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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
DCS; kinship care placement; requirement
Purpose
Adds extended family members to the list of persons who qualify as a kinship foster care placement and requires extended family members to be included in all investigations and proceedings related to identifying a kinship foster care placement for a child in the temporary custody of the Department of Child Safety (DCS).
Background
DCS was
established with the primary purpose of protecting children. Required DCS
duties necessary to achieve that purpose include: 1) investigating reports of
abuse and neglect;
2) assessing, promoting and supporting the safety of a child in a safe and
stable family; 3) working cooperatively with law enforcement regarding reports
that include criminal conduct allegations; and 4) without compromising child
safety, coordinating services to achieve and maintain permanency on behalf of
the child, strengthen the family and provide child-safety prevention,
intervention and treatment services (A.R.S.
§ 8-451).
If a child is taken
into temporary custody, as part of the ongoing search, DCS must use due
diligence in an initial search to identify and notify any adult relatives or
any persons with a significant relationship with the child (kinship caregivers)
within 30 days. The placement of a child who is in DCS custody is determined by
the best interests of the child, and DCS must establish kinship foster care
services for a child who has been removed from the child's home (A.R.S.
§§ 8-514.03
and 8-514.07).
In 2023, the Legislature passed H.B. 2313, which prescribed various procedures for DCS to follow when conducting a search to identify a child's kinship caregivers, including that DCS must file documentation with the court regarding attempts made to identify and notify any kinship caregivers within 30 days of the child being taken into temporary custody and at each subsequent hearing (Laws 2023, Ch. 87).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Adds extended family members as kinship caregivers for the placement of a child who has been removed from the child's home and is in the temporary custody of DCS.
2. Includes extended family members under procedures relating to the search to identify and notify kinship caregivers when a child is taken into temporary DCS custody.
3. Requires the report filed by DCS regarding continued efforts to identify and locate kinship foster care placements for a child to be filed with the court every 30 days for at least 6 months.
4. Adds extended family members to statute governing the rights of children in foster care and kinship foster care.
5. Modifies the right of a foster child to be placed with a relative when the placement is in the best interest of the child by including the right to be placed with a kinship foster caregiver, unless the placement poses a risk to the child's safety or the safety of another member of the household.
6. Specifies that a foster child's right to be placed with or in close proximity to the child's siblings when possible and to visit and have contact with siblings and family members applies when such placement or contact does not pose a risk to the child's safety or the safety of the child's siblings.
7. Requires the court to order a child to be placed with a kinship caregiver within 48-hours after an initial dependency hearing if the placement is available and in the best interest of the child.
8. Defines extended family member as a grandparent of the child or an adult person who has a biological connection to the child by an intact marriage or who has a connection to the child by marriage to a biological family member of the child.
9. Makes technical and conforming changes.
10. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Adds a child's grandparents to the definition of extended family member.
2. Restores the requirement that the Kinship Foster Care Program promote, rather than require, the placement of the child with a kinship caregiver.
3. Removes the definition of the best interest of the child.
4. Removes the specification that the notice provided by DCS to identified potential kinship caregivers is a written notice.
5. Restores the specification that a foster child's right to be placed with a kinship caregiver, the child's siblings or near the child's siblings, as well as to have contact with family members as outlined, applies when such placement and contact is in the best interest of the child.
6. Removes the added right of a foster child to be updated every 30 days on the status of DCS's efforts to place the child in kinship foster care or in a care setting with the child's siblings, as outlined.
7. Restores the specification that the rights provided to children in foster care and kinship foster care do not establish an independent cause of action.
8. Reverts the requirement that DCS submit the written report relating to a removed child's case back to the day before, rather than five days before, a preliminary protective hearing.
9. Removes the declaration that it is an abuse of judicial discretion if the court fails to order the placement of a child with a kinship caregiver after an initial dependency or preliminary protective hearing, as outlined.
10. Makes technical and conforming changes.
House Action Senate Action
GOV 2/12/25 DPA 4-3-0-0 JUDE 3/26/25 DP 4-3-0
3rd Read 2/26/25 33-27-0
Prepared by Senate Research
April 23, 2025
ZD/KS/ci