No. HB 435
Placement of Child in Certified Domestic Violence Center; Provides that certified domestic violence center may be considered placement priority for child; provides that DCF does not have to provide home study to court if placing child in certified domestic violence center; authorizes court to place child & his or her proposed legal custodian in certified domestic violence center; provides that placement of minor in certified domestic violence center constitutes at-risk placement; authorizes certified domestic violence center to serve as temporary legal residence for minor; waiving preliminary home study requirements; provides that department is not required to conduct in-person home study of certified domestic violence center; provides construction; prohibits department from compelling minor to return to previously approved residence if certain conditions are met; requires court to consider totality of circumstances & not make certain assumptions.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA court may place a child together with a parent, relative, or other court-approved adult at a certified domestic violence center when the child can safely stay with that person but not at the old home, if the adult is fleeing domestic violence.
The Department of Children and Families no longer has to complete a home study before recommending placement in a licensed shelter, foster home, or now a certified domestic violence center.
In a domestic violence emergency, a certified center can become a minor's temporary legal residence in an adoption case. The state can accept the center's own certification or a signed board affidavit instead of an in-person home study.
The department cannot force a child back to a previously approved home once specific fleeing-domestic-violence conditions are met, and a court cannot assume the old home is better just because it passed an earlier home study.
AIIf a child can safely remain with a parent, relative, or other court-approved adult but cannot safely live at the former home, the court may place the child and that adult together at a certified domestic violence center, provided the adult is fleeing domestic violence, the center is certified, DCF is notified within 24 hours, and the center coordinates with DCF.
AIBefore recommending an out-of-home placement, DCF must normally study the home of the proposed custodians first. That requirement no longer applies when the placement is in a licensed shelter, foster home, or now a certified domestic violence center.
AIIn an emergency domestic violence situation, a certified domestic violence center may become a minor's temporary legal residence in an adoption case, with the normal preliminary home study temporarily waived if one is initiated within 15 business days and finalized within 30.
AIInstead of visiting a certified domestic violence center in person, DCF may rely on the center's existing certification as proof of baseline safety, or accept a signed affidavit from the center's board of directors describing the minor's living conditions and supervision.
AIOnce a child is safely placed with a relative, parent, or approved adult who is fleeing domestic violence at a certified center that meets licensing standards and whose board affirms the placement is appropriate, DCF may not compel the child to return to a previously approved residence.
AIThe definition of 'shelter,' the term used throughout dependency law for a child's temporary placement, now includes a domestic violence center certified under the statute, alongside relatives, nonrelatives, and licensed homes or facilities. The community-based care placement-preference list gains the same option as its eighth and last-listed choice.