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Committee approves Foster Placement Bill of Rights and narrows record-access language
Summary
Representative Golick presented House Bill 256 (incorporating Senate Bill 525) to update foster placement rights, create a certified volunteer advocate role and require recording of proceedings; the committee adopted an amendment replacing "an individual" with "a party," clarified access questions for prosecutors, and passed the bill.
Representative David Golick told the Children and Families Committee that House Bill 256, which incorporates Senate Bill 525, updates the Foster Parent Bill of Rights to reflect modern placement arrangements and to extend protections and procedures to "foster placements" including relative caregivers and fictive kin.
"This bill just ensures that ... caregivers providing day-to-day care to children in state custody are treated consistently and fairly," Golick said, and he described provisions that reinforce a reasonable and prudent parent standard, provide protection against retaliation, and create a certified volunteer advocate program overseen by the Office of the Child Advocate. Golick said advocates would not be legal counsel but could help caregivers during administrative investigations.
Golick also described statutory language intended to require recordings of proceedings under the juvenile chapter and to allow parties access to those recordings without obtaining a court order. He said the bill adds confidentiality language so certified volunteer advocates may receive a child's medical, psychological and educational records but would be subject to penalties for misuse.
Robert Smith of the Prosecuting Attorney's Council asked whether the bill's current language — which initially used the phrase "an individual" — would be read to give prosecuting attorneys the same right to obtain records as the department. "When we refer to our portion statutes ... are you intending that the prosecuting attorney also be afforded the same opportunities to get the record as the department and as the child and the child's representatives?" Smith asked.
Jerry Bruce, director of the Office of the Child Advocate, replied that juvenile code section 15-11-2 defines parties in delinquency and CHINS actions to include the state, and therefore the prosecuting attorney acts as an arm of the state and would be covered by party-based access under the code: "Party means the state, a child, parent, guardian, legal custodian, or other person subject to any judicial proceeding under this chapter." He recommended changing the drafting to make the provision clearer.
Members debated drafting options to ensure the department and other entitled persons could access records; the committee adopted an amendment to strike "an individual" and insert "a party," and then approved the underlying bill as amended by voice vote. The Chair said the bill would go to rules.
The transcript records no roll-call tallies; votes were taken by voice and hand count and no individual aye/no tallies were entered into the record.
