Section 315.60  The Child's Sense of Time

a)         The Department recognizes that children have a different sense of time than adults.  What seems like a short family disruption or a brief separation to adults may be a very painful and intolerably long period for children.  In general, younger children are less able to tolerate periods of separation than older children.  For this reason, the Department shall act promptly using the best information available when dealing with children and their families.

b)         The Department believes that aggressive planning with an emphasis on decisionmaking, followed by the actions needed to carry out those decisions, will secure permanent homes for children.  Therefore, the Department requires permanency planning directed toward a permanency goal beginning from the earliest contacts with children and families.  Through permanency planning the Department strives to assure that children are in permanent homes as quickly as is consistent with their safety and well-being, while recognizing the urgency caused by the child's sense of time.