ME LD1409

Non-relative foster parents who have had a child placed in their home continuously for one year or more must be granted the same rights as adult relatives of the child

Amends Maine's kinship preference statute (22 MRSA §4005-G) to add foster parent rights as a new exception to the general preference for placing children with adult relatives

Department of Health and Human Services is required to consider qualifying long-term foster parents equivalent to relatives when making placement decisions

Current law gives preference to adult relatives over non-related caregivers when determining child placement, provided relatives meet state child protection standards