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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESFifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session |
Senate: TTMC DP 5-2-0-0 |3rd Read 29-1-0-0
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SB 1458: congregate care; dependent children; procedures
Sponsor: Senator Bennett, LD 1
House Engrossed
Overview
Provides processes and procedures for placing a child in a congregate care placement setting and modifies the Department of Child Safety (DCS) reporting requirements.
History
The primary purpose of DCS is to protect children. To achieve this DCS will do and focus equally on: 1) investigating reports of abuse and neglect; 2) assessing, promoting and supporting the safety of a child in a safe and stable family or other appropriate placement in response to allegations of abuse and neglect; 3) cooperating with law enforcement regarding reports that include allegations of criminal conduct; and 4) coordinating services to achieve and maintain permanency for the child, strengthen the family and provide prevention, intervention and treatment services without compromising the child's safety (A.R.S. § 8-451).
DCS is required to make available program and outcomes data on its website in a format that can be downloaded and is conducive to analysis. As well as make available the following information on a semiannual basis: 1) success in meeting training requirements; 2) caseloads for child safety workers; 3) the number of new and closed reports; 4) the number of case-carrying caseworkers in each region; 5) the number of investigations by region; 6) the number of children being served in-home and out-of-home by each region; 7) the total number of reports received; 8) the number of reports not responded to; and 9) the number of reports assigned for investigation; 10) the number of reports for investigations; 11) the number of children reported to DCS; 13) the number of children entering out-of-home care by county during the reporting period; 14) the number and percentage of children who have remained in a shelter or receiving home for more than 21 consecutive days; 15) the number of children placed in the care, custody and control of DCS; and 16) the number of children who died while in the custody of DCS (A.R.S. § 8-526).
Provisions
Child Welfare Reporting Requirements
1. Requires DCS child welfare data to list sex and ethnicity as categories when reporting the number and percentage of children who are in DCS custody at the end of the reporting period and who are in out-of-home placement. (Sec. 1)
2. Requires DCS child welfare data to include the number and percentage of children who are under 12 years of age, are in the care, custody and control of DCS at the end of the reporting period and are in a congregate care placement and as categorized by:
a) age;
b) ethnicity;
c) sex;
d) type of congregate care placement;
e) reason for congregate care placement;
f) length of time in congregate care placement of less than 30 days, 31 days to 12 consecutive months, 12 to 24 consecutive months and more than 24 consecutive months, including the median, average and range of the number of congregate care placements; and
g) whether the child has a family recruitment plan. (Sec. 1)
3. Requires the DCS child welfare data to include the number of requests for DCS Director approval for the placement of children under 12 years old and are in a congregate care setting and the number of requests approved. (Sec. 1)
Congregate Care Placement
4.
Allows a child, except for
placements in a shelter care facility lasting less than 72 hours, excluding
Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, to be placed in a congregate care setting only
with prior written approval of the DCS Director or designee who reports to the
DCS Director and does not have authority over the placement of children in
congregate care settings. (Sec. 2)
5. Requires the DCS Director's written approval to documents that the placement is required for any of the following reasons:
a) to place the child with the child's siblings;
b) to place the child with a parent who is in the care, custody and control of DCS;
c) to address the child's documented exceptional needs, which can only be met by a specifically identified congregate care provider; and
d) to complete an evaluation of the child's placement needs. (Sec. 2)
6. Requires DCS, within 72 hours of placing a child in a congregate care setting, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays and whenever possible before seeking the DCS Director approval of the placement, to:
a) assemble a family and service team (Team) for the child;
b) initiate efforts to identify adult relatives or persons with a significant relationship with the child for possible placement;
c) engage the child, if developmentally appropriate, the child's attorney, if one has been appointed, and members of the child's Team in making a recommendation for the child's placement in the least restrictive and most appropriate setting consistent with the best interests and special needs of the child;
d) conduct a placement visit to the congregate care setting with the child and a member of the child's Team who is a person known to and trusted by the child, whenever possible and developmentally appropriate for the child; and
e) document the participants in and the date, time and location of the child's Team meeting and the determinations and recommendations made by the child's Team, the reasons supporting each determination and recommendation whether any member of the child's Team was not in agreement with a determination or recommendation made by the Team. (Sec. 2)
7. Specifies the Team to consist of:
a) the child, if developmentally appropriate;
b) the child's attorney, if one has been appointed;
c) appropriate biological family members, adult relatives and persons with a significant relationship with the child; and
d) appropriate professionals, including medical or mental health providers, teachers or clergy. (Sec. 2)
8. Specifies that when making a recommendation the child's Team must:
a) acknowledge the requirement to make reasonable efforts to place siblings in the same placement, unless joint placement would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings;
b) acknowledge that a child of a minor parent who is also in the care, custody and control of DCS should be placed with the child's parent, unless placement of the child with the child's parent is contrary to the safety or well-being of either the child or the parent;
c) consider whether the needs of the child can be met through a family-like setting;
d) recommend a congregate care setting for the child that is the least restrictive and most appropriate setting available, in close proximity to the parents' home and consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child;
e) schedule a meeting of the child's Team to take place within 30 days to meet the congregate care setting requirements. (Sec. 2)
9. Specifies that if the child's Team recommends that the child's needs can be met through a family-like setting, but an appropriate family-like setting is not currently identified or available, DCS must document in the child's case plan that the child's needs could be met in a family-like setting if one were identified or available. (Sec. 2)
10. Details if the child's Team recommends that the child's needs cannot be met through placement in a family-like setting, DCS must document in the child's case plan that the child's needs cannot currently be met through placement in a family-like setting. (Sec. 2)
11. Specifies that the child's Team, in making a recommendation for a congregate care setting, must consider and document in the case plan how the placement setting meets all of the following:
a) the developmental needs of the child;
b) the educational needs of the child, including maintaining the child in their school of origin;
c) any behavioral health needs of the child;
d) support daily, meaningful contact between the child and their siblings; and
e) support the child's connections with the child's community of origin. (Sec. 2)
12. Allows DCS to use Teams that were previously established to support the child, the child's family and the child's Team. (Sec. 2)
13. Requires DCS, within 30 days after placing a child in a congregate care setting, to work with the child, the child's attorney, and the child's Team to do all of the following:
a) asses the child's strengths and needs using an age-appropriate assessment tool;
b) develop a recruitment plan, if the child's Team recommends that the child be placed in a congregate care setting due to lack of availability of an appropriate family0liike setting, that is specific to the child and, if applicable, the child's siblings and the child's minor parent or parents to identify and recruit an appropriate family-like setting for the child; and
c) develop a child-specific congregate care implementation plan to ensure that the child's needs are appropriately met while the child is placed in a congregate care setting. (Sec. 2)
14. Specifies that the person conducting the assessment must be trained in the use of the assessment tool and must sign the completed assessment with the person's name and title (Sec. 2)
15. Requires DCS, within 30 days after placing a child in a congregate care setting, to work with the child, the child's attorney, and the child's Team to document the following in the child's case plan:
a) document the participants in and the date, time and location of the child's Team meeting;
b) the required assessment of the child;
c) the family recruitment plan, if required; and
d) the child-specific congregate care implementation plan. (Sec. 2)
16. Defines terms. (Sec. 2)
17. Makes conforming changes. (Sec. 1)
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21. SB 1458
22. Initials AG/MT Page 0 House Engrossed
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