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REFERENCE TITLE: foster children; endangerment |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session 2020
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SB 1681 |
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Introduced by Senator Farnsworth D
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AN ACT
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 8, chapter 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding article 15, to read:
ARTICLE 15. ENDANGERMENT OF FOSTER CHILDREN
8-901. Definitions
In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Tier 5 danger" means one or more of the following is true about the placement of a child:
(a) A foster parent or another adult member of the household is a registered sex offender.
(b) There is medical evidence of sexual abuse relevant to the time period that a child has been at the placement.
(c) More than one child HAS ALLEGED that something has occurred to the child at the placement that, if true, would constitute sexual abuse or molestation of a child.
2. "Tier 4 danger" means that one or more of the following is true about two or more children at a placement:
(a) A foster child has alleged that the foster child was a victim of sexual abuse at the placement.
(b) A foster child has alleged that the foster child was a victim of physical abuse at the placement.
(c) A foster child has alleged that the foster child witnessed abuse happening to another child.
(d) A foster child has expressed fear of returning to a placement.
(e) A foster parent or another adult living in the placement has been convicted of a criminal offense involving violence.
(f) A licensed THERAPIST or counselor report indicates that a child is experiencing emotional or mental abuse at the placement.
3. "Tier 3 danger" means any one of the following is true about the placement:
(a) A foster child has alleged that the foster child was a victim of sexual abuse at the placement.
(b) A foster child has alleged that the foster child was a victim of physical abuse at the placement.
(c) A foster child has alleged that the foster child witnessed abuse happening to another child.
(d) A foster child has expressed fear of returning to a placement.
(e) A foster parent or another adult living in the placement has been convicted of a criminal offense involving violence.
(f) A licensed THERAPIST or counselor report indicates that a child is experiencing emotional or mental abuse at the placement.
4. "Tier 2 danger" means two or more of the following are true about the placement:
(a) A juvenile at this placement is adjudicated delinquent for a violent or sexual offense.
(b) A call has been made to the department hotline about this placement or about one of the adult members of the household from someone other than a child living at the placement or one of the child's biological parents.
(c) One of the biological parents of a child at the placement signs an affidavit stating that the parent has seen bruises or marks on the child during the child's stay at the placement
(d) One of the biological parents of a child at the placement signs an affidavit stating that the child has told the parent that the child is being hit or injured at the placement.
(e) A child has previously gone missing from a placement involving one of these foster parents or one of the other adult members of the household.
(f) There is photographic or medical evidence of bruises, marks or other physical injury on a child from during the child's time at this placement.
8-902. Placement information file; change prohibition
A. The department shall keep a file on each foster care placement, unlicensed placement and congregate care placement that contains information that indicates the danger level of a placement. Information received by the department must be added to the relevant placement's file within twenty‑four hours after the department receives the information. This information includes all of the following:
1. The results of background checks for each adult member of the placement household against the list of registered sex offenders.
2. A copy of any medical evidence of sexual abuse of a child relevant to the time period when that child has been at this placement, along with the child's name and the date that the department received this information.
3. The full name of every child who has alleged that someone at the placement has done something to the child that, if true, would be considered sexual abuse or molestation of a child and the date that the department received this information.
4. A full record of all relevant statements made by a foster child about a sexual experience that happened to the child at the placement.
5. A copy of any medical records indicating possible sexual abuse of a foster child, including regular urinary tract infections, a prolapsed rectum, the presence of a sexually transmitted disease, internal damage to the rectum, internal damage to the vagina or bruising on the inner thigh.
6. The full name of any foster child who has alleged physical abuse at the placement, a full record of all relevant statements made by that child about what the child experienced as physically painful or abusive and any photographs and medical records.
7. The full name of any foster child who claims to have witnessed physical abuse occurring to another person at the placement, and a full record of all relevant statements made by that child about what abuse was witnessed and on whom it was inflicted.
8. The full name of any foster child who has expressed fear of returning to the child's current placement and the name and occupation of the person to whom the child expressed that fear. If the fear was expressed to a person other than an employee of this state or a court appointed special advocate, the department shall request that the person sign an affidavit, testifying that the person heard the child express fear of returning to the child's current placement. If the person is not willing to sign the affidavit, the claim may be excluded from the department's placement information file.
9. The full name of any adult living at the placement who has been convicted of a criminal offense involving violence in this state or any other state or jurisdiction, the date of conviction and the nature of the criminal offense.
10. A copy of any report from a licensed therapist or counselor indicating that a child is experiencing emotional or mental abuse at the placement.
11. The name of the delinquent juvenile who resides at a placement and a list of the type and severity of each criminal offense for which the juvenile was adjudicated delinquent.
12. A record of each call made to the department hotline about a placement or one of the adult members of the household.
13. A copy of any affidavit from a biological parent that states that the parent has seen bruises or marks on the parent's child during the child's stay at the placement.
14. A copy of any affidavit from a biological parent that states that the child has told the parent that the child is being hit or injured at the placement.
15. A record of any child who goes missing, what placement the child disappeared from and the full name of each of the adult members of that household.
16. A copy of all the photographic or medical evidence of bruises, marks or other physical injury on any child staying at the placement.
B. Information added to a file pursuant to this section may not be redacted, deleted or removed.
8-903. Placements; levels of danger; required actions
A. Children shall be kept safe from placements that constitute a tier 5 danger. If the department determines that a placement constitutes a tier 5 danger, the department shall do all of the following:
1. Remove all foster children from this placement within twenty‑four hours after making the determination.
2. If other children live in that household, declare that an emergency exists affecting the health or safety of a child, and within twenty‑four hours after making the determination take into custody all adopted and biological children living in that placement, pursuant to section 8-822, subsection D.
3. Within one week after making the determination, revoke the foster home license of any adult member of the household who has previously been granted a foster home license and ban all adults of the household from obtaining a foster home license in this state in the future.
B. Children shall be kept safe from placements that constitute a tier 4 danger. If the department determines that a placement constitutes a tier 4 danger, the department shall do all of the following within forty‑eight hours after making the determination:
1. Remove all foster children from this placement.
2. If other children live in that household, declare that an emergency exists affecting the health or safety of a child and take into custody all adopted and biological children living in that household pursuant to section 8-822, subsection D.
3. Revoke the foster home license of any adult member of the household who has previously been granted a foster home license and ban all adults of the household from obtaining a foster home license in this state in the future.
C. Children shall be kept safe from placements that constitute a tier 3 danger. If the department determines that a placement constitutes a tier 3 danger, the department shall do all of the following:
1. Within twenty‑four hours after making the determination remove the alleged victim of abuse, the foster child who expressed fear of returning to the placement or the child who is reported to be experiencing emotional abuse, depending on which of these situations is the basis of the determination that the placement constitutes a Tier 3 danger.
2. Within one week after making the determination, privately interview each of the children living at the placement and record the full conversation. This recording must be kept on file.
3. Inform the child that the child has the right to leave and be given a better placement if the people at the present placement are not enabling the child to thrive. The child safety worker shall ask the child: "Yes or no – would you like to leave this place?" If the child does not answer yes or no, the child safety worker shall reassure the child that the child may take a few minutes to think about the question and decide which option to choose. After ten minutes the child safety worker shall state the question again. If the child answers:
(a) "No" or does not otherwise answer affirmatively, the child shall be allowed to stay at the placement.
(b) If the child answers affirmatively, indicating that the child wants to leave the placement, the child safety worker shall transport the child and the child's belongings away from the placement when the child safety worker leaves the location.
4. If two-thirds or more of the children living at the placement indicate that they want to leave the placement, revoke the foster home license and remove all foster children at that placement.
D. Children shall be kept safe from placements that constitute a tier 2 danger. If the department determines that a placement constitutes a tier 2 danger, the department shall do all of the following:
1. Within one week after making the determination, privately interview each of the children living at the placement and record the full conversation. This recording must be kept on file.
2. Inform the child that the child has the right to leave and be given a better placement if the people at the present placement are not enabling the child to thrive. The child safety worker shall ask the child: "Yes or no — would you like to leave this place?" If the child does not answer yes or no, the child safety worker shall reassure the child that the child may take a few minutes to think about the question and decide which option to choose. After ten minutes the child safety worker shall state the question again. If the child answers:
(a) "No" or does not otherwise answer affirmatively, the child shall be allowed to stay at the placement.
(b) If the child answers affirmatively, indicating that the child wants to leave the placement, the child safety worker shall transport the child and the child's belongings away from the placement when the child safety worker leaves the location.
3. If two-thirds or more of the children living at the placement indicate that they want to leave the placement, revoke the foster home license and remove all foster children at that placement.
8-904. Violations; classification
A. A child safety worker who does not add information to the placement information file required by section 8‑902 within forty‑eight hours after the information is received by the department is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.
B. If the department determines that a placement constitutes a tier 2 danger, a tier 3 danger or a tier 4 danger, a child safety worker who is responsible for a child in the placement and who fails to remove the child as required by section 8‑903 is guilty of a class 3 felony.
C. If the department determines that a placement constitutes a tier 5 danger, a child safety worker who is responsible for a child in the placement and who fails to remove all of the children in that placement as required by section 8‑903 is guilty of a class 2 felony.
D. If the department determines that a placement constitutes a tier 3 danger, a child safety worker who is responsible for a child in the placement and who fails to interview the child at the placement as required by section 8‑903 is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.