Relating to child welfare, including provisions relating to foster care and the child advocacy board

This bill relates to child welfare, including provisions relating to foster care and the child advocacy board (CAB). CHILD ADVOCACY BOARD. The bill requires the department of inspections and appeals (DIA) and the department of human services (DHS) to jointly develop written protocols relating to the responsibilities of each department with regard to children under the purview of CAB. The protocols must be reviewed by both departments on an annual basis. The bill requires the agency responsible for the placement of a child in foster care to notify CAB of each placement and submit the child’s case permanency plan and any case permanency plan revisions to a local citizen foster care review board (local board) according to protocols developed by DIA and DHS. Under current law, notifications of a child’s placement must be given to CAB by DHS within five working days of DHS’s notification of the placement, case permanency plans must be submitted to CAB by the agency responsible for a child’s placement within days of placement or two days after the child’s dispositional hearing, and revisions to case permanency plans must be submitted to CAB by the agency responsible for a child’s placement when revisions are developed. The bill requires CAB to review the activities and actions of the court appointed special advocate program. The bill changes the scope of the annual report prepared by CAB. Under current law, the report must include personal data regarding the total number of days of foster care provided and the characteristics of the children receiving foster care; the number of placements of children in foster care; and the frequency and results of court reviews. The bill provides that the annual report shall include information on all children served by CAB and all data regarding the total number of days of foster care provided and the characteristics of the children receiving foster care, and eliminates the requirement to include the frequency and results of court reviews. The bill requires CAB to evaluate the data collected by local boards and court appointed special advocates, and disseminate the data to the governor, DHS, child-placing agencies, and the state court administrator for dissemination to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district. Under current law, data collected is limited to judicial and administrative data on foster care, and CAB must give the evaluation directly to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district instead of the state court administrator. The bill replaces mandatory training requirements for CAB members with mandatory training concerning the duties of CAB; the duties of local boards; the duties of court appointed special advocates; and applicable child welfare laws and practices that influence the work of local boards and court appointed special advocates. The bill combines CAB’s duty to establish procedures for local boards with the requirement to establish a mandatory training program for local board members; eliminates the requirement that CAB assist local boards in reviewing cases of children receiving foster care; eliminates the requirement that CAB coordinate with DIA regarding the administrative functions of the board; and eliminates the requirement for CAB to work in conjunction with the legislative services agency and in consultation with DHS, the supreme court, and private foster care providers to develop and maintain an evaluation program regarding citizen foster care review programming. The bill requires CAB to implement the court appointed special advocate program as deemed necessary to effectuate its purpose, rather than to implement the program in additional areas of the state. The bill also combines this requirement with the duty to employ court appointed special advocate program staff as available funding provides. The bill makes terminology changes from “ongoing education” to “continuing education” for the purpose of establishing continuing education requirements for court appointment special advocates (CASAs). The bill provides that the duties of a CASA with respect to a child, unless directed by a court or juvenile court with jurisdiction over the child after a finding of good cause, shall include conducting in-person interviews with the child every days, if the child’s age is appropriate for the interview, and interviewing each parent, guardian, or other person having custody of the child as needed, if authorized by counsel; visiting the home, residence, or both the home and residence of the child and any prospective home or residence of the child, including each time placement is changed; interviewing any person providing medical, mental health, social, educational, or other services to the child; obtaining firsthand knowledge, if possible, of the facts, circumstances, and parties involved in the matter in which the CASA is appointed; attending any depositions, hearings, and trial proceedings in a matter in which the CASA is appointed; assisting the transition committee in the development of a transition plan if the child’s case permanency plan calls for the development of a transition plan; submitting a written report to the juvenile court and to each of the parties that a CASA may disclose case-related observations and recommendations prior to each hearing unless otherwise ordered by the court; submitting periodic reports to the court or juvenile court with jurisdiction over a child and interested parties detailing the child’s situation as long as the child remains under the jurisdiction of the court or juvenile court; and filing other reports as ordered by a court or juvenile court. The bill also requires that a CASA report prepared for a hearing include but not be limited to the identified strengths of the child and the child’s family, concerns identified by the CASA, the CASA’s recommendations regarding placement of the child, and other recommendations the CASA believes are in the child’s best interests. The bill requires that a CASA receive notice of all depositions, hearings, and trial proceedings relating to a matter to which the CASA is appointed. The bill requires CAB to make recommendations to the state court administrator for dissemination to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district instead of providing the recommendations to the supreme court and chief judge of each judicial district directly. LOCAL CITIZEN FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARDS. The bill changes the required composition of local boards from five members and two alternate members to a minimum of five members and a maximum of seven members. The bill also allows CAB to appoint local board members without consulting the chief judge of the appropriate judicial district. Under current law, local board members must consist of persons of various social, economic, racial, and ethnic groups and occupations of their district. The bill changes this requirement to provide that members of each local board, to the extent possible, must consist of the various racial and ethnic groups and occupations of their district. The bill also allows a person employed by DIA to serve on a local board and eliminates the requirement for CAB to provide the names of the members of local boards to DHS. The bill removes language relating to the payment of local board members. The bill requires members of a local board to pass background checks and complete requirements as established by CAB prior to taking an oath of confidentiality to serve on a local board, and requires local board members to receive periodic continuing education during each term of service as established by CAB. The bill requires local boards to review the efforts of the foster care agency responsible for the placement of a child to locate and provide services to a child’s biological or adoptive parents, legal guardians, or fictive kin providing the majority of a child’s daily food, lodging, and support. Under current law, the local board is not required to review an agency’s efforts to locate and provide services to a child’s legal guardian or fictive kin. The bill allows a person to either attend a local board meeting or submit a statement rather than provide testimony. The bill also allows an interested party to provide a statement in a private setting upon request of the interested party or motion of the local board. Statements may be made in written, oral, or electronic form. The bill specifies that a local board review shall pertain to a permanency plan and shall not include issues that do not pertain to the permanency plan. The bill allows an agency or individual providing foster care services to a child to submit written or recorded statements as requested by a local board. Under current law, such testimony may be written or oral or may be a tape recorded telephone call. The bill also allows local boards to consider written or recorded statements from other interested parties in its review. Under current law, a local board is only allowed to consider written testimony from other interested parties. The bill requires a local board to submit to DHS, within days after a review of a child’s case, the findings and recommendations of the review. The bill adds an intervenor in a child’s case as a person a local board is required to notify of a local board meeting. CONFIDENTIALITY OF FOSTER CARE RECORDS. The bill requires DHS, an agent of DHS, or a child placement agency contracted by DHS to provide information and records relating to a child receiving foster care and to the child’s family to a court appointed special advocate, a local board, or CAB upon request by the court appointed special advocate, CAB, or a local board. Under current law, such information and records can only be provided to a local board or to CAB, and the information can only be provided by DHS or a child placement agency receiving purchase-of-service funds from DHS. The bill allows a court with jurisdiction of a child receiving foster care to release information and records the court deems necessary to determine the needs of the child to a local board or court appointed special advocate upon request of the local board or court appointed special advocate. The bill requires that if confidential information and records are distributed to a court appointed special advocate or court appointed special advocate program staff, the information shall be confidential and the court appointed special advocate and court appointed special advocate program staff shall take appropriate steps to prevent unauthorized disclosure. The bill allows a court appointed special advocate to disclose case-related observations and recommendations at a local board meeting. The bill also allows a court appointed special advocate to disclose case-related observations and recommendations about a child and the child’s parent or about a child and the child’s legal guardian to the parent or guardian to which the observations and recommendations pertain or to such parent or guardian’s legal representative. CASE PERMANENCY PLAN. The bill includes care and services provided to a child’s fictive kin and efforts made to place a child with fictive kin as information to be included in a child’s case permanency plan. DEFINITIONS.16 for participation in the court appointed special advocate program and appointed by the court to carry out the duties required of a court appointed special advocate. The bill defines “fictive kin” as an adult person who is not a relative of a child but who has an emotionally significant relationship with the child or the child’s family. CONFORMING CODE CHANGES.22 (case permanency plan).