(a) Order required.--Notwithstanding sections 6324 (relating to taking into custody) and 6351(a) (relating to disposition of dependent child), if a county agency petitions the court for removal of a child because the foster parent has been convicted of an offense set forth in 23 Pa.C.S. § 6344(c) (relating to employees having contact with children; adoptive and foster parents), the court shall immediately enter an order removing the child from the foster parent.
(b) Limitation on placement.--If a court enters an order under subsection (a), the following apply:
(1) Except as set forth in paragraph (2), the court may, under section 6351(a), enter an order of disposition best suited to the child's safety; protection; and physical, mental and moral welfare.
(2) Notwithstanding section 6351(a), if the court finds that the foster parent has been convicted of an offense set forth in 23 Pa.C.S. § 6344(c), the court has no authority to place or return the child to the foster parent who was named in the petition filed by the county agency under subsection (a).
(Oct. 31, 2003, P.L.200, No.31, eff. 60 days; Oct. 22, 2014, P.L.2529, No.153, eff. Dec. 31, 2014)
2014 Amendment. Act 153 amended subsec. (a).
2003 Amendment. Act 31 added section 6351.1. Section 3 of Act 31 provided that section 6351.1 shall apply to petitions filed on or after the effective date of section 3.
Structure Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Title 42 - JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
Section 6301 - Short title and purposes of chapter
Section 6303 - Scope of chapter
Section 6304 - Powers and duties of probation officers
Section 6304.1 - Summary offenses
Section 6306 - Costs and expenses of care of child
Section 6307 - Inspection of court files and records
Section 6308 - Law enforcement records
Section 6309 - Juvenile history record information
Section 6310 - Parental participation
Section 6311 - Guardian ad litem for child in court proceedings
Section 6321 - Commencement of proceedings
Section 6322 - Transfer from criminal proceedings
Section 6323 - Informal adjustment
Section 6324 - Taking into custody
Section 6325 - Detention of child
Section 6326 - Release or delivery to court
Section 6327 - Place of detention
Section 6328 - Dependency in lieu of delinquency
Section 6331 - Release from detention or commencement of proceedings
Section 6332 - Informal hearing
Section 6335 - Release or holding of hearing
Section 6336 - Conduct of hearings
Section 6336.1 - Notice and hearing
Section 6336.2 - Use of restraints on children during court proceedings
Section 6337 - Right to counsel
Section 6337.1 - Right to counsel for children in dependency and delinquency proceedings
Section 6338 - Other basic rights
Section 6339 - Investigation and report
Section 6342 - Court-appointed special advocates
Section 6351 - Disposition of dependent child
Section 6351.1 - Authority of court upon petition to remove child from foster parent
Section 6352 - Disposition of delinquent child
Section 6352.1 - Treatment records
Section 6352.2 - Interagency information sharing
Section 6353 - Limitation on and change in place of commitment
Section 6354 - Effect of adjudication
Section 6355 - Transfer to criminal proceedings
Section 6356 - Disposition of mentally ill or mentally retarded child
Section 6357 - Rights and duties of legal custodian
Section 6358 - Assessment of delinquent children by the State Sexual Offenders Assessment Board
Section 6361 - Disposition of nonresident child
Section 6362 - Disposition of resident child received from another state
Section 6363 - Ordering foreign supervision
Section 6364 - Supervision under foreign order
Section 6365 - Powers of foreign probation officers
Section 6372 - Juvenile Court Judges' Commission
Section 6373 - Powers and duties