Duration of orders of disposition; termination of orders; permanency hearings; petition for termination of parental rights

Duration of orders of disposition; termination of orders; permanency hearings; petition for termination of parental rights. (a) An order of disposition shall remain in force for an indefinite period until terminated by the court whenever it appears the purpose of the order has been achieved and it is in the child's best interest that he be discharged from further court jurisdiction. (b) Unless sooner terminated by court order, all orders issued under this act shall terminate with respect to a child adjudicated neglected, when he reaches eighteen (18) years of age unless the court has ordered care or services to continue beyond that time. The court shall conduct a review hearing at least six (6) months before the child reaches eighteen (18) years of age to determine whether care or transitional services should continue and for what period of time prior to the individual reaching the age of twenty-one (21) years. (c) The court shall conduct a review hearing six (6) months from the date of the child's removal from the home and every six (6) months thereafter. If the child is placed in a qualified residential treatment program, the department of family services shall present to the court at the six (6) month review hearing the information required under subparagraphs (j)(iii)(A) through (D) of this section. At the six (6) month review hearing the court shall review the case plan to determine: (i) The health and safety of the child; (ii) The continuing necessity for the placement; (iii) The appropriateness of the current placement; (iv) The reasonableness of efforts made to reunify the family and the consistency of those efforts with the case plan; (v) The appropriateness of the case plan and the extent of compliance with the case plan including the permanent placement of the child; (vi) If progress has been made toward alleviating or mitigating the causes necessitating placement outside the home and the extent of that progress; and (vii) The date the child is expected to be returned to the home or placed for adoption or legal guardianship. (d) The court shall conduct a permanency hearing no later than twelve (12) months from the date of the child's removal from the home and not less than once every twelve (12) months thereafter if the child remains in out-of-home placement or more frequently as deemed necessary by the court. (e) If the court determines as provided in W.S. 14-2-309(a)(vi), (b) or (c) that reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify the family are not required, a permanency hearing shall be held for the child within thirty (30) days after the determination. (f) At the permanency hearing, the court shall make determinations of reasonable efforts as outlined in W.S.