Title 41, Title 41

(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.

(1) A qualified expert witness is an individual who provides testimony in a child custody proceeding under this part. The purpose of the testimony is to assist a court in determining whether the continued custody of the child by or the return of the child to the parent or Indian …

(1) Any party seeking to effect a foster care placement of, or termination of parental rights to, an Indian child under state law shall satisfy the court that active efforts have been made to provide remedial services and rehabilitative programs designed to prevent the breakup of…

(1) There is established within the department a volunteer program to support child protective services activities. Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older. Volunteers are not salaried employees and are not entitled to wages and benefits. (2) The department shall, by administ…

(1) A court may not order a foster care placement of an Indian child unless: (a) the petitioning party has provided clear and convincing evidence that active efforts were made to provide remedial services and rehabilitative programs to prevent the breakup of an Indian family and …

(1) Nothing in this part may be construed to prevent the department from removing an Indian child from the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian or prevent the emergency placement of the Indian child in a foster home, under applicable state law, to prevent imminent physical d…

(1) At an involuntary foster care placement hearing, a stipulation or consent by the parent or Indian custodian is not valid unless the court certifies on the record that the terms and consequences of the stipulation or consent were fully explained in detail and were fully unders…

If a petitioner in a child custody proceeding under this part has improperly removed an Indian child from the custody of the parent or Indian custodian or has improperly retained custody after a visit or other temporary relinquishment of custody, the court shall decline jurisdict…

(1) If a final decree of adoption of an Indian child has been vacated or set aside or the adoptive parents voluntarily consent to the termination of their parental rights to the Indian child, the biological parent or prior Indian custodian may petition to have the Indian child re…

(1) When an emergency removal, foster care placement, or preadoptive placement of an Indian child is necessary, the petitioning party shall, in the absence of good cause to the contrary, place the Indian child in the least restrictive setting that: (a) most closely approximates a…

The vaccination status of a parent or child may not be admitted as evidence or considered as a factor in any administrative or judicial decision regarding a petition filed under part 3, part 4, part 6, or part 10 of this chapter.

(1) When the professionals and officials listed in subsection (2) know or have reasonable cause to suspect, as a result of information they receive in their professional or official capacity, that a child is abused or neglected by anyone regardless of whether the person suspected…

(1) (a) Upon receipt of a report that a child is or has been abused or neglected, the department shall promptly assess the information contained in the report and make a determination regarding the level of response required and the timeframe within which action must be initiated…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), anyone investigating or reporting any incident of child abuse or neglect under 41-3-201 or 41-3-202, participating in resulting judicial proceedings, or furnishing hospital or medical records as required by 41-3-202 is immune from any lia…

(1) In any proceeding resulting from a report made pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or in any proceeding for which the report or its contents are sought to be introduced into evidence, the report or its contents or any other fact related to the report or to the conditio…

(1) The case records of the department and its local affiliate, the local office of public assistance, the county attorney, and the court concerning actions taken under this chapter and all records concerning reports of child abuse and neglect must be kept confidential except as …

(1) A person or official required to report by law who has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has died as a result of child abuse or neglect shall report the person's suspicion to the appropriate medical examiner or law enforcement officer. Any other person who has reasonab…