Title 41, Title 41

(1) A board member shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. However, if not otherwise released from service on a board, the following provisions apply: (a) A member shall serve a term of 2 years, except that if a vacancy occurs, a successor must be appointed to se…

(1) Before beginning to serve on a board, each member shall swear or affirm to the court that the member will keep confidential the information reviewed by the board and its actions and recommendations in individual cases. (2) A member of a board who violates the duty imposed by …

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of 41-3-205, a board has access to: (a) any records of the district court that are pertinent to the case; and (b) pertinent electronic and paper records of the department or other agencies that would be admissible in a dispositional hearing cond…

(1) It is the policy of the state of Montana to: (a) provide for the protection of children whose health and welfare are or may be adversely affected by child abuse or neglect and further threatened by the conduct of those responsible for the children's care and protection; (b) a…

(1) (a) The board shall review the case of each child in foster care focusing on issues that are germane to the goals of permanency and to accessing appropriate services for parents and children. In evaluating the accessibility, availability, and appropriateness of services, the …

In addition to reviewing individual cases of children in foster care, a board may make recommendations to the district court and to the department concerning foster care services, policies, procedures, and laws. Recommendations must be in writing and must be provided to the depar…

(1) Unless excused from doing so by the board, the department and any other agency directly responsible for the care and placement of the child shall require the presence of employees having knowledge of the case at board reviews. (2) The board may require the presence of specifi…

(1) Upon receipt of findings and recommendations from the board, the district court shall: (a) review the findings and recommendations of the board within 20 days. If the district court finds it appropriate, the district court may on its own motion schedule a review hearing. (b) …

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply: (1) (a) "Abandon", "abandoned", and "abandonment" mean: (i) leaving a child under circumstances that make reasonable the belief that the parent does not intend to resume care of the child in the future; (ii) willfully surr…

(1) Except as provided in the federal Indian Child Welfare Act or the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act provided for in Title 41, chapter 3, part 13, in all matters arising under this chapter, a person is subject to a proceeding under this chapter and the district court has jurisd…

(1) If the evidence indicates violation of the criminal code, it is the responsibility of the county attorney to file appropriate charges against the alleged offender. (2) The filing of a criminal charge does not toll a proceeding under this chapter. (3) The district court has or…

(1) To effectuate the purposes of this chapter, the department of public health and human services shall cooperate with and shall seek the cooperation and involvement of all appropriate public and private agencies, including health, education, social services, and law enforcement…

The county attorney, county commissioners, guardian ad litem, or department may convene one or more temporary or permanent interdisciplinary child protective teams. These teams may assist in assessing the needs of, formulating and monitoring a treatment plan for, and coordinating…

If a proceeding under this chapter involves an Indian child, as defined in the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. 1901, et seq., or 41-3-1303, the proceeding is subject to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act and the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act provided for in Title…

A court may permit testimony by telephone, videoconference, or other audio or audiovisual means at any time in a proceeding pursuant to this chapter.

(1) In every judicial proceeding, the court shall appoint a special advocate for any child alleged to be abused or neglected. A governmental department or any member of its staff who has a direct conflict of interest may not be appointed as the special advocate in a judicial proc…

(1) Appeals of court orders or decrees made under this part must be given precedence on the calendar of the supreme court over all other matters, unless otherwise provided by law. (2) An appeal does not stay the order or decree appealed from and does not divest the presiding dist…

(1) Except as provided in Title 41, chapter 3, part 10, in every judicial district the district court judge, in consultation with the department, shall appoint a foster care review committee. The foster care review committee shall conduct foster care reviews as provided in this s…

The intent of 41-3-119 is to provide reimbursement for mental health outpatient counseling services to foster parents who experience the death of a foster child placed with them by the department or a licensed child placing agency. Many of the children have disabilities, terminal…

(1) A person who provides substitute care to a foster child who dies while residing in a youth care facility must be offered reimbursement for mental health outpatient counseling services at the expense of the department. (2) Upon the death of a foster child in substitute care, t…

(1) The department shall provide for liability and property damage insurance for a foster parent providing foster care services to children placed by the department and for a foster parent providing therapeutic foster care services under the auspices of a licensed child-placing a…

(1) There is an office of the child and family ombudsman within the department of justice provided for in 2-15-2001. (2) The attorney general shall appoint a person who is a resident of this state and is qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of the ombudsman.

The legislature finds that an independent, impartial, and confidential ombudsman serves: (1) to protect the interests and rights of Montana's children and families; and (2) to strengthen child and family services by working in consultation with the department and with appropriate…

For the purposes of this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Administrative act" means a department action, omission, decision, rule, interpretation, recommendation, policy, practice, or procedure relating to child and family services. (2) "Child and family services" mean…

The powers and duties of the ombudsman are: (1) to respond to requests for assistance regarding administrative acts and to investigate administrative acts; (2) to investigate circumstances surrounding reports that are provided to the ombudsman pursuant to 41-3-209; (3) to inspect…

(1) The ombudsman shall investigate a request for assistance unless: (a) the request for assistance is trivial, frivolous, vexatious, or not made in good faith; (b) the request for assistance is too delayed to justify an investigation; (c) the person requesting assistance is not …

The ombudsman may not be compelled to testify or produce evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding with respect to any matter involving the exercise of the ombudsman's official duties, except as necessary to enforce the provisions of this part.

(1) Records of ombudsman investigations, including case notes, correspondence, and interviews, must be disclosed to a member of the legislature if: (a) the legislator receives a written request from a person who has requested assistance from the ombudsman about whether laws prote…

(1) The office of child and family ombudsman shall provide oversight of the child protective services provided by the department to identify and report on trends in the handling of the cases and make recommendations on ways to improve the child protective services system. (2) The…

(1) The office of the child and family ombudsman shall treat all matters under investigation as confidential. Information received, collected, and maintained by the office of the child and family ombudsman may not be disclosed or disseminated except as provided by this part. (2) …

(1) The role of a child protection investigator is to investigate allegations of child abuse or neglect. A child protection investigator serves as the primary representative of the department in child abuse and neglect investigations and proceedings prior to the removal of a chil…

(1) On certification in accordance with 41-3-127 through 41-3-130, a person may use the title "certified child protection investigator" or "certified child reunification specialist". (2) Subsection (1) does not prohibit a qualified member of another profession, such as a law enfo…

(1) An applicant for certification as a child protection investigator or a child reunification specialist shall: (a) successfully complete a course in child protection, as defined by the department by rule, which must include training in: (i) ethics; (ii) governing statutory and …

(1) A certified child protection investigator or a certified child reunification specialist shall renew the certification annually using a process specified by department rule, which must include proof of completion of at least 20 hours of continuing education developed or approv…

(1) (a) The department shall engage and collaborate with an external organization to develop a child welfare certification and training program, including a competency examination, that must be an ongoing component of the department's child welfare work. (b) The program and exami…

This part may be cited as the "Montana Indian Child Welfare Act".

(1) The legislature recognizes that in possibly no other area of concurrent tribal and state law is it more important that tribal sovereignty be respected than in an area as socially and culturally determinative as family relationships. The legislature finds that the state is com…

As used in this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Active efforts" means affirmative, active, thorough, and timely efforts meeting the requirements of 41-3-1319 that are intended primarily to maintain or reunite an Indian child with the child's family and that are tailor…

(1) (a) A party seeking the foster care placement of, termination of parental rights over, or adoption of a child shall use due diligence to determine whether the child is an Indian child. The inquiry must be made in consultation with: (i) the child's parent or parents; (ii) an i…

(1) If the Indian child is a member of or eligible for membership in only one tribe, that tribe must be designated as the Indian child's tribe. (2) If the Indian child meets the definition of Indian child through more than one tribe, deference must be given to the tribe in which …

(1) The department shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. (2) The department shall adopt rules to manage court-ordered child support to the state for children entering foster care as provided for in 41-3-446. Rules to manage child support: (a) may …

(1) An Indian tribe has exclusive jurisdiction over any child custody proceeding involving an Indian child who resides or is domiciled within the reservation of that tribe unless: (a) the tribe has consented to the state's concurrent jurisdiction pursuant to Public Law 280 or 25 …

(1) The petitioning party shall provide notice of the initial petition filed in an involuntary child custody proceeding and a petition seeking termination of parental rights when the petitioning party knows or has reason to know that the child is or may be an Indian child. Notice…

The state shall give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, judicial proceedings, and judgments of any Indian tribe that are applicable to Indian child custody proceedings.

In a child custody proceeding under this part in which the court determines that the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian is indigent, the parent or Indian custodian has the right to court-appointed counsel. The court may, in its discretion, appoint counsel for the Indian ch…

Each party to a child custody proceeding involving an Indian child has the right to examine all reports or other documents filed with the court on which any decision with respect to the proceeding may be based.