SF0042 - Child Protection Act-amendments.
2001 |
State of Wyoming |
01LSO-0174 |
SENATE FILE NO. SF0042
Child Protection Act-amendments.
Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to the
Child Protection Act; specifying
2
requirements relating to reasonable efforts to reunify
3 families;
providing for the filing of a petition for
4
termination of parental rights in certain cases; providing
5 for
periodic review of disposition orders; specifying
6
procedures for service of process in proceedings under the
7
act; and providing for an effective date.
8
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
10
11 Section 1. W.S. 14-3-440 is created to read:
12
13 14-3-440. Reasonable efforts for
family
14 reunification; exceptions.
15
Page 1
1 (a) Except as
provided in W.S. 14-2-309(b) or (c),
2
reasonable efforts shall be made to preserve and reunify
3 the
family:
4
5 (i) Prior to
placement of the child outside the
6
home, to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the
7
child from the child's home; and
8
9 (ii) To make it
possible for the child to safely
10 return to the child's home.
11
12 (b) In
determining what reasonable efforts shall be
13 made with respect to a child and in making
those reasonable
14 efforts, the child's health and safety shall
be the
15 paramount concern.
16
17 (c) Reasonable
efforts to place a child for adoption
18 or with a legal guardian may be made
concurrently with the
19 reasonable efforts described in subsection
(a) of this
20 section.
21
22 (d) If
continuation of reasonable efforts described
23 in subsection (a) of this section is
determined to be
24 inconsistent with the permanency plan for
the child,
Page 2
1
reasonable efforts shall be made for placement of the child
2 in
a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan,
3 and
to complete the steps necessary to finalize the
4
permanent placement of the child.
5
6 (e) Reasonable
efforts determinations shall include
7 whether
or not services to the family have been accessible,
8
available and appropriate.
9
10 (f) The court
shall make the reasonable efforts
11 determinations required under this section
at every court
12 hearing.
13
14 (g) If the
court determines as provided in W.S.
15 14-2-309(a)(vi), (b) or (c) that reasonable
efforts to
16 preserve and reunify the family are not
required:
17
18 (i) A
permanency hearing as described in W.S.
19 14-3-431(c) shall be held for the child
within thirty (30)
20 days after the determination; and
21
22 (ii) Reasonable
efforts shall be made to place
23 the child in a timely manner in accordance
with the
Page 3
1
permanency plan, and to complete whatever steps are
2
necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child.
3
4 (h) A petition
to terminate parental rights shall be
5
filed within sixty (60) days of a judicial determination
6
that reasonable efforts to reunify the child and parent are
7 not
required pursuant to W.S. 14-2-309(a)(vi), (b) or (c).
8
9 Section
2. W.S.
14-3-402(a)(xviii), 14-3-414(c) and
10 14-3-431(c) and by creating new
subsections (d) through (f)
11 are amended to read:
12
13 14-3-402. Definitions.
14
15 (a) As used in this act:
16
17 (xviii) "This
act" means W.S. 14-3-401 through
18 14-3-439 14-3-440.
19
20 14-3-414. Service of process; order of custody.
21
22 (c) If it
appears to the court by affidavit that the
23 parents, guardian or custodian of the child
cannot be found
24 within the state, the court may order
personal service
Page 4
1
outside the state or service by certified mail with return
2
receipt requested signed by addressee only. If
The state
3 agency having custody of the child shall also file an
4 affidavit with the court explaining the efforts made to
5 locate the missing parent when the address of the
child's
6 parents,
guardian or custodian is unknown and cannot with
7 reasonable
diligence be ascertained, and the court
shall
8 appoint
a guardian ad litem to represent the child and to
9 receive
service of process.
10
11 14-3-431. Duration of orders of
disposition;
12 termination of orders; petition for termination of parental
13 rights.
14
15 (c) Not less than once every twelve (12) months, The
16 court of
jurisdiction shall conduct a formal shall
conduct
17 a
review to assess and determine the appropriateness
of the 18
current
placement, the reasonable efforts made to reunify 19
the family, the
safety of the child and the permanency plan 20
for the child hearing six (6) months from the date of the
21 child's removal
from the home, twelve (12) months from the
22 date of the
child's removal from the home, and not less
23 than once every
twelve (12) months thereafter. At each of
Page 5
1 these review hearings the court shall review the case plan
2 to determine:
3
4 (i) The health and safety of the child;
5
6 (ii) The continuing necessity for the placement;
7
8 (iii) The appropriateness of the placement;
9
10 (iv) The extent of compliance with the case
11 plan;
12
13 (v) If progress has been made toward alleviating
14 or
mitigating the causes necessitating placement outside
15 the
home and the extent of that progress; and
16
17 (vi) The date the child is expected to be
18 returned
to the home or placed for adoption or legal
19 guardianship.
20
21 (d) When a child has been placed in foster care under
22 the
responsibility of the state for fifteen (15) of the
23 most
recent twenty-two (22) months the state shall file a
24 petition
to terminate parental rights or seek to be joined
Page 6
1 as a party to the petition if a petition has been filed by
2 another party, unless:
3
4 (i) The child is in the care of a relative;
5
6 (ii) The state agency
has documented in the case
7 plan a compelling reason for
determining that filing the
8 petition is not in the best interest
of the child; or
9
10 (iii) The state agency has not provided services
11 to
the child's family deemed to be necessary for the safe
12 return
of the child to the home, if reasonable efforts
13 described
in W.S. 14-3-440 are required to be made.
14
15 (e) Concurrently with the filing of a petition under
16 subsection
(d) of this section, the state agency shall
17 identify,
recruit, process and approve a qualified family
18 for
adoption of the child.
19
20 (f) A termination of parental rights hearing shall be
21 held
within ninety (90) days of the filing of the
22 termination
petition unless continued by the court for good
23 cause
shown.
24
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1 Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2001.
2
3 (END)
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