Title 47, Welfare, Social Services, and Institutions

(a) The court may conduct the hearing on the petition in an informal manner. The court shall give notice of the hearing to the department, and it may send a representative to the hearing. The court shall also transmit a copy of the petition to the department. The department shall…

(a) An adjudication hearing shall be completed within 120 days after a finding of probable cause is entered unless the court finds good cause to continue the hearing. When determining whether to grant a continuance for good cause, the court shall take into consideration the age o…

(a) [Repealed, § 55 ch 59 SLA 1996.] (b) Before the disposition hearing of a child in need of aid, the department shall submit a predisposition report to aid the court in its selection of a disposition. This report must include, but is not limited to, the following: (1) a stateme…

In making its dispositional order under AS 47.10.080(c), the court shall keep the health and safety of the child as the court's paramount concern and consider (1) the best interests of the child; (2) the ability of the state to take custody and to care for the child to protect th…

In a review under AS 47.10.080(f) and in a hearing related to a request for extended commitment or extended supervision under AS 47.10.080(c)(1) or (2), the court shall, in addition to the requirements of those provisions and the requirements of court rules, determine whether a c…

(a) When a child is committed under AS 47.10.080(c)(1) to the department, released under AS 47.10.080(c)(2) to the child's parents, guardian, or other suitable person, or committed to the department or to a legally appointed guardian of the person of the child under AS 47.10.080(…

In a case in which the minor's status as a child in need of aid is sought to be based on the need for medical care, the court may, upon consideration of the health of the minor and the fact, if it is a fact, that the minor is being provided treatment by spiritual means through pr…

(a) Except as provided in (b), (c), and (g) of this section, the department shall make timely, reasonable efforts to provide family support services to the child and to the parents or guardian of the child that are designed to prevent out-of-home placement of the child or to enab…

(a) The court may authorize the department to place a child who is in the custody of the department under AS 47.10.080(c)(1) or (3) or 47.10.142 in a secure residential psychiatric treatment center if the court finds, based on the testimony of a mental health professional, that (…

(a) Except as provided in AS 47.10.080(o), the rights and responsibilities of the parent regarding the child may be terminated for purposes of freeing a child for adoption or other permanent placement if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that (1) the child has been…

(a) When a child is committed to the custody of the department under AS 47.10.080(c)(1) or (3) or released under AS 47.10.080(c)(2), the rights of a parent with respect to the child, including parental rights to control the child, to withhold consent to an adoption, or to receive…

(a) The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it. (b) [Repealed, § 55 ch 59 SLA 1996.] (c) Within 30 days after the date of a child's 18th birthday or, if the court retains jurisdiction of a child past the child's 18th birthday, within 30 days after the da…

(a) Notwithstanding AS 47.10.090 and 47.10.093, a parent or legal guardian of a child subject to a proceeding under AS 47.10.005 — 47.10.142 may disclose confidential or privileged information about the child or the child's family, including information that has been lawfully obt…

(a) Except as permitted in AS 47.10.092, (b) — (g) and (i) — (l) of this section, and AS 47.17.030(g) and (h), all information and social records pertaining to a child who is subject to this chapter or AS 47.17 prepared by or in the possession of a federal, state, or municipal ag…

(a) The department shall develop, in regulation, a grievance procedure for a parent to file a complaint based on (1) the application of a department policy or procedure under this chapter; (2) compliance with this chapter or a regulation adopted under this chapter; or (3) an act …

(a) The court retains jurisdiction over the case and may at any time stay execution, modify, set aside, revoke, or enlarge a judgment or order, or grant a new hearing, in the exercise of its power of protection over the child and for the child's best interest, for a period of tim…

When, in the course of a proceeding under this chapter, it appears to the court that the welfare of a minor will be promoted by the appointment of a guardian or custodian of the minor's person, the court may make the appointment. The court shall have a summons issued and served u…

(a) Except as provided under AS 13.26.137(b)(2) and AS 25.23.030(d)(2), if a person seeks adoption or appointment as legal guardian of a child in state custody under this chapter, the court shall hear the adoption or guardianship proceedings as part of the child-in-need-of-aid pr…

(a) A person seeking the immediate permanent placement of a child in state custody under this chapter may file a proxy for a formal petition for adoption or legal guardianship of the child. The court shall hear proceedings related to the proxy as part of the child-in-need-of-aid …

(a) Except as provided in AS 25.24.150(a), a court shall hear a request to make, modify, or vacate an order for the custody of or visitation with a minor child in state custody under this chapter as part of the child-in-need-of-aid proceedings relating to the child. (b) A person …

(a) The department shall annually apply for a permanent fund dividend and retain in trust under AS 43.23.015(e) for the benefit of the child the dividend and accrued interest on the dividend if the child is in the custody of the department when the application is due. (b) The dep…

(a) When a child in need of aid is committed under this chapter, the court or the child support services agency created in AS 25.27.010 shall, after giving the parent a reasonable opportunity to be heard, require that the parent pay to the department in a manner that the court or…

(a) Upon receiving a written, telephonic, or other request to locate a minor evading the minor's legal custodian or to locate a minor otherwise missing, a law enforcement agency shall make reasonable efforts to locate the minor and shall immediately complete a missing person's re…

(a) The Department of Family and Community Services may take emergency custody of a child upon discovering any of the following circumstances: (1) the child has been abandoned as abandonment is described in AS 47.10.013; (2) the child has been neglected by the child's parents or …

The department shall (1) review, inspect, and approve or disapprove for licensing proposed or established programs for runaway minors to ensure the health and safety of minors in the program; (2) maintain a register of licensed programs for runaway minors; (3) award nonprofit cor…

(a) A person may not operate a program for runaway minors in the state without a license issued under this section. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a violation. (b) The department may license a program for runaway minors under AS 47.10.300 — 47.10.390 only if t…

A runaway minor may maintain residency for a period not exceeding 45 days at a facility operated as part of a licensed program for runaway minors. The minor may maintain residency without the consent of the person or agency having custody of the minor, except that if the court ha…

(a) [Repealed, § 24 ch 33 SLA 1994.] (b) The director of a program for runaway minors shall promptly notify a minor's legal custodian if the minor is released from the program into the custody of a person other than the legal custodian or a person representing the legal custodian…

Records of a licensed program for runaway minors that identify a minor who has been admitted to or has sought assistance from the program are confidential and are not subject to inspection or copying under AS 40.25.110 — 40.25.120, unless (1) after being informed of the minor's r…

(a) The officers, directors, and employees of a licensed program for runaway minors are not liable for civil damages as a result of an act or omission in admitting a minor to the program. (b) This section does not preclude liability for civil damages as a result of recklessness o…

Authority to establish and operate a licensed program for runaway minors is granted to municipalities that do not otherwise have that authority.

In AS 47.10.300 — 47.10.390, (1) “licensed program for runaway minors” means a residential or nonresidential program licensed by the department under AS 47.10.310; (2) “runaway minor” means a person under 18 years of age who (A) is habitually absent from home; or (B) refuses to a…

A private residence may not be held out publicly as a shelter for runaway minors unless the residence (1) is designated a shelter for runaways by a corporation that is licensed to make the designation under AS 47.32; and (2) has a valid permit from the department signifying that …

(a) A shelter for runaways may not shelter a runaway minor for more than seven days unless the department determines that (1) the minor is the subject of exceptional circumstances; or (2) another appropriate setting is not available for the minor. (b) The provider of a shelter fo…

If the department requires record keeping by a shelter for runaways or by a corporation that is licensed to designate shelters for runaways, records of the shelter and the corporation that identify a runaway minor who has been sheltered in a shelter for runaways or has sought ass…

(a) A person in a shelter for runaways, or in a home for which an application to be designated a shelter for runaways is being considered by a corporation licensed for that purpose by the department, that is operated in a manner that is consistent with AS 47.10.392 — 47.10.399 an…

In AS 47.10.392 — 47.10.399, (1) “runaway minor” has the meaning given in AS 47.10.390; (2) “shelter for runaways” or “shelter for runaway minors” means a private residence whose legal occupant agrees to shelter, with or without compensation, a runaway minor accepted into the res…

(a) Failure to comply with a provision of this title does not constitute a basis for civil liability for damages. (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a civil action for common law negligence or an action under AS 09.55.580 on behalf of a child who is injure…

Funds to carry out this chapter shall be provided for in the general appropriation Act of the legislature.

The department may accept grants-in-aid from the federal government or private foundations and may accept other gifts consistent with the purposes of this chapter.

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, (1) “adult family member” means a person who is 18 years of age or older and who is (A) related to the child as the child's grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling; (B) the child's sibling's legal guardian or parent; or (C) in …

(a) The goal of this chapter is to promote a balanced juvenile justice system in the state to protect the community, impose accountability for violations of law, and equip juvenile offenders with the skills needed to live responsibly and productively. (b) The purposes of this cha…

(a) Proceedings relating to a minor under 18 years of age residing or found in the state are governed by this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, when the minor is alleged to be or may be determined by a court to be a delinquent minor as a result of violating a…

Except as provided in AS 47.12.025, the provisions of this chapter apply to a person who is 18 years of age or older and who is subject to the jurisdiction of this chapter due to AS 47.12.020(b) or (c). To implement AS 47.12.020(b) and (c) and this section, the term “minor” as us…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following special provisions apply to a person who is subject to the jurisdiction of this chapter due solely to AS 47.12.020(b): (1) a petition filed under AS 47.12.040(b) must be styled as follows: “In the matter of ........ , …

(a) When a minor who was at least 16 years of age at the time of the offense is charged by complaint, information, or indictment with an offense specified in this subsection, this chapter and the Alaska Delinquency Rules do not apply to the offense for which the minor is charged …