Bill Text: NH HB1518 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to the requirements for appointed guardians.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-04-21 - Refer to Interim Study, Motion Adopted, Voice Vote; 04/21/2022; Senate Journal 9 [HB1518 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2022-HB1518-Amended.html
HB 1518-FN-LOCAL - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
15Mar2022... 0892h
2022 SESSION
22-2466
07/04
HOUSE BILL 1518-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to the requirements for appointed guardians.
SPONSORS: Rep. Belanger, Rock. 9
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the requirement for guardians appointed by the court to receive a home visit within 60 days of their appointment to verify the safety and adequacy of the home for the minor and the consequences for failing to do so.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
15Mar2022... 0892h 22-2466
07/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
AN ACT relative to the requirements for appointed guardians.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Guardianship of Minors and Estates of Minors; Periodic Court Review; Home Visit Required. Amend RSA 463:17 to read as follows:
463:17 Periodic Court Review.
I. The status of all minors for whom guardianship or co-guardianship has been granted shall be reviewed by the court at 6, 12, and 24 months and annually thereafter, except that the court may waive (1) any or all reviews in cases in which a parent or the parents are co-guardians and (2) any or all reviews in all other cases after the 24-month review upon good cause shown. The guardian shall file a report with the court on or before each review date. The parent may file a statement or report with the court on or before each review date. The court may also, as part of the review, conduct a hearing on its own motion, or upon the request of a parent or guardian who seeks to substantially change the existing orders upon a showing by the parent that he or she has a reasonable likelihood of prevailing, if allowed a hearing. If termination of the guardianship is sought as part of the review proceeding, the burdens and standards of proof set forth in RSA 463:15 shall apply. Failure of any party to appear at any hearing held under this section without good cause, shall not cause the hearing to be continued.
II.(a) Every guardian appointed by the court under RSA 169-C or RSA 463 shall, within 60 days of the guardianship appointment, receive a home safety visit by a childcare agency (“agency”) approved and licensed by the department of health and human services. The home safety visit may be waived if the parent or parents give consent of the guardianship.
(b) The cost of the agency visit shall be paid for by the guardian. The agency shall within 30 days, issue a report to the court and guardian, indicating the home is a safe environment for the minor child or if unsafe, list the unsafe issue or issues to be corrected. Proof of the corrected issue or issues shall be submitted by the guardian to the court and agency within 30 days of the date of the agency report.
(c) In the event the guardian fails to remedy safety issues as referenced in subparagraph b), the agency shall promptly notify the court and the guardian for appropriate judicial action. Failure of any party to comply with this section without good cause shall be grounds for judicial review.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023.
22-2466
12/2/21
HB 1518-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the requirements for appointed guardians.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes the requirement for guardians appointed by the court to receive a home visit
within 30-days of their appointment to verify the safety and adequacy of the home for the minor and the consequences for failing to do so.
The Department of Health and Human Services indicates this bill requires a home visit within 30-days of the appointment of a guardian and the home visit shall be done by a child protection service worker from the Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) or a child care agency approved and licensed by the Department. The Department assumes this would be an entirely new service that would need to be defined and established in rules. The Department makes the following assumptions concerning the fiscal impact of the bill:
- This will not be the same home visit that the DCYF performs in the course of an investigation pursuant to RSA 169-C.
- It will be left to the court’s discretion to determine the necessary report and what the court will require to demonstrate the “safety and adequacy of the guardian’s home.” If safety and adequacy cannot be demonstrated, the individual who performed the home visit and wrote the report would also be required to appear at court in the matter. The bill does not provide for the expense of travel and court time.
- The cost of the report, which is limited to $125, would be paid to the Judicial Branch as the Branch is authorized to waive the expense. However, there is no mechanism for payment to the Department or the private child placing agency.
- The Department does not have sufficient information to determine how many hours each visit and report would require or how many potential guardianship cases this may apply to.
- This bill would require new staff resources as DCYF does not have any excess child protective service workers. Child protective service workers are paid between labor grade 19 and 24 and currently have a 15% salary enhancement, an annual cost of $75,000 to $89,700 in the first year per position. This cost would not be subject to federal reimbursement or cost-sharing because it is a service being provided to the Judicial Branch in private guardianship matters.
This bill does not contain an appropriation or authorization for the additional staff resources for DCYF or an appropriation for the child care agencies to conduct the visits and complete the reports.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Health and Human Services
