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Utah Code § 62A-4a-206
Utah
Code
Title
62A. Utah Human Services Code
Chapter
4A. Child and Family Services
Part
2. Child Welfare Services
§ 62A-4a-206. Process for removal of a child from foster family--Procedural due process
(1)(a) The Legislature finds that, except with regard to a child's natural
parent or legal guardian, a foster family has a very limited but recognized
interest in its familial relationship with a foster child who has been
in the care and custody of that family. In making determinations
regarding removal of a child from a foster home, the division may not
dismiss the foster family as a mere collection of unrelated individuals.
(b)
The Legislature finds that children in the temporary custody and custody
of the division are experiencing multiple changes in foster care placements
with little or no documentation, and that numerous studies of child growth
and development emphasize the importance of stability in foster care living
arrangements.
(c)
For the reasons described in Subsections (1)(a) and (b), the division
shall provide procedural due process for a foster family prior to removal
of a foster child from their home, regardless of the length of time the
child has been in that home, unless removal is for the purpose of:
(i)
returning the child to the child's natural parent or legal guardian;
(ii)
immediately placing the child in an approved adoptive home;
(iii)
placing the child with a relative, as defined in Subsection 78-3a-307(5)(d),
who obtained custody or asserted an interest in the child within the preference
period described in Subsection 78-3a-307(8); or
(iv)
placing an Indian child in accordance with preplacement preferences and
other requirements described in the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C.
Sec. 1915.
(2)(a)
The division shall maintain and utilize due process procedures for removal
of a foster child from a foster home, in accordance with the procedures
and requirements of Title 63, Chapter 46b, Administrative Procedures Act.
(b)
Those procedures shall include requirements for:
(i)
personal communication with and explanation to foster parents prior to
removal
of the child; and
(ii)
an opportunity for foster parents to present their information and concerns
to the division and to request a review by a third party neutral fact
finder prior to removal of the child.
(c)
If the division determines that there is a reasonable basis to believe
that the child is in danger or that there is a substantial threat of danger
to the health or welfare of the child, it shall place the child in emergency
foster care during the pendency of the procedures described in this subsection,
instead of making another foster care placement.
(3)
If the division removes a child from a foster home based upon the child's
statement alone, the division shall initiate and expedite the processes
described in Subsection (2). The division may take no formal action
with regard to that foster parent's license until after those processes,
in addition to any other procedure or hearing required by law, have been
completed.
(4)
When a complaint is made to the division by a foster child against a foster
parent, the division shall, within 30 business days, provide the foster
parent with information regarding the specific nature of the complaint,
the time and place
of the alleged incident, and who was alleged to have been involved.
(5)
Whenever the division places a child in a foster home, it shall provide
the foster parents with:
(a)
notification of the requirements of this section;
(b)
a written description of the procedures enacted by the division pursuant
to Subsection (2) and how to access those processes; and
(c)
written notification of the foster parents' ability to petition the juvenile
court directly for review of a decision to remove a foster child who has
been in their custody for 12 months or longer, in accordance with the
limitations and requirements of Section 78-3a-315.
(6)
The requirements of this section do not apply to the removal of a child
based on a foster parent's request for that removal.
Laws
1994, c. 260, § 34; Laws 1995, c. 302, § 13,
eff. May 1, 1995; Laws 1998, c. 274, § 14, eff.
July 1, 1998; Laws 2002, c. 306, § 2, eff. May
6, 2002.
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