Rule 210.Determination of reasonable efforts
Ch. XIV: Child Dependency, Neglect and/or Abuse Proceedings · Last amended 2015 · Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified September 9, 2026
Full Text of Rule 210
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.
[Formerly Rule 209 adopted September 12, 2002. Renumbered Rule 210 and amended effective April 20, 2015.] Footnotes So in original.
Plain-English Summary
The State may take a child only if it tried not to, and must keep trying afterwards. This rule is where the court checks that, on a schedule.
Preventing the removal. Within 60 days from the date the child is removed, the court makes a written determination whether reasonable efforts were made to maintain the family unit and prevent the unnecessary removal of the child from home. The question is asked about the past, and quickly, while the answer can still be reconstructed.
Keeping siblings together. At the Preliminary Protective Hearing, and whenever else the court thinks appropriate, it determines in writing whether DSCYF used reasonable efforts to place siblings together — unless DSCYF documents that a joint placement would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of them.
Reunification and contact. At regularly scheduled hearings, the court determines in writing whether DSCYF used reasonable efforts to bring about the safe reunification of child and family, and to provide frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction between siblings — again unless DSCYF documents that contact would be contrary to a sibling's safety or well-being.
Notice how the exceptions are framed. DSCYF does not merely assert that separation is better; it documents it. The default is that brothers and sisters stay together and keep seeing each other, and departing from it takes a record.
Finalising a permanency plan. The court must determine in writing whether DSCYF used reasonable efforts to make and finalise the permanency plan in effect, no later than 12 months from the time the child enters foster care, and again every 12 months after that — unless there has been a judicial determination that DSCYF need not offer reunification services.
When the clock starts. A child has entered foster care on the earlier of a judicial finding in an adjudicatory order that the child is dependent, neglected or abused, or 60 days after DSCYF is granted custody and the court orders the child's physical or constructive removal.
That definition is the most consequential sentence in the rule. It fixes the day every later deadline counts from, and by choosing the earlier of two events it stops the clock being delayed by how long an adjudication takes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are reasonable efforts findings in a Delaware dependency case?
Written determinations by the court about whether DSCYF made reasonable efforts — to prevent the removal, to place siblings together, to achieve safe reunification and sibling contact, and to make and finalise the permanency plan.
How soon must the court decide whether removal could have been prevented?
Within 60 days from the date the child is removed from the home.
How often is the permanency plan reviewed for reasonable efforts?
No later than 12 months from the time the child enters foster care, and every 12 months thereafter, unless there has been a judicial determination that DSCYF is not required to offer reunification services.
When is a child considered to have entered foster care?
The earlier of a judicial finding in an adjudicatory order that the child is dependent, neglected or abused, or 60 days after DSCYF is granted custody and the court orders physical or constructive removal.
Must siblings be placed together?
The court determines whether DSCYF used reasonable efforts to place siblings together, unless DSCYF documents that joint placement would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings.