NCSL Child Welfare Policy Update
State Response to the Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2008
Relative Notification Provision
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (H.R. 6893/P.L. 110-351) was signed on Oct. 7, 2008. This law helps to: connect foster children with their relatives; better coordinate the health care and education of foster children; support permanent families through relative guardianship; and enhance adoption subsidies and supports to older youth in foster care. To view a summary of the act, click here.
Background
Federal law under title IV-E of the Social Security Act requires states to consider giving preference to an adult relative over a non-related caregiver when determining placement for a child. A relative is required to meet state child protection standards, and states are given discretion to determine whether a relative is suitable, fit, or willing for child placement. Title IV-E further requires states to exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to all grandparents and other adult relatives of the child. Notification to relatives could include explaining that the child has been or is being removed from the custody of his or her parents, detailing options the relative has to participate in the care and placement of the child, and describing the requirements to become a foster parent to the child.
Potential Benefits of Locating Relatives
State child welfare agencies increasingly rely on grandparents and other relatives as placement resources for children whose parents cannot or will not assume responsibility for them. According to a publication by Child Focus, entitled Making “Relative Search” Happen, relatives and caring adults provide important lifelong connections for children involved in the child welfare system.
Policymakers can play a key role in supporting state agencies by crafting policy that help states to better identify and recruit relatives and other caring adults to provide for a child's safety, well-being, and permanency.
Relative Notification Provision in the Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2008
The Act provides that within thirty days after the child has been removed from parental custody, the state shall exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to all adult grandparents and other adult relatives of the child. The notice will be sent to any other adult relatives suggested by the parents, subject to exceptions due to domestic violence. The notice must:
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specify that the child has been removed from the custody of the parent,
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explain the options the relative has under federal, state, and local law to participate in the care and placement of the child,
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explain the options that may be lost by failing to respond to the notice,
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describe the requirements to become a foster family home,
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describe the services and supports that are available for children in a foster home, and
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describe how the relative guardians of the child may receive kinship guardianship assistance payments, if the state has elected to offer such payments.
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RELATIVE NOTIFICATION PROVISION OF THE
FOSTERING CONNECTIONS TO SUCCESS ACT OF 2008
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STATE & BILL
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SUMMARY (2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009)
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2012 |
Michigan
SB 1232, Act 565 |
(5) The department shall exercise due diligence to determine, document, and contact the Indian child's extended family members in accordance with the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Public Law 110-351. If applicable, determinations and documentation should be conducted in consultation with the child or parent's tribe. |
Pennsylvania
HB 1261, Act 2012-80 |
Extends Foster Care to youth age 21. Except in situations of family or domestic violence, the county agency shall exercise due diligence to identify and notify all grandparents and other adult relatives to the fifth degree of consanguinity or affinity to the parent or stepparent of a dependent child within 30 days of the child's removal from the child's home. The Subsidized Permanent Legal Custodianship Program is established in the department. The department shall establish and develop criteria and promulgate necessary regulations for county agencies to implement the Subsidized Permanent Legal Custodianship Program in accordance with the provisions of this article. The criteria and regulations shall include, but not be limited to, identification of eligible children and eligible permanent legal custodians, procedures for implementing the program and reporting requirements by county agencies. |
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2011
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Arkansas
SB 625, Act 591
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The Department of Human Services shall exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to all adult grandparents and other adult relatives of a juvenile transferred to the custody of the department within thirty days.
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Maine
SP 352
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Requires that the Department of Health and Human Services, within thirty days of the removal of a child from the custody of the child's parents, exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to all grandparents and other adult relatives of the child, except in cases of family or domestic violence.
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Nebraska
LB 177
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Establishes that the Department of Health and Human Services shall identify, locate, and provide written notification of the removal of the child from his or her home, within thirty days after removal, to any non-custodial parent and to all grandparents, adult siblings, adult aunts, adult uncles, adult cousins, and adult relatives suggested by the child or the child's parents, except when that relative's history of family or domestic violence makes notification inappropriate.
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2010
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Michigan
2010 Mich. Pub. Acts, HB 4118, Act 265
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Stipulates that upon a child's removal from their home and placement into foster care, as part of a child's initial case service plan the supervising agency shall, within thirty days, identify, locate, notify, and consult with relatives to determine placement with a fit and appropriate relative who would meet the child's developmental, emotional, and physical needs. The notification must include certain items such as, explaining the options the relative has to participate in the care and placement of the child, including any option that may be lost by failing to respond to the notification and describe how the relative may subsequently enter into an agreement with the state child welfare department for guardianship assistance.
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2009
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Arkansas
HB 2013, Act 1311
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Requires the Department of Human Services to identify and provide notice to all adult grandparents and other adult relatives within thirty days of a juvenile transferred to the custody of the department. Requires court reports to include information and recommendations concerning placement and visitation with a grandparent or other adult relative.
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Arizona
HB 2622, Chap.,148
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Makes additions to the required contents of a temporary custody notice to include a statement that the parent or guardian must provide to the Department of Economic Security the necessary information to locate persons related to the child or who have a significant relationship with the child. Establishes that at the preliminary child protective hearings and dependency adjudication hearings the court shall order the parent to provide to the department the necessary information to locate persons related to the child or who have a significant relationship with the child. The court also shall determine whether the department is attempting to identify and assess the placement of the child with a grandparent, relative or person who has a significant relationship with the child.
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California
AB 938, Chap. 261
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Requires a social worker, when a child is removed from the home, to immediately begin conducting an investigation in order to identify and locate all grandparents, adult siblings, and other adult relative of the child, in order to provide those persons with specified information, including that the child has been removed from the custody of his or her parents or guardians and an explanation of various options to participate in placement of the child.
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California
SB 597, Chapter 339
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Requires the State Department of Social Services to exercise diligence to identify and provide notice to all adult grandparents and close relatives of a child being removed from the home.
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Colorado
SB 245, Chap. 436
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Amends portions of the Colorado Children's Code to comply with the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 concerning kinship placements and due diligence. Allows the court to order the Department of Human Services to exercise due diligence in contacting all grandparents and other adult relatives thirty days following the removal of the child and to inform them about placement possibilities for the child.
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Connecticut
HB 5421, Chap. 185
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Establishes that at the temporary custody hearing regarding the placement of a child, the court shall identify any person or persons related to the child or youth by blood or marriage who might serve as licensed foster parents, certified relative caregivers or temporary custodians and order the Commissioner of Children and Families to investigate and determine, not later than thirty days after the preliminary hearing, the appropriateness of placement of the child or youth with such relative or relatives.
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Georgia
SB 254, Act 37
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Determines that within thirty days after the removal of a child from the custody of the parent or parents of the child, the department shall exercise due diligence to identify a parent or relative of the child or other persons who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the child.
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Indiana
SB 365, Act. 131
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Section 59: Requires the Department to exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to all adult relatives within thirty days after the removal of the child from the parents.
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Iowa
SB 152
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Mandates the department to send a notice to all adult relatives of the child in custody explaining their options to provide care for the child.
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Kansas
HB 2303
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Establishes that within thirty days of the removal of a child from the child’s home, the county or district attorney shall exercise due diligence to identify all grandparents, adult relatives of the child and any potential guardians identified by the parents and provide notice of the removal of the child from the child’s home, an explanation of options for participating in the care and placement of the child, and an explanation of requirements to become licensed as a family foster home.
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Minnesota
SB 1503, Chap.163
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Establishes that the responsible social services agency shall make diligent efforts to identify and locate both parents of any child who is the subject of child welfare proceedings, as well as conduct a relative search to identify and provide notice to adult relatives. Diligent efforts include asking the custodial or known parent to identify any nonresident parent of the child and provide information that can be used to verify the nonresident parent's identity.
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Missouri
HB 154
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Requires the state to make diligent efforts to contact and locate the grandparents of a child for emergency placement, except when the children's division determines this to not be in the best interest of the child. Defines "diligent efforts" to include a good faith attempt documented in writing by the children's division, which exercises reasonable efforts and care to utilize all available services and resources related to meeting the ongoing health and safety needs of the child, to locate a grandparent or grandparents of the child.
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North Dakota
HB 1094, Chap. 267
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Determines that within thirty days after the removal of a child from the custody of the parent or parents of the child, due diligence to identify and provide notice to all parents, grandparents, and any other adult relative suggested by the parents and grandparents, shall be exercised.
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Oklahoma
SB 339, Chap. 160
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Requires the court, at the emergency custody hearing of the child, to mandate the parent, legal guardian, or custodian to list all parents and relatives as potential placements for the child. Requires the Department to exercise due diligence to identify all relatives of the child and notify them that the child has been removed from their parent's custody and alert them to the requirements to becoming a potential foster care provider for the child.
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Wisconsin
SB 347, Act 79
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Requires agency to conduct diligent search for all relatives and provide notice to adult relatives when a child is removed from the parental home and provide information on how they may support the child or provide care.
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Wyoming
SB 103, Chap. 196
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Establishes that notice be served of child protective proceedings, regarding a child who is alleged to have been abused or neglected, to a non-custodial parent or putative father who has not had parental rights to the child removed by a court, and who is not alleged in the petition to have abused or neglected the child.
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