AZ SB1458

Requires director approval (in writing) before placing children under 12 in congregate care settings, except for shelter placements under 72 hours, with approval limited to four specified reasons: sibling placement, placement with a parent in state custody, addressing documented exceptional needs, or completing a placement evaluation.

Mandates the department assemble a family and service team within 72 hours of congregate care placement to assess the child's needs, identify family-like placement alternatives, and recommend the least restrictive appropriate setting while documenting all determinations and any disagreements.

Requires the department to develop a family recruitment plan within 30 days if the child's team recommends congregate care due to lack of available family-like settings, along with an age-appropriate assessment and child-specific congregate care implementation plan.

Adds reporting requirements for semiannual data on children under 12 in congregate care, including placement type, length of stay, ethnicity, age, reasons for placement, and whether a family recruitment plan exists.

Defines key terms including "congregate care" (group facilities for unrelated children), "family-like setting" (foster homes or relative placements), and exempts qualified residential treatment programs from the new requirements.