AB518 - Revises provisions relating to the interstate placement of children. (BDR 11-807)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 518–Committee on Health and Human Services CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to child welfare; adopting a revised version of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Under existing law, the interstate transportation of children for placement in foster care, as a preliminary to a possible adoption or for placement in a juvenile justice institution is governed by the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. The Compact prohibits a governmental entity or person from sending a child into another state for those purposes unless: (1) the governmental entity or person provides certain notice to the appropriate public authority in the state where the child is to be sent; and (2) that public authority notifies the sending governmental entity or person that the proposed placement does not appear to be contrary to the best interests of the child. The Compact provides that the governmental entity or person sending the child into another state retains jurisdiction over the child until the child is adopted, reaches majority, becomes self- supporting or is discharged with the concurrence of the appropriate authority in the state where the child is sent. The Compact also authorizes the sending of a child who has been adjudicated delinquent to an institution in another state only if: (1) equivalent facilities for the child are not available in the sending agency’s jurisdiction; and (2) institutional care in the state where the child is sent is in the best interest of the child and will not produce undue hardship. (NRS 127.330) Sections 1 and 2 of this bill adopt and enter into a revised version of the Compact. That version of the Compact applies to the interstate placement of a child: (1) who is subject to child welfare proceedings in the sending state; (2) for juvenile justice purposes, if certain aspects of the placement are not covered by another interstate compact; or (3) by a public or private child placing agency as a preliminary step to a possible adoption. With certain exceptions, a sending state retains jurisdiction over such a child under the revised version of the Compact. However, the revised version of the Compact authorizes a sending state to terminate its jurisdiction under certain circumstances, including several circumstances where such jurisdiction is no longer necessary. If an issue of child protection or custody is brought before a court in the receiving state, the revised version of the Compact requires that court to confer with the court of the sending state to determine the most appropriate forum for adjudication. The revised version of the Compact: (1) requires that a public agency in a receiving state approve a placement before the child may be placed in that state; and (2) establishes a procedure for a receiving state to evaluate the safety and suitability of a proposed placement in that state. The revised version of the Compact assigns among various entities in the sending state and the receiving state, depending on the circumstances of the placement, the financial responsibility for a child placed in the receiving state and certain other duties. The revised version of the Compact additionally creates the Interstate Commission for the Placement of Children, which is a joint commission of member states. The revised version of the Compact requires the Interstate Commission to adopt rules governing the Compact, provide dispute resolution among member states, issue advisory opinions, enforce the Compact through legal action and perform various other duties in furtherance of the purposes – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) of the Compact. The revised version of the Compact authorizes the Interstate Commission to levy an annual assessment on member states to cover the annual budget of the Interstate Commission. The version of the Compact set forth in existing law requires the executive head of each member jurisdiction to designate an officer to act as the administrator and general coordinator of activities under the compact. (NRS 127.330) Existing law accordingly requires the Governor to designate such an administrator and requires the administrator to perform certain duties related to the implementation of the Compact. (NRS 127.340, 127.350) The revised version of the Compact set forth in section 1 does not provide for an administrator but instead requires each member state to establish a central state compact office to ensure compliance with the Compact. Sections 3 and 4 of this bill transfer the responsibilities of the administrator to the central state compact office, and section 3 requires the Governor to appoint an executive head of the central state compact office. The revised version of the Compact becomes effective when it is enacted by at least 35 states. Currently, 18 states have enacted the revised version of the Compact. Section 11 of this bill repeals the original version of the Compact on the date on which the 35th state enacts the revised version of the Compact, thereby making that version effective. Sections 5-9 of this bill make conforming changes to require compliance with the revised version of the Compact when a child is placed in this State under certain circumstances to which the Compact applies. EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 127 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows: INTERSTATE COMPACT ON THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN ARTICLE I. PURPOSE The purpose of this Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children is to: A. Provide a process through which children subject to this compact are placed in safe and suitable homes in a timely manner. B. Facilitate ongoing supervision of a placement, the delivery of services, and communication between the states. C. Provide operating procedures that will ensure that children are placed in safe and suitable homes in a timely manner. D. Provide for the promulgation and enforcement of administrative rules implementing the provisions of this compact and regulating the covered activities of the member states. – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) E. Provide for uniform data collection and information sharing between member states under this compact. F. Promote coordination between this compact, the Interstate Compact for Juveniles, the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance and other compacts affecting the placement of and which provide services to children otherwise subject to this compact. G. Provide for a state’s continuing legal jurisdiction and responsibility for placement and care of a child that it would have had if the placement were intrastate. H. Provide for the promulgation of guidelines, in collaboration with Indian tribes, for interstate cases involving Indian children as is or may be permitted by federal law. ARTICLE II. DEFINITIONS As used in this compact: A. “Approved placement” means the public child placing agency in the receiving state has determined that the placement is both safe and suitable for the child. B. “Assessment” means an evaluation of a prospective placement by a public child placing agency in the receiving state to determine if the placement meets the individualized needs of the child, including but not limited to the child’s safety and stability, health and well-being, and mental, emotional, and physical development. An assessment is only applicable to a placement by a public child placing agency. C. “Child” means an individual who has not attained the age of eighteen (18). D. “Certification” means to attest, declare or swear to before a judge or notary public. E. “Default” means the failure of a member state to perform the obligations or responsibilities imposed upon it by this compact, the bylaws or rules of the Interstate Commission. F. “Home study” means an evaluation of a home environment conducted in accordance with the applicable requirements of the state in which the home is located, and documents the preparation and the suitability of the placement resource for placement of a child in accordance with the laws and requirements of the state in which the home is located. G. “Indian tribe” means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians recognized as eligible for services provided to Indians by the Secretary of the – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) Interior because of their status as Indians, including any Alaskan native village as defined in section 3 (c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act at 43 USC § 1602(c). H. “Interstate Commission for the Placement of Children” means the commission that is created under Article VIII of this compact and which is generally referred to as the Interstate Commission. I. “Jurisdiction” means the power and authority of a court to hear and decide matters. J. “Legal Risk Placement” (“Legal Risk Adoption”) means a placement made preliminary to an adoption where the prospective adoptive parents acknowledge in writing that a child can be ordered returned to the sending state or the birth mother’s state of residence, if different from the sending state, and a final decree of adoption shall not be entered in any jurisdiction until all required consents are obtained or are dispensed with in accordance with applicable law. K. “Member state” means a state that has enacted this compact. L. “Non-custodial parent” means a person who, at the time of the commencement of court proceedings in the sending state, does not have sole legal custody of the child or has joint legal custody of a child, and who is not the subject of allegations or findings of child abuse or neglect. M. “Non-member state” means a state which has not enacted this compact. N. “Notice of residential placement” means information regarding a placement into a residential facility provided to the receiving state including, but not limited to the name, date and place of birth of the child, the identity and address of the parent or legal guardian, evidence of authority to make the placement, and the name and address of the facility in which the child will be placed. Notice of residential placement shall also include information regarding a discharge and any unauthorized absence from the facility. O. “Placement” means the act by a public or private child placing agency intended to arrange for the care or custody of a child in another state. P. “Private child placing agency” means any private corporation, agency, foundation, institution, or charitable organization, or any private person or attorney that facilitates, causes, or is involved in the placement of a child from one state to – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) another and that is not an instrumentality of the state or acting under color of state law. Q. “Provisional placement” means a determination made by the public child placing agency in the receiving state that the proposed placement is safe and suitable, and, to the extent allowable, the receiving state has temporarily waived its standards or requirements otherwise applicable to prospective foster or adoptive parents so as to not delay the placement. Completion of the receiving state requirements regarding training for prospective foster or adoptive parents shall not delay an otherwise safe and suitable placement. R. “Public child placing agency” means any government child welfare agency or child protection agency or a private entity under contract with such an agency, regardless of whether they act on behalf of a state, county, municipality or other governmental unit and which facilitates, causes, or is involved in the placement of a child from one state to another. S. “Receiving state” means the state to which a child is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought. T. “Relative” means someone who is related to the child as a parent, step-parent, sibling by half or whole blood or by adoption, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or first cousin or a non-relative with such significant ties to the child that they may be regarded as relatives as determined by the court in the sending state. U. “Residential facility” means a facility providing a level of care that is sufficient to substitute for parental responsibility or foster care, and is beyond what is needed for assessment or treatment of an acute condition. For purposes of the compact, residential facilities do not include institutions primarily educational in character, hospitals or other medical facilities. V. “Rule” means a written directive, mandate, standard or principle issued by the Interstate Commission promulgated pursuant to Article XI of this compact that is of general applicability and that implements, interprets or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact. “Rule” has the force and effect of an administrative rule in a member state, and includes the amendment, repeal, or suspension of an existing rule. W. “Sending state” means the state from which the placement of a child is initiated. X. “Service member’s permanent duty station” means the military installation where an active duty Armed Services member is currently assigned and is physically located under competent orders that do not specify the duty as temporary. – 6 – - 83rd Session (2025) Y. “Service member’s state of legal residence” means the state in which the active duty Armed Services member is considered a resident for tax and voting purposes. Z. “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands and any other territory of the United States. AA. “State court” means a judicial body of a state that is vested by law with responsibility for adjudicating cases involving abuse, neglect, deprivation, delinquency or status offenses of individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen (18). BB. “Supervision” means monitoring provided by the receiving state once a child has been placed in a receiving state pursuant to this compact. ARTICLE III. APPLICABILITY A. Except as otherwise provided in Article III, Section B, this compact shall apply to: 1. The interstate placement of a child subject to ongoing court jurisdiction in the sending state, due to allegations or findings that the child has been abused, neglected, or deprived as [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]