SB 2792 Summary

• Waives adoption filing fees for cases involving the Department of Child Protection Services from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2027, and permanently thereafter.

• Requires summons to be issued and served on children age 12 or older in involuntary termination of parental rights proceedings, mandates counsel representation for such children, and requires courts to consider children's preferences if age 14 or older; establishes 90-day deadline for hearings.

• Requires courts to accept a parent's written voluntary release terminating parental rights if minimum requirements are met, and establishes the release as a waiver of the parent's right to a hearing on acceptance.

• Mandates youth court judges appoint counsel for indigent custodial parents in abuse, neglect, or termination cases; allows appointment for noncustodial parents with significant custodial relationships; creates the "Juvenile Court Representation Fund" from fees paid by financially able parents.

• Revises the definition of "neglected child" to specify failure to provide food, clothing, or shelter necessary to sustain life or health, excluding failures caused by financial inability unless relief services were offered and refused; creates list of compelling reasons why termination of parental rights may not be in a child's best interest.