At a review hearing under California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 366.21, the court decides whether your child comes home, whether the child welfare agency did enough to help you reunify, and whether reunification services should keep going. These hearings happen at the six-month and twelve-month marks after your child was placed in foster care, and the law starts from a specific presumption: the child returns to you unless the agency proves that returning would create a substantial risk of detriment.1California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21 – Dependent Children Judgments and Orders What you do between hearings, and what the record shows at each one, is what determines the outcome.
The Six-Month Review Hearing
The first review comes six months after the dispositional hearing, which is the hearing where the court formally ordered your child into foster care. Under subdivision (e), the review must happen no later than twelve months after the child first entered care, whichever date comes sooner.1California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21 – Dependent Children Judgments and Orders At least ten calendar days before the hearing, the social worker files a supplemental report describing what services were offered, what progress you made, and what the agency recommends. You, your attorney, and any court-appointed child advocate all get a copy.2California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21
The court decides two things. First, should the child go home? If the agency cannot show that return would be dangerous, the child goes back. Second, did the agency provide reasonable services? If the child stays in care, the court must determine by clear and convincing evidence whether the services offered were designed to fix the problems that led to removal.2California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21
If your child was under three when removed, or is part of a sibling group that includes a child under three, the six-month hearing carries higher stakes. When the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that you failed to participate regularly or make substantive progress in treatment, it can terminate services at the six-month mark and schedule a permanency hearing under Section 366.26. Parents of very young children get roughly half the time other parents do, so early engagement is not optional.
The Twelve-Month Permanency Hearing
The next review takes place no later than twelve months after the child entered foster care. Subdivision (f) labels it the “permanency hearing,” and the shift in name reflects a shift in focus: the court is no longer just checking progress but actively deciding your child’s future.1California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21 – Dependent Children Judgments and Orders The same two questions apply: can the child safely return, and were reasonable services provided?
If the child does not go home, subdivision (g) gives the court a choice. When there is a substantial probability the child will be returned within another six months, the court can extend services to the eighteen-month mark. To make that finding, the court looks at whether you have consistently visited, made significant progress in treatment, and shown the ability to complete the plan and provide a safe home by eighteen months.2California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21 If the court sees no realistic chance of return by eighteen months, it terminates services and sets a Section 366.26 permanency hearing, typically within 120 days.
Most cases turn at the twelve-month hearing. Judges at this point want evidence that your home is materially safer than it was a year ago, not just attendance records.
The Eighteen-Month Review
When the court extends services past twelve months, a final review takes place eighteen months after the original removal. That hearing is governed by Section 366.22 rather than 366.21, but the structure is the same.3California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.22 The child goes home unless the agency proves by a preponderance of the evidence that return would create a substantial risk of detriment. The court must also decide by clear and convincing evidence whether reasonable services were provided.
Eighteen months is effectively the finish line for reunification. If the child is not returned at this hearing, the court must terminate services and set a Section 366.26 permanency hearing.3California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.22 Extensions beyond that are rare and reserved for exceptional circumstances.
The Substantial Risk of Detriment Standard
At every review, the court starts from the same presumption: the child should go home. The agency carries the burden.1California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21 – Dependent Children Judgments and Orders If it cannot show by a preponderance of the evidence that return would create a substantial risk of detriment to the child’s safety or well-being, the court is required to send the child home. There is no discretion.
Judges evaluate your current circumstances rather than relitigating the original allegations. A parent who had a substance abuse problem at removal but has completed treatment, stayed sober, and secured stable housing presents very differently from one whose situation is unchanged. The court considers case plan participation, drug test compliance, the quality of visits, input from therapists and counselors, and, when age-appropriate, the child’s own wishes.
Nonparticipation in ordered programs is the most common evidence agencies use to argue continued detriment, but the standard is not simply whether you completed every program. The question is whether returning the child would be dangerous. A parent who missed a few sessions may still show the home is safe. A parent who checked every box on paper without changing the underlying behavior may not.
Reasonable Reunification Services
The agency’s obligations at each review matter as much as yours. Under subdivisions (e)(8) and (f)(1)(A), the court must determine by clear and convincing evidence whether the agency provided reasonable services designed to help you overcome the problems that caused removal.2California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21 “Reasonable” means tailored to your family. A generic referral list is not enough when you face specific barriers like a disability, a language barrier, or lack of transportation.
Typical services include drug treatment referrals, mental health counseling, parenting classes, domestic violence programs, and facilitated visitation. The agency is expected to make a good-faith effort to connect you with these services, follow up when there are waitlists, and help remove practical obstacles. A social worker who hands over a phone number and never checks back may not be providing reasonable services.
When the court finds services were not reasonable, the consequences are significant. The court can extend the reunification period beyond what the case would otherwise allow. It must also state on the record why services were or were not adequate, which creates an appellate record if the finding is later challenged.
One nuance to know: subdivision (l) says that placing a child with a foster family eligible to adopt, or planning concurrently for permanency in case reunification fails, does not by itself count as a failure to provide reasonable services.2California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21 Concurrent planning is expected. Do not read it as a signal the agency has given up on reunification.
Active Efforts for Indian Children Under ICWA
When your child is an Indian child under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, the standard rises from reasonable efforts to “active efforts.” Under 25 U.S.C. ยง 1912(d), any party seeking foster care placement or termination of parental rights must show the court that active efforts were made to provide services designed to prevent the breakup of the Indian family, and that those efforts failed.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 1912 – Pending Child-Custody Proceedings California reinforces this by requiring the court at both the six-month and twelve-month hearings to specifically determine whether the agency made active efforts.2California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21
Active efforts go beyond passive referrals. The agency must take meaningful, culturally appropriate steps, often in consultation with the child’s tribe, to connect the family with services. Treating an ICWA case like any other case likely falls short.
ADA Accommodations for Parents with Disabilities
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibit child welfare agencies and courts from discriminating against parents with disabilities. Under federal guidance, agencies must provide reasonable modifications to accommodate a parent’s disability when delivering reunification services.5ADA.gov. Protecting the Rights of Parents and Prospective Parents with Disabilities If you have an intellectual disability, a physical limitation, or a mental health condition, the agency cannot offer the standard program and call it reasonable. The services must be adapted so you can actually participate and benefit. Decisions cannot rest on stereotypes about what a parent with a disability can or cannot do; each parent is entitled to an individualized assessment.
How Long Reunification Services Last
The maximum time you receive services depends on your child’s age at removal. Under Section 361.5(a), a child under three at the time of removal triggers a shorter timeline, and the court may limit services to six months from the dispositional hearing.6California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 361.5 – Reunification Services for Dependent Children For older children, services typically run up to twelve months and can be extended to eighteen months when the court finds a substantial probability of return. Eighteen months is the outer limit in most cases.
These limits reflect a policy judgment that children should not spend years in care while parents work through their issues. If your child was under three, engagement has to start immediately. Waiting even a few weeks eats a meaningful share of the available time.
What Happens When Services Are Terminated
When the court terminates reunification services, the case enters a different phase. Focus shifts from your progress to your child’s need for a permanent home. Under subdivision (h) of Section 366.21, the court must terminate services whenever it orders a hearing under Section 366.26.2California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.21 That permanency hearing is typically set within 120 days.
At the Section 366.26 hearing, the court selects a permanent plan in the following order of preference: adoption (including tribal customary adoption for Indian children), legal guardianship, or placement with a fit and willing relative.7California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.26 – Permanent Placement for Dependent Children If the court finds the child likely to be adopted, it will typically terminate parental rights. That outcome is largely irreversible. After the plan is set, the court reviews the child’s status every six months until adoption is finalized or guardianship is established.8California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 366.3
Changing the Order With a WIC 388 Petition
Even after services are terminated, you are not entirely without options. Section 388 lets any parent or interested party petition the court to change, modify, or set aside a previous order based on a change of circumstances or new evidence.9California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 388 The petition has to describe what has changed and explain why the requested modification is in the child’s best interest.
A 388 petition is not easy to win. Recent improvement is not enough by itself. You have to show a genuine, sustained change: completing a treatment program after services were terminated, maintaining sobriety for a meaningful period, securing stable housing. And timing matters. The further the case has moved toward permanency, the harder the petition becomes, because the child’s interest in stability grows with time. A petition filed weeks before a scheduled adoption hearing faces a steeper climb than one filed shortly after termination of services.
Your Right to a Court-Appointed Attorney
You have a right to court-appointed counsel if you cannot afford an attorney. Under Section 317(b), when a child has been placed outside the home or the agency is recommending removal, the court must appoint an attorney for you unless you knowingly waive that right.10California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 317 In ICWA cases, appointment is mandatory for any Indian custodian who wants counsel and cannot afford it.
The appointed attorney represents you at the detention hearing and at every hearing that follows, including any termination proceeding.10California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 317 The same attorney stays with the case unless the court relieves them. If you do not have one yet, ask the court to appoint counsel at the earliest hearing you can. Going through a 366.21 review without an attorney is one of the most consequential mistakes you can make in a dependency case.