Title 31, Family

§587A-30 Periodic review hearing. (a) The court shall set a periodic review hearing to be conducted no later than six months after a child's date of entry into foster care. Thereafter, the court shall conduct periodic review hearings at intervals of no longer than six months unti…

§587A-31 Permanency hearing. (a) A permanency hearing shall be conducted within twelve months of the child's date of entry into foster care or within thirty days of a judicial determination that the child is an abandoned infant or that aggravated circumstances are present. A perm…

§587A-32 Permanent plan. (a) The permanent plan shall: (1) State whether the permanency goal for the child will be achieved through adoption, legal guardianship, or permanent custody; (2) Establish a reasonable period of time by which the adoption or legal guardianship shall be f…

§587A-33 Termination of parental rights hearing. (a) At a termination of parental rights hearing, the court shall determine whether there exists clear and convincing evidence that: (1) A child's parent whose rights are subject to termination is not presently willing and able to p…

§587A-34 Reinstatement of parental rights. (a) A child who is subject to an active proceeding under this chapter, the child's guardian ad litem, the child's attorney, if any, or the department, may file a motion to reinstate the terminated parental rights of the child's parents i…

[§587A-35] Retention of jurisdiction. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the court may retain jurisdiction under this chapter until the full term for which any order entered expires or until the child attains nineteen years of age, whichever comes first. [L 2010, c 135…

[§587A-36] Appeal. An interested party aggrieved by any order or decree of the court under this chapter may appeal as provided in section 571-54. [L 2010, c 135, pt of §1]

PART V. MISCELLANEOUS [§587A-37] Failure to comply with terms and conditions of an order of the court. If a party fails to comply with the terms and conditions of an order issued by the court under this chapter, the court may apply the provisions of section 710-1077 and any other…

[§587A-38] Protective order. (a) After a petition has been filed with the court under this chapter, the court, upon such hearing as the court deems to be appropriate, may issue a protective order to restrain any party from contacting, threatening, or physically abusing any other …

[§587A-39] Notice and service of protective order. (a) A protective order issued pursuant to section 587A-38 shall be served either personally or by certified mail on each party to be restrained. In the case where a party was present at the hearing during which the protective ord…

§587A-4 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Abandoned infant" means a child who is three years old or younger and: (1) The child's parents, regardless of any incidental contact or communication with the child, have demonstrated a…

[§587A-40] Court records. [(a)] The court shall keep a record of all child protective proceedings under this chapter. Written reports, photographs, x-rays, or other information that are submitted to the court may be made available to other appropriate persons, who are not parties…

[§587A-41] Payment for service or treatment provided to a party or for a child's care, support, or treatment. (a) Whenever a service or treatment is provided to a party, or whenever care, support, or treatment of a child is provided under this chapter, the court may order the pay…

[§587A-42] Educational, medical, dental, and recreational needs. Upon the first day of placement, a child's resource family shall have the authority, for the child placed in the resource family's care: (1) To consent to routine educational and recreational needs and activities, e…

[§587A-43] Child protective review panel. (a) The department shall establish a child protective review panel to review each case of child abuse or neglect that leads to near fatality or death as a result of acts or omissions of the child's legal caretaker. Based upon its review, …

PART II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE §587A-5 Jurisdiction. Pursuant to section 571‑11(9), the court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction: (1) In a child protective proceeding concerning any child who is or was found within the State at the time specified facts and circumstances …

[§587A-6] Venue. A child protective proceeding under this chapter may be filed in the county in which a child is found or resides when the petition is filed, or in the county in which a parent having legal custody of the child resides or is domiciled when the petition is filed. […

PART III. SAFE FAMILY HOME FACTORS AND PRE-PETITION PROCEDURES [§587A-7] Safe family home factors. (a) The following factors shall be fully considered when determining whether a child's family is willing and able to provide the child with a safe family home: (1) Facts relating to…

[§587A-7.5] Safe family home factors; disability. The court shall not consider the disability of a parent or caregiver to be the sole factor in the court's determination made pursuant to this part. If the court makes a determination that a child's family is unable to provide a sa…

§587A-8 Protective custody by police officer. (a) A police officer shall assume protective custody of a child: (1) With the consent of the child's family; (2) Upon order of the court; or (3) Without the consent of the child's family and without a court order if, in the discretion…

§587A-9 Temporary foster custody. (a) The department shall assume temporary foster custody of a child: (1) With the consent of the child's family; (2) Upon order of the court; or (3) Without the consent of the child's family and without a court order, upon the transfer of protect…

§587D-1 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: "Department" means the department of human services. "Emergency services personnel" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 78-52. "Firefighter" means a member of a fire department whos…

[§587D-2] Unharmed newborn children left at hospitals, fire stations, or police stations, or with emergency services personnel; avoidance of prosecution. A person may leave a newborn child with the personnel of a hospital, fire station, or police station, or emergency services pe…

[§587D-3] Safe place for newborns. (a) The personnel of a hospital, fire station, or police station, or emergency services personnel may receive a newborn child; provided that the newborn child was born within seventy-two hours of being left at the hospital, fire station, or poli…

[§587D-4] Reporting. Within twenty-four hours of receiving an unharmed newborn child under section 587D‑3, the personnel of the hospital, fire station, or police station, or emergency services personnel shall inform the department that a newborn child has been left at the premise…

[§587D-5] Immunity. (a) A hospital with responsibility for performing duties under this chapter, any health care provider, or hospital personnel working at the hospital, a fire station and any firefighter or fire personnel, a police station and any police officer or police person…

[§587D-6] Authority to reunite; placement. (a) Upon receiving custody of a newborn child who has been discharged from a hospital that received the newborn child pursuant to section 587D‑3, the department may reunite the newborn child with the newborn's parents. (b) The department…

[§587D-7] Status of child. For purposes of proceedings under this chapter and adoption proceedings, a newborn child left at a hospital, fire station, or police station, or with emergency services personnel under section 587D‑2 shall be considered an abandoned child. [L Sp 2007, c…

§588-1 Children's justice program; establishment, purpose. (a) There is established a children's justice program within the judiciary. The mission of the program is to provide for the special needs of children as witnesses by promoting coordination for appropriate investigation, …

[§588-1.5] Coordination function. (a) The program shall promote the sharing of information among agencies providing services to the child and family, for purposes of implementing this chapter. (b) All agencies and their providers that have information regarding the mental, physic…

§588-2 Definitions of child abuse. For purposes of this chapter: "Child sexual abuse" means any of the offenses described under chapter 707, part V, when committed against a person under the age of eighteen years or that damage or injure a child's physical or psychological health…

[§588-3] Director, program administrative staff. The program shall be headed by a director appointed by the administrative director of the courts. The director and administrative staff shall be subject to chapter 76. [L 1986, c 169, pt of §1; am L 2000, c 253, §150]

§588-4 Duties of the director. The director shall: (1) Enter into agreements with police departments, departments of the prosecuting attorneys and county corporation counsels, the departments of the attorney general, health, and human services, and other public and private agenci…

[§588-5] Admissibility of evidence. Any evidence gathered at the center shall be gathered in such manner so as to be admissible as evidence at a judicial proceeding. [L 1986, c 169, pt of §1]