Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006

Bill: 109-s-2999
Sponsor: Sen. DeWine, Mike [R-OH]
Introduced: 2006-05-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Families
Subjects: Adoption
Caregivers
Child development
Child health
Child safety
Child welfare
Civil actions and liability
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Court records
Data banks
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Family services
Foster home care
Government Operations and Politics
Government contractors
Government paperwork
Government service contracts
Governmental investigations
Grants-in-aid
Health
Interstate compacts
Interstate relations
Law
Medical records
Minorities
Native Americans
Parents
Parties to actions
Planning
Science, Technology, Communications
Social Welfare
State courts
State government-Indian relations
State laws
Student records

Summary:
action_date: 2006-05-24
text: 
Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006 - Amends the Social Security Act to require each state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to provide that the state shall: (1) have in effect procedures for orderly and timely interstate placement of children; (2) complete home studies requested by another state within a specified period; (3) accept such studies received from another state; and (4) not impose any restrictions on contracting with a private agency to conduct such a study.
 
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants for timely interstate home study incentive payments to states that have approved plans and that have completed, and provided the Secretary a report on, such studies.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that state agencies should cooperate with courts which have authority with respect to the placement of a child in foster care or for adoption for the purpose of locating a parent of the child.
 
 Amends the definition of &quot;case review system&quot; to: (1) increase the required frequency of state caseworker visits to a child who is placed in foster care outside the state in which the child's parents reside; (2) require a child's health and education record to be supplied to the child at no cost when he/she leaves foster care by reason of having attained the age of majority under state law; and (3) provide for a foster parent's right (currently, opportunity) to be heard in any proceeding (currently, review or hearing) respecting their foster child. Requires state courts to ensure that foster parents, pre-adoptive parents, and relative caregivers of a child in foster care are notified of any such proceedings.
 
Includes among the purposes of grants to the highest state courts the assessment of the court's role in carrying out state laws requiring proceedings that determine the best strategy to use to expedite the interstate placement of children.
 
Provides for consideration of out-of-state placements in permanency hearings, case plans, and case reviews. 
 
Requires each plan for child welfare services to include the assurance that the state will eliminate legal barriers to facilitate timely adoptive or permanent placements for children.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-05-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2006-05-24
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5120)
action_date: 2006-05-24
text: Introduced in Senate