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Home > Systemwide > Laws & Policies > State Statutes > State Statutes - Descriptions
State Statutes - Descriptions
Child Witnesses to Domestic Violence
Discusses legal measures to protect children who may be harmed by witnessing acts of domestic violence in their homes.
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Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect
Discusses the clergy's responsibility to report instances of known or suspected abuse or neglect and the right of privileged communications.
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Cross-Reporting Among Responders to Child Abuse and Neglect
Reviews States' requirements for child protective and law enforcement agencies to share information and work cooperatively in responding to reports.
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Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect
Defines the conduct, acts, and omissions that constitute reportable child abuse or neglect.
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Definitions of Domestic Violence
Reviews both civil and criminal definitions of domestic violence in State laws, as well as the individuals who are protected by those laws.
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Disclosure of Confidential Child Abuse and Neglect Records
Indicates officials who may access confidential records and the circumstances under which records may be disclosed in each State.
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Establishment and Maintenance of Central Registries for Child Abuse Reports
Summaries of statutes authorizing the establishment of central registries for maintaining records of child abuse and neglect reports.
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Immunity for Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect
Discusses statutory protections from liability for persons who make reports in good faith.
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Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect
Discusses how reports are made, required contents of reports, special reporting procedures in cases of suspicious child deaths or substance-exposed infants, criteria for screening reports by child protective services, timeframes for initiating investigations, and differing methods of agency response.
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Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect
Specifies individuals, typically by professional groups, who are required to report suspected child maltreatment.
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Parental Drug Use As Child Abuse
Reviews State laws that provide protection for children endangered by their parents' illegal drug use.
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Penalties for Failure to Report and False Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect
Penalties that States may impose on mandatory reporters who fail to report, or on any person who makes a false report.
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Review and Expunction of Central Registries and Reporting Records
Discusses requirements for State agencies to have provisions for reviewing and removing dated or inaccurate records, and for reported perpetrators to challenge the inclusion of their names, in the State's central registry.
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Case Planning for Families Involved With Child Welfare Agencies
Summaries of statutes regarding the development of a case plan whenever a child is to be placed in out-of-home care, including foster care, placement with a relative, group homes, and residential placement.
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Concurrent Planning for Permanency for Children
Reviews State laws that permit an agency to plan for another permanent placement for a child at the same time efforts are made to reunify the child with his or her family of origin.
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Court Hearings for the Permanent Placement of Children
Requirements for a system of periodic judicial reviews, case plans, and permanency options for children in out-of-home care.
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Criminal Background Checks for Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents
Discusses State requirements, in statute or regulation, for background investigations of prospective adoptive and foster parents and all adults residing in prospective adoptive and foster households.
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Determining the Best Interests of the Child
Reviews factors concerning the child and the child's family that must be considered by the court when determining the best placement for a child.
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Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights
Summaries of statutes that specify the circumstances for ending the legal parent-child relationship.
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Infant Safe Haven Laws
Reviews State laws that provide a vehicle for the safe relinquishment of newborns who might otherwise be abandoned.
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Online Resources for State Child Welfare Law and Policy
Provides links to publicly accessible websites for full-text State statutes, regulation, and policy.
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Placement of Children With Relatives
Reviews State laws that encourage giving preference to relatives when making foster care and adoptive placements.
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Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children
Summaries of statutes that require the provision of services that will assist families in addressing the problems that brought them into the child welfare system.
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Standby Guardianship
Summaries of statutes regarding ways a parent facing incapacity or death can transfer guardianship of his or her child to another adult.
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Access to Adoption Records
Summaries of statutes that specify the types of information and procedures for accessing information by adopted persons, adoptive parents, or members of the birth family.
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Collection of Family Information About Adopted Persons, Birth Parents, and Adoptive Parents
Summaries of statutes regarding guidelines for collecting and disclosing background information about the child to be adopted, birth parents, and adoptive parents.
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Consent to Adoption
Summaries of statutes that specify the persons who must consent to adoption, the timeframes for consent, and revocation of consent.
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Court Jurisdiction and Venue for Adoption Petitions
Summaries of statutes that specify the appropriate State courts, by type and location, for handling adoption petitions.
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State Recognition of Intercountry Adoptions Finalized Abroad
Summaries of statutes that provide for the recognition of adoptions finalized outside the U.S.
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Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Children
Summaries of statutes regarding inheritance laws for adopted individuals that go into effect in the absence of a valid will.
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Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families
Summaries of State laws on requirements for enforceable agreements for postadoption contact between birth and adoptive family members.
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Regulation of Private Domestic Adoption Expenses
Summaries of statutes that detail which expenses adoptive parents are allowed to pay, agency fees, and the use of an intermediary.
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Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers, The
The rights of the alleged fathers of children born out-of-wedlock and whether States have registries for such fathers.
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Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements
Summaries of State laws regulating the use of advertising and facilitators in private placement adoptions.
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Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption
Summaries of statutes that specify who may adopt, who may be adopted, and who may place a child for adoption.
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