Foster care decisions; authorize appeal of to the chancery court of residence.

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To: Judiciary A; Youth and
Family Affairs
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Denton

HOUSE BILL NO. 1342

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-15-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO AUTHORIZE ANY PERSON AGGRIEVED BY A DECISION OF THE DEPARTMENT 2
OF HUMAN SERVICES OR CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES REGARDING FOSTER 3
CARE ISSUES TO APPEAL THE DECISION TO THE CHANCERY COURT OF THE 4
COUNTY OF HIS OR HER RESIDENCE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 43-15-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
43-15-13. (1) For purposes of this section, "children" 9
means persons found within the state who are under the age of 10
twenty-one (21) years, and who were placed in the custody of the 11
Department of Child Protection Services by the youth court of the 12
appropriate county. For purposes of this chapter, "commercial 13
sexual exploitation" means any sexual act or crime of a sexual 14
nature, which is committed against a child for financial or 15
economic gain, to obtain a thing of value, for quid pro quo 16
exchange of property or any other purpose. 17
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(2) The Department of Child Protection Services shall 18
establish a foster care placement program for children whose 19
custody lies with the department, with the following objectives: 20
(a) Protecting and promoting the health, safety and 21
welfare of children; 22
(b) Preventing the unnecessary separation of children 23
from their families by identifying family problems, assisting 24
families in resolving their problems and preventing the breakup of 25
the family where the prevention of child removal is desirable and 26
possible when the child can be cared for at home without 27
endangering the child's health and safety; 28
(c) Remedying or assisting in the solution of problems 29
that may result in the neglect, abuse, exploitation, commercial 30
sexual exploitation, human trafficking or delinquency of children; 31
(d) Restoring to their families children who have been 32
removed, by the provision of services to the child and the 33
families when the child can be cared for at home without 34
endangering the child's health and safety; 35
(e) Placing children in suitable adoptive homes 36
approved by a licensed adoption agency or family protection 37
specialist, in cases where restoration to the biological family is 38
not safe, possible or appropriate; 39
(f) Assuring safe and adequate care of children away 40
from their homes, in cases where the child cannot be returned home 41
or cannot be placed for adoption, including temporary or emergency 42
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placement with a relative or fictive kin pending youth court 43
action on the case. At the time of placement, the department 44
shall implement concurrent planning, as described in subsection 45
(8) of this section, so that permanency may occur at the earliest 46
opportunity. Consideration of possible failure or delay of 47
reunification should be given, to the end that the placement made 48
is the best available placement to provide permanency for the 49
child; and 50
(g) Providing a family protection specialist or worker 51
or team of such specialists or workers for a family and child 52
throughout the implementation of their permanent living 53
arrangement plan. Wherever feasible, the same family protection 54
specialist or worker or team shall remain on the case until the 55
child is no longer under the jurisdiction of the youth court. 56
(3) The Department of Child Protection Services shall 57
administer a system of individualized plans, reviews and reports 58
once every six (6) months for each child under its custody within 59
the State of Mississippi, which document each child who has been 60
adjudged a neglected, abandoned or abused child, including a child 61
alleged to have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and/or 62
human trafficking and whose custody was changed by court order as 63
a result of that adjudication, and each public or private facility 64
licensed by the department. The Department of Child Protection 65
Services' administrative review shall be completed on each child 66
within the first three (3) months and a relative placement, 67
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fictive kin placement, or foster care review once every six (6) 68
months after the child's initial forty-eight-hour shelter hearing. 69
That system shall be for the purpose of enhancing potential family 70
life for the child by the development of individual plans to 71
return the child to the child's natural parent or parents, or to 72
refer the child to the appropriate court for termination of 73
parental rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, 74
adoptive home or foster/adoptive home. The goal of the Department 75
of Child Protection Services shall be to return the child to the 76
child's natural parent(s) or refer the child to the appropriate 77
court for termination of parental rights and placement in a 78
permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home 79
within the time periods specified in this subsection or in 80
subsection (4) of this section. In furthering this goal, the 81
department shall establish policy and procedures designed to 82
appropriately place children in permanent homes, and provide 83
counseling services and other appropriate services to children who 84
have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human 85
trafficking. The policy shall include a system of reviews for all 86
children in foster care, as follows: foster care counselors in 87
the department shall make all possible contact with the child's 88
natural parent(s), custodial parent(s) of all siblings of the 89
child, and any interested relative for the first two (2) months 90
following the child's entry into the foster care system, and 91
provide care for victims of commercial sexual exploitation or 92
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human trafficking. For purposes of contacting custodial parent(s) 93
of a sibling, siblings include those who are considered a sibling 94
under state law, and those who would have been considered a 95
sibling under state law, except for termination or disruption of 96
parental rights. For any child who has been in foster care for 97
fifteen (15) of the last twenty-two (22) months regardless of 98
whether the foster care was continuous for all of those twenty-two 99
(22) months, the department shall file a petition to terminate the 100
parental rights of the child's parents. The time period starts to 101
run from the date the court makes a finding of abuse and/or 102
neglect, or commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking, 103
or sixty (60) days from when the child was removed from his or her 104
home, whichever is earlier. The department can choose not to file 105
a termination of parental rights petition if the following apply: 106
(a) The child is being cared for by a relative; and/or 107
(b) The department has documented compelling and 108
extraordinary reasons why termination of parental rights would not 109
be in the best interests of the child. Before granting or denying 110
a request by the department for an extension of time for filing a 111
termination of parental rights action, the court shall receive a 112
written report on the progress which a parent of the child has 113
made in treatment, to be made to the court in writing by a mental 114
health/substance abuse therapist or counselor. 115
(4) In the case of any child who is placed in foster care on 116
or after July 1, 1998, except in cases of aggravated circumstances 117
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prescribed in Section 43-21-603(7)(c), the child's natural 118
parent(s) will have a reasonable time to be determined by the 119
court, which shall not exceed a six-month period of time, in which 120
to meet the service agreement with the department for the benefit 121
of the child unless the department has documented extraordinary 122
and compelling reasons for extending the time period in the best 123
interest of the child. If this agreement has not been 124
satisfactorily met, simultaneously the child will be referred to 125
the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and 126
placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or a 127
foster/adoptive home. For children under the age of three (3) 128
years, termination of parental rights shall be initiated within 129
six (6) months, unless the department has documented compelling 130
and extraordinary circumstances, and placement in a permanent 131
relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home within two 132
(2) months. For children who have been abandoned under the 133
provisions of Section 97-5-1, termination of parental rights shall 134
be initiated within thirty (30) days and placement in an adoptive 135
home shall be initiated without necessity for placement in a 136
foster home. The department need not initiate termination of 137
parental rights proceedings where the child has been placed in 138
durable legal custody, durable legal relative guardianship, or 139
long-term or formalized foster care by a court of competent 140
jurisdiction. 141
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(5) The foster care review once every six (6) months shall 142
be conducted by the youth court or its designee(s), and/or by 143
personnel within the Department of Child Protection Services or by 144
a designee or designees of the department and may include others 145
appointed by the department, and the review shall include at a 146
minimum an evaluation of the child based on the following: 147
(a) The extent of the care and support provided by the 148
parents or parent while the child is in temporary custody; 149
(b) The extent of communication with the child by 150
parents, parent or guardian; 151
(c) The degree of compliance by the agency and the 152
parents with the social service plan established; 153
(d) The methods of achieving the goal and the plan 154
establishing a permanent home for the child; 155
(e) Social services offered and/or utilized to 156
facilitate plans for establishing a permanent home for the child; 157
and 158
(f) Relevant testimony and recommendations from the 159
foster parent of the child, the grandparents of the child, the 160
guardian ad litem of the child, when appointed, the 161
Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of the child, 162
representatives of any private care agency that has cared for the 163
child, the family protection worker or family protection 164
specialist assigned to the case, and any other relevant testimony 165
pertaining to the case. 166
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Each child's review plan once every six (6) months shall be 167
filed with the court which awarded custody and shall be made 168
available to natural parents or foster parents upon approval of 169
the court. The court shall make a finding as to the degree of 170
compliance by the agency and the parent(s) with the child's social 171
service plan. The court also shall find that the child's health 172
and safety are the paramount concern. In the interest of the 173
child, the court shall, where appropriate, initiate proceedings on 174
its own motion. The Department of Child Protection Services shall 175
report to the Legislature as to the number of those children, the 176
findings of the foster care review board and relevant statistical 177
information in foster care in a semiannual report to the 178
Legislature to be submitted to the Joint Oversight Committee of 179
the Department of Child Protection Services. The report shall not 180
refer to the specific name of any child in foster care. 181
(6) (a) The Department of Child Protection Services, with 182
the cooperation and assistance of the State Department of Health, 183
shall develop and implement a training program for foster care 184
parents to indoctrinate them as to their proper responsibilities 185
upon a child's entry into their foster care. The program shall 186
provide a minimum of twelve (12) clock hours of training, which 187
shall include training foster care parents about providing mental 188
and physical support to children who have experienced commercial 189
sexual exploitation or human trafficking. The foster care 190
training program shall be satisfactorily completed by such foster 191
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care parents before or within ninety (90) days after child 192
placement with the parent. Record of the foster care parent's 193
training program participation shall be filed with the court as 194
part of a child's foster care review plan once every six (6) 195
months. 196
(b) (i) The court may waive foster care training for 197
an appropriate relative placement. 198
(ii) A relative exempted from foster care training 199
is not eligible for board payments, foster care payments, kinship 200
care payments, therapeutic care payments, or any other monthly 201
payments from the department to assist in the care of the child. 202
(7) When the Department of Child Protection Services is 203
considering placement of a child in a foster home and when the 204
department deems it to be in the best interest of the child, the 205
department shall give first priority to placing the child in the 206
home of one (1) of the child's relatives within the third degree, 207
as computed by the civil law rule. 208
(a) In placing the child in a relative's home, the 209
department may waive any rule, regulation or policy applicable to 210
placement in foster care that would otherwise require the child to 211
have a separate bed or bedroom or have a bedroom of a certain 212
size, if placing the child in a relative's home would be in the 213
best interest of the child and those requirements cannot be met in 214
the relative's home. 215
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(b) The court may waive foster care training for a 216
relative only when appropriate. 217
(8) The Legislature recognizes that the best interests of 218
the child require that the child be placed in the most permanent 219
living arrangement as soon as is practicably possible. To achieve 220
this goal, the Department of Child Protection Services is directed 221
to conduct concurrent planning so that a permanent living 222
arrangement may occur at the earliest opportunity. Permanent 223
living arrangements may include prevention of placement of a child 224
outside the home of the family when the child can be cared for at 225
home without endangering the child's health or safety; 226
reunification with the family, when safe and appropriate, if 227
temporary placement is necessary; or movement of the child toward 228
the most permanent living arrangement and permanent legal status. 229
When a child is placed in foster care or relative care, the 230
department shall first ensure and document that reasonable 231
efforts, as defined in Section 43-21-105, were made to prevent or 232
eliminate the need to remove the child from the child's home. The 233
department's first priority shall be to make reasonable efforts to 234
reunify the family when temporary placement of the child occurs or 235
shall request a finding from the court that reasonable efforts are 236
not appropriate or have been unsuccessful. A decision to place a 237
child in foster care or relative care shall be made with 238
consideration of the child's health, safety and best interests. 239
At the time of placement, consideration should also be given so 240
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that if reunification fails or is delayed, the placement made is 241
the best available placement to provide a permanent living 242
arrangement for the child. The department shall adopt rules 243
addressing concurrent planning for reunification and a permanent 244
living arrangement. The department shall consider the following 245
factors when determining appropriateness of concurrent planning: 246
(a) The likelihood of prompt reunification; 247
(b) The past history of the family; 248
(c) The barriers to reunification being addressed by 249
the family; 250
(d) The level of cooperation of the family; 251
(e) The foster parents' willingness to work with the 252
family to reunite; 253
(f) The willingness and ability of the foster family or 254
relative placement to provide an adoptive home or long-term 255
placement; 256
(g) The age of the child; and 257
(h) Placement of siblings. 258
(9) If the department has placed a child in foster care or 259
relative care under a court order, the department may not change 260
the child's placement unless the department specifically documents 261
to the court that the current placement is unsafe or unsuitable or 262
that another placement is in the child's best interests unless the 263
new placement is in an adoptive home or other permanent placement. 264
Except in emergency circumstances as determined by the department 265
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or where the court orders placement of the child under Section 266
43-21-303, the foster parents, grandparents or other relatives of 267
the child shall be given an opportunity to contest the specific 268
reasons documented by the department at least seventy-two (72) 269
hours before any such departure, and the court may conduct a 270
review of that placement unless the new placement is in an 271
adoptive home or other permanent placement. When a child is 272
returned to foster care or relative care, the former foster 273
parents or relative placement shall be given the prior right of 274
return placement in order to eliminate additional trauma to the 275
child. 276
(10) The Department of Child Protection Services shall 277
provide the foster parents, grandparents or other relatives with 278
at least a seventy-two-hour notice of departure for any child 279
placed in their foster care or relative care, except in emergency 280
circumstances as determined by the department or where the court 281
orders placement of the child under Section 43-21-303. The 282
parent/legal guardian, grandparents of the child, guardian ad 283
litem and the court exercising jurisdiction shall be notified in 284
writing when the child leaves foster care or relative care 285
placement, regardless of whether the child's departure was planned 286
or unplanned. The only exceptions to giving a written notice to 287
the parent(s) are when a parent has voluntarily released the child 288
for adoption or the parent's legal rights to the child have been 289
terminated through the appropriate court with jurisdiction. 290
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(11) There is hereby created a Foster Parents' Bill of 291
Rights and Responsibilities which shall be provided to all foster 292
parents at foster parent training. The Department of Child 293
Protection Services shall extend the following rights to persons 294
who provide foster care and relative care: 295
(a) A clear understanding of their role while providing 296
care and the roles of the birth parent(s) and the placement agency 297
in respect to the child in care; 298
(b) Respect, consideration, trust and value as a family 299
who is making an important contribution to the agency's 300
objectives; 301
(c) Notification of benchmarks that will be required of 302
the foster parent such as appointments, home visits with 303
department personnel, visitations of the child at school and 304
meetings between department personnel and the child's family; 305
(d) Advance notice of information regarding scheduled 306
meetings other than meetings where the Department of Child 307
Protection Services personnel or social workers are going to the 308
foster parent's home for site visits, appointments and court 309
hearings concerning the foster child; 310
(e) The opportunity to communicate with professionals 311
who work with the foster child including therapists, physicians 312
and teachers who work directly with the child; 313
(f) The opportunity to communicate and collaborate, 314
without threat of reprisal, with a department representative when 315
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further educational services are needed to ensure the child's 316
educational needs are met, including services such as an 317
Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), tutoring, occupational 318
therapy, speech therapy and after-school programs; 319
(g) The opportunity to attend all IEP meetings, along 320
with the department worker, at the child's school as long as the 321
child is in custody and receiving special educational services; 322
(h) The opportunity to communicate with the foster 323
child's guardian ad litem; 324
(i) The opportunity to attend all youth court hearings 325
involving a foster child occurring while that child is placed in 326
their care without being a party to the youth court action, unless 327
the youth court determines that any foster parent should not be 328
present. Foster parents may attend all youth court hearings and 329
have legal counsel attend and observe with them if the child's 330
permanent plan is adoption by the foster parents, unless the youth 331
court determines that any foster parent should not be present. 332
Foster parents may communicate with the guardian ad litem in 333
writing at any time. Foster parents may ask to be heard 334
concerning the best interest of the child at any disposition or 335
permanency hearing; 336
(j) When the dates of the permanency hearing and 337
permanency review hearing have been set by the youth court, and if 338
necessary to fulfill the notice requirements, the judge or the 339
judge's designee shall order the clerk of the youth court to issue 340
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a summons to the foster parents to appear personally at the 341
hearings as provided by Section 43-21-501; 342
(k) The opportunity to request from the youth court 343
permission to communicate with the child's birth family, previous 344
foster parents of the child, and prospective and finalized 345
adoptive parents of the child, without the threat of reprisal. 346
However, this right creates no obligation of the birth family, 347
previous foster parents, or prospective and finalized adoptive 348
parents to communicate in return; 349
(l) Involvement in all the agency's crucial decisions 350
regarding the child as team members who have pertinent information 351
based on their day-to-day knowledge of the child in care and 352
involvement in planning, including, but not limited to, individual 353
service planning meetings, foster care review, individual 354
educational planning meetings, and medical appointments; 355
(m) The opportunity to participate in the planning of 356
visitations between the child and the child's siblings, parents or 357
former guardians or other biological family members which have 358
been previously authorized by the youth court. Visitations shall 359
be scheduled at a time and place meeting the needs of the child, 360
the biological family, and the foster family. Recognizing that 361
visitation with family members is an important right of children 362
in foster care, foster parents shall be flexible and cooperative 363
with regard to family visits but shall retain the right to 364
reasonable advance notice of all scheduled visitations; 365
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(n) The ability to communicate with department 366
personnel or representatives twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven 367
(7) days a week, for the purpose of aiding the foster parent; 368
(o) A comprehensive list of all resources available to 369
the foster parent and child, including dental providers, medical 370
providers, respite workers in the area, day cares, and methods for 371
submitting reimbursements; 372
(p) Support from the family protection worker or the 373
family protection specialist in efforts to do a better day-to-day 374
job in caring for the child and in working to achieve the agency's 375
objectives for the child and the birth family through provision 376
of: 377
(i) A copy of the "Foster Child Information Form" 378
and all other pertinent information about the child and the birth 379
family, including medical, dental, behavioral health history, 380
psychological information, educational status, cultural and family 381
background, and other issues relevant to the child which are known 382
to the department at the time the child is placed in foster care 383
prior to the child's placement with a foster parent or parents. 384
The department shall make reasonable efforts to gather and provide 385
all additional current medical, dental, behavioral, educational 386
and psychological information reasonably available from the 387
child's service providers within fifteen (15) days of placement. 388
When the department learns of such information after fifteen (15) 389
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days of placement, the department shall communicate such 390
information to the foster parent as soon as practicable; 391
(ii) An explanation of the plan for placement of 392
the child in the foster parent's home and the ongoing and timely 393
communication of any necessary information which is relevant to 394
the care of the child, including any changes in the case plan; 395
(iii) Help in using appropriate resources to meet 396
the child's needs, including counseling or other services for 397
victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking; 398
(iv) Direct interviews between the family 399
protection worker or specialist and the child, previously 400
discussed and understood by the foster parents; 401
(v) Information regarding whether the child 402
experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking; 403
(vi) Information related to the Healthy, 404
Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Foster parents shall protect the 405
confidentiality of the child by working directly with a designated 406
school official to complete the application for free lunches. 407
(q) The opportunity to develop confidence in making 408
day-to-day decisions in regard to the child; 409
(r) The opportunity to learn and grow in their vocation 410
through planned education in caring for the child; 411
(s) The opportunity to be heard regarding agency 412
practices that they may question; 413
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(t) Information related to all costs eligible for 414
reimbursement, including: 415
(i) Reimbursement for costs of the child's care in 416
the form of a board payment based on the age of the child as 417
prescribed in Section 43-15-17 unless the relative is exempt from 418
foster care training and chooses to exercise the exemption; and 419
(ii) Reimbursement for property damages caused by 420
children in the custody of the Department of Child Protection 421
Services in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars 422
($500.00), as evidenced by written documentation. The Department 423
of Child Protection Services shall not incur liability for any 424
damages as a result of providing this reimbursement. 425
(12) The Department of Child Protection Services shall 426
require the following responsibilities from participating persons 427
who provide foster care and relative care: 428
(a) Understanding the department's function in regard 429
to the foster care and relative care program and related social 430
service programs; 431
(b) Sharing with the department any information which 432
may contribute to the care of children; 433
(c) Functioning within the established goals and 434
objectives to improve the general welfare of the child; 435
(d) Recognizing the problems in home placement that 436
will require professional advice and assistance and that such help 437
should be utilized to its full potential; 438
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(e) Recognizing that the family who cares for the child 439
will be one of the primary resources for preparing a child for any 440
future plans that are made, including return to birth parent(s), 441
termination of parental rights or reinstitutionalization; 442
(f) Expressing their views of agency practices which 443
relate to the child with the appropriate staff member; 444
(g) Understanding that all information shared with the 445
persons who provide foster care or relative care about the child 446
and his/her birth parent(s) must be held in the strictest of 447
confidence; 448
(h) Cooperating with any plan to reunite the child with 449
his birth family and work with the birth family to achieve this 450
goal; and 451
(i) Attending dispositional review hearings and 452
termination of parental rights hearings conducted by a court of 453
competent jurisdiction, or providing their recommendations to the 454
guardian ad litem in writing. 455
(13) The department shall develop a grievance procedure for 456
foster parents to raise any complaints or concerns regarding the 457
provisions of subsection (11) or (12) of this section. 458
(14) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a 459
private right of action or claim on the part of any individual, 460
the department, or any child-placing agency; however any parent, 461
foster parent or next of kin who desires to appeal a decision of 462
the Department of Human Services or Child Protection Services 463
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ST: Foster care decisions; authorize appeal of
to the chancery court of residence.
regarding foster care issues, except as otherwise provided in 464
Section 93-15-133 for termination of parental rights, shall file 465
the appeal with the chancery court of the county in which he or 466
she resides. 467
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 468
and after July 1, 2026. 469