Child Welfare:  Innovations in State Policy

State Child Welfare Legislation: 2004

May 2005

 (printer-friendly version of complete publication--34 pages)

Introduction

State law is an important part of the foundation of each state’s response to child maltreatment. It also provides the legal framework for state legislators’ oversight of the child welfare agencies that are charged with protect­ing children’s safety and meeting their permanency and well-being needs. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) highlights state child welfare legislation through its State Child Welfare Legislation reports. This report documents significant state legislation enacted during calendar year 2004.¹

A number of legislative trends that began in previous years continued in 2004. These included new laws to address children’s exposure to methamphetamine, to improve educational services to children in the child welfare system, to expedite permanency for foster children, to support foster parents and kinship caregivers, to assist youth who are aging out of care, and to promote collaboration among agencies that serve children and families.

A few areas received an unusual amount of legislative attention in 2004. Perhaps the most notable is a move to ensure that parents’ rights are protected when child welfare agencies investigate. Many of these laws were passed to comply with recent amendments to the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which require that subjects of protective investigations be informed of the allegations against them and that child protective services (CPS) staff be trained in their legal duties to protect the legal rights and safety of children and families.²

State legislation in 2004 also addressed the prescription of psychotropic medication to children in custody, family involvement in case planning, and innovations in foster care, such as whole family placements and “dedicated” family homes.

Descriptions of significant state legislation appear below by issue area in alphabetical order. The appendix contains both citations and summaries of the laws discussed here.

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1. The legislation described here reflects emerging issues and key legislative trends related to child welfare, about which the NCSL receives numerous requests for information from state legislators and legislative staff. The report also discusses new laws that address important issues in the child welfare field or institute substantial changes in child welfare practice or administration. The report is not intended to be an exhaustive presentation of new state child welfare legisla­tion. Further, inclusion of the enactments herein should not be construed to mean that such enactments represent “best practice” or are in accord with federal law.

2. 42 U.S.C. 5106a (b)(2)(A)(xviii), (xix).