SB 517

Under current law, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children

provides procedures for sending a child from this state to another state, placing a

child from this state in an institution in another state, bringing a child from another

state into this state, and placing a child from another state in an institution in this

state.

The bill also creates a new Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children

that becomes effective when 35 states enact the compact. The compact applies to the

interstate placement of a child who is subject to ongoing court jurisdiction in a

sending state due to allegations or findings that the child has been abused, neglected,

or deprived and to the interstate placement of a child as a preliminary step to a

possible adoption. The compact also applies to the interstate placement of a child

who has been adjudicated delinquent or unmanageable and who is subject to the

ongoing court jurisdiction of a sending state if the placement of the child is not

covered under another interstate compact such as the Interstate Compact for

Juveniles or an assessment of the placement is not provided through another

compact.

The compact, however, does not apply to: 1) the interstate placement of a child

in a custody proceeding in which a public child placing agency is not a party so long

as the placement is not for adoption; 2) the interstate placement of a child by his or

her parent so long as the placement is not for adoption; 3) the interstate placement

of a child with a relative by a relative who has the authority to make such a

placement; or 4) the placement of a child with a noncustodial parent if the court in

the sending state finds that the noncustodial parent has a substantial relationship

with the child, finds that the placement is in the best interests of the child, and, for

a placement in a proceeding in which a public child placing agency is a party,

dismisses its jurisdiction over the proceeding. The compact also does not apply to:

1) a child who is entering or leaving the United States for purposes of adoption; 2)

cases in which a child living overseas with his or her family, at least one member of

which is in the U.S. armed services, is removed and placed in a state; and 3) the

sending of a child to another state for a visit.

Under the compact:

1. Subject to certain exceptions for adoptions and for interstate placements in

custody proceedings in which a public child placing agency is not a party, the sending

state retains jurisdiction over a child with respect to all matters of custody and

disposition over which the sending state would have had jurisdiction if the child had

remained in the sending state, including the power to order the return of the child.

2. Before a child is sent to a receiving state, the child placing agency of the

sending state must request, and a public child placing agency in the receiving state

must complete, an assessment of the proposed placement to determine the safety and

suitability of the placement.