There is no single deadline that answers how long DHR can keep a case open in Alabama. An unsubstantiated investigation can close in a matter of weeks. A substantiated case with ongoing services often runs several months to a year. When a child is in foster care, federal law pushes the state toward terminating parental rights after the child has spent 15 of the most recent 22 months in care, with limited exceptions. The real driver is the severity of the allegations and how quickly a parent completes the services DHR requires.
The 90-Day Investigation Window
Every DHR case starts with an investigation, and that first stage has a defined ceiling. DHR has 90 days from the date it receives a report to finish its assessment.1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 660-5-34-.05 – Investigative/Initial Assessment Process During that period, a caseworker interviews the family, the child, and often teachers, doctors, or others who know the family.
If the evidence doesn’t support the allegations, the report is classified as unsubstantiated and the case closes at that point. If it does, the report is substantiated and the file moves into ongoing services, court involvement, or both. So the shortest possible timeline for a DHR case is roughly the length of the investigation itself.
Challenging a Substantiated Finding
A substantiated finding keeps the case open and lands the person named on Alabama’s central registry, which can affect work in childcare, education, and similar fields. You have the right to contest it, but the deadline is short. A written request for a hearing must reach the county DHR office within 10 working days of the notification letter. Miss that window and the right to a hearing is treated as waived.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-14-7.1 – Investigation Procedures
At the hearing, you can present evidence, call witnesses, review DHR’s evidence beforehand, and be represented by an attorney. If the hearing goes against you, you have 15 days to request a rehearing, and 30 days after that decision to appeal to court.
The Individualized Service Plan Drives the Timeline
Once a case stays open for ongoing services, the family and a DHR planning team build an Individualized Service Plan (ISP). This is the document that will decide how long the case lasts. The initial ISP must be completed within 30 days of the decision to open the case for ongoing services, and when a child has already been removed from the home, the team must meet within 72 hours of the removal.3Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 660-5-47-.05 – Developing the Individualized Service Plan
What the plan requires depends on the family. Common items include parenting classes, substance abuse treatment, counseling, and stable housing. Parents who move through those requirements can see a case close in several months. Parents who stall can see the case stretch to a year or beyond.
DHR does not simply set the plan and disappear. The team reviews the ISP within 30 days of creating it, then formally at least every 180 days, with additional reviews required if the family isn’t making progress. Before a case closes, the team must hold a final review within 30 days of the anticipated closure date to confirm the family can function without department involvement.3Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 660-5-47-.05 – Developing the Individualized Service Plan
When the Case Goes to Court
If DHR believes a child is in immediate danger, the case moves into juvenile court through a dependency petition. That puts the family on a court-supervised schedule that keeps the case active until the judge is satisfied.
After a child is placed in DHR custody, the court holds an adjudicatory hearing to decide whether the child is legally dependent, and may proceed to a dispositional hearing immediately or set one for later.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 12 Chapter 15 Article 3 Section 12-15-311 – Dispositional Hearing At disposition, the court approves the ISP. From there, review hearings happen at least every six months to check compliance and decide whether the child stays in foster care, returns home, or goes to relatives.5Child Welfare Information Gateway. Court Hearings for the Permanent Placement of Children – Alabama
A permanency hearing must occur no later than 12 months after the child is considered to have entered foster care, and at least once every 12 months after that for as long as the child remains in care.6U.S. Government Publishing Office. 42 USC 675 – Definitions This is where the court sets the long-term plan: reunification, adoption, guardianship, or relative placement. It is also where slow progress tends to catch up with parents.
The Federal 15-of-22-Month Rule
Federal law supplies the closest thing to a hard outer limit when a child is in foster care. Under the Adoption and Safe Families Act, if a child has spent 15 of the most recent 22 months in foster care, the state must file a petition to terminate parental rights and begin identifying an adoptive family.6U.S. Government Publishing Office. 42 USC 675 – Definitions That clock creates real pressure on both the parent and DHR to resolve the case.
Three exceptions let the state avoid filing even after 15 months:
- The child is being cared for by a relative and termination is not in the child’s best interest.
- DHR has documented a specific, compelling reason in the case plan that filing would not serve the child’s interests.
- The state did not provide the family with the services the case plan called for.
That last exception matters more than most parents realize. If DHR delayed getting you into a required treatment program or failed to arrange services, the agency cannot then use your slow progress as grounds for termination.
How a DHR Case Actually Closes
Cases end in a few recognizable ways. Reunification is the primary goal in most cases: the child returns home after the parent completes the ISP and the court agrees the home is safe. Placement with a relative or guardian is used when reunification isn’t possible but someone close to the child can provide a permanent home, and the dependency case closes once legal custody or guardianship is granted. Termination of parental rights is the most severe outcome, permanently severing the legal relationship between parent and child; once termination is final and an adoption is completed, the case closes for good.
Get an Attorney Involved Early
Alabama law guarantees parents the right to an attorney in both dependency and termination proceedings, and the court must appoint one at no cost if you cannot afford to hire a lawyer. That right applies from the earliest stages of a court case through any appeal.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 12 Chapter 15 Article 3 Section 12-15-305 – Rights of Parties
An attorney can push back on unreasonable ISP requirements, hold DHR to its own deadlines for providing services, and advocate at review and permanency hearings. Parents who try to handle the process alone often agree to plans they don’t fully understand, or miss procedural deadlines that could have worked in their favor and shortened the time the case stays open.