GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 170
Short Title: Foster Parents Rights/Notice. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Burgin (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
February 26, 2025
*S170 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ENSURE FOSTER PARENTS RECEIVE NOTICE PRIOR TO A JUVENILE 2
BEING PLACED WITH A PARENT. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 7B-906.1(b) reads as rewritten: 5
"(b) The director of social services shall make a timely request to the clerk to calendar 6
each hearing at a session of court scheduled for the hearing of juvenile matters. The clerk shall 7
give 15 days' notice of the hearing and its purpose to (i) the parents, (ii) the juvenile if 12 years 8
of age or more, (iii) the guardian, (iv) the person providing care for the juvenile, (v) the custodian 9
or agency with custody, (vi) the guardian ad litem, and (vii) any other person or agency the court 10
may specify. The department of social services shall either provide to the clerk the name and 11
address of the person providing care for the juvenile for notice under this subsection or file 12
written documentation with the clerk that the juvenile's current care provider was sent notice of 13
hearing. Consistent with this subsection, the department of social services shall provide verbal 14
notice of upcoming hearings to the person providing care for the juvenile if that person did not 15
receive notice from the clerk. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to make the person 16
providing care for the juvenile a party to the proceeding solely based on receiving notice and the 17
right to be heard." 18
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 7B-906.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19
"(d3) At any permanency planning hearing where the court makes a finding under 20
subdivision (e)(1) of this section that a juvenile be placed with a parent from a family foster care 21
home, the person providing care for the juvenile shall be, at a minimum, verbally notified at least 22
48 hours prior to the juvenile returning to the parent and included in the transition planning when 23
it is determined to be in the best interest of the child." 24
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025. 25