---
title: "Build the placement timeline against the 15-of-22-month permanency clock"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/build-the-placement-and-order-timeline-against-the-statutory-reunificati/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A52-X20260927-6-US"
practice_area: "Child Protection & Care Proceedings"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Build the placement timeline against the 15-of-22-month permanency clock

> From the placement orders the lawyer identifies, calculate days in foster care under state responsibility and flag the 15-of-22-month mark and the 12-month permanency hearing. Show the arithmetic.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/build-the-placement-and-order-timeline-against-the-statutory-reunificati/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Child Protection & Care Proceedings](https://ailawframework.com/practice/child-protection-and-care-proceedings.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the placement orders the lawyer identifies, calculate days in foster care under state responsibility and flag the 15-of-22-month mark and the 12-month permanency hearing. Show the arithmetic. |
| What the lawyer must review | You check the entry date and every removal and return. 42 U.S.C. § 675(5)(E) requires the state to file a petition to terminate parental rights when a child has been in foster care under state responsibility for 15 of the most recent 22 months, unless a stated exception applies (relative care, a documented compelling reason, or failure to provide required services). Section 675(5)(C) sets the 12-month permanency hearing. State law can be shorter. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Build the placement and order timeline against the statutory reunification clock](https://ailawframework.com/practice/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/build-the-placement-and-order-timeline-against-the-statutory-reunificati.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the placement orders the lawyer identifies, calculate days in foster care under state responsibility and flag the 15-of-22-month mark and the 12-month permanency hearing. Show the arithmetic.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Section 675(5)(F) defines when a child is considered to have entered foster care. Use that date, not the first hotline call, unless the state statute says otherwise.
- The exceptions in § 675(5)(E)(i) to (iii) are legal judgments. The table only shows the count.

## Sources

- [42 U.S.C. § 675 (Title IV-E definitions, including the 15-of-22-month provision)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/675) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [42 U.S.C. § 671 (Title IV-E state plan)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/671) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Checklist: realistic possibility of restoration and the permanency plan (NSW s 83)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/restoration-realistic-possibility-checklist.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Checklist for testing a permanency plan against section 83 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW), including the 6-month and 12-month decision points and the 24-month… |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*