Although permanency planning has been a central focus of child welfare practice since the passage of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act in 1980, new requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 encourage concurrent planning on reunification and another alternative such as adoption. This guide is intended to assist child welfare staff as they confront how best to plan and implement visits between parents and their children in out-of-home care to achieve permanency goals within the context of current federal legislation. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction," presenting information on federal legislation; (2) "Defining Visitation"; (3) "Why Visitation Is Important"; (4) "The General Experience of Visitation"; (5) "Context for Visitation Services"; (6)"Variations and Issues in Visitation"; (7) "Strategies for Improving Visitation"; and (8) "Promising Programs and Practices." The guide's seven appendices provide checklists and summaries to guide casework practice, and sample forms and instruments from various visitation programs. (Contains 58 references.) (KB)