Bill > HSB146

Introduced Session

This bill relates to child placements, including the prioritization of certain persons for child placement and the implementation of the 30 days to family model. Under current law, after a dispositional hearing for a child in need of assistance proceeding, if a court determines that placing a child’s custody with either of the child’s parents is not in the child’s best interests, the court must transfer the child’s custody to the department of health and human services (HHS) for placement with certain persons as prioritized in Code section 232.102(1)(a) (transfer of legal custody of child and placement). The bill requires a court to prioritize an individual who provided child foster care to the child for at least nine months immediately preceding the date of the dispositional hearing higher than all other persons when determining a child’s placement. Currently, HHS divides the state into five separate child protective services (CPS) service areas, and Code section H.F. _____ 232.84 (transfer of custody —— notice to adult relatives) requires HHS, juvenile court services, or a private agency to exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to certain adult relatives of a child if the child’s custody is transferred from the child’s parents. The bill appropriates $275,000 to HHS for FY 2025-2026 for the purpose of adding five HHS employees to perform CPS duties. HHS must assign each employee employed through the appropriation to a separate CPS service area. Each employee shall be responsible for performing the identification and notice duties required under Code section 232.84 for the service area to which the employee was assigned. The employees shall implement practices described in the 30 days to family model to the greatest extent practicable. days to family is a short-term intervention model that recommends best practices for placing a child with a family member within 30 days of the child entering foster care.

Committee Categories

No sponsors listed

Other Sponsors (1)

Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 638. (on 02/28/2025)

Official Document