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Committee narrows language on out‑of‑country child placements after debate, exempts ICWA cases
Summary
Representatives debated House Bill 694, which would revise Child and Family Services Division placement preferences and state policy language to declare out‑of‑country placements 'disfavored.' The committee adopted a conceptual amendment exempting children covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act and advanced the bill from committee.
Representative Bill Mercer opened testimony on House Bill 694, which proposes amendments to Montana’s child abuse and neglect declaration of policy and placement‑preference language used by the Child and Family Services Division (CFSD).
Mercer told the committee the bill seeks to clarify statutory language so decisions to remove or place children focus specifically on placements made because of ‘‘child abuse and neglect’’ and to state that placements outside of the United States are disfavored when other options are reasonably available.
Nut graf: Supporters described the change as a policy preference…
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