What constitutes an active child record?

• A. The child's record for the most recent 12 months of service
• B. The entire life record
• C. The current health record only
• D. The last month of service

Answer: (A)

Active records reflect ongoing, current information about a child’s placement and services. In practice, an active child record is defined by including the most recent 12 months of service, because this window shows the ongoing supports, updates, and status that staff and agencies need to plan and respond appropriately. A record that only contains the entire life history would be historically important but isn’t what’s considered active, since it includes outdated or closed periods. A current health record alone misses recent service encounters and placement changes that may have occurred within the last year. Limiting to just the last month of service would miss the broader context of what has been happening over the past year, which is needed to maintain continuity and accountability. Therefore, the most recent 12 months of service best defines an active record.