File No. 492

Senate, April 12, 2006

The Committee on Judiciary reported through SEN. MCDONALD of the 27th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING GRANDPARENT NOTIFICATION WHEN A CHILD IS REMOVED FROM THE HOME.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2006) If the Commissioner of Children and Families removes a child from the custody of a parent, the commissioner shall use best efforts to identify and notify the grandparents of the child not later than fifteen days after the child is removed from the home. A grandparent may provide contact information to the commissioner for the purposes of such notice if the child is the subject of an investigation by the commissioner or has been, or is under, the care or supervision of the commissioner.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either House thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

Provisions in the bill are sufficiently similar to a Juan F. Consent Decree Exit Plan outcome measure¹ to preclude a fiscal impact. In FY 05 the agency paid $2,846 to a private investigative service assisting in relative searches. FY 06 payments to date equal $8,874.

The Out Years

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None



OLR Bill Analysis

sSB 366

AN ACT CONCERNING GRANDPARENT NOTIFICATION WHEN A CHILD IS REMOVED FROM THE HOME.

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Department of Children and Families commissioner to use her best efforts to identify and notify a child's grandparents when she removes him from a parent's home. She must do so no later than 15 days after the removal.

Grandparents may give the commissioner their contact information in order to be notified about the removal of a child (1) currently the subject of an abuse or neglect investigation or (2) who has been, or is, under the department's care or supervision

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2006

COMMITTEE ACTION

Select Committee on Children

Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference

Human Services Committee

Joint Favorable Change of Reference

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable

¹ “Search For Relatives – For at least 85% of children in placement, DCF shall conduct searches for relatives, extended or informal networks, friends, family, former foster parents or other significant persons known to the child.” In the most recent findings of the DCF Court Monitor, the agency completed the relative search for 89.6% of children in placement as reviewed at the first six-month administrative case review following removal.