Senate Bill 1032 Summary

• Extends court jurisdiction over children in Department of Health and Welfare custody for up to two (2) years beyond the child's eighteenth birthday if the child consents and the continuation is in the child's best interest.

• Permits parents or guardians with disabilities to present evidence at adjudicatory hearings regarding how adaptive equipment or supportive services may enable them to carry out parenting responsibilities.

• Expands the definition of "child" in foster care to include persons under age twenty (20) who are completing secondary education, enrolled in postsecondary/vocational education, participating in employment-focused programs, employed at least eighty (80) hours per month, or incapable of these activities due to a documented medical condition.

• Authorizes the Department of Health and Welfare to provide transitional services to youth continuing in state legal custody to assist them in transitioning to adulthood and to seek federal funding for these programs.

• Establishes placement priority preferences requiring the department to consider placing children with fit and willing relatives first, followed by nonrelatives with significant relationships, then licensed foster parents.