLA for youth aged sixteen (16) and older;
  2. Approves or denies a request for a goal change to PPLA for a youth placed in a foster home or family-type setting based on the provided information and best interest of the youth, ensuring compliance with criteria for PPLA as an allowable permanency goal;
  3. Seeks approval from the DCBS commissioner or designee (DPP Director) for a goal change to PPLA for youth placed with a PCC agency, other residential, or group home setting by:
    1. Indicating SRA approval of the plan to change the goal to PPLA;
    2. Submitting the required documentation to the Transitional Services Branch Manager, who will review and forward it to the DPP Director.
  4. ​Reviews requests for exceptions to the requirement for ongoing monthly visits to the birth parents following a goal change to PPLA when parents have refused services, and there are no other children in the home requiring protective services;
  5. Issues a decision to the worker which:
    1. ​​Grants the exception;
    2. Denies the exception; or 
    3. Grants a modification to the ongoing monthly visits with the family if contact does not cease entirely. 
  6. ​Reviews requests for a goal change to transition to adulthood for seventeen (17) year-old youth and forwards to the director of DPP (as the commissioner’s designee) through the Transitional Services Branch Manager for review of the case circumstances, including supporting documentation, and determination that a goal of transition to adulthood is in the best interest of the child.​


Documents

Revisions