00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 88(HSS) 01 "An Act relating to placement of a child in need of aid; relating to adoption; relating to 02 variances for foster care licenses; relating to the medical records of children in foster 03 care; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 47.10.080(s) is amended to read: 06 (s) The department may transfer a child, in the child's best interests, from one 07 placement setting to another, and the child, the child's parents or guardian, the child's 08 foster parents or out-of-home caregiver, the child's guardian ad litem, the child's 09 attorney, and the child's tribe are entitled to advance notice of a nonemergency 10 transfer. A party or child's foster parent with whom the child has resided for at 11 least 18 months who is opposed to the proposed transfer may request a hearing and 12 must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the transfer would be contrary to the 13 best interests of the child for the court to deny the transfer. A foster parent may 14 obtain, at the foster parent's cost, a medical or psychological evaluation of the 01 child for the purpose of providing evidence at the hearing. A foster parent who 02 requests a hearing to oppose a proposed transfer under this subsection does not 03 become a party to the case. A foster parent or out-of-home caregiver who requests a 04 nonemergency change in placement of the child shall provide the department with 05 reasonable advance notice of the requested change. When the department transfers a 06 child from one out-of-home placement to another, the department shall search as 07 provided under AS 47.10.145 for an appropriate placement with an adult family 08 member or a family friend who meets the foster care licensing requirements 09 established by the department. A supervisor at the department shall certify in writing 10 in the case file whether the department has searched for an appropriate placement with 11 an adult family member or family friend. If the department has not complied with the 12 search requirements under this subsection, the supervisor shall work to ensure that the 13 department completes the search in the shortest time feasible. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 47.10.084(d) is amended to read: 15 (d) When the child is placed in foster care, the foster parent has the right and 16 responsibility to use a reasonable and prudent parent standard to make decisions 17 relating to the child. The foster parent may make decisions under (a) or (b) of this 18 section that include decisions relating to the child's participation in age-appropriate or 19 developmentally appropriate activities, including travel, sports, field trips, overnight 20 activities, and extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities. A health 21 care provider subject to the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and 22 Accountability Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-191) who provides services to a child in 23 foster care shall provide the medical records of the child to the child's foster 24 parent upon the request of the foster parent. The department shall provide foster 25 parents with training regarding the reasonable and prudent parent standard. In this 26 subsection, "reasonable and prudent parent standard" means a standard characterized 27 by careful and sensible decisions to maintain the health, safety, and best interests of 28 the child while encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child. 29 * Sec. 3. AS 47.10.088(i) is amended to read: 30 (i) The department shall concurrently identify, recruit, process, and approve a 31 qualified person or family for an adoption whenever a petition to terminate a parent's 01 rights to a child is filed. Before identifying a placement of the child in an adoptive 02 home, the department shall [ATTEMPT TO] locate any [ALL] living adult family 03 members of the child through a diligent search for adult family members as 04 described in AS 47.10.145 and, if an adult family member expresses an interest in 05 adopting the child, investigate the adult family member's ability to care for the child. 06 The department shall provide to all adult family members of the child located by the 07 department written notice of the adult family members' rights under this chapter and of 08 the procedures necessary to gain custody of the child, but the department's obligation 09 to provide written notice under this subsection does not apply to a parent of the child 10 whose parental rights are being or have been terminated or to an adult family member 11 who is known by the department to be ineligible for a foster care license under 12 AS 47.32 and regulations adopted under AS 47.32. If an adult family member of a 13 [THE] child six years of age or older requests that the department approve the adult 14 family member for an adoption, the department shall approve the request unless there 15 is good cause not to approve the adoption. If an adult family member of a child 16 under six years of age requests that the department approve the adult family 17 member for an adoption, the department shall approve the request unless the 18 child has resided with a foster family seeking adoption for at least 24 months and 19 there is clear and convincing evidence that continued placement with the foster 20 family is in the best interests of the child. If the court issues an order to terminate 21 under (j) of this section, the department shall report within 30 days on the efforts being 22 made to recruit a permanent placement for the child if a permanent placement was not 23 approved at the time of the trial under (j) of this section. The report must document 24 recruitment efforts made for the child. 25 * Sec. 4. AS 47.10.142(i) is amended to read: 26 (i) When the department takes emergency custody of a child under this section 27 or a court orders a child committed to the department for temporary placement under 28 this section, the department shall, to the extent feasible and consistent with the best 29 interests of the child, place the child according to the criteria specified under 30 AS 47.14.100(e). A supervisor at the department shall certify in writing in the case file 31 whether the department has conducted a diligent search as described in 01 AS 47.10.145 [SEARCHED] for an appropriate placement with an adult family 02 member or family friend. If the department has not complied with the search 03 requirements under this subsection, the supervisor shall work to ensure that the 04 department completes the search in the shortest time feasible if it is consistent with the 05 best interests of the child. 06 * Sec. 5. AS 47.10 is amended by adding a new section to read: 07 Sec. 47.10.145. Diligent search. (a) Within 30 days after removing a child 08 from a parent's home under AS 47.14.100(e), taking emergency custody of a child, 09 receiving a court order committing a child to the department for temporary placement 10 under AS 47.10.142, or transferring a child from one placement setting to another 11 under AS 47.10.080(s), the department shall conduct a diligent search for an adult 12 family member or family friend of the child suitable for placement. In conducting the 13 diligent search, the department shall 14 (1) interview 15 (A) the child's parent during the course of an investigation 16 while department services are provided and the child is in the care of the 17 department; 18 (B) the child; 19 (C) relatives of the child identified during the case; and 20 (D) any other person who is likely to have information about 21 the identity or location of adult family members or family friends; 22 (2) conduct comprehensive searches of databases and other resources 23 available to the department likely to identify and locate adult family members or 24 family friends; and 25 (3) conduct any other reasonable investigation that is likely to identify 26 adult family members or family friends who are appropriate for placement. 27 (b) The department shall provide all adult family members of the child 28 identified in the diligent search, subject to exceptions for family with domestic 29 violence or other safety concerns as determined by the department, a notice 30 (1) stating the child has been or is being removed from parental 31 custody; 01 (2) explaining the options that the family member has to participate in 02 the care and placement of the child and the results of failing to respond to the notice; 03 (3) describing the process for becoming a licensed foster home and the 04 additional services and supports available for children placed in approved foster 05 homes; and 06 (4) describing any financial assistance for which a family member may 07 be eligible upon obtaining custody of the child. 08 (c) The department shall report to the court in writing regarding the actions 09 taken by the department under (a)(1) - (3) of this section at any scheduled disposition, 10 case review, or permanency hearing or as otherwise required by the court. 11 (d) The department shall continue to diligently search for adult family 12 members or family friends suitable for placement of the child until the court orders 13 that the department is excused from conducting a diligent search or the department 14 finalizes the permanent placement of the child. The court may excuse the department 15 from considering an adult family member for placement of a child if the adult family 16 member does not demonstrate an interest in and willingness to be considered for 17 placement of the child within 90 days from the date of receiving the required notice 18 under (b) of this section. 19 * Sec. 6. AS 47.14.100(e) is amended to read: 20 (e) When a child is removed from a parent's home, the department shall search 21 for an appropriate placement as provided under AS 47.10.145 [WITH AN ADULT 22 FAMILY MEMBER OR FAMILY FRIEND. A SUPERVISOR AT THE 23 DEPARTMENT SHALL CERTIFY IN WRITING IN THE CASE FILE WHETHER 24 THE DEPARTMENT HAS SEARCHED FOR AN APPROPRIATE PLACEMENT 25 WITH AN ADULT FAMILY MEMBER OR FAMILY FRIEND]. If the department 26 has not complied with the search requirements [UNDER THIS SUBSECTION], the 27 supervisor shall work to ensure that the department completes the search in the 28 shortest time feasible. The department shall place the child, in the absence of clear and 29 convincing evidence of good cause to the contrary, 30 (1) in the least restrictive setting that most closely approximates a 31 family and that meets the child's special needs, if any; 01 (2) within reasonable proximity to the child's home, taking into 02 account any special needs of the child and the preferences of the child or parent; 03 (3) with, in the following order of preference, 04 (A) an adult family member, or, if the child is under six years 05 of age and the department finds by clear and convincing evidence that it is 06 in the best interests of the child, a licensed foster home that has provided 07 at least 24 consecutive months of care to the child; 08 (B) a family friend who meets the foster care licensing 09 requirements established by the department; 10 (C) a licensed foster home that is not an adult family member 11 or family friend; 12 (D) an institution for children that has a program suitable to 13 meet the child's needs. 14 * Sec. 7. AS 47.14.100(m) is amended to read: 15 (m) Prima facie evidence of good cause not to place a child with an adult 16 family member or family friend under AS 47.10.088(i) or under (e) of this section 17 includes the failure to meet the requirements for a foster care license under AS 47.32 18 and regulations adopted under AS 47.32, taking into account a waiver, variance, or 19 exemption allowed under AS 47.32.030(a)(3) and 47.32.032. Prima facie evidence of 20 good cause not to place a child, or that it is not in the best interests of a child to 21 place the child, with an adult family member or adult family friend does not include 22 poverty or inadequate or crowded housing. If the department denies a request for 23 placement with an adult family member or a family friend, the department shall 24 inform the adult family member or family friend of the basis for the denial and the 25 right to request a hearing to review the decision. A non-party [ADULT FAMILY 26 MEMBER OR FAMILY FRIEND] requesting a review hearing under 27 AS 47.10.080(s), 47.10.088(i), [AS 47.10.088(i)] or [UNDER] (e) of this section is not 28 eligible for publicly appointed legal counsel. 29 * Sec. 8. AS 47.32.032 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 30 (d) The department shall assist an adult family member or family friend in 31 gathering the information necessary to submit a request for a variance under this 01 section. 02 (e) In this section, "department" means the Department of Family and 03 Community Services. 04 * Sec. 9. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.