Which statement describes a legal risk placement?

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

Answer: (B)

Legal risk placement means the child is placed in a home that is ready to adopt but where parental rights have not yet been terminated. The home is verified as a foster home and approved as an adoptive home, with an explicit plan to transition to adoption. This creates a legal risk because the final outcome depends on the birth parents' rights being legally resolved and the adoption actually proceeding, rather than the child already being legally free for adoption. The described scenario fits this exactly: a home that is both foster-verified and adoptive-approved with intent to transition to adoption. In contrast, a placement where parental rights aren’t terminated and there’s no adoption plan, or a child who is already adopted, or a standard foster placement with no adoption plan, do not constitute a legal risk placement.