SB 63

Under current law, the parental rights of a parent to his or her child may be

terminated involuntarily under various grounds, including the ground of continuing

need of protection or services, which may be established by proving: 1) that the child

has been adjudged to be in need of protection or services and placed outside of his or

her home by the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under the Children's Code

(juvenile court); 2) that the agency responsible for the care of the child and the family

has made a reasonable effort to provide the services ordered by the juvenile court;

3) that the child has been outside the home for a cumulative period of six months or

longer pursuant to juvenile court orders; and 4) that the parent has failed to meet

the conditions established for the safe return of the child to the home, and there is

a substantial likelihood that the parent will not meet those conditions within the

nine-month period following the termination of parental rights (TPR) fact-finding

hearing.

Current law, subject to certain exceptions, requires the filing of a TPR petition

with respect to a child who has been placed in a foster home, group home, nonsecured

residential care center for children and youth, or shelter care facility for 15 of the

most recent 22 months, not including any period during which the child was a

runaway from that placement or the first six months of a trial home visit. A person

responsible for filing TPR petitions, however, is not required to file a TPR petition

with respect to such a child if the child is being cared for by a relative, if a TPR is not

in the best interests of the child, if the agency primarily responsible for providing

services to the child and the family is required to make reasonable efforts to make

it possible for the child to return safely home and has not provided the services

necessary for that safe return, or if grounds for TPR do not exist.

This bill, subject to the exceptions under current law, requires a TPR petition

to be filed with respect to a child who has been placed outside of his or her home in

any out-of-home placement for a cumulative total period of six months, not

including any period during which the child was a runaway from the out-of-home

placement or any period during which the child was returned to his or her home for

a trial home visit, if any of the following applies:

1. The child was under eight years of age when he or she was placed outside

of his or her home.

2. The child was eight years of age or over when he or she was placed outside

of his or her home and the goal of the child's permanency plan, which is a plan

designed to ensure that a child is reunified with his or her family whenever

appropriate or that the child quickly attains a placement providing long-term

stability, is placement for adoption with an adoptive parent or a proposed adoptive

parent of a sibling who was under eight years of age when the sibling was placed

outside of his or her home.

3. The child was eight years of age or over when he or she was placed outside