Bill No.: HB0235                  Drafter:  JHR

LSO No.:  09LSO-0451              Effective Date:  7/1/2009

Enrolled Act No.:  HEA0047

Chapter No.:       70

Prime Sponsor:     Representative Mercer

Catch Title:       Child protection-case planning.

Subject:  Specifies new duties of multidisciplinary teams in child protection and delinquency cases.

Summary/Major Elements:

· This bill:

o Requires that members of  the multidisciplinary team (MDT) in a child protection or a delinquency case receive a summary with specified information from the Department of Family Services before the first MDT meeting;

o Requires the MDT to formulate reasonable and attainable goals and objectives for parents to meet to effect the return of the child to the home or to close the case;

o Requires the submission of a summary to MDT members and the court after each MDT meeting describing the recommendations of the goals and objectives decided upon at the meeting and a detailed explanation of any changes to the goals and objectives previously established;

o Authorizes the court to require the parents or guardian to attend classes designed to address problems that contributed to the adjudication.