00 SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 191 01 "An Act relating to church attendance of a child who is in state custody." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03  * Section 1. AS 47.10.080(q) is amended to read: 04 (q) If the court orders a child committed to the department under (c) of this 05 section and the department places the child in licensed foster care, the department 06 shall 07 (1) provide the foster parent with a copy of 08 (A) appropriate information held by the department regarding 09 the child to the extent required by AS 47.12.310(b)(2)(H); 10 (B) all initial, updated, and revised case service plans for the 11 child, court orders relating to the child, and the child's medical, mental, and 12 education reports prepared by or for the department, including reports 13 compiled before the child was placed with the foster parent; and 14 (C) supplements to the plans, orders, and reports described in 15 (B) of this paragraph; 01 (2) require the foster parent to 02 (A) maintain and update records regarding medical, mental, 03 educational, and behavioral services provided to the child; 04 (B) provide all records described in (A) of this paragraph to the 05 department when the child leaves the foster home placement; and 06 (C) maintain the confidentiality of records regarding a child 07 placed in the foster home except when disclosure of the records is allowed 08 under regulations of the department or when disclosure is reasonably necessary 09 to ensure continuation of care for the child through appropriate medical, 10 mental, educational, and behavioral services;  11 (3) make reasonable efforts to permit a child who was attending  12 church before the child was committed to the custody of the department to attend  13 the child's current church; in this paragraph, "reasonable efforts" includes  14 contacting the church and arranging transportation for and supervision of the  15 child during church attendance unless transportation and supervision of the child  16 (A) unduly burdens the foster parents, the department, or  17 an agency with which the child is placed; or  18 (B) interferes with the foster parents' own church  19 attendance.  20  * Sec. 2. AS 47.10.080(r) is amended to read: 21 (r) If the court orders a child committed to the department under (c) of this 22 section, the court shall order the child's parent or guardian to provide the department 23 with 24 (1) the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all of the child's 25 medical providers; 26 (2) the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of mental health 27 providers that have provided services to the child; 28 (3) the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of schools, 29 preschools, or day care facilities that the child was attending before the child was 30 committed to the department; 31 (4) a description of special needs of the child, if any; [AND] 01 (5) the names and locations of relatives who may be willing to have 02 the child placed in their home; and  03 (6) the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of churches that  04 the child was attending before the child was committed to the department. 05  * Sec. 3. AS 47.10.080(x) is amended to read: 06 (x) In any team-decision meeting the department holds to address the potential 07 or actual transfer of a child from one placement setting to another, the department 08 shall ask the participants for input regarding whether it is in the child's best interest 09 (1) for the child to remain in the child's current school for the 10 remainder of the school term; and  11 (2) if the child attends church, for the child to remain in the child's  12 current church. 13  * Sec. 4. AS 47.10.080(y) is amended to read: 14 (y) If the department transfers a child from one placement setting to another 15 and it is reasonable and in the child's best [EDUCATIONAL] interests, the department 16 shall immediately, and in advance of the transfer if possible, 17 (1) coordinate with the school the child is attending to ensure the child 18 is permitted to attend that school through the end of the school term if the child's new 19 placement is in the same municipality and connected by road to the school; if [. IF] 20 federal funds and school district transportation funds are not available to pay for the 21 cost of transportation for the child, the department shall pay the costs of transporting 22 the child to school; the [. THE] department shall work with the family or agency 23 where the child is placed to arrange for transportation; the [. THE] department shall 24 consult with the school district regarding the child's best interests, but the school 25 district may not override the department's decision to allow a child to remain in the 26 current school through the end of the school term; and 27 (2) make reasonable efforts to permit the child to attend the child's  28 current church as provided in AS 47.10.080(q)(3). 29  * Sec. 5. AS 47.10.084(d) is amended to read: 30 (d) When the child is placed in foster care, the foster parent has the right and 31 responsibility to use a reasonable and prudent parent standard to make decisions 01 relating to the child. Subject to AS 47.10.080(q) and (y), the [THE] foster parent 02 may make decisions under (a) or (b) of this section that include decisions relating to 03 the child's participation in age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate activities, 04 including travel, sports, field trips, overnight activities, and extracurricular, 05 enrichment, cultural, and social activities. The department shall provide foster parents 06 with training regarding the reasonable and prudent parent standard. In this subsection, 07 "reasonable and prudent parent standard" means a standard characterized by careful 08 and sensible decisions to maintain the health, safety, and best interests of the child 09 while encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child.