Title 26, MINORS

Any person who receives a report under § 26-8A-3 may take or cause to be taken color photographs, videotapes, or other images of the areas of trauma visible on a child who is the subject of the report and may require a radiological or other medical examination or testing of the c…

The secretary of social services may appoint child protection teams to assist in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. A child protection team may include licensed or certified medical and health professionals, the court services officer recommended by the pres…

Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 26-7A-31 and 26-8A-9 , the court shall appoint an attorney for any child alleged to be abused or neglected in any judicial proceeding. The court shall appoint an attorney in the manner the county in which the action is being conducted has chos…

There is hereby created in the office of the state treasurer an abused and neglected child defense fund. All moneys in the abused and neglected child defense fund shall be annually distributed by the state treasurer to the counties on a pro rata basis. The state treasurer shall, …

In this chapter and chapter 26-7A , the term, abused or neglected child, means a child: (1) Whose parent, guardian, or custodian has abandoned the child or has subjected the child to mistreatment or abuse; (2) Who lacks proper parental care through the actions or omissions of the…

If a child is an apparent or alleged abused or neglected child, the court may appoint a special advocate to represent the best interests of the child and to assist the child's attorney. If a child has been adjudicated an abused or neglected child and is removed from the child's h…

The Department of Social Services shall make reasonable efforts prior to the removal of an alleged or adjudicated abused or neglected child from the home of the child's parents, guardian, or custodian to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child. If the child has bee…

Nothing in § 26-8A-21 requires reunification of a child with a parent who: (1) Committed a crime defined in § 22-16-4 , 22-16-7 , 22-16-15 , 22-16-20 , 22-22-1 , 22-22-24.3 , 22-22A-2 , 22-22A-3 , 26-10-1 , or subdivision 22-19-1(5), or committed conduct described by any of those…

If the court has determined that reasonable efforts to return an adjudicated abused or neglected child to the home of the parent, guardian, or custodian are not appropriate, a permanency hearing shall be held within thirty days after the determination. At the permanency hearing, …

On completion of the dispositional phase of the proceeding, the court shall enter a final decree of disposition. If the final decree of disposition does not terminate parental rights, the decree shall include one or more of the following provisions which the court finds appropria…

If any person convicted of contributory abuse or contributory neglect is the child's parent, guardian, or custodian, the court shall include as part of the sentence, or conditions required as part of the suspended execution or imposition of such sentence, that the person receive …

If a child has been or is under treatment for physical, mental, or emotional illness solely by a spiritual means, the court may, as provided under § 26-8A-22 , order that medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment and hospitalization be provided for the child. Source: SDCL,…

If a child has been adjudicated to be an abused or neglected child, parental rights have not been terminated and the court places custody of the child in the Department of Social Services, the court shall conduct a review hearing of the foster care status every six months. The he…

In conducting the review hearing required by § 26-8A-24 the court may continue placement of the child separate from the home of the child's parents, guardian, or custodian upon a written judicial determination that return of the child to the home would be contrary to the welfare …

If an adjudicated, abused, or neglected child whose parental rights have not been terminated has been in the custody of the Department of Social Services and it appears at a dispositional or review hearing that all reasonable efforts have been made to rehabilitate the family, tha…

In addition to the provisions of § 26-8A-26 , the court may find that good cause exists for termination of parental rights of a parent who: (1) Committed a crime defined in § 22-16-4 , 22-16-7 , 22-16-15 , 22-16-20 , 22-22-1 , 22-22-24.3 , 22-22A-2 , 22-22A-3 , 26-10-1 , or subdi…

On completion of a final dispositional hearing regarding a child adjudicated to be abused or neglected, the court may enter a final decree of disposition terminating all parental rights of one or both parents of the child if the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that…

Notice of entry of order of adjudication or final decree of disposition issued by the court in any action involving an abused or neglected child shall be served on the child's attorney and the child's guardian ad litem or special advocate, if any, and on all respondent parents an…

In any action involving the termination of parental rights of both parents or any surviving parent, the court has continuing jurisdiction of the action and of the abused or neglected child for purposes of review of status of the child until the adoption of the child is fully comp…

Except under circumstances where placement was with another relative of the child, any relative who has been denied adoptive placement by the Department of Social Services may request a hearing to determine if the placement was an abuse of discretion. The request shall be filed w…

Any physician, dentist, doctor of osteopathy, chiropractor, optometrist, emergency medical technician, paramedic, mental health professional or counselor, podiatrist, psychologist, religious healing practitioner, social worker, hospital intern or resident, parole or court service…

In any proceeding in which a child under the age of sixteen is describing any act of sexual contact or rape performed with or on the child by another, any act of physical abuse or neglect of the child by another, any act of physical abuse or neglect of another child, any act of h…

At the taking of testimony pursuant to § 26-8A-30 , the public must be excluded from the room in which the child is testifying. The court shall determine those persons permitted to be physically present. The court, in its discretion, may permit in the room a person whose presence…

In any proceeding in which a child under the age of sixteen is describing any act of sexual contact or rape performed with or on the child by another, any act of physical abuse or neglect of the child by another, any act of physical abuse or neglect of another child, any act of h…

Due regard shall be afforded to the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-1963), if that Act is applicable. Source: SL 2004, ch 2 , § 10, eff. Mar. 3, 2004; SL 2019, ch 127 , § 7.

In any abuse or neglect proceeding involving a child covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-1963), as amended to January 1, 2005, the tribe may appear by counsel or by a representative of the tribe designated by the tribe to intervene on behalf of the tribe. W…

If the court finds the apparent, alleged, or adjudicated abuse or neglect of a child was related to the use of alcohol, marijuana, or any controlled drug or substance, the placement or return of the child may be subject to the condition, if the court so orders, that a parent, gua…

If a health care practitioner has reason to believe based on a medical assessment of a mother or a newborn infant that the mother used a controlled substance for a nonmedical purpose during the pregnancy, the health care practitioner may administer, with or without the consent of…

A health care practitioner or any other medical personnel administering a toxicology test to determine the presence of a controlled substance in a newborn infant at birth or during the first twenty-eight days after birth and the employer of the person administering the test are i…

For purposes of §§ 26-8A-35 and 26-8A-36 , a health care practitioner is a person licensed, accredited, or certified to perform specified health services consistent with state law. Source: SL 2018, ch 167 , § 3.

In addition to the report required under § 26-8A-3 , any person who has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has died as a result of child abuse or neglect as defined in § 26-8A-2 shall report that information to the medical examiner or coroner. Upon receipt of the report, th…

As used in §§ 26-8A-3 and 26-8A-7 , the terms "teacher," "school counselor," "school official," "school administrator," "school principal," and "school superintendent" apply to any person substantially performing the respective duties of any such position in a public or private s…

Any person who has contact with a child through the performance of services as a member of a staff of a hospital or similar institution shall immediately notify the person in charge of the institution or his designee of suspected abuse or neglect. The person in charge shall repor…

Any person who has contact with a child through the performance of services in any public or private school, whether accredited or unaccredited, as a teacher, school nurse, school counselor, school official or administrator, or any person providing services pursuant to § 13-27-3 …

The reports required by §§ 26-8A-3 , 26-8A-6 , and 26-8A-7 and by other sections of this chapter shall be made orally and immediately by telephone or otherwise to the state's attorney of the county in which the child resides or is present, to the Department of Social Services or …

Upon receipt of a report pursuant to § 26-8A-8 , the Department of Social Services or law enforcement officers shall investigate. Investigating personnel may personally interview a child out of the presence of the child's parents, guardian, or custodian without advance notice or …

It is the purpose of this chapter, in conjunction with chapter 26-7A , to establish an effective state and local system for children in need of supervision, including a focus on community-based rehabilitation. Source: SL 1991, ch 217 , § 140; SL 2015, ch 152 , § 28.

For purposes of this chapter, a child in need of supervision is a child: (1) Of compulsory school age who is habitually absent from school without legal excuse; (2) Who has run away from home or is otherwise beyond the control of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian; (3) Wh…

An apparent or alleged child in need of supervision taken into temporary custody by a law enforcement officer prior to a temporary custody hearing shall be released to the child's parents, guardian, or custodian unless the parents, guardian, or custodian cannot be located or in t…

If a community response team as defined in § 26-8D-1 has been established , following any advisory or initial hearing, the court may seek recommendations for community-based interventions and rehabilitative resources from the team. Following adjudication of a child in need of sup…

Following adjudication of a child as a child in need of supervision, the court may order the child to be examined or treated by a physician or qualified mental health professional or to receive other special care and may place the child in a hospital or other suitable facility fo…

If a child has been adjudicated as a child in need of supervision, the court shall enter a decree of disposition according to the least restrictive alternative available in keeping with the best interests of the child. The decree shall contain one or more of the following: (1) Th…

An alleged or adjudicated child in need of supervision may not be held in temporary custody for more than ninety days beginning with the date the child is first taken into custody unless at the ninetieth day the child is in the process of receiving treatment or care which has a s…

The terms and conditions of probation of a child in need of supervision shall be specified by rules or orders of the court and by a court services officer. The duration of juvenile probation shall be specified by order of the court but may not exceed six months unless: (1) The ch…

The following provisions apply if the child is alleged to have violated the terms and conditions of probation and a formal petition is filed with the court: (1) The court shall set a hearing on the alleged violation and shall give five days' notice to the child, to the child's pa…

It is the purpose of this chapter, in conjunction with chapter 26-7A , to establish an effective state and local system for delinquent children including a focus on community-based rehabilitation. Source: SL 1991, ch 217 , § 151; SL 2015, ch 152 , § 19.