The provision of notices to, and the exercise of rights by, an unborn child's guardian ad litem in unborn child in need of protection or services proceedings investigations when the individual who is suspected of the abuse or neglect cannot be identified; eliminating a voluntary foster care education program developed by the Department of Children and Families; releasing a frozen bank account of a support obligor; deleting a reference to minors acknowledging paternity; parties on whom the summons and petition must be served in a paternity action when the respondent is deceased; and the maximum prison term length stated in the form for a paternity action summons (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Children and Families)

This bill eliminates the provision of those notices to, and the exercise of those rights by, an unborn child, by or through the unborn child's GAL. Rather, the bill requires those notices to be provided to, and permits those rights to be exercised by, the unborn child's GAL.

Under current law, if a county department of human services or social services (county department), the Department of Children and Families in a county having a population of 500,000 or more (DCF), or a licensed child welfare agency under contract with a county department or DCF to perform child abuse and neglect investigations (collectively "agency"), after evaluating a report of suspected or threatened child abuse or neglect, cannot determine who abused or neglected the child, the agency must initiate a diligent investigation to determine if the child is in need of protection or services. This bill instead requires an agency to initiate such an investigation if the agency cannot identify an individual who is suspected of abuse or neglect or of threatened abuse or neglect of the child.

Current law requires DCF to promulgate rules establishing minimum requirements for the issuance of foster home licenses, including rules requiring all foster parents to successfully complete training in the care and support needs of children who have been placed in foster care. That training must be completed before the first child is placed with the foster parent and on an ongoing basis. Current law also requires DCF to develop a voluntary foster care education program to provide specialized training for foster parents who provide care for children with special treatment needs. This bill eliminates that voluntary foster care education program.

Under current law, if a person who has been ordered by a court to pay child support (obligor) is delinquent in the payments, the amount of the delinquency becomes a lien in favor of DCF. To enforce the lien, DCF may levy against one or more accounts that the obligor has at a financial institution by sending a notice of levy to the financial institution instructing the financial institution to prohibit the closing of or withdrawals from the account, up to the amount that is sufficient to pay the amount of the delinquency. If the obligor requests a hearing and at the hearing the court orders an alternative payment arrangement or determines that the obligor does not owe the support, or owes less than the amount claimed by DCF, the court must, under current law, order DCF to return the seized funds or the excess of the seized funds over the delinquent amount. Since DCF has not actually seized the funds, this bill requires the court to order DCF to instruct the financial institution to release the account, or funds in the account that exceed the delinquent amount, to the obligor.

Under current law, a court may order child support, legal custody, and periods of physical placement on the basis of a statement acknowledging paternity that is signed by both parents and filed with the state registrar. The state registrar may insert the name of the father on a child's birth certificate on the basis of a statement acknowledging paternity. Since January 1, 2007, a minor has been prohibited from signing a statement acknowledging paternity. Current law, however, authorizes the state registrar to insert the father's name on a child's birth certificate on the basis of a statement acknowledging paternity that is signed by a minor parent as long as the minor parent's parent or legal guardian signs, too. This bill harmonizes the prohibition against a minor parent signing a statement acknowledging paternity with the statutes related to requirements for when the state registrar may change facts on birth certificates.

Under current law, a personal representative for a deceased respondent in a paternity action may appear for the respondent whenever an appearance is required.

If the deceased respondent does not have a personal representative, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem, and the guardian ad litem may appear for the deceased respondent. Current law requires that the summons and petition in the paternity action be served on the personal representative and the guardian ad litem of a deceased respondent. This bill changes the "and" to an "or." Since the court appoints a guardian ad litem only if there is no personal representative, a deceased respondent in a paternity action would not have both a personal representative and a guardian ad litem.

Under current law, the form for a summons in a paternity action provides notice that interfering with the custody of a child, which is a Class I felony, is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years. A Class I felony actually is punishable under current law by imprisonment for up to three years and six months. This bill corrects the maximum length of time for imprisonment for interfering with the custody of a child that is stated in the form for a paternity action summons.

For further information, see the Notes provided by the Law Revision Committee of the Joint Legislative Council.