Life Books:

What foster and adoptive parents should know

 

Contributed by Tim Petry, Life Book Unit Manager

 

A Life Book is a record of a child's life which helps identify events in the child's past; including what happened during the period, he or she remained in agency care. The Life Book serves as a tool to standardize a child's time in care by providing accurate information, along with a personal history of chronological events, relationships and photographs, creating lasting memories for the child. 

 

When a child remains in substitute care for longer than twelve months, The Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) requires that HCJFS begin to prepare a Life Book no later than thirty days after the annual court review. As a best practice, a Life Book will be completed for any child entering into permanent custody status, regardless of their time in substitute care. The Life Book must be updated every six months, as long as the child remains in substitute care. 

 

HCJFS must ensure that the Life Book is shared with the child during placement, as appropriate to the child's age and level of understanding.  The Life Book must accompany the child when substitute care placement is terminated. If a child in the permanent custody of HCJFS is placed for adoption, a copy of the Life Book shall be given to the child and a copy must be maintained in the child's record. 

 

While HCJFS is responsible for creating and updating the Life Book, many foster parents enjoy further developing and adding to the Life Book, during the child's placement. Photos of foster family members, the home and grounds, and important as well as routine events during the child's stay with the family, serve as meaningful additions to the Life Book. 

 

With regard to topics for inclusion into the Life Book, HCJFS focuses on areas such as: birth history, birth family and placement history, important relationships, medical history, education, developmental milestones, memorable activities, and photographs.  HCJFS may not place any identifying information in the book, such as first names (with the exception of the first name of the child, who is the subject of the book). In addition, foster parents who wish to enhance a child's Life Book are also discouraged from including identifying information, such as: 

  • First and last names of the child's parents or relatives

  • Parent's addresses, phone numbers, &/or places of employment

  • Sibling names

  • Identifying numbers such as social security numbers, driver's license numbers, etc.

A Life Book serves as a valuable tool, promoting individual identity and growth, while also allowing a child to reflect on personal history, during their time in substitute care.