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SENATE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 535, 2051, 2410
PRINTER'S NO. 2543
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
477
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY HICKERNELL, TOOHIL, BISHOP, COHEN, DUSH, FEE,
HARHART, HEFFLEY, MENTZER, MILLARD, MURT, PICKETT, ROEBUCK,
ROZZI, YOUNGBLOOD, ZIMMERMAN AND KORTZ, FEBRUARY 17, 2015
SENATOR BROOKS, AGING AND YOUTH, IN SENATE, AS AMENDED, NOVEMBER
17, 2015
AN ACT
Providing for activities and experiences for children in out-of-
home placements.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Activities
and Experiences for Children in Out-of-Home Placements Act.
Section 2. Legislative intent.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Parents and guardians make important decisions every
day regarding the participation of their children in
activities. Caregivers of children in out-of-home placements
are faced with making the same decisions for children in
their care.
(2) When a caregiver of a child in an out-of-home
placement makes a decision regarding the child's
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participation in an activity, the caregiver must consider
applicable laws and policies designed to safeguard the
child's health and safety. However, these laws and policies
are sometimes interpreted to prohibit a child from
participating in age-appropriate or developmentally
appropriate extracurricular and community activities that are
important to healthy child and adolescent development.
(3) Participation in activities in school and the
community is important to a child's well-being, both
emotionally and in terms of developing valuable life skills
and building healthy supportive relationships with peers and
caring adults. Providing children with age-appropriate or
developmentally appropriate opportunities to experience
freedom and responsibility are central to making a successful
transition to adulthood.
(4) It is the intent of the General Assembly to
recognize the importance of normalizing the lives of children
in out-of-home placements and to empower their caregivers to
approve or disapprove a child's participation in activities
without prior approval of the department, the child's county
agency or private agency caseworker or the court.
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate." The
following:
(1) activities or items that are generally accepted as
suitable for children of the same chronological age or level
of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally
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appropriate for a child, based on the development of
cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioral capacities that
are typical for an age or age group; and
(2) in the case of a specific child, activities or items
that are suitable for the child based on the developmental
stages attained by the child with respect to the cognitive,
emotional, physical and behavioral capacities of the child.
"Caregiver." A person with whom the child is placed in an
out-of-home placement, including a resource family or an
individual designated by a county agency or private agency. The
resource family is the caregiver for any child placed with them.
"County agency." The county children and youth social
service agency established in accordance with section 405 of the
act of June 24, 1937 (P.L.2017, No.396), known as the County
Institution District Law, or its successor, and supervised by
the department under Article IX of the act of June 13, 1967
(P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code.
"Department." The Department of Human Services of the
Commonwealth.
"Out-of-home placement." A setting that provides 24-hour
substitute care for a child away from the child's parents or
guardians and for whom the county agency has placement care and
responsibility. The term includes resource family homes and
supervised settings in which a child is living, and, for a child
who has attained 18 years of age, a supervised setting in which
the individual is living independently. The term does not
include secure facilities, facilities operated primarily for the
detention of children who have been adjudicated delinquent,
accredited psychiatric residential treatment facilities or
hospitals.
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"Private agency." An entity that provides out-of-home
placement services to children under a contract with a county
agency.
"Reasonable and prudent parent standard." The standard,
characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that
maintain the health, safety and best interests of a child while
encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child,
that a caregiver must use when determining whether to allow a
child in an out-of-home placement under the responsibility of
the county agency to participate in extracurricular, enrichment,
cultural and social activities.
"Resource family." As defined under section 3 of the act of
November 22, 2005 (P.L.404, No.73), known as the Resource Family
Care Act.
Section 4. Access and standard.
(a) Access to activities and experiences.--Subject to
subsection (b), a child in an out-of-home placement is allowed
and afforded an opportunity to engage in, to the greatest extent
possible, age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate
activities and experiences. A child with a disability or special
needs in an out-of-home placement shall have the same access to
age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate activities and
experiences as the child's nondisabled peers, even if reasonable
accommodations are required.
(b) Caregiver authority.--Caregivers have the authority to
provide or withhold permission for children in their care to
participate in and experience age-appropriate or developmentally
appropriate activities and experiences in accordance with this
section. The authority of a caregiver:
(1) Must be exercised using the reasonable and prudent
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parent standard and does not conflict with any applicable
court order or service plan.
(2) May be exercised without the prior approval of a
county agency or private agency or the court.
(c) Reasonable and prudent parent standard.--When using the
reasonable and prudent parent standard, a caregiver must
consider all of the following:
(1) The child's age, maturity and developmental level to
maintain the overall health and safety of the child.
(2) The potential risk factors to the child or to others
and the appropriateness of the extracurricular, enrichment,
cultural or social activity or experience.
(3) The best interest of the child, based on information
known by the caregiver.
(4) The child's wishes.
(5) The importance of encouraging the child's emotional
and developmental growth.
(6) The importance of supporting the child in developing
skills to successfully transition to adulthood.
(7) The importance of providing the child with the most
family-like living experience possible.
(8) Any special needs or accommodations that the child
may need to safely participate in the activity or experience.
STANDARD:
(1) A CAREGIVER MUST CONSIDER ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
(I) THE CHILD'S AGE, MATURITY AND DEVELOPMENTAL
LEVEL TO MAINTAIN THE OVERALL HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE
CHILD.
(II) THE POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS TO THE CHILD OR TO
OTHERS AND THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE EXTRACURRICULAR,
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ENRICHMENT, CULTURAL OR SOCIAL ACTIVITY OR EXPERIENCE.
(III) THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD, BASED ON
INFORMATION KNOWN BY THE CAREGIVER.
(IV) THE IMPORTANCE OF ENCOURAGING THE CHILD'S
EMOTIONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL GROWTH.
(V) THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORTING THE CHILD IN
DEVELOPING SKILLS TO SUCCESSFULLY TRANSITION TO
ADULTHOOD.
(VI) THE IMPORTANCE OF PROVIDING THE CHILD WITH THE
MOST FAMILY-LIKE LIVING EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE.
(VII) ANY SPECIAL NEEDS OR ACCOMMODATIONS THAT THE
CHILD MAY NEED TO SAFELY PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTIVITY OR
EXPERIENCE.
(2) THE CHILD'S WISHES, THOUGH NOT DETERMINATIVE, MAY
ALSO BE CONSIDERED.
(d) Limitation of liability.--A caregiver, county agency and
private agency shall not be liable for harm caused to a child
while engaged in an activity or experience approved by the
caregiver if:
(1) the caregiver has completed the required training
relating to the reasonable and prudent parent standard;
(2) the caregiver has made a good faith effort to use
the reasonable and prudent parent standard in approving the
activity or experience; and
(3) the approval does not conflict with any applicable
court order or service plan.
(e) Other liability protection.--This section shall not
remove or limit any existing liability protection afforded by
any other law.
Section 5. Obligations of department.
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The Office of Children, Youth and Families of the department
shall do all of the following:
(1) Require, as a condition of licensure for county and
private foster family care agencies and facilities providing
out-of-home placements, the development of standards and
training relating to the reasonable and prudent parent
standard. The standards and training shall include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(i) knowledge and skills relating to the
developmental stages of the cognitive, emotional,
physical and behavioral capacities of a child; and
(ii) knowledge and skills relating to applying the
reasonable and prudent parent standard to:
(A) decisions such as whether to allow a child
to engage in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural
and social activities, including sports, field trips
and overnight activities lasting one or more days;
(B) decisions involving the signing of
permission slips and arranging transportation for the
child to and from extracurricular, enrichment,
cultural and social activities; and
(C) Methods for appropriately considering the
concerns of the biological parents of a child in
decisions related to participation of the child in
activities, with the understanding that those
concerns should not necessarily determine the
participation of the child in any activity.
(2) Verify, at yearly licensure reviews, that county and
private agencies providing out-of-home placement do all of
the following:
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(i) Promote and protect the ability of a child to
participate in age-appropriate or developmentally
appropriate activities and experiences.
(ii) Implement policies consistent with this act.
(iii) Provide and document that the required
training under paragraph (1) has been provided to
caregivers.
(3) Develop standards and a process by which individuals
employed by facilities providing out-of-home placements are
designated to make decisions for children based on the
reasonable and prudent parent standard.
(4) Develop a template for the required training related
to the reasonable and prudent parent standard in accordance
with this act.
(5) Work with interested parties, including children, to
develop age-appropriate written materials that explain the
requirements under this act.
Section 6. County obligations.
A county agency shall do all of the following:
(1) Ensure that all county-operated out-of-home
placement settings other than a resource family home
designate an individual to provide decision-making authority
under the reasonable and prudent parent standard for children
residing in their care. The individual designated should
consult with county agency caseworkers or staff members who
are most familiar with the child in applying and using the
reasonable and prudent parent standard.
(2) Ensure that contracts for purchased services between
the county and a private agency that operates an out-of-home
placement setting other than a resource family home include a
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requirement for the agency to designate an individual to
provide decision-making authority under the reasonable and
prudent parent standard for children residing in their care
in accordance with staffing and supervision requirements
applicable to the setting. The individual designated should
consult with county agency and private agency caseworkers or
staff members who are most familiar with the child in
applying and using the reasonable and prudent parent
standard.
(3) Ensure that contracts for purchased services between
the county and a private agency include a requirement for the
private agency to provide training and monitoring of resource
families regarding the application and use of the reasonable
and prudent parent standard.
(4) Provide training and monitoring of county agency
resource families regarding the application and use of the
reasonable and prudent parent standard.
(5) Consistent with its case and placement planning
responsibilities under Federal and State law, ensure that the
child's service plan provides the opportunity to participate
in age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate activities
and experiences to the greatest extent possible to promote
healthy child and adolescent development. A child's service
plan shall include goals and objectives, and the child's
progress toward meeting the goals and objectives, for the
following:
(i) Participation in extracurricular, enrichment,
cultural and social activities.
(ii) For a child who is 14 years of age or older,
providing opportunities to gain experience in mastering
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skills needed to transition to successful adulthood and
managing freedom and responsibility.
Section 7. Notifications.
(a) Caregiver.--The appropriate county agency shall ensure
that a caregiver is provided with a written notification of the
caregiver's responsibilities and rights under this act. The
notification shall be provided at the time of a resource family
home certification or the designation of a caregiver by a county
agency or private agency and annually thereafter.
(b) Child.--The county agency shall ensure that children in
out-of-home placement have their opportunities under this act
explained to them in a manner appropriate to the child's age,
development and maturity and that the children are provided with
a written explanation of the requirements of this act at initial
placement, for any subsequent move, and at least annually as
part of the family service and permanency planning process.
Consistent with the act of November 23, 2010 (P.L.1264, No.119),
known as the Children in Foster Care Act, the requirements of
this subsection shall be included in the list of requirements
under section 3 of the Children in Foster Care Act, along with
the explanation of the grievance policy. A notation that these
notifications have been completed must be made in the child's
record.
Section 8. Training.
The reasonable and prudent parent standard training required
under this act must be completed as follows:
(1) A current caregiver must complete the training by
December 31, 2015.
(2) An individual who becomes a caregiver after the
effective date of this section must complete the training
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prior to a child's placement, unless there is an emergency
placement.
(3) If a child is placed in an emergency placement after
the effective date of this section, the caregiver shall
complete the training within 60 days of the emergency
placement.
Section 9. This act shall take effect immediately.
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