Effective - 28 Aug 2022, 5 histories
210.565. Relatives of child shall be given foster home placement, when — definitions — order of preference — specific findings required, when — sibling placement — age of relative not a factor, when — federal requirements to be followed for placement of Native American children — waiver of certain standards, when — GAL to ascertain child's wishes, when. — 1. Whenever a child is placed in a foster home and the court has determined pursuant to subsection 4 of this section that foster home placement with relatives is not contrary to the best interest of the child, the children's division shall give foster home placement to relatives of the child. Notwithstanding any rule of the division to the contrary, the children's division shall complete a diligent search to locate and notify the grandparents, adult siblings, parents of siblings of the child, and all other relatives and determine whether they wish to be considered for placement of the child. Grandparents who request consideration shall be given preference and first consideration for foster home placement of the child. If more than one grandparent requests consideration, the family support team shall make recommendations to the juvenile or family court about which grandparent should be considered for placement.
2. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Adult sibling", any brother or sister of whole or half-blood who is at least eighteen years of age;
(2) "Relative", a grandparent or any other person related to another by blood or affinity or a person who is not so related to the child but has a close relationship with the child or the child's family. The status of a grandparent shall not be affected by the death or the dissolution of the marriage of a son or daughter;
(3) "Sibling", one of two or more individuals who have one or both parents in common through blood, marriage, or adoption, including siblings as defined by the child's tribal code or custom.
3. The following shall be the order or preference for placement of a child under this section:
(1) Grandparents;
(2) Adult siblings or parents of siblings;
(3) Relatives related by blood or affinity within the third degree;
(4) Other relatives; and
(5) Any foster parent who is currently licensed and capable of accepting placement of the child.
4. The preference for placement and first consideration for grandparents or preference for placement with other relatives created by this section shall only apply where the court finds that placement with such grandparents or other relatives is not contrary to the best interest of the child considering all circumstances. If the court finds that it is contrary to the best interest of a child to be placed with grandparents or other relatives, the court shall make specific findings on the record detailing the reasons why the best interests of the child necessitate placement of the child with persons other than grandparents or other relatives.
5. Recognizing the critical nature of sibling bonds for children, the children's division shall make reasonable efforts to place siblings in the same foster care, kinship, guardianship, or adoptive placement, unless doing so would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings. If siblings are not placed together, the children's division shall make reasonable efforts to provide frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction between the siblings, unless this interaction would be contrary to a sibling's safety or well-being.
6. The age of the child's grandparent or other relative shall not be the only factor that the children's division takes into consideration when it makes placement decisions and recommendations to the court about placing the child with such grandparent or other relative.
7. For any Native American child placed in protective custody, the children's division shall comply with the placement requirements set forth in 25 U.S.C. Section 1915.
8. A grandparent or other relative may, on a case-by-case basis, have standards for licensure not related to safety waived for specific children in care that would otherwise impede licensing of the grandparent's or relative's home. In addition, any person receiving a preference may be licensed in an expedited manner if a child is placed under such person's care.
9. The guardian ad litem shall ascertain the child's wishes and feelings about his or her placement by conducting an interview or interviews with the child, if appropriate based on the child's age and maturity level, which shall be considered as a factor in placement decisions and recommendations, but shall not supersede the preference for relative placement created by this section or be contrary to the child's best interests.
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(L. 1990 H.B. 1370, et al., A.L. 1994 H.B. 1547 & 961, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1453 merged with S.B. 762, A.L. 2009 H.B. 154, A.L. 2011 H.B. 431 merged with H.B. 604, A.L. 2017 S.B. 160, A.L. 2019 H.B. 397, A.L. 2022 S.B. 683)
Structure Missouri Revised Statutes
Title XII - Public Health and Welfare
Chapter 210 - Child Protection and Reformation
Section 210.004 - Law enforcement agencies, record of custody of child.
Section 210.027 - Direct payment recipients, child care providers — department's duties.
Section 210.030 - Blood tests of pregnant women.
Section 210.040 - Blood test results — confidential.
Section 210.050 - Reporting required.
Section 210.060 - Noncompliance a misdemeanor — penalty.
Section 210.070 - Prophylactic eye drops at birth — objection to, when.
Section 210.080 - Report of infant eye inflammation, by whom.
Section 210.100 - Violation a misdemeanor.
Section 210.108 - Dominic James Memorial Foster Care Reform Act, statutes involved.
Section 210.110 - Definitions.
Section 210.113 - Accreditation goal, when to be achieved.
Section 210.114 - Qualified immunity for private contractor, when — exceptions.
Section 210.116 - Sharing of information with child welfare agencies and law enforcement, when.
Section 210.117 - Child not reunited with parents or placed in a home, when.
Section 210.120 - Medical institution staff members, duties of.
Section 210.127 - Diligent search for biological parents required, when.
Section 210.130 - Oral reports, when and where made — contents of reports.
Section 210.135 - Immunity from liability, when — exception — preliminary evaluation required, when.
Section 210.140 - Privileged communication not recognized, exception.
Section 210.150 - Confidentiality of reports and records, exceptions — violations, penalty.
Section 210.165 - Penalty for violation.
Section 210.166 - Medical neglect of child, who may bring action — procedure.
Section 210.171 - Definitions.
Section 210.172 - Powers and duties of board.
Section 210.180 - Division employees to be trained.
Section 210.183 - Alleged perpetrator to be provided written description of investigation process.
Section 210.188 - Report to general assembly and governor, contents.
Section 210.194 - Rules, guidelines and protocols — confidentiality requirements.
Section 210.201 - Definitions.
Section 210.203 - Complaints against child care facilities, open records to be kept by department.
Section 210.231 - Department of elementary and secondary education may delegate powers.
Section 210.241 - Judicial review.
Section 210.256 - Violations, penalties — injunction, procedure.
Section 210.257 - Rules, procedure to adopt.
Section 210.278 - Exempt from licensure, when.
Section 210.481 - Definitions.
Section 210.484 - Residential care facilities license required.
Section 210.496 - Refusal to issue, suspension or revocation of licenses — grounds.
Section 210.501 - Application for licensure, form, contents.
Section 210.506 - Rules, procedure — promulgation, persons to be consulted.
Section 210.516 - Exceptions to license requirement — division may not require documentation.
Section 210.521 - Assistance for division in licensure of foster homes.
Section 210.531 - Violations or false statements, penalty.
Section 210.537 - County foster parent associations may be established, duties of division.
Section 210.539 - State health insurance, foster parents may purchase, when.
Section 210.543 - Specialized foster parents, training, fiscal incentives.
Section 210.545 - Respite care facilities for foster families — rules and regulations — procedure.
Section 210.564 - Citation of law — foster care bill of rights.
Section 210.566 - Foster parents' bill of rights.
Section 210.570 - Text of compact.
Section 210.580 - Compact binding, when.
Section 210.590 - Courts and agencies to cooperate to promote purposes of compact.
Section 210.620 - Compact enacted, text of compact.
Section 210.620 - Compact enacted, text of compact.
Section 210.625 - Financial responsibility for child, how fixed.
Section 210.625 - Financial responsibility for child, how fixed.
Section 210.630 - Definitions — governor's appointment of administrator authorized.
Section 210.635 - Placement authority of courts, retention of jurisdiction.
Section 210.635 - Placement authority of courts, retention of jurisdiction.
Section 210.640 - Placements from nonparty states, procedure for.
Section 210.640 - Placements from nonparty states, procedure for.
Section 210.650 - Contingent effective date.
Section 210.652 - Electronic exchanging of data and documents.
Section 210.680 - Rulemaking authority.
Section 210.761 - Right to testify at foster care hearings, qualifications, limitation.
Section 210.762 - Family support team meetings to be held, when — who may attend — form to be used.
Section 210.764 - Certain case records available for review by parents or guardians.
Section 210.790 - Foster parent standing for court proceedings.
Section 210.817 - Definitions.
Section 210.818 - Relationship not dependent on marriage.
Section 210.819 - Parent and child relationship, how established.
Section 210.822 - Presumption of paternity — rebuttal of presumption, standard of proof.
Section 210.828 - Statute of limitations, exception — notification form required, when.
Section 210.829 - Jurisdiction, venue, severance — effect of failure to join action for necessaries.
Section 210.830 - Parties — guardian ad litem, when appointed.
Section 210.834 - Blood tests — expert defined.
Section 210.836 - Evidence relating to paternity.
Section 210.838 - Pretrial recommendation — actions, effect of party's refusal to accept.
Section 210.841 - Judgment or order, contents — amount of support, presumption.
Section 210.844 - Applicability of certain statutes.
Section 210.845 - Modification of decree, when — procedure, burden.
Section 210.846 - Hearings and records, confidentiality — inspection allowed, when.
Section 210.848 - Action to declare mother and child relationship.
Section 210.849 - Birth records.
Section 210.850 - Uniformity of application and construction.
Section 210.851 - Citation of law.
Section 210.852 - Application to actions commenced prior to effective date.
Section 210.853 - Parenting plan in paternity actions.
Section 210.875 - Children's services commission study, purpose.
Section 210.877 - Courts and agencies to provide information.
Section 210.900 - Definitions.
Section 210.903 - Family care safety registry and access line established, contents.
Section 210.912 - Right to appeal, procedure.
Section 210.915 - Departmental collaboration on registry information — rulemaking authority.
Section 210.918 - Toll-free telephone service maintained for access to information.
Section 210.922 - Use of registry information by certain departments, when.
Section 210.924 - Rulemaking authority.
Section 210.927 - Annual report, when, contents.
Section 210.936 - Registry information deemed public record.
Section 210.1030 - Task force created, members, duties — termination date.
Section 210.1210 - Policy recommendations.
Section 210.1250 - Citation of law.
Section 210.1253 - Definitions.
Section 210.1259 - Director of facility to provide notice — facility registration — inapplicability.
Section 210.1262 - Notification, filing, contents.
Section 210.1263 - Background checks required, when.
Section 210.1265 - Fire, safety, health, and sanitation inspections, facility to comply.
Section 210.1268 - Operation without proper notification, court injunction, when.
Section 210.1280 - Facility compliance list to be maintained, contents.
Section 210.1283 - Failure to complete a background check, penalty.