All Roll Calls
Yes: 212 • No: 25
ConnecticutSB 013112025 Regular SessionSenate
AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
Sponsored By: Committee on Children
Signed by Governor
Summary
To (1) require criminal history searches and records checks for relative and fictive kin caregivers upon emergency placement of children with such caregivers by the Department of Children and Families, (2) permit certain youths previously committed to the care and custody of the Commissioner of Children and Families to reenter care, (3) require disclosure of Department of Children and Families records to the Department of Developmental Services and the Office of Policy and Management for certain purposes, (4) expand the definition of "child care facility" for purposes of licensure by the Department of Children and Families to include certain congregate care settings for individuals who require special education, until the end of the school year in which such individuals turn twenty-two years of age, (5) require the Department of Children and Families to develop a Foster Parent Bill of Rights and incorporate such bill of rights into department policy, and (6) revise the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
children
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
11 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 2 costs, 5 mixed.
Care settings cover more young people
Beginning July 1, 2025, Connecticut expands the definition of covered, department-licensed out-of-home care settings. It includes people under 21 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. It also includes people needing special education through the school year when they turn 22. This expands who these settings can cover; it does not promise a placement or cash payment.
Young adults can return to care
Beginning July 1, 2025, young adults previously committed to Connecticut's Department of Children and Families can request reentry after declining continued care at 18. They must apply at least 60 days before turning 21. Eligibility requires full-time secondary or equivalent schooling, college, vocational education, or an approved employment-preparation program. The department can waive full-time requirements for compelling circumstances. It may require a written agreement and must seek juvenile court review within 60 days after signing.
Foster families get a rights policy
Connecticut's child-welfare department must consult caregivers and adopt a foster parent bill of rights by January 1, 2026. The policy must state guiding principles and address the rights and duties of caregivers, foster children, and the department. It must follow federal and state law. The mandate takes effect July 1, 2025.
Agencies can share child-welfare investigation records
Beginning July 1, 2025, Connecticut's child-welfare department can share records with the Department of Developmental Services. This permission supports investigations authorized by the state's specified investigation law. It creates no direct household payment.
Prospective adoptive parents need state licenses
Beginning July 1, 2025, prospective adoptive parents covered by this requirement must get a license from Connecticut's child-welfare department. This adds a licensing step before adoption. The law specifies no fee in this provision.
States pay interstate placement compact costs
The Interstate Commission can charge member states annual assessments covering its approved budget and staff, using a formula set by rule. States involved in compact disputes pay mediation or binding dispute-resolution costs. A state can withdraw by passing a repeal law, effective on that law's effective date. It still owes assessments and other obligations incurred through withdrawal. The law sets no fixed amounts or direct household charges.
Emergency kin placements require safety checks
Beginning July 1, 2025, Connecticut can use emergency kin placements when a child's main caregiver suddenly becomes unavailable. Caregivers must be at least 21; eligible family-like caregivers have an emotionally significant relationship with the child or family. Placement must serve the child's best interests and follow a satisfactory home visit and basic family assessment. The department must request state and national criminal-history checks within 10 calendar days after the name-based search. It must remove the child if a caregiver or household member refuses to provide identifying information.
Interstate placements get checks and safeguards
Public child-placing agencies must send the receiving state a written assessment request before an interstate placement. For private-agency placements, both states must review required records before travel, including consents, certification, a home study, and parents' legal-risk acknowledgment. After that review, states cannot delay travel to request extra documents. Receiving-state parent training cannot delay a placement that its public agency finds safe and suitable. Temporary waivers of parent standards must stay within the compact's limits.
New boundaries for interstate child placements
Connecticut adopts an interstate placement compact whose operation depends on enactment by at least 35 jurisdictions. It covers abuse or neglect cases under ongoing court authority, specified delinquency placements, and placements before adoption. Exclusions include specified private custody, direct relative, noncustodial-parent, foreign-adoption, and agency-visit arrangements. Sending states generally keep custody authority, including power to order return; ending that authority follows state law and sometimes requires receiving-state agreement. Covered residential placements involving abuse, neglect, or deprivation require advance notice. The Commission can allow tribal use through guidelines developed with reasonable efforts to consult tribes.
Placement commission staff gain lawsuit protections
The compact protects Commission staff from lawsuits and liability for covered actions within their duties. Protection excludes criminal acts and intentional or willful and wanton misconduct. The Commission must defend covered staff; defending a state commissioner requires approval from the state's legal counsel. It also covers qualifying settlements or judgments not covered elsewhere. These protections can limit civil claims against covered personnel.
States face binding child-placement rules
Interstate Commission rules bind member states as the compact provides, and all three branches of state government must enforce them. Interested parties have 60 days after a rule is issued to seek federal court review. When a state defaults, the Commission can offer help, issue a notice explaining how to fix it, or pursue legal remedies. The winning party in a court enforcement case receives litigation costs, including reasonable attorney fees.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Committee on Children
Affiliation unavailable
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
House vote • 2/25/2025
House Roll Call Vote 320 AS AMENDED
Yes: 148 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/25/2025
Senate Roll Call Vote 219
Yes: 36 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/25/2025
Senate Roll Call Vote 218
Yes: 11 • No: 25
Senate vote • 2/25/2025
KID Vote Tally Sheet (Joint Favorable)
Yes: 17 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Signed by the Governor
7/1/2025legislatureTransmitted by Secretary of the State to Governor
6/25/2025legislatureTransmitted to the Secretary of State
6/25/2025legislaturePublic Act 25-116
6/16/2025legislatureIn Concurrence
6/3/2025legislatureHouse Passed as Amended by Senate Amendment Schedule A
6/3/2025HouseHouse Adopted Senate Amendment Schedule A
6/3/2025HouseHouse Calendar Number 640
5/23/2025HouseFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House
5/23/2025HouseSenate Passed as Amended by Senate Amendment Schedule A
5/22/2025SenateSenate Rejected Senate Amendment Schedule B 9055
5/22/2025SenateSenate Adopted Senate Amendment Schedule A 7744
5/22/2025SenateFile Number 89
3/13/2025legislatureSenate Calendar Number 100
3/13/2025SenateFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate
3/13/2025SenateReported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office
3/13/2025legislatureReferred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/12/25 5:00 PM
3/7/2025legislatureFiled with Legislative Commissioners' Office
2/25/2025legislatureJoint Favorable
2/25/2025legislaturePublic Hearing 02/20
2/14/2025legislatureReferred to Joint Committee on Children
2/13/2025legislature
Bill Text
Public Act No. 25-116
6/16/2025
File No. 89
3/13/2025
KID Joint Favorable
2/25/2025
Raised Bill
2/13/2025
Bill Analysis For File Copy 89
Bill Analysis for SB-1311, as amended by Senate "A"
Fiscal Note For File Copy 89
Fiscal Note for Amendment LCO 7744 (Minimal Revenue Gain)
Fiscal Note for Amendment LCO 9055 (No Fiscal Impact)
Fiscal Note for SB-1311, As Amended by Senate "A" (LCO 7744)
House Roll Call Vote 320 AS AMENDED
KID Joint Fav. Rpt
KID Vote Tally Sheet (Joint Favorable)
Senate Roll Call Vote 218
Senate Roll Call Vote 219
Senate Schedule A LCO# 7744 (D)
Senate Schedule B LCO# 9055 (R)
Summary for Public Act No. 25-116
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