HS HCS HB 679 & 396 -- FOSTER CARE (Hanaway)

This substitute makes numerous revisions to laws relating to
foster care and protective services for children.

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT HOTLINE

Currently, all reports to the child abuse and neglect hotline may
be made anonymously.  The substitute eliminates the ability of
mandated reporters to make reports of child abuse and neglect
anonymously.

The Division of Family Services is required to establish a
protocol for handling child abuse and neglect hotline calls.  The
division must use the structured decision-making model to
classify all reports, giving priority to ensuring the well-being
and safety of the child.  All reports must be initiated within 24
hours and be classified based on the level of reported risk and
injury to the child.  The substitute specifies the factors the
division must consider in classifying reports and creates three
levels of priority.

Currently, the division must retain identifying information from
reports of child abuse and neglect made by a mandated reporter
for a period of 10 years when there is insufficient evidence of
abuse or neglect.  The substitute reduces the length of time that
the record must be kept to five years and specifies that if no
evidence of abuse or neglect is found, the division may not
retain any identifying information.

Currently, the division must prove that there is probable cause
to believe that an individual has committed child abuse or
neglect.  The substitute changes the standard to require the
division to prove abuse or neglect by a preponderance of the
evidence.

The substitute makes procedural changes to the Child Abuse and
Neglect Review Board process and to the process by which an
aggrieved alleged perpetrator can seek de novo judicial review of
decisions of the board.

BACKGROUND CHECKS

The substitute designates specified sections as the "Dominic
James Memorial Foster Care Act of 2003."

Beginning January 1, 2004, the substitute requires new employees
of school districts and individuals employed by a school district
for two years or less who have a negative history in their
personnel files to complete a criminal background check before
having any unsupervised contact with a student.  All individuals
required to submit to the background check must submit to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation background investigation, but may
register with the Family Care Safety Registry in lieu of
completing the State Highway Patrol's background check.

The substitute requires a name-based criminal history check when
an emergency placement of a child must be made.  After the
initial name-based search, all persons in the home age 18 and
over must submit two sets of fingerprints for a more extensive
criminal background check.  If placement of a child is denied
because of the name-based search and the denial is contested, the
members of the household age 18 and over must submit fingerprints
for a background check.

The Sexual Offender Registry is added to the list of registries
that are part of the Family Care Safety Registry.  The expiration
date of the Family Care Safety Registry is extended from
January 1, 2004, to January 1, 2010.

DIVISION OF FAMILY SERVICES' EMPLOYEES

It is grounds for dismissal for Division of Family Services'
employees involved with child protective services to purposely or
knowingly violate policy of the division, rules of the division,
or state laws directly relating to the child abuse and neglect
activities of the division if the violation results in serious
physical injury or death.  This includes merit and non-merit
employees and is considered grounds for a for-cause dismissal.
If an employee is responsible for assignments that exceed
specified caseload standards and the employee fails to follow
policy, rules, or state laws related to the child abuse and
neglect activities of the division, the employee's good faith
effort to follow the policy, rule, or law is a mitigating factor
in determining whether the employee is dismissed.  Individuals
who violate policy are also subject to criminal liability for
endangering the welfare of a child.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES

The Division of Family Services is required to contract for the
provision of children's services through private children's
services providers and community agencies whenever available and
appropriate.  The state will continue to be the sole provider of
child abuse and neglect hotline services, initial child abuse and
neglect investigation, and initial family assessment.  The state
will also be responsible for the representation in court of
children in the division's custody but may contract for these
services.

The substitute requires the division to implement a two-year
pilot project beginning on or before July 1, 2004.  This pilot
project will be located in Greene County, the City of St. Louis,
and a rural county in the state selected by the division.  In the
pilot project locations, all direct services for children that
are currently provided by the division will be provided by public
and private children's service providers that have contracted
with the division through a competitive bid process, except for
hotline, initial investigation, and family assessment services.
The substitute specifies the criteria for the pilot project and
the terms of children's services contracts entered into by the
division for purposes of the pilot project.  It requires cities
and counties participating in the pilot project to submit a plan
for implementation by February 1, 2004; specifies what must be
included in the plan; and the composition of the committee that
develops the plan.  The division must submit a report to the
General Assembly beginning July 15, 2005, and continuing each
year that the pilot project is in operation.  The report must
include specified details about the pilot project,
recommendations concerning the continuation or expansion of the
project, and information relating to the provision of direct
services for children and their families.  The pilot project
provisions expire December 31, 2006.

All information at meetings or hearings regarding the removal of
a child from the child's home are confidential.  A parent or
party can waive confidentiality for himself or herself.
Individuals may not be required to sign a confidentiality
agreement before providing information or testimony at a meeting
or hearing, but the individual may be excluded from all portions
of the meeting at which he or she is not providing information if
he or she does not agree to maintain confidentiality.  The
substitute allows these meetings to be recorded and requires the
division to maintain copies of the recordings for six months
after the case is closed.  This information is considered
confidential, unless a court issues an order authorizing public
disclosure of the records.

The substitute requires biological parents and their legal
counsel, foster parents, guardians ad litem, and court-appointed
special advocates to be provided notice and allowed to attend all
family assessment team meetings.  Biological parents, their legal
counsel, and foster parents may request that other individuals
attend the team meetings, and other individuals who are invited
to attend must also receive all subsequent hearing notices.

The substitute requires monthly meetings between the departments
of Social Services, Mental Health, and Elementary and Secondary
Education to address and review action taken by agencies
regarding the provision of services to children.

COURT PROCEEDINGS

Currently, the parents of a child under the age of 17 who is
alleged to be in need of care and treatment and who is taken into
custody must be notified of the right to a protective custody
hearing; and any party may request that the hearing be held
within three days of the request, but a hearing is not mandatory.
The substitute requires a status conference to be held within
three days of a child being taken into custody and requires the
court to make reasonable efforts to notify specified individuals,
including biological parents and foster parents, of the status
conference.  The substitute specifies issues that must be
addressed at the status conference, including whether the child
can be immediately returned to his or her home.  A protective
custody hearing may be requested at the status hearing and, if
requested, must be held within 14 days of the request.  An
adjudication must be held 60 days after the child has been taken
into custody.  If at that time the court determines there is
sufficient cause for the child to remain in the state's custody,
the court must conduct a dispositional review 90 days after the
child has been taken into custody.  The court must then conduct
review hearings every 90 to 120 days during the first year and at
least every six months after the first year.

Foster parents must be notified of all court hearings.  The court
cannot grant continuances in juvenile proceedings unless there
are compelling extenuating circumstances.  The court must make
written findings on the record about the specific reasons for
granting a continuance.

The substitute requires the guardian ad litem or court-appointed
special advocate volunteer to be informed of and have the right
to attend all meetings involving the child upon appointment by
the court.  Judges have the authority to examine the general and
criminal background of individuals appointed as guardians ad
litem and court-appointed special advocates to ensure the safety
and welfare of the children they are appointed to represent.  The
guardian ad litem has the duty to advocate for timely court
hearings to achieve permanency for the child as soon as possible.

The Department of Social Services is required to place a child
with relatives if the court has determined that relative
placement is not contrary to the best interests of the child.

Currently, the general public is excluded from most juvenile
court proceedings.  The substitute allows all juvenile court
proceedings relating to children in need of care and treatment
and to termination of parental rights to be open to the general
public.  Adoption cases are not open to the public.  The court
can close the proceedings on its own motion to protect the
welfare and best interests of a child and for exceptional
circumstances.  Any victim and any party except the state may
also make a motion to close the proceedings.  The public is
excluded from all proceedings during the testimony of a victim or
child.  The substitute requires all records to be closed until
the 72-hour status hearing is held, but after the status hearing,
all records are open unless they are specifically closed.

Pleadings and orders of the juvenile court are open to the
public, unless they are otherwise ordered closed by the court.
The identity of the victim and references to the identity of the
victim must be redacted from the record prior to public
disclosure.  The provisions relating to the opening of juvenile
courts and juvenile court records apply to cases initiated on or
after August 28, 2003.

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR CHILDREN

The substitute requires the Department of Mental Health to
develop, implement, and administer a comprehensive children's
mental health service system.  It requires the Department of
Social Services to look at the children in its custody and
determine which children are in the system solely because of a
need for mental health services.  These children may be returned
to the family's custody by the judge, and the Department of
Mental Health is obligated to provide the necessary services for
these children in the least restrictive appropriate environment.
The departments of Mental Health and Social Services must prepare
a plan to address the need for mental health services for
children who are in the custody of the state because of their
need for mental health services and for children and persons age
17 who are determined by the court to need mental health
services.  The substitute specifies what the plan must include
and requires that it be completed by January 1, 2004.  The plan
must be submitted to the Governor, the President Pro Tem of the
Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.  The
substitute also waives the means test for children in need of
mental health services to avoid the transfer of custody of the
child to the Division of Family Services.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

The substitute requires the Division of Family Support to operate
a full-time office in each county of the state.

Medical assistance is extended to foster children beyond their
eighteenth birthday when the child is enrolled in a secondary or
post-secondary school.

The substitute requires the Children's Juvenile Justice Task
Force established in accordance with federal law to conduct an
independent review of the policies and procedures of state and
local child protective services agencies and to conduct reviews
of specific cases, when appropriate, to evaluate the extent to
which agencies are effectively discharging their
responsibilities.  The task force is prohibited from disclosing
information about specific cases or making other information
public, unless otherwise authorized.  The task force may have
access to information concerning cases it is asked to review and
may receive assistance from the Department of Social Services in
carrying out its duties.  The task force must also complete an
annual report summarizing its activities.

The department is required to submit an annual statistical report
regarding the number of children receiving child protective
services to the Governor and the General Assembly, beginning
February 1, 2005.  The substitute specifies what the report must
contain.

Parents may temporarily place a child in a family home; church,
athletic, academic, or charitable camp; babysitting; military
academy; child care facility, foster home, or residential care
facility; or with a licensure-exempt foster home with the state.
Parents are allowed to use a power of attorney to delegate their
powers regarding care or custody of a minor child to a child care
facility, foster home, residential care facility, or child
placing agency whether licensed or license-exempt for a period of
up to one year.

The substitute requires the Department of Social Services, in
conjunction with the Department of Mental Health, to seek Title
IV-E waivers from the U. S. Department of Health and Human
Services.

The substitute requires the Division of Family Services to
conduct a diligent search for the natural parents of a child who
is in the custody of the division when the parents' identity or
location is unknown.  The definition of "diligent search"
includes efforts to locate or identify the natural parents of a
child, initiated as soon as the division is made aware of the
existence of the parent, with progress reports at each court
hearing until the parent is identified and located or the court
excuses further search.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Net Cost to General Revenue Fund of
Unknown greater than $18,535,825 in FY 2004, Unknown greater than
$40,865,901 in FY 2005, and Unknown greater than $41,852,248.
Estimated Net Cost to Health Initiative Fund of $7,311 in FY
2004, FY 2005, and FY 2006.  Estimated Net Income to Criminal
Record Systems Fund of $314,745 in FY 2004, $215,840 in FY 2005,
and $211,734 in FY 2006.  Estimated Net Effect on Urban and
Teacher Education Revolving Fund of $0 in FY 2004, FY 2005, and
FY 2006.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated July 25, 2003 at 10:12 am