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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1368
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE OFFICE
OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 45a-609 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2025): 3
(b) The court shall order notice of the hearing to be given, at least ten 4
days before the date of the hearing, to the Commissioner of Children 5
and Families by first class mail and to both parents and to the minor, if 6
over twelve years of age, by personal service or service at the parent's 7
usual place of abode or the minor's usual place of abode, as the case may 8
be, in accordance with section 52-50, except that in lieu of personal 9
service on, or service at the usual place of abode of, a parent or the father 10
of a child born out of wedlock who is either a petitioner or who signs 11
under oath a written waiver of such service on a form provided by the 12
Probate Court Administrator, the court may order notice to be given by 13
first class mail at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing. If the 14
parent to be notified resides out of or is absent from the state, the court 15
shall order notice to be given by first class mail at least ten days prior to 16
the date of the hearing. If the whereabouts of the parent to be notified 17
are unknown, or if delivery cannot reasonably be effected, the court may 18
order notice to be given by publication. Any notice by publication under 19 Substitute Bill No. 1368
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this subsection shall be in a newspaper of general circulation in the place 20
of the last-known address of the parent to be notified, whether within 21
or without this state, or, if no such address is known, in the place where 22
the application was filed. In either case, such notice shall be given at 23
least ten days before the date of the hearing. If the applicant alleges that 24
the whereabouts of a respondent are unknown, such allegation shall be 25
made under penalty of false statement and shall also state the last-26
known address of the respondent and the efforts which have been made 27
by the applicant to obtain a current address. The applicant shall have 28
the burden of ascertaining the names and addresses of all parties in 29
interest and of proving to the satisfaction of the court that the applicant 30
used all proper diligence to discover such names and addresses. Except 31
in the case of newspaper notice, the notice of hearing shall (1) include 32
the following: [(1)] (A) The notice of hearing, [(2)] (B) the application for 33
removal of parent as guardian, [(3)] (C) any supporting documents and 34
affidavits filed with such application, [(4)] (D) any other orders or 35
notices made by the Probate Court, [and (5)] (E) any request for 36
investigation by the Department of Children and Families or any other 37
person or agency, [. Such notice shall also] (F) information concerning 38
how to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Commissioner of 39
Children and Families, (G) an explanation of the differences between the 40
processes of obtaining guardianship through the Probate Court and a 41
petition filed by the Commissioner of Children and Families in the 42
superior court for juvenile matters, including, but not limited to, 43
requirements concerning reasonable efforts to prevent removal of a 44
child and reunify a child with such child's parents and findings required 45
prior to a termination of parental rights, (H) an explanation of the 46
differences in financial assistance available to guardians and individuals 47
licensed to provide foster care by the Department of Children and 48
Families, and (I) an explanation of the differences between guardianship 49
and foster care, including, but not limited to, the involvement and 50
oversight of the Department of Children and Families; and (2) inform 51
the respondent of the right to have an attorney represent the respondent 52
in the matter, and if the respondent is unable to obtain or to pay an 53
attorney, the respondent may request the Probate Court to appoint an 54 Substitute Bill No. 1368
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attorney to represent the respondent. Newspaper notice shall include 55
such facts as the court may direct. 56
Sec. 2. Section 45a-610 of the general statutes is repealed and the 57
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 58
If the [Court of Probate] Probate Court finds that notice has been 59
given by confirming that each recipient received and understood the 60
notice required pursuant to subsection (b) of section 45a-609, as 61
amended by this act, or a waiver has been filed [, as provided in] 62
pursuant to subsection (c) of section 45a-609, it may remove a parent as 63
guardian, if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence one of the 64
following: (1) The parent consents to his or her removal as guardian; [or] 65
(2) the minor child has been abandoned by the parent in the sense that 66
the parent has failed to maintain a reasonable degree of interest, concern 67
or responsibility for the minor child's welfare; [or] (3) the minor child 68
has been denied the care, guidance or control necessary for his or her 69
physical, educational, moral or emotional well-being, as a result of acts 70
of parental commission or omission, whether the acts are the result of 71
the physical or mental incapability of the parent or conditions 72
attributable to parental habits, misconduct or neglect, and the parental 73
acts or deficiencies support the conclusion that the parent cannot 74
exercise, or should not in the best interests of the minor child be 75
permitted to exercise, parental rights and duties at the time; [or] (4) the 76
minor child has had physical injury or injuries inflicted upon the minor 77
child by a person responsible for such child's health, welfare or care, or 78
by a person given access to such child by such responsible person, other 79
than by accidental means, or has injuries which are at variance with the 80
history given of them or is in a condition which is the result of 81
maltreatment such as, but not limited to, malnutrition, sexual 82
molestation, deprivation of necessities, emotional maltreatment or cruel 83
punishment; or (5) the minor child has been found to be neglected or 84
uncared for, as defined in section 46b-120. If, after removal of a parent 85
as guardian under this section, the minor child has no guardian of his 86
or her person, such a guardian may be appointed under the provisions 87
of section 45a-616, as amended by this act. Upon the issuance of an order 88 Substitute Bill No. 1368
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appointing the Commissioner of Children and Families as guardian of 89
the minor child, or not later than sixty days after the issuance of such 90
order, the court shall make a determination whether the Department of 91
Children and Families made reasonable efforts to keep the minor child 92
with his or her parents prior to the issuance of such order and, if such 93
efforts were not made, whether such reasonable efforts were not 94
possible, taking into consideration the minor child's best interests, 95
including the minor child's health and safety. 96
Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 45a-616 of the general statutes is 97
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 98
1, 2025): 99
(c) Upon receipt of a petition pursuant to this section, the court shall 100
set a time and place for a hearing to be held within thirty days of the 101
application, unless the court requests an investigation in accordance 102
with the provisions of section 45a-619, in which case the court shall set 103
a day for hearing not more than thirty days following receipt of the 104
results of the investigation. The court shall order notice of the hearing 105
to be given to the minor, if age twelve or older, by first class mail not 106
less than ten days prior to the date of the hearing. In addition, notice by 107
first class mail shall be given to the petitioner, each person named as a 108
guardian or coguardian in such petition, and all other parties in interest 109
known by the court. The notice given to each person named as a 110
guardian or coguardian in such petition shall include (1) information 111
concerning how to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the 112
Commissioner of Children and Families, (2) an explanation of the 113
differences between the processes of obtaining guardianship through 114
the Probate Court and a petition filed by the Commissioner of Children 115
and Families in the superior court for juvenile matters, including, but 116
not limited to, requirements concerning reasonable efforts to prevent 117
removal of a child and reunify a child with such child's parents and 118
findings required prior to a termination of parental rights, (3) an 119
explanation of the differences in financial assistance available to 120
guardians and individuals licensed to provide foster care by the 121
Department of Children and Families, and (4) an explanation of the 122 Substitute Bill No. 1368
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differences between guardianship and foster care, including, but not 123
limited to, the involvement and oversight of the Department of Children 124
and Families. Prior to appointing any guardian or coguardians, the 125
court shall confirm that such guardian or coguardians received and 126
understood the notice required pursuant to this subsection. 127
Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a working group 128
to study statutes, policies and procedures relating to Probate Court 129
guardianship proceedings, and make recommendations for 130
improvement of such statutes, policies and procedures. Such study shall 131
include, but need not be limited to, a review of the report of the Office 132
of the Child Advocate submitted pursuant to section 12 of public act 24-133
118. 134
(b) The working group shall consist of the following members: 135
(1) The Probate Court Administrator, or the administrator's designee; 136
(2) The Commissioner of Children and Families, or the 137
commissioner's designee; 138
(3) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's 139
designee; 140
(4) The Child Advocate, or the Child Advocate's designee; 141
(5) The chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing 142
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 143
relating to the judiciary, or their designees; 144
(6) One appointed by the House chairperson of the joint standing 145
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 146
relating to the judiciary, who is a parent who has experienced the 147
removal of guardianship over such parent's child; 148
(7) One appointed by the Senate chairperson of the joint standing 149
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 150
relating to the judiciary, who is an adult who was the subject of a 151 Substitute Bill No. 1368
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guardianship appointed by the Probate Court as a child; 152
(8) One appointed by the House ranking member of the joint standing 153
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 154
relating to the judiciary, who is an attorney who represents children or 155
parents in guardianship proceedings before the Probate Court; and 156
(9) One appointed by the Senate ranking member of the joint standing 157
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 158
relating to the judiciary, who serves as a volunteer guardian ad litem. 159
(c) Any member of the working group appointed under subdivision 160
(5), (6), (7), (8) or (9) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 161
of the General Assembly. 162
(d) All initial appointments to the working group shall be made not 163
later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy 164
shall be filled by the appointing authority. 165
(e) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 166
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary shall 167
serve as cochairpersons of the working group. Such cochairpersons shall 168
schedule the first meeting of the working group, which shall be held not 169
later than sixty days after the effective date of this section. 170
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 171
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary 172
shall serve as administrative staff of the working group. 173
(g) Not later than January 1, 2026, the working group shall submit a 174
report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing 175
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 176
relating to the judiciary, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-177
4a of the general statutes. The working group shall terminate on the date 178
that it submits such report or January 1, 2026, whichever is later. 179 Substitute Bill No. 1368
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 45a-609(b)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2025 45a-610
Sec. 3 October 1, 2025 45a-616(c)
Sec. 4 from passage New section
KID Joint Favorable Subst.