Page 1, between lines 1 and 2, insert:
“Section 1. Section 8-115, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE8-115. Hearing; procedure; record; evidence; contested case
A. The court shall hold a hearing on a petition
filed pursuant to this article in as informal a manner as the requirements of
due process and fairness permit. The prospective adoptive parent,
the spouse of a prospective adoptive parent and the child to be adopted shall
attend unless the court orders otherwise. The court shall only allow
persons who have a direct interest in the case to attend the
hearing. A person who attends a hearing shall not disclose any
information about the hearing,
including any child protective services
worker assigned to the child. The court may require
the presence of such other witnesses as it deems necessary.
B. The court shall make its findings based on a
preponderance of the evidence. The court may consider any and all reports
required by this article or ordered by the court pursuant to this article.
C. Notwithstanding
any other law, if the child who is the subject of the adoption petition has
been in out-of-home placement for at least fifteen cumulative months and has been
living with the prospective adoptive parent or parents for at least six cumulative
months, the court shall grant a petition to adopt even if the child's parent
has filed an appeal to the termination of the parent-child relationship if the
court finds that it should otherwise grant the adoption. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 8-514, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE8-514. Placement in foster homes
A. Subject to the provisions of section 8‑514.01,
the division or a licensed child welfare agency if so authorized in its license, may place a child in a
licensed foster home for care or for adoption. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the division or a
licensed child welfare agency may place a child in excess of the number of
children allowed and identified in a foster parent's license if the division or
agency reasonably believes the foster home has the ability to safely handle
additional children and if there are no outstanding concerns, deficiencies,
reports or investigations known by the division regarding the foster home, and
if the child meets any of the following criteria:
1. The child
is part of a sibling group that currently resides in the foster home.
2. The child
is part of a sibling group that is being considered for placement in a foster
home but because of the maximum child limit would otherwise have to be
separated.
3. The child
previously resided in the foster home.
4. The child
is a kinship placement for the foster home.
B. When a
child is placed in excess of the number of children allowed and identified in
the foster parent's license pursuant to subsection A of this section, the
licensed child welfare agency shall submit to the division an application for
amendment of the license within five calendar days after the placement. Within
ten calendar days after receipt of a complete application for amendment, the
division shall approve or deny the application for amendment.
B. C. The department
shall place a child in the least restrictive type of placement available,
consistent with the needs of the child. The order for placement preference is
as follows:
1. With a parent.
2. With a grandparent.
3. In kinship care with another member of the
child's extended family, including a person who has a significant relationship
with the child.
4. In licensed family foster care.
5. In therapeutic foster care.
6. In a group home.
7. In a residential treatment facility.
C. D Notwithstanding
subsection B C of this section, the order
for placement preference of a native American child is as follows:
1. With a member of the child’s extended family.
2. In a licensed family foster home approved or
specified by the child’s tribe.
3. In an Indian foster home licensed or approved by
an authorized non‑Indian licensing authority.
4. In an institution approved by the Indian tribe or
operated by an Indian organization that has a program suitable to meet the
Indian child's needs pursuant to 25 United States Code chapter 21.
D. E. At the time of
placement there shall be presented to the foster parents, by the agency or
division placing the child, a written summary of known, unprivileged, information regarding the
child, including but not limited to at a minimum:
1. Demographic information.
2. Type of custody and previous placement.
3. Pertinent family information including but not
limited to the names of family members who, by court order, may not visit the
child.
4. Known or available medical history including but
not limited to:
(a) Allergies.
(b) Immunizations.
(c) Childhood diseases.
(d) Physical handicaps.
(e) Other idiosyncrasies.
(f) The child's last doctor, if known.
5. A summary of the child's history of adjudication
on acts of delinquency, as may be public record and available in the file of
the clerk of the superior court.
E. F. The
responsibility of the agency or the division for a child placed in a foster
home shall be defined in writing and accepted by the person receiving the
child. The agency or division shall make available to the foster
parents a method of acquiring emergency information that may be necessary to
deal with situations that may arise pursuant to their responsibilities as
foster parents.
F. G. Every foster
home shall maintain a record of the children received, which shall include
facts in regard to the children and their care and shall be in the form and
kept in the manner prescribed by the division.
Sec. 3. Section 8-533, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE8-533. Petition; who may file; grounds
A. Any person or agency that has a legitimate
interest in the welfare of a child, including, but not limited to, a relative,
a foster parent, a physician, the department of economic security or a private
licensed child welfare agency, may file a petition for the termination of the
parent‑child relationship alleging grounds contained in subsection B of
this section.
B. Evidence sufficient to justify the termination of
the parent‑child relationship shall include any one of the following, and
in considering any of the following grounds, the court shall also consider the
best interests of the child:
1. That the parent has abandoned the child.
2. That the parent has neglected or wilfully abused
a child. This abuse includes serious physical or emotional injury or
situations in which the parent knew or reasonably should have known that a
person was abusing or neglecting a child.
3. That the parent is unable to discharge parental
responsibilities because of mental illness, mental deficiency or a history of
chronic abuse of dangerous drugs, controlled substances or alcohol and there
are reasonable grounds to believe that the condition will continue for a
prolonged indeterminate period.
4. That the parent is deprived of civil liberties
due to the conviction of a felony if the felony of which that parent was
convicted is of such nature as to prove the unfitness of that parent to have
future custody and control of the child, including murder of another child of
the parent, manslaughter of another child of the parent or aiding or abetting
or attempting, conspiring or soliciting to commit murder or manslaughter of
another child of the parent, or if the sentence of that parent is of such
length that the child will be deprived of a normal home for a period of years.
5. That the potential father failed to file a
paternity action within thirty days of completion of service of notice as
prescribed in section 8‑106, subsection G.
6. That the putative father failed to file a notice
of claim of paternity as prescribed in section 8‑106.01.
7. That the parents have relinquished their rights
to a child to an agency or have consented to the adoption.
8. That the child is being cared for in an out‑of‑home
placement under the supervision of the juvenile court, the division or a
licensed child welfare agency, that the agency responsible for the care of the
child has made a diligent effort to provide appropriate reunification services
and that one of the following circumstances exists:
(a) The child has been in an out‑of‑home
placement for a cumulative total period of nine months or longer pursuant to
court order or voluntary placement pursuant to section 8‑806 and the
parent has substantially neglected or wilfully refused to remedy the
circumstances that cause the child to be in an out‑of‑home
placement.
(b) The child who
is was under
three five years of age at the time the dependency petition was filed and has
been in an out‑of‑home placement for a cumulative total period of
six months or longer pursuant to court order and the parent has substantially
neglected or wilfully refused to remedy the circumstances that cause the child
to be in an out-of-home placement, including refusal to participate in
reunification services offered by the department. The court may apply the provisions of this subdivision to a
child who is five years of age or older, is removed from the home and is a
sibling of a child who is subject to this subdivision if the court finds it is
in the best interests of the sibling.
(c) The child has been in an out‑of‑home
placement for a cumulative total period of fifteen months or longer pursuant to
court order or voluntary placement pursuant to section 8‑806, the parent
has been unable to remedy the circumstances that cause the child to be in an
out‑of‑home placement and there is a substantial likelihood that
the parent will not be capable of exercising proper and effective parental care
and control in the near future.
9. That the identity of the parent is unknown and
continues to be unknown following three months of diligent efforts to identify
and locate the parent.
10. That the parent has had parental rights to
another child terminated within the preceding two years for the same cause and
is currently unable to discharge parental responsibilities due to the same
cause.
11. That all of the following are true:
(a) The child was cared for in an out‑of‑home
placement pursuant to court order.
(b) The agency responsible for the care of the child
made diligent efforts to provide appropriate reunification services.
(c) The child, pursuant to court order, was returned
to the legal custody of the parent from whom the child had been removed.
(d) Within eighteen months after the child was
returned, pursuant to court order, the child was removed from that parent's
legal custody, the child is being cared for in an out‑of‑home
placement under the supervision of the juvenile court, the division or a licensed
child welfare agency and the parent is currently unable to discharge parental
responsibilities.
C. Evidence considered by the court pursuant to
subsection B of this section shall include any substantiated allegations of
abuse or neglect committed in another jurisdiction.
D. In considering the grounds for termination
prescribed in subsection B, paragraph 8 or 11 of this section, the court shall
consider the availability of reunification services to the parent and the
participation of the parent in these services.
E. In considering the grounds for termination
prescribed in subsection B, paragraph 8 of this section, the court shall not
consider the first sixty days of the initial out‑of‑home placement
pursuant to section 8‑806 in the cumulative total period.
F. The failure of an alleged parent who is not the
child's legal parent to take a test requested by the department or ordered by
the court to determine if the person is the child's natural parent is prima
facie evidence of abandonment unless good cause is shown by the alleged parent
for that failure.”
Renumber to conform
Page 1, line 10, after "following" insert "in equal priority"
Line 11, strike “ALLEGATIONS”
insert “reports”
Line 15, after "investigations"
insert "regarding reports that
include criminal conduct allegations"
Line 17, after "AND"
strike remainder of line insert "Provide"
Line 18, strike "OF
ABUSE" insert "FOR
ABUSED"; strike "NEGLECT OF" insert "NEGLECTED"
Strike lines 19 through 41
Strike pages 2 and 3, insert:
"Sec. 5. Section 8-803, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
8-803. Limitation of authority; duty to
inform
A. On initial contact with a parent, guardian or
custodian under investigation pursuant to this article, a child protective
services worker shall inform the family, both verbally and in writing, making
reasonable efforts to receive written acknowledgement from the parent,
guardian, or custodian, of receipt of all of the following information:
1. That the family is under investigation by the
department.
2. The specific complaint or allegation made against
that person.
3. That the worker has no legal authority to compel
the family to cooperate with the investigation or to receive protective
services offered pursuant to the investigation.
4. The worker's authority to petition the juvenile
court for a determination that a child is dependent.
5. The
person's right to participate in a mediation program in the attorney general's
office. The worker shall provide the telephone number of the attorney
general's office mediation program.
6. 5. The person's right to file a
complaint with the ombudsman-citizen
ombudsman-citizens aide
pursuant to section 41-1376. The worker shall provide the telephone number of
the ombudsman-citizen ombudsman-citizens aide.
7. 6. The person's right to appeal
determinations made pursuant to section
8-811 by child protective
services.
8. 7. Information outlining
parental rights under the laws of the state.
B. The child protective services worker shall also
inform the person about whom the report was made about that person's right to
respond to the allegations either verbally or in writing, including any
documentation, and to have this information considered in determining if the
child is in need of protective services. The worker shall tell the
person that anything the person says or writes can be used in a court
proceeding. If the person makes a verbal response, the worker shall include the
response in the written report of the investigation. If the person
makes a written response, including any documentation, the worker shall include
this response and the documentation in the case file. Information
provided in response to the allegations shall be considered during the
investigation by the worker. The worker shall maintain the response
and documentation in the case file and provide this information to the court
before a hearing or trial relating to the dependency petition.
C. If the family declines to cooperate with the
investigation or to accept or to participate in the offered services, or if the
worker otherwise believes that the child should be adjudicated dependent, the
worker may file with the juvenile court a petition requesting that the child in
need of protective services be adjudicated dependent.
D. Refusal to cooperate in the investigation or to
participate in the offered services does not constitute grounds for temporary
custody of a child except if there is a clear necessity for temporary custody
as provided in section 8‑821."
Renumber to conform
Page 5, after line 43, insert:
“Sec. 7. Repeal
Section 8-809, Arizona Revised Statutes, is repealed.
Sec. 8. Section 8-817, Arizona Revised Statutes, is
amended to read:
8-817. Initial screening and safety
assessment and investigation protocols
A. The department shall develop, establish and
implement initial screening and safety assessment protocols in consultation
with the attorney general and statewide with county attorneys, chiefs of
police, sheriffs, medical experts, victims' rights advocates, domestic violence
victim advocates and mandatory reporters. Any initial screening and safety
assessment tools shall be based on sound methodology and shall ensure valid and
reliable responses. The department shall establish written policies and
procedures to implement the use of the initial screening and safety assessment
protocols.
B. To ensure thorough investigations of those
accused of crimes against children, in each county, the county attorney, in
cooperation with the sheriff, the chief law enforcement officer for each
municipality in the county and the department shall develop, adopt and
implement protocols to guide the conduct of investigations of allegations
involving criminal conduct. The protocols shall include:
1. The process for notification of receipt of
criminal conduct allegations.
2. The standards for interdisciplinary
investigations of specific types of abuse and neglect, including timely
forensic medical evaluations.
3. The standards for interdisciplinary
investigations involving native American children in compliance with the Indian
child welfare act.
4. Procedures for sharing information and standards
for the timely disclosure of information.
5. Procedures for coordination of screening,
response and investigation with other involved professional disciplines and
notification of case status and standards for the timely disclosure of related
information.
6. The training required for the involved child
protective services workers, law enforcement officers and prosecutors to
execute the investigation protocols, including forensic interviewing skills.
7. The process to ensure review of and compliance
with the investigation protocols and the reporting of activity under the
protocols.
8. Procedures for annual reports to be transmitted within forty‑five
days after the end of each fiscal year independently from child protective
services and each county attorney to the governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the president of the senate, the chairpersons and members of the senate
and house of representatives committees on human services, or their successor
committees, and the attorney general and a copy of this report these reports to be provided to the secretary
of state. Each agency must submit a separate report. Each report made
pursuant to this paragraph must be independently prepared and submitted without
any input from or communication with the other reporting entities. Each report
is a public document and shall include:
(a) The number of criminal conduct allegations
investigated and how many of these investigations were conducted jointly
pursuant to the investigation protocols established in this subsection.
(b) Information from each county attorney regarding
the number of cases presented for review, the number of persons charged in
those cases, the reasons why charges were not pursued and the disposition of
these cases.
(c) The reasons why a joint investigation did not
take place.
9. Procedures for dispute resolution.
C. The department shall cooperate with the county
attorney and the appropriate law enforcement agency pursuant to the
investigation protocols adopted in this section. In instances of criminal
conduct against a child, the department shall protect the victim's rights of
the children in its custody against harassment, intimidation and abuse, as
applicable, pursuant to article II, section 2.1, Constitution of Arizona.
D. The county attorney and the law enforcement
agency shall cooperate with the department pursuant to the investigation
protocols adopted in this section.
Sec. 9. Section 8-829, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE8-829. Judicial determinations; timing; documentation
A. If a child has been removed from the child's
home, the court shall make protecting the child from abuse or neglect the first
priority and shall make the following determinations within the following time
periods:
1. In the court's first order that sanctions the
removal, whether continuation of the child's residence in the home would be
contrary to the welfare of the child. This order may be the temporary order
that the court issues on the filing of a dependency petition.
2. At the preliminary protective hearing, whether
the department made attempts to identify and assess placement with the child's
grandparent or another member of the child's extended family including a person
who has a significant relationship with the child.
3. Within sixty days after the child is removed from
the child's home, whether reasonable efforts have been made to prevent removal
of the child or whether it was reasonable to make no efforts to prevent removal
of the child.
4. If the child is not placed with a grandparent or
another member of the child's extended family including a person who has a
significant relationship with the child within sixty days after the child is
removed from the child's home, why such placement is not in the best interests
of the child. The petitioner has the burden of presenting evidence
that such placement is not in the child's best interests at the first court
hearing thereafter.
5. Within twelve months after the child is removed
from the child's home and once every twelve months thereafter, whether
reasonable efforts have been made to finalize the existing permanency plan.
6. If the child is was under
three five years of age at the time the dependency petition was filed,
within six months after the child is removed from the child's home, whether
reasonable efforts have been made to provide reunification services to the
parent and whether a parent of a child who is under three five
years of age has substantially neglected or wilfully refused to
participate in reunification services offered by the department. The court may apply the provisions of this
paragraph to a child who is five years of age or older, is removed from the
home and is a sibling of a child who is subject to this paragraph if the court
finds it is in the best interests of the sibling.
B. The court shall
make each determination described in subsection A on a case‑by‑case
basis and shall set forth in its written order the specific factual basis for
each determination. In making its determination, the court shall consider
documentation that is reasonably available at the time of the determination. END_STATUTE
Sec. 10. Section
8-862, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE8-862. Permanency hearing
A. The court shall hold a permanency hearing to
determine the future permanent legal status of the child:
1. Within thirty days after the disposition hearing
if the court does not order reunification services.
2. Within six months after a child who is was under three five
years of age at the time
the dependency petition was filed is removed from the child's
home. The court shall not continue that permanency hearing beyond
six months after the child who is
was under three five
years of age at the time
the dependency petition was filed is removed from the child's
home unless the party who is seeking the continuance shows that the
determination prescribed in section 8‑829, subsection A, paragraph 6 has
been made or will be made within the time prescribed in that paragraph. The court may apply the provisions of this
paragraph to a child who is five years of age or older, is removed from the
home and is a sibling of a child who is subject to this paragraph if the court
finds it is in the best interests of the sibling.
3. In all other cases, within twelve months after
the child is removed from the child's home. The court shall not continue the
permanency hearing beyond twelve months after the child is removed from the
child's home unless the party who is seeking the continuance shows that the
determination prescribed in section 8‑829, subsection A, paragraph 5 has
been made or will be made within the time prescribed in that paragraph.
B. At the permanency hearing, the court shall
determine:
1. Whether termination of parental rights, adoption,
permanent guardianship pursuant to section 8‑872 or some other permanent
legal status is the most appropriate plan for the child and shall order the
plan to be accomplished within a specified period of time.
2. Whether reasonable efforts have been made to
finalize the permanency plan in effect.
3. What efforts have been made in the permanency
plan to place the child with the child's siblings or to provide frequent
visitation or contact, unless the court had already determined that placement
with all or any siblings or visitation or contact is not possible or would be
contrary to the child's or a sibling's safety or well-being.
C. If the court
determines that the child should remain in out‑of‑home
placement longer than eighteen months from the date of the permanency
order, the court shall conduct a review of the order at least once each
year. After reviewing the order, the court may reaffirm the order or
direct other disposition of the child.
D. If the court determines that the termination of
parental rights is clearly in the best interests of the child, the court shall:
1. Order the department or the child's attorney or
guardian ad litem to file within ten days after the permanency hearing a motion
alleging one or more of the grounds prescribed in section 8‑533 for
termination of parental rights. The party who files the motion has the burden
of presenting evidence at the termination hearing to prove the allegations in
the motion.
2. Set a date for an initial hearing on the motion
for termination of parental rights within thirty days after the permanency
hearing. If the termination is contested at the initial hearing, the
court shall set a date for the trial on termination of parental rights within
ninety days after the permanency hearing.
E. The department shall make reasonable efforts to
place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan and
to complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize the permanent placement of
the child.
F. If the court determines that permanent
guardianship is clearly in the best interests of the child, the court shall:
1. Order the department or the child's attorney or
guardian ad litem to file within ten days after the permanency hearing a motion
alleging the grounds prescribed in section 8‑871 for permanent
guardianship. The party who files the motion has the burden of
presenting evidence at the hearing to prove the allegations in the motion.
2. Set a date for an initial hearing on the motion
for permanent guardianship within thirty days after the permanency
hearing. If the permanent guardianship is contested at the initial
hearing, the court shall set a date for the trial on the permanent guardianship
within ninety days after the permanency hearing.
G. Evidence considered by the court in making a
decision pursuant to this section also shall include any substantiated
allegations of abuse or neglect committed in another jurisdiction.
H. If the court determines that termination of
parental rights or permanent guardianship is clearly in the best interest of
the child and the child has been placed in a prospective permanent placement,
unless the action is required by federal law, state law or regulation, any
action that is inconsistent with the case plan of severance and adoption,
including removal of the child from that placement, may occur only by court
order or if the prospective permanent placement requests the child's
removal. If a motion to change the case plan or for removal of a
child is filed, a copy of the motion must be provided to the prospective
permanent placement at least fifteen days before a hearing on the
motion. If the prospective permanent placement does not appear at a
hearing on a motion for removal, the court may not take any action on the
motion unless the court finds that good faith efforts were made to provide a
copy of the motion to the prospective permanent placement. The prospective
permanent placement has the right to be heard in the proceeding. This right
does not require that the prospective permanent placement be made a party to
the proceeding solely on the basis of that right. This subsection
does not apply to any removal pursuant to section 8‑802 or 8-821. If the
child is an Indian child as defined pursuant to the Indian child welfare act
(25 United States Code section 1903), the court and the parties must comply
with all applicable requirements of that act. For the purposes of
this subsection, a prospective permanent placement includes:
1. A grandparent or another member of the child's
extended family including a person who has a significant relationship with the
child.
2. A person or persons with an expressed interest in
being the permanent placement for the child in a certified adoptive home where
the child resides, a home that is a permanent placement for a sibling of the
child or a licensed family foster home where the child resides.
I. This section does not prevent the department from
presenting for the court's consideration a grandparent or another member of the
child's extended family including a person who has a significant relationship
with the child and who has not been identified as a prospective permanent
placement for the child before the child's placement with a prospective
permanent placement.END_STATUTE"
Renumber to conform
Strike pages 6 through 9
Page 10, strike lines 1 through 31
Renumber to conform
Page 10, line 34, after the second comma insert "pursuant
to section 8-802, Arizona Revised Statutes,"
Amend title to conform
Bill
Number: H.B. 2144