Foster care: placement: family finding.
Vote required
Majority
Fiscal committee
No
Appropriation
No
Current location
Chaptered
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Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Overview
This bill, the Justice through Placing Foster Children with Families Act, aims to improve the rate at which foster children are placed with relatives. It requires counties to regularly compare their relative placement rates to statewide averages, particularly considering federal Indian Child Welfare Act preferences. If a county’s rate is lower than average, they must consult with the Center for Excellence in Family Finding to adopt best practices for increasing relative placements. The bill also establishes a process for notifying relatives of a child’s removal and ensuring efforts are made to find kinship placements.
Key provisions
- Requires counties to compare their relative placement rates to statewide averages (and Indian Child Welfare Act preferences).
- Mandates consultation with the Center for Excellence in Family Finding for counties with lower-than-average placement rates.
- Establishes a process for notifying relatives of a child’s removal and providing information about placement options.
- Requires counties to conduct thorough family finding investigations, including computer-based searches and tribal outreach for Indian children.
- Creates a relative information form for relatives to provide information to the court.
- Provides a mechanism for counties to review and share family finding practices.
- Establishes a timeline for counties to begin implementing best practices.
- Provides a specific exception for emergency placements where a lack of resources is the sole barrier.
Who is affected
Bill text
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