For a child under two years old who does not need treatment services, what are the post-placement contact requirements?

• A. Five face-to-face contacts within six months, two of which are with the entire adoptive family, and at least one of the two in the adoptive home.
• B. Five monthly phone calls with no in-person requirement.
• C. Five face-to-face contacts within six months, with two contacts in the adoptive home with all family members present.
• D. No minimum contact requirement; monitoring is optional.

Answer: (C)

Post-placement visits are a way to ensure the child’s safety and the family’s ability to care for them after the placement is finalized. For a child under two who does not need treatment services, the standard requires five face-to-face contacts within six months. Importantly, two of those visits must occur in the adoptive home with all members of the adoptive family present. This in-home requirement is designed to observe the real home environment and confirm that every family member involved in the caregiving is engaged and able to support the child. The other visits can be conducted in other appropriate settings, but the two in-home visits with the entire adoptive family present are essential to meet the monitoring expectation. Options that rely on phone calls only or that don’t require in-home visits with all family members present don’t satisfy these monitoring requirements.