“Reasonable efforts” is a legal term that refers to the activities of a state’s social services agencies that are focused on providing assistance and services needed to preserve or reunify a family. Federal mandates require States to make reasonable efforts to reunify families prior to the placement of a child in foster care. The goal is to prevent, or eliminate, the need for removal of the child from their home. And above all, to make it possible for a child to remain, or return, safely to their home.
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