HB2671

THE CONTEXT: Kinship Foster Care The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) established kinship foster care services to promote placement of a child in the custody of DCS with the child's relative. Kinship foster care parents may be eligible to receive full foster care financial benefits and temporary financial assistance.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would state kinship foster care services to promote placing the child in kinship foster care with their relative, an extended family member or a person with a significant relationship to the child, add extended family members to the possible kinship placements to be identified, notified and involved with the mandatory due diligence search by DCS when a child is in their temporary custody, and specifies that extended family members and a person with a significant relationship with the child must also be included in all required documentation to the court, including documents on potential kinship placement and on completed due diligence search efforts.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to make the government process for dcs more definite and accountable. It would state kinship foster care services to promote placing the child in kinship foster care with their relative, an extended family member or a person with a significant relationship to the child, and would also add extended family members to the possible kinship placements to be identified, notified and involved with the mandatory due diligence search by DCS when a child is in their temporary custody, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.