| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO ENSURE FOSTER PARENTS RECEIVE NOTICE PRIOR TO A JUVENILE 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | BEING PLACED WITH A PARENT . 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 7B-906.1(b) reads as rewritten: 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | "(b) The director of social services shall make a timely request to the clerk to calendar 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | each hearing at a session of court scheduled for the hearing of juvenile matters. The clerk shall 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | give 15 days' notice of the hearing and its purpose to (i) the parents, (ii) the juvenile if 12 years 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | of age or more, (iii) the guardian, (iv) the person providing care for the juvenile, (v) the custodian 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | or agency with custody, (vi) the guardian ad litem, and (vii) any other person or agency the court 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | may specify. The department of social services shall either provide to the clerk the name and 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | address of the person providing care for the juvenile for notice under this subsection or file 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | written documentation with the clerk that the juvenile's current care provider was sent notice of 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | hearing. Consistent with this subsection, the department of social services shall provide verbal 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | notice of upcoming hearings to the person providing care for the juvenile if that person did not 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | receive notice from the clerk. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to make the person 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | providing care for the juvenile a party to the proceeding solely based on receiving notice and the 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | right to be heard." 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 7B-906.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | "(d3) At any permanency planning hearing where the court makes a finding under 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | subdivision (e)(1) of this section that a juvenile be placed with a parent from a family foster care 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | home, the person providing care for the juvenile shall be, at a minimum, verbally notified at least 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | 48 hours prior to the juvenile returning to the parent and included in the transition planning when 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | it is determined to be in the best interest of the child." 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | SECTION 2. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025. 25 |
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