Bill Text: MI HB4649 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Human services; foster parents; resource families bill of rights; create. Amends sec. 3 of 1994 PA 203 (MCL 722.953) & adds sec. 8a.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-12-31 - Assigned Pa 524'14 With Immediate Effect 2014 Addenda [HB4649 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2013-HB4649-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 4649
April 30, 2013, Introduced by Rep. Cotter and referred to the Committee on Families, Children, and Seniors.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 203, entitled
"Foster care and adoption services act,"
by amending section 3 (MCL 722.953) and by adding section 8a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 3. The purposes of this act are all of the following:
(a) To assist foster parents to provide a stable, loving
family environment for children who are placed outside of their
homes on a temporary basis.
(b) To help eliminate barriers to the adoption of children and
to promote the provision of a stable and loving family environment
to children who are without permanent families.
(c) To promote the well-being and safety of all children who
receive foster care or are adopted under the laws of this state.
(d) To protect and assist prospective adoptive families as
they negotiate the adoption process.
(e) To regulate child placing agencies who certify foster
parents and serve adoptees and adoptive families in this state.
(f) To regulate adoption attorneys who facilitate direct
placement adoptions.
(g) To provide foster parents with the rights described in
section 8a.
Sec. 8a. (1) This section shall be known and may be cited as
the "resource families bill of rights law".
(2) The department shall ensure that each foster parent has
all of the following rights:
(a) The right to be treated with dignity, respect, trust, and
consideration as a person caring for the child's welfare.
(b) The right to receive explanation and clarification
regarding expectations and role of the supervising agency and to
receive evaluation and feedback on the role of foster care parent.
(c) The right to receive the necessary training and support to
enable the foster parent to provide quality services to the
children in his or her care, including reasonable relief and
respite as allowed by the supervising agency resources, access to
the supervising agency staff for assistance dealing with family
loss and separation when a child leaves the foster parent's home,
and access to available advocacy services to help support the
foster parent in his or her role as caregiver.
(d) The right of access to the appropriate supervising agency
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for emergency information and
assistance for children in the foster parent's care.
(e) The right to receive timely financial reimbursement for
foster children in the foster parent's care.
(f) The right to receive information concerning the
supervising agency's policies and procedures, changes to those
policies or procedures related to the role as a foster parent or
the children in the foster parent's care, or information contained
in the foster parent's record, as allowed by law.
(g) The right to information on the policies developed by the
supervising agency that are designed to support and aid foster,
kinship, and adoptive families relative to foster care and adoptive
placement.
(h) The right to a fair, timely, and impartial investigation
of complaints concerning the foster parent's licensure, the right
to have a person of the foster parent's choosing present during an
investigation, and due process during the investigation.
(i) The right to request and receive mediation or an
administrative review of decisions affecting licensing parameters,
or to have both mediation and administrative review.
(j) The right to have decisions concerning a licensing
corrective action plan specifically tied to the licensing standard
violated.
(k) The right to copies of all information relative to the
foster family and services contained in the personal foster home or
foster parent records.
(l) The right to receive information about, and have access to,
local and statewide support groups, including local and statewide
foster, kinship, and adoptive parent associations.
(m) The right to be notified in advance whenever possible
about plans for placing a child with the foster parent.
(n) The right to receive information before placement of the
child, regarding the child's behavior, background, health history,
or other issues relative to the child that may jeopardize the
health and safety of the foster family or alter the manner in which
foster care should be provided. In an emergency situation, the
supervising agency shall provide information as soon as it is
available.
(o) The right to refuse placement of a child into the foster
home or to request, upon reasonable notice, the removal of a child
from the foster home without fear of reprisal or adverse effect on
assignments of future foster children or adoptive placements.
(p) The right to receive information through the supervising
agency regarding the number of times a foster child has been moved,
the reason for the move, and names and telephone numbers of
previous foster parents, if the previous foster parent has
authorized release of that information.
(q) The right to be given advance notice of a child's removal
in order to prepare the child and foster family members, except in
an emergency situation where there is evidence of mistreatment.
(r) The right to be notified of meetings and staffing
concerning the foster child to enable the foster parent to be an
active and respected participant in the case planning and decision-
making process regarding the child, including, but not limited to,
all of the following:
(i) Individual service planning meetings.
(ii) Administrative case reviews.
(iii) Interdisciplinary staffing.
(iv) Individual education planning meetings.
(s) The right to participate in any meeting, to be informed of
decisions made by the court or the supervising agency concerning
the child, to provide input concerning the service plan for the
child, and to have that input given full consideration in the same
manner as information from other professionals working with the
foster child within the context of the foster care, including
therapists, physicians, and teachers.
(t) The right to receive a copy of the supervising agency's
placement and service plan concerning the child's care in the
foster parent's home and to participate in and receive service plan
revisions as well as any other information relevant to the child's
care, including subsequent revisions to the case plan in a timely
manner. Foster parents are to be meaningful participants in the
development or revision, or both, of the case plan for the foster
child in that foster parent's home. Service plans must be provided
within 10 days after a foster parent's written request.
(u) The right to be given timely and complete written notice
of all court proceedings, including notice of the hearing date,
time, and location, the name of the judge or hearing officer
assigned to the case, and the court docket number as well as the
right to full participation in court hearings.
(v) The right to submit factual written statements to the
court as provided by law, as well as the right to be heard at court
hearings regarding the foster child in the forest parent's care.
(w) The right to be considered as a foster care option when a
child formerly placed with the foster parent is reentering foster
care and the right to be considered when a child previously placed
in the foster parent's home becomes available for adoption, if
relative placement is not available and the placement is consistent
with the best interest of the child and other children in the
foster parent's home.
