Senate Bill 1341 Summary

• Establishes citizen review panels in each public health district with up to seven volunteer members to evaluate and recommend improvements to the child protection system for cases open longer than 120 days.

• Creates a Child Protection Legislative Review Panel composed of four House members (including representatives from health/welfare and judiciary committees) and four Senate members to review citizen panel reports and submit annual reports to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• Requires the Department to provide written notice to courts when foster care placements change, with supervisory approval required before changing placements after 60 days in a home.

• Revises court procedures to require consideration of child and youth preferences, sibling placement efforts, educational stability, psychotropic medication use, and reasonable efforts documentation at adjudicatory, review, and permanency hearings.

• Grants citizen review panel members access to department records related to child cases, with panels producing quarterly reports on trends and recommendations for system improvement.