HB 23-1024 Summary

• Establishes presumption that placement of children with capable, willing, and available relatives or kin is in the child's best interests, rebuttable only by preponderance of evidence giving primary consideration to the child's mental, physical, and emotional needs.

• Requires county departments to exercise due diligence contacting relatives and kin within 30 days of child removal and provide comprehensive notice about placement options, reunification services, financial assistance programs, and foster care certification requirements.

• Grants relative and kin caregivers explicit rights including dignity and respect as team members, access to training and support, information about after-hours contacts, and financial assistance information.

• Prohibits courts from denying kinship placement based solely on home size, socioeconomic status, foster parent bonding, immigration status, or caregiver age/disability unless child's mental, physical, or emotional health/safety is threatened.

• Appropriates $13,879 from the general fund for the 2023-24 fiscal year to the Department of Human Services Division of Child Welfare to implement the act, with anticipated $7,473 in federal funds.