HCS SB 84 -- PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN

SPONSOR:  Champion (Franz)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
Family Services by a vote of 9 to 0.

This substitute changes the laws regarding the placement of
children who are in the custody of the state.

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS

Family members who are caring for a child, after an emergency
placement has occurred, will not be exempt from a criminal
background check.  Currently, a check must be made within 15
business days, and there is an exception for conducting checks
for family members who are within the second degree of
consanguinity of the child.  The substitute requires that a check
must be made within 15 calendar days.  This change is consistent
with the Federal Bureau of Investigation regulations on the
emergency use of its system for checks for the placement of
children in out-of-home care.

INTERSTATE COMPACT ON THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN

The substitute changes the laws regarding the Interstate Compact
for the Placement of Children.  The substitute:

(1)  Establishes a process and the operating procedures to place
children subject to the compact in safe and suitable homes in a
timely manner;

(2)  Facilitates ongoing supervision of a placement, delivery of
services, and communication between the states;

(3)  Authorizes the Interstate Commission for the Placement of
Children to implement the provisions of the compact and to
regulate the specified activities of the member states;

(4)  Provides for uniform data collection and information sharing
between member states;

(5)  Promotes coordination between the compact, the Interstate
Compact for Juveniles, the Interstate Compact on Adoption and
Medical Assistance, and other compacts affecting the placement of
and services to children otherwise subject to this compact;

(6)  Provides for a state's continuing legal jurisdiction and
responsibility for the placement and care of a child that it
would have had if the placement was intrastate;

(7)  Provides guidelines, in collaboration with Indian tribes,
for interstate cases involving Indian children;

(8)  Requires that a family support team meeting or juvenile
court proceeding regarding the termination of parental rights be
closed if a parent has terminated, in writing, his or her
parental rights regarding a placement in a licensed child placing
agency; and

(9)  Allows a licensed child placing agency to file a petition
for the transfer of custody.

TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

A juvenile officer or the juvenile division of the circuit court
must file a petition for the termination of parental rights
within 60 days of the judicial determination.  Filing a petition
after 60 days will not prohibit the court's jurisdiction to
adjudicate a petition for the termination of parental rights.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill is very important
because it makes the necessary changes to better serve the needs
of children.

Testifying for the bill were Senator Champion; and Department of
Social Services.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:21 am