What is a legal risk placement?

• A. A placement where the child is not yet available for adoption due to parental rights not terminated.
• B. A placement where the child has been placed into a home that has been jointly verified as a foster home and approved as an adoptive home, with intent to transition to adoption.
• C. A simple foster care placement with no adoption plan.
• D. A placement where the child is already adopted.

Answer: (B)

Legal risk placement means placing a child in a home that has been verified as a foster home and approved as an adoptive home, with the plan to transition to adoption even though the birth parents’ rights have not yet been terminated. The family is ready to pursue termination of parental rights and complete the adoption, but the final outcome still depends on future legal steps. This setup differs from a plain foster placement without an adoption plan, from a child who is already adopted, or from a situation where the child isn’t being prepared for adoption at all. In the described scenario, the home is both a foster and adoptive placement with intent to transition to adoption, which is the essence of a legal risk placement.