2006 Utah Code - 78-3g-103 — Foster care citizen review boards -- Membership -- Responsibilities -- Periodic reviews.

     78-3g-103.   Foster care citizen review boards -- Membership -- Responsibilities -- Periodic reviews.
     (1) Within appropriations from the Legislature, foster care citizen review boards shall be established in each Juvenile Court district in the state, to act as the panels described in 42 U.S.C. Sections 675(5) and (6), that are required to conduct periodic reviews unless court reviews are conducted.
     (2) (a) The committee shall appoint seven members to each board.
     (b) Five members of each board shall be parents.
     (c) Five members of a board constitute a quorum, and an action by a majority of a quorum constitutes the action of the board.
     (d) A board member may not be an employee of the division or the juvenile court.
     (e) Board members shall be representative of the ethnic, cultural, religious, socio-economic, and professional diversity found in the community.
     (f) A board may elect officers, including:
     (i) a chair;
     (ii) a vice chair; and
     (iii) other officers as it considers appropriate.
     (g) The division may designate a representative to provide technical advice to the board regarding division policy and procedure.
     (3) With regard to each child in its custody, the division shall:
     (a) provide the appropriate board with access to all records maintained by the division; and
     (b) ensure that each appropriate board is provided with the entire case file regarding each of its pertinent cases.
     (4) (a) In districts or areas where foster care citizen review boards are established, a periodic review shall be conducted by the court or a board with regard to each child in the division's custody:
     (i) no less frequently than once every six months, in accordance with:
     (A) Section 78-3a-313; and
     (B) 42 U.S.C. Sections 675(5) and (6); and
     (ii) until the court terminates the state's custody of the child.
     (b) In cases where the court has conducted a six month review hearing, a board shall also conduct a review within 18 months from the date of the child's removal from the child's home.
     (c) In accordance with federal law and with Subsection 78-3a-314(1), a periodic review conducted by a board shall be open to the participation of the child's:
     (i) natural parents;
     (ii) foster parents;
     (iii) preadoptive parents; and
     (iv) any relative providing care for the child.
     (d) Notice of the periodic review described in this Subsection (4) shall be provided to each person described in Subsection (4)(c) pursuant to Subsection 78-3a-314(1).
     (e) At each periodic review, the board shall:
     (i) provide opportunities for separate interviews with parents and foster parents in each case; and
     (ii) conduct an individual interview with each affected child who is old enough to

participate in an interview, unless the child affirmatively chooses not to participate.
     (f) A child who is interviewed under Subsection (4)(e)(ii) may, at the child's request, be accompanied by a support person of the child's choice, provided that the support person is not an alleged perpetrator.
     (g) Boards may review additional abuse, neglect, or dependency cases or plans at the request of the court.
     (5) Following the periodic review described in Subsection (4), the board shall prepare a dispositional report regarding the child's case and plan. The periodic review and the dispositional report shall:
     (a) be consistent with:
     (i) Title 62A, Chapter 4a, Child and Family Services; and
     (ii) Title 78, Chapter 3a, Part 3, Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Proceedings; and
     (b) include at least the following considerations:
     (i) the extent to which the plan's objectives are implemented or accomplished by the:
     (A) parent;
     (B) child; and
     (C) division;
     (ii) (A) whether revisions to the plan are needed; and
     (B) if revisions are needed, how the plan should be revised;
     (iii) the extent to which the division has provided the services and interventions described in the plan;
     (iv) whether the services and interventions described in Subsection (5)(b)(iii) are assisting, or will assist, the parent and child to achieve the plan's objectives within the statutory time limitations;
     (v) the extent to which the parent and child have willingly and actively participated in the interventions described in the plan;
     (vi) the continuing necessity for and appropriateness of the child's placement;
     (vii) the extent of progress made toward alleviating or mitigating the causes necessitating the child's removal or continued placement;
     (viii) the primary permanency goal for the child;
     (ix) the concurrent permanency goal for the child;
     (x) if a final permanency plan has been established, an opinion regarding the appropriateness of that permanency plan;
     (xi) a determination regarding whether the statutory time limitations described in Title 78, Chapter 3a, Part 3, are met, including whether the 12 month limitation on reunification services required by Section 78-3a-311 is complied with; and
     (xii) the board's opinion regarding when it estimates that the child will achieve permanency.
     (6) (a) Within 30 days after a case is reviewed by the board, the board shall submit the dispositional report described in Subsection (5) to:
     (i) the court;
     (ii) the division; and
     (iii) all parties to an action.
     (b) The dispositional report shall be filed with the court, and shall be made a part of the court's legal file.

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     (c) The dispositional report described in Subsection (5):
     (i) shall be received and reviewed by the court in the same manner as the court receives and reviews the reports described in Section 78-3a-505;
     (ii) if determined to be an ex parte communication with a judge, shall be considered a communication authorized by law; and
     (iii) may be:
     (A) received as evidence; and
     (B) considered by the court along with other evidence.
     (d) The court may require any person who participated in the dispositional report described in Subsection (5) to appear as a witness if the person is reasonably available.
     (e) (i) For cases subject to review by a board pursuant to this section, the committee shall have access to the following court records:
     (A) findings;
     (B) orders;
     (C) other determinations; and
     (D) records regarding the time and purpose of hearings.
     (ii) The committee shall provide to the appropriate board the information obtained under Subsection (6)(e)(i) that is relevant to a review conducted by the board.
     (7) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (7)(b), a member of a board may not receive:
     (i) financial compensation or benefits for the member's services; or
     (ii) per diem or expenses for the member's service.
     (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (7)(a), a member may be:
     (i) reimbursed for mileage on days that the member is involved in training, at rates established by the Division of Finance; and
     (ii) provided with a meal on days that the member serves on a board.
     (8) A board is authorized to receive funds from public and private grants and donations in accordance with the requirements described in Subsection 78-3g-102(8).
     (9) In a district or area where a board has not been established, either the court or the Division of Child and Family Services shall conduct the reviews in accordance with the provisions of Subsection (4) and Section 78-3a-313.

Amended by Chapter 83, 2005 General Session