Rule 208.Notice to foster caregivers

Ch. XIV: Child Dependency, Neglect and/or Abuse Proceedings · Last amended 2015 · Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified September 9, 2026

In one sentenceRule 208 requires DSCYF to give foster, pre-adoptive and relative caregivers notice of every proceeding and the chance to be heard — without making them parties.

Full Text of Rule 208

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Notice of any proceeding and of the opportunity to be heard at any proceeding shall be provided to current foster parent(s), preadoptive parent(s), or relative caregiver(s) of the child by DSCYF. This notice and the right to be heard shall not be construed to entitle the foster parent(s), pre-adoptive parent(s), or relative caregiver(s) to be a party to the action.

End

Amendment History

Delaware prints each rule’s amendment history as a single “Credits” line naming every order that adopted or amended it. It is reproduced verbatim below.

[Adopted September 12, 2002. Amended effective September 11, 2007; August 28, 2008; July 25, 2009; April 20, 2015.]

Plain-English Summary

Notice of any proceeding, and of the opportunity to be heard at it, must be given by DSCYF to the child's current foster parents, pre-adoptive parents or relative caregivers. Neither the notice nor the right to be heard makes them parties to the action.

The line the rule draws is careful and correct. The people the child lives with know things nobody else in the courtroom knows — how the child sleeps, what school is like, how a visit went — and a court deciding where a child should be needs to hear it.

But being heard is not the same as being a party. A caregiver does not thereby acquire a claim to the child, the right to conduct discovery, or standing to appeal. The case remains between the State and the parents, with the child represented under Rule 207.

Note who carries the duty: DSCYF, not the Clerk. The agency knows where the child is living this week, and the obligation is placed where the information is.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do foster parents get notice of Delaware dependency hearings?

Yes. DSCYF must provide notice of any proceeding and of the opportunity to be heard to current foster parents, pre-adoptive parents or relative caregivers of the child.

Does that make a foster parent a party to the case?

No. The notice and the right to be heard shall not be construed to entitle them to be a party to the action.

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Delaware Family Court Rules of Civil Procedure (Fam. Ct. Civ. R. 208), and every rule has been checked word for word against the Delaware Family Court’s own published edition of these rules. Current through June 1, 2026. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 9, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: foster parent notice Delawarerelative caregiver right to be heard DelawareFam. Ct. Civ. R. 208