This service is available to any child or older youth in the legal custody of a county s children and youth agency (CYS) in out of home placement. A Child Profile is a comprehensive summary of the child’s life history, current functioning and special needs. It can be referred for all children and youth in CYS custody who are in out-of-home care, regardless of their permanency goal, and assists in choosing a resource family. The profile creates a history the child may review with their Child Preparation worker, independent living worker, resource, kinship, custodial or adoptive family and may be given to youth aged 14 and older. SWAN’s Child Profile assists in identifying connections and supports for a child by reviewing past and existing relationships. For older youth, the profile provides a summary so they can review the sequence of their time in out-of-home care.
A detailed description of the contents of a Child Profile and the required timelines for its completion can be found in the SWAN bulletin. Referrals for this service must come from the county with custody. Payment is made when the county certifies that the work is completed as outlined in the benchmarks and to the county’s satisfaction. Once completed, the Child Profile includes two addendums when a child has no permanent resource, thereby maintaining it as a viable document for up to three years. For those children who are adopted, the county must send a copy of the Child Profile to the Pennsylvania Adoption Information Registry (PAIR). Alternatively, the county may also request the affiliate send the Child Profile to PAIR.
For more information and guidance, please access the SWAN Child Profile web based training by clicking: www.swan-online.net.
Child Profile Addendum
A Child Profile addendum is completed upon referral by a county agency after the first and/or second year following the completion of the original Child Profile in cases where the child is not placed with a family. The addendum requirements include reviewing records and requesting documents as well as interviewing and gathering information from the child, caretakers and collateral contacts such as kin, former caretakers, teachers and therapists or other professionals involved with the child. The Child Profile Addendum seamlessly integrates new information while reorganizing or removing information that is changed or no longer current. The addendum must be completed within 90 calendar days of the request being made by a county agency.