SSB 1209

The bill directs the department of human services (DHS) to amend its administrative rules to provide that a case permanency plan for a child placed in foster care shall include information describing efforts to maintain suitable mental health care and medical health care in an effort to avoid inappropriate diagnoses of mental illness, other emotional or behavioral disorders, medically fragile conditions, and developmental disabilities. Under current law, when a child in foster care placement is years of age or older, a written transition plan of services is developed by DHS or the appropriate agency and the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian and included in the case permanency plan to assist the child in preparing to transition from foster care to adulthood. _____ and driver’s license or government-issued nonoperator’s identification card on or before the date the child reaches years of age, unless the child has been placed in foster care for less than days. The bill expands current law to provide that DHS shall also provide the child written verification of the child’s foster care status. Current law excludes from the definition of “child foster care” care provided by a relative of a child for more than days in one calendar year, where the child is not under the placement, care, or supervision of DHS. The bill amends this provision to instead provide that care provided by a relative of a child or an individual person with a meaningful relationship with the child, where the child is not under the placement, care, or supervision of DHS, is a care situation excluded from the definition. Under current law, an individual (defined as an individual person or a married couple who provides child foster care in a home environment) who is subject to licensure under Code chapter 237 (relating to child foster care facilities and licensure) as a foster parent, in addition to criminal and child abuse record checks, is required to provide the individual’s fingerprints to the department of public safety for submission through the state criminal history repository to the United States department of justice, federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history check. The bill expands the scope of individuals who must provide fingerprints to include individuals being considered for licensure under Code chapter 237, or for employment involving direct responsibility for a child or in a facility where children reside, and individuals who will reside in a facility utilized by a licensee. _____ children reside, by a licensee under Code chapter 237, or for an individual who will reside in a facility utilized by a licensee and the individual does not have a record of crime or founded child abuse, or the department’s evaluation of the record has determined that the prohibition of the individual’s licensure or employment is not warranted, the individual may be provisionally approved for licensure or employment pending the outcome of the fingerprint-based criminal history check. However, such an individual shall not be licensed or be employed and an evaluation shall not be performed if the individual has been convicted of a felony-level offense including: a drug-related offense within the five-year period preceding the application date; child endangerment or neglect or abandonment of a dependent person; domestic abuse; a crime against a child, including but not limited to sexual exploitation of a minor; or a forcible felony. CHILD IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE —— PARENT VISITATION. Under current law, if a child is removed from the child’s home in a child in need of assistance proceeding based upon evidence indicating the presence of an illegal drug in the child’s body, unless the court finds that substantial evidence exists to believe that reasonable visitation or supervised visitation would cause an imminent risk to the child’s life or health, the court shall allow the child’s parent reasonable visitation or supervised visitation with the child. The bill strikes the provision relating to a removal from the child’s home based only upon evidence indicating the presence of an illegal drug in the child’s body.