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SB88

Alaska SB88: Child Placement and Family Search Rules

Last scannedSep 22, 2026, 12:32 AM

In one sentence

This bill requires the state to search for adult family members or friends when placing children in foster care, gives foster parents rights to make daily decisions and request hearings about transfers, sets rules for sharing medical records, and outlines steps for approving adoptions by relatives.

What it does

  • Requires advance notice to families and caregivers before moving a child to a new non-emergency placement.
  • Allows foster parents who have cared for a child for at least 18 months to request a hearing if they oppose a transfer, provided they prove the move is not in the child's best interests.
  • Requires health care providers to share medical records with foster parents upon their request.
  • Mandates that within 30 days of removing a child or changing placements, the department must search for adult family members or friends suitable for placement.
  • Requires the department to identify and approve an adoptive family at the same time it files to end parental rights.
  • Generally requires approving adoption requests by adult family members unless there is good cause not to do so.

Who it affects

  • Children in need of aid or placed in foster care
  • Foster parents and out-of-home caregivers
  • Adult family members and family friends of children in the system
  • The Department of Health and Social Services

Limits and unknowns

  • The bill does not state when it will officially become law because no effective date is listed in the text.
  • Rules for adoption approval depend on whether there is 'good cause' or evidence that a foster family placement is better, which are terms decided case by case.

Plain language

Terms to know

Diligent search
A required process where officials interview people, check databases, and investigate to find adult family members or friends who could care for a child.
Reasonable and prudent parent standard
A rule allowing foster parents to make sensible decisions about activities like sports, travel, and field trips that support the child's growth while maintaining safety.
Termination of parental rights
The legal process where a court ends a parent's legal relationship with their child so the child can be adopted.

Official record

Sources

Source checked
Official bill pageIntroduced textCurrent bill text
Read the official summary

CHILD PLACEMENT; DILIGENT SEARCH An Act relating to placement of a child in need of aid; relating to adoption; relating to variances for foster care licenses; relating to the medical records of children in foster care; and providing for an effective date.

Official activity

Bill history

  1. (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE742
  2. (S) FN4: (DFC)742
  3. (S) FN3: INDETERMINATE(AJS)742
  4. (S) FN2: (ADM)742
  5. (S) FN1: (ADM)742
  6. (S) AM: HUGHES742
  7. (S) NR: DUNBAR, CLAMAN, GIESSEL742
  8. (S) HSS RPT CS 3NR 1AM SAME TITLE742
  9. (S) Minutes (SHSS)Min
  10. (S) Moved CSSB 88(HSS) Out of CommitteeText
  11. (S) HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  12. (S) Minutes (SHSS)Min
  13. (S) <Bill Hearing Canceled> -- Agenda Change --Text
  14. (S) HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  15. (S) Minutes (SHSS)Min
  16. (S) <Bill Hearing Rescheduled to 04/03/25> -- Agenda Change --Text
  17. (S) HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  18. (S) Minutes (SHSS)Min
  19. (S) Scheduled but Not HeardText
  20. (S) HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text