HB1169: Separation of siblings in child placement.

Legislative Summary

Separation of siblings in child placement. Provides that if a child is placed in a temporary out-of-home placement in a location in which a sibling of the child resides, the department of child services shall, before changing the placement of the child, consider whether separating the child from the child's sibling is in the child's best interest. Provides that if a child is placed under a dispositional decree in an out-of-home placement in a location in which a sibling of the child resides, a court shall, in considering a motion requesting a change in the child's placement, consider whether separating the child from the child's sibling is in the child's best interest. Requires a court, in determining whether reunification of a child with a parent, guardian, or custodian from whom the child has been removed is in the child's best interest, to consider whether reunifying the child with the parent, guardian, or custodian will result in separation of the child from a sibling of the child, and if so, whether separating the child from the child's sibling is in the child's best interest.