SB 532

Under current law, a child who has been taken into custody under the

Children's Code or the Juvenile Justice Code, who has been ordered by the court

assigned to exercise jurisdiction under the Children's Code and the Juvenile Justice

Code to be held in temporary physical custody, or who is in need of a transitional

placement when emergency conditions necessitate an immediate change in

placement may be held in a shelter care facility, which is a nonsecure place of

temporary care and physical custody for children licensed by the Department of

Children and Families (DCF).

This bill permits a child to be placed in a shelter care facility under a voluntary

agreement for not more than 20 days. Specifically, under the bill, a child's parent,

guardian, or Indian custodian, DCF, the Department of Corrections (DOC), a county

department of human services or social services (county department), or a child

welfare agency licensed to place children in shelter care facilities, may place the child

or negotiate or act as intermediary for the placement of the child in a shelter care

facility that DCF has approved for use for such voluntary placements. A shelter care

facility placement under a voluntary agreement may not exceed 20 days from the

date on which the child was placed in the shelter care facility under the voluntary

agreement and may not be extended.

Under the bill, a person licensed to operate a shelter care facility may request

DCF to permit the shelter care facility to be used for voluntary placements and DCF

must review the request based on the needs of children in the area served by the

shelter care facility and the services provided by the shelter care facility. If DCF

determines that those services would meet those needs, DCF may approve the

request.